HBIC By Caroline McGill

“One of the industry’s most underrated female authors takes you on another thrilling ride through the streets ofBrooklyn.”

K’wan, Best Selling Author

 

 “Great story by a much slept-on author who keeps it authentic and street while cleverly weaving a great tale. 5 star read!”

 

JaQuavis Coleman, New York Times Best Selling Author

 “Caroline McGill is Urban Lit’s best kept secret, but that’s all about to change once HBIC drops.  …And a new Queen will be crowned.”

Treasure Blue, Best Selling Author

Take a walk in the shoes of Elle Mitchell. She came up in the church but quickly became fascinated with the underworld. The youngest sister of three, she has something to prove. Street smart and book smart, Elle will stop at nothing to get rich quick. Determined, she sets out to be Head Bitch In Charge.

But HBIC is a position to be earned and the stakes are high. Ain’t no easy road to riches when treading down a path of unrighteousness. Prosperity spawns adversity and enemies. Only one can fill the shoes of HBIC. Delve into these pages to see just how much those shoes cost.

Caroline McGill is back with a BANG! Prepare to be sucked into a world where money and power rules, and will ultimately destroy relationships… and even lives. Readers will love the new drama-filled “HBIC” series as much they love the “A Dollar Outta Fifteen Cent” series.

Excerpt:

 

“For what shall it profit a man,

if he shall gain the whole world,

and lose his own soul?”

Mark 8:36

Prologue

 

1981

Brooklyn, NY

 

 

In a crowded Brooklyn church in the heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant, a young woman sat at a piano pounding on the keys and directing three little girls with the voices of angels. The young woman was especially proud because the singing cherubs belonged to her.  Her daughters, Etta, Elaine, and Elle were just ten, eight, and five years old. “The Mitchell Sisters” were singing their little hearts out and making a joyful noise unto the Lord. They had the church rocking to their rendition of the old gospel favorite, “Trouble In My Way.”

 

“Trouble in my way (trouble in my way) I have to cry sometimes (I have to cry sometimes) So much trouble (trouble in my way) I have to cry sometimes (I have to cry sometimes) I lay awake at night – but that’s alright (That’s alright) Because I know my Jesus (Jesus, he will fix it) I know my Jesus (Jesus he will fix it) After while …”

 

The little girls’ father, Elliot Mitchell, was proud and choked up by his big voiced babies. He sat in the third pew clapping along with the rest of the congregation. Elliot was a goodhearted gentleman who was a big dreamer. He had huge ideas of making his daughters stars. God had blessed him with those girls, so he had the makings of a successful gospel group. He wanted his girls to sing for God. He also wanted to capitalize off their talent. He didn’t see anything wrong with wanting to make a better way for his family.

Elliot glanced over at his wife, Ellen, who was signaling their daughters to cut the song. Their big voiced eight-year-old, little Miss Elaine Twyla, was singing lead. When she got into the groove she hated to turn the microphone loose. Elliot caught his wife’s eye, and they smiled at each other. Their girls were born to sing.

Elliot was the type of man who was driven by his ideas and unafraid to put them into effect. That was why his family had something. At just twenty-eight years of age, he owned the 4-story building his family resided in, as well as a business on the same street.

He and Ellen were in love and they were a match made in heaven. Both were from the same small town in North Carolina. Elliot courted Ellen at age fourteen, and they remained high school sweethearts who later got married the year they turned eighteen. Ellen was a southern bell who had the class and style of Jackie Onassis. She believed in her man and followed him to New York City, where he promised to take care of her like she was the First Lady. They purchased their first house at nineteen, and she gave birth to their first daughter, Etta, at twenty.

Elliot adored Ellen. He owed her his life because to some extent, she had saved him. He was from a family of hustlers. They were about money so education wasn’t necessarily a priority. His mother, Sadie, sold bootleg liquor all night to support them when his father went out and got drunk and spent all the money earned from their puck wood business on other women. So she slept late some mornings.  If he and his brothers hadn’t gotten themselves up for school some days, they would have never gotten there on time.

As Elliot got older, he got wrapped up in the nightlife and hustle and bustle of his family’s activities. There were juke joints and liquor houses along the roadside in his community. They were owned by his aunts and uncles, who had reputations so feared folks dubbed their community Little Korea, comparing it to The Korean War fought in the early 1950’s. But they couldn’t get enough of it. Folks came from afar to indulge in the mischief Little Korea had to offer, so there was action going on all night.

Elliot often kept late hours and had the luxury of deciding whether or not he wanted to attend school. But Ellen was so pretty and sweet, he went as much as he could. He’d been smitten with her ever since seventh grade. She was the main reason he went to school everyday. And his fear of being rejected by her and labeled a dummy made him study hard to impress her with his intelligence. She was smart and seemed to get good grades effortlessly. Trying to impress her had motivated him to finish school.

They graduated from high school in May, 1968 and got married that December on Christmas Eve. A few months later, they picked up and moved to New York City. They tried living in Queens, but later settled in the borough of Brooklyn.

After Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, angry Blacks were determined to tear down the establishment so they vandalized, looted, and burned cities across the country. Brooklyn was no exception. Some of its neighborhoods suffered vastly. As a result, Whites began to relocate. Property values declined drastically, allowing Elliot to purchase his first house for a little more than a dollar and a dream.

Now all these years later, he and his wife were well respected pillars in their community. Ellen played the piano in church and directed the choir. She was his better half and she was a great mom to his daughters.

They had three girls but Elliot vowed that they would all be like him. He grew up with six brothers so he didn’t really know how to be gentle. He often made his girls wrestle and tussle like boys. And he had big plans for them. He envisioned that they would all be women of power and head their own empires one day. They would be in charge, no matter what society said about women being unequal. The year was 1981, and times were changing.

