Just Say No! : A Novel

Omar Tyree, New York Times and Blackboard bestselling author and winner of the 2001 NAACP Image Award for literary fiction, delivers a powerful story of two childhood friends lured into the sex, drugs, money, and madness of R&B stardom. Darin Harmon and John Williams, two good church boys from Charlotte, North Carolina, have been best friends since they were toddlers. Both use their God-given talents to breeze through high school, and both are awarded scholarships to North Carolina A&T State University: Darin for football, and John for music. During their sophomore year, John, the introverted momma's boy, showcases his musical genius in a homecoming talent show that changes both their lives forever. John's romantic crooning earns him the nickname "Loverboy." As his R&B career begins, he asks Darin to tag along as his manager. Darin wants no part in the music scene and has big dreams of his own, but when he suffers a season-ending football injury, he finally agrees to hop on the "Loverboy" bandwagon. The two set out to turn John into an R&B superstar. For Darin, dealing with John's rising fame and fortune proves a difficult challenge. The more the two adapt to the dangerous celebrity lifestyle of big-time money, fast women, and recreational drugs, the harder it gets for both of them to "just say no!" With its page-turning narrative and irresistible characters, Just Say No! is destined to become another urban-American classic from Omar Tyree.

Omar Tyree is an author, journalist, lecturer, and poet. His books include Flyy Girl, For the Love of Money, A Do Right Man, Sweet St. Louis, Single Mom, Capital City, and BattleZone. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

To learn more about Omar