Valentine's Day Is Killing Me
by Leslie Esdaile, MaryJanice Davidson, Susanna Carr

Lost roses. Cancelled reservations. Broken dates. Arrests. Dead bodies. There's always some reason to hate Valentine's Day...unless the scene of the crime starts really heating up.... Maryjanice Davidson Cuffs and Coffee Breaks In a moment of weakness, greeting card writer Julie Kay About accepts a blind date for Valentine's Day. As if the restaurant's snotty waiter, cheap chocolates, and pastel-colored teddy bears aren't enough, her date turns out to be the guy in handcuffs next to the dead body on the floor. At least he didn't stand her up. How could a guy with beautiful, sky- blue eyes and sexy swimmer's shoulders be a killer? Julie Kay is not about to have another horrible V-Day, even if she has to solve a murder and get her possibly homicidal date arraigned to do it... Leslie Esdaile A "No Drama" Valentine's Jocelyn Jefferson is one sister who is not falling for any romance drama—no pining over flowers never sent or bling not gotten. No, this year, Jocelyn's getting her best girlfriends together for a "pamper" party at her house. Except that the "pampering" turns out to be from a dubious sex toy company. Soon, there's a whole crew of rowdy, enthusiastic people in Jocelyn's apartment. And that's when vice detective Raymond Mayfield shows up at her door, all six- four, hard-bodied bit of him, and he needs Jocelyn for some very private questioning... Susanna Carr Valentine Survivor This Valentine's Day was supposed to be different for Shanna Murphy. She had a hot date, sought-after dinner reservations, and a brand new vase to show off those potential long-stemmed roses. But Murphy's Law intervened, and now her date cancelled, she's stuck doing overtime, and she's just discovered the body of her boss-from-hell. The only person Shanna can turn to is her ex-boyfriend, Calder Smith, who just happens to be the most insensitive, non-romantic, domineering—and completely irresistible—alpha male she's ever laid eyes on... These bad boys are bringing a whole lot more than chocolates...

Leslie Esdaile's Bio

Leslie Esdaile is a native Philadelphian and Dean's List graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton Undergraduate Program. Upon completing her studies in 1980, she embarked upon a career in corporate marketing and sales. Her corporate tenure includes several Fortune 100 companies: Xerox, Hewlett Packard (HP), and ultimately Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC.)

In 1991, and after a decade of working in the corporate environment, Esdaile shifted gears and began an independent consulting career assisting small businesses and economic development agencies with marketing, grant writing, curriculum development, and workshop facilitation. In 1999- 2000, she won the US Small Business Administration Award for Best New Markets Lender (Eastern Region), and in 2001 Esdaile was the recipient of the US Small Business Administrationís Minority Advocate of the Year Award (Eastern Region), as well as received a City of Philadelphia Mayoral Tribute for Entrepreneurship for her recent award-winning fiction novel, "Rivers of the Soul," by Genesis Press, Inc. This new novel also includes a CD soundtrack produced by South Summer Records featuring Terry Ellis of En Vogue, whereby Esdaile co-wrote the title song, "Rivers of My Soul," and Executive Produced this project.

With many awards to her credit, Esdaile was nominated for a Golden Pen Award (Best Anthology) by The Black Writers Alliance, was voted BET/Color Code Literary CafÈ's Author Choice for The Philadelphia Market, and received the Leadership Achievement Award by The Generations Center. The first full year of the new millennium was a banner literary award year for her, as she also won The Shades of Romance Award for Best Genesis Press Inc Novel, "Rivers of the Soul," and Best Novella within the "After the Vows"Anthology (Genesis Press, Inc.), "Time Enough for Love," from Romance in Color.

Through technical writing, and via Essence Magazine's (1991) Short Story Contest as an initial catalyst, Esdaile found a hidden talent, fiction writing--which has led her on a successful trajectory toward becoming one of the nation's premier African American Romance and Women's Fiction authors. Successfully graduating in 1998 from Temple University's Masters of Fine Arts Program with a degree in Film and Media Arts, she adds the dimension of filmmaking and visual media (with a portfolio of strong documentaries) to her artistic and business endeavors. At present, she is broadening the scope of her work to include a series of projects for Pocket Books ("Soul Food," a novel series based upon the ShowTime/Paramount Television Show), and St. Martin's Press (a vampire series to be authored under the pseudonym, L.A. Banks). Ms. Esdaile lives and works in Philadelphia with her husband and children.