Insane Circumstances
In the first book in the Circumstances series, Insane Circumstances, Brandi L. Brown hears the fate of a college student who experiences hazing and is leaving the college because it is more than she can bear. Images of the distraught young lady evoke memories of her own college days, ones that had lain dormant for a couple of decades. She leaves work with the intent of writing a letter of consolation to the university student who is returning home. Under the watchful eye of her husband, she begins to tell her own story.
The protagonist’s own story takes place during early integration, and she is among the first colored students to get a scholarship to Claxville University. Her parents do not want her to attend, but she does. While at the university she does experience some hazing and other acts that support her parents’ arguments about her being unable to succeed at the college.
The psychologically traumatized Brandi also has a chance meeting with a taxi driver who proves to be more than that…Thaddeus Jerome Pennington becomes her friend, that listening ear that she needs, and soon is the love interest and support she needs to continue at the school.
When the story begins, it is Brandi Leigh Brown’s story. As events happen, the male character (Taxi) frequently appears. A trip to her hometown in Wester with her ends when a storm comes and the duo returns to Claxville prematurely. The man drops her at the dorm and disappears.
Unforeseen Circumstances
The saga of the Browns and the Penningtons continues in the second novel in the series, Unforeseen Circumstances, a contemporary fiction that begins, “And when they were older.” The focus shifts to Thaddeus Jerome Pennington, the male character in the trilogy. Readers learn more about Brandi’s all-consuming love for the extraordinary man. It begins, “And when they were older.” Brandi reflects on a time when she thought she had lost the man, but he returns to her. The couple marries and become successful business owners who support the community through their philanthropic efforts. Together, they also face challenges including an unexpected illness and its vestiges.
Extreme Circumstances
The final book in the trilogy is Extreme Circumstances, a tale about Penningtons’ interventions on behalf of Brandi’s sister, Caroline. The registered nurse who had lived with TJ and Brandi after she graduated from high school finds herself tangled in a web of lies, deception, and abuse. She turns to her Claxville relatives for temporary respite, but extreme circumstances leaves her questioning her ability to maintain her sanity, and to survive, and to move forward.
Forbidden Love in Timbuktu
Kieta Toures, a native of Timbuktu, finds herself in America trying to sort out how she got there. Her only memories are of how her life changed after she met Mahmoudou Ibrahaim. The two fell in love, and their relationship flourished until insurgents came, bringing new rules for citizens to follow. Their desire to be together trumped the law. Although they exercised caution, they were caught. She was captured and punished but did not know what happened to him—a fate that should have ended their story. However, that was just the beginning of a riveting tale, Forbidden Love in Timbuktu (Woman from Another Land).
This book started with an AP story in newspapers, one that left Smith with questions. With her imagination, she fills in the blanks and completes this story.