Caroline McGill is the best-selling author of the highly acclaimed, award winning “A Dollar Outta Fifteen Cent” series (parts 1 – 4). The self-published prolific Virgo also penned the rave, controversial novel, “Sex as a Weapon,” a steamy, eye-opening tale about AIDS awareness. Her latest novel “HBIC: Head Bitch In Charge” is based on her life story, and has been hailed as one of her best.

Caroline McGill has penned and contributed to eight 5-star rated novels to date, including a stellar anthology she published called “Guns & Roses: Street Stories of Sex, Sin and Survival.” Caroline has also published the phenomenal two book series, “Anything for Profit” 1 & 2 by author Justin “Amen” Floyd. Caroline is currently residing in Brooklyn, New York. She is working to promote her latest novel “HBIC: Head Bitch In Charge” and writing the fifth installment in the “A Dollar Outta Fifteen Cent” series.

MEET Caroline McGill:  President/HBIC at Synergy Publications

What type of work were you doing before you launched Synergy Publications in 2004?

CM:      Prior to launching Synergy Publications I worked a few odd jobs and also did lots of illegal stuff I’m not proud of.  The life I was living, I am fortunate to have bypassed death or a lengthy prison sentence.  I wanted money the fast way, and didn’t apologize for the ways I earned it.  Then in the year 2000 I had an “aha moment” and realized that enough was enough. I was getting older.  Age thirty was approaching in five years, so I was determined to get my life together.

During my enlightenment period I decided to go back to school.  I enrolled in a community college in North Carolina fulltime and pursued a degree.  I earned my AAS in Business Administration in 2002.  Armed with blind faith and eager to make a positive turnaround in my life, I started working on a novel that was loosely based on the crazy life I had lived prior to my turnaround.

Why did you venture into the publishing business?

I wanted to be my own boss so my dream was to form a legitimate business.  Overcome with the entrepreneurial spirit, I moved back New York and obtained a real estate license to supplement my income while I figured out what my calling was.  I rented out apartments to pay the bills, meanwhile, brainstorming to come up with a product to sell.

I continued to work on my novel in my spare time and then made the decision to self-publish my debut novel, a semi-autobiographic tale of lust, love, and betrayal called “A Dollar Outta Fifteen Cent.”  I formed Synergy Publications in 2004 and haven’t looked back.  God is good.

Is it true that you consider Synergy Publications to be the home of conscious street literature? If so, what is it about the books you write and publish that makes you state this?

CM:   All of the books I write and publish contain underlying messages.  I make it a point to raise awareness by touching on issues that matter.  Important issues that need to be addressed.  I found a clever subliminal way to share life lessons, and I take pride in knowing that my efforts aren’t in vain.  I get calls, emails and messages from our readers all the time.  They get it!  And they appreciate it.  They let me know.

What is the S.O.S. AIDS Awareness Campaign? When and why did you found this organization and what types of benefits are offered through the organization?

CM:     My first novel, “A Dollar Outta Fifteen Cent” was the inspiration behind me founding the S.O.S. (Saving Our Selves) AIDS Awareness Campaign.  One of the main characters in the story contracts HIV in a startling jaw-dropping way, and things sort of take a turn for the worse.  The feedback I got from my readers was phenomenal.  I always place my direct phone number and contact info in the back of all my books, so they let me know how much they appreciated the fact that I had opened their eyes.  A lot of them told me they were going to get tested for the first time.

That good news, along with the horror stories I heard about the alarming rate we (Black women) were being infected with the Virus, moved me to do something.  My demographic was being destroyed by this epidemic.  S.O.S. (Saving Our Selves) is a campaign fueled on educating the minority community on fighting the AIDS epidemic.  This AIDS Awareness Campaign was created for us to take the initiative to protect ourselves.  Women and men alike.  S.O.S. does stuff like talk to the youth and hand out informative pamphlets and brochures about STDs.  We also distribute free condoms and we direct folks in the right direction for counseling and testing.  And we offer a platform to talk about these issues.  We do it because we care.

What advice would you give to authors and other entrepreneurs thinking about starting their own book publishing company?

CM:      My advice to aspiring publishers is read and research.  Do your homework!  This is a business that requires hard work and should be taken seriously.  The market is currently saturated.  It seems like everybody and their mama wrote a book.  But during the years I’ve been in the business I’ve seen a lot of authors and publishers come and go.  To have staying power you must stay informed and be innovative.  Learn the business before you venture into it to avoid costly mistakes.  Last but not least, publish material you will be proud to stand by.  Go at it for the long run and don’t just try to capitalize off the here and now. This can be a lucrative business to a person who respects it and treats it with professionalism.

Why should people read your books?

People should read my books if they are looking for something outside of the norm that they will love, learn from and be thoroughly entertained by.

What’s next for Caroline McGill and Synergy Publications? Where would you like to see yourself and your company two to three years from now?

CM:      We are heading for the film business.  We will soon be bringing my best-selling “A Dollar Outta Fifteen Cent” book series to life as a web series.  We’re currently in the pre-production stage.  After that Synergy will venture into producing movies and other projects based on our books.  We’re gonna try to take on Hollywood next.

 

Contact Caroline:

Email address:  [email protected]

Facebook Link:   http://www.facebook.com/caroline.mcgill.142

Twitter Link:  https://twitter.com/CAROLINEMCGILL

Website and bookstore where the book can be bought:  www.SynergyPublications.com

Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.  Also available on Nook and Kindle… Kindle link:

http://www.amazon.com/HBIC-Bitch-Charge-E-book-ebook/dp/B008DPFT14/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t