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by Scarlet Ibis James (Author), D. James Joseph (Editor)
Contemporary Literary Fiction. Black Diaspora Fiction. Romance and Domestic Suspense.
Scarlet Yearnings Beyond First Glance is a genre-blending short story collection that explores what happens after attraction. Across twelve interconnected stories set in New York, Toronto, and Chicago, women from diverse cultures navigate second chances, fractured friendships, marriages under strain, and the private reckonings that follow desire.
Spanning Ghana, Trinidad, and North America, these character-driven narratives examine love as choice, effort, and maintenance rather than fantasy. A lifelong friendship unravels under silence. A marriage built on carefully guarded secrets begins to crack. A surgeon determined to move slowly toward love must confront the cost of vulnerability. In one story, a man wakes on the morning of his death. In another, a woman learns to see herself with tenderness for the first time.
While the stories share a lineage with Scarlet Yearnings: Stories of Love and Desire, this collection stands entirely on its own. Blending contemporary romance tropes with elements of speculative fiction and domestic suspense, Beyond First Glance offers emotionally real, discussion-worthy fiction for readers who value psychological depth and cultural specificity.
This Collector's Edition features narrative cover art by Nick Low, a dust jacket over a case-laminated book, and includes exclusive author content, character profiles, and a book discussion guide.
For readers who love intimate, character-driven short story collections that stay with you in conversation, memory, and reflection.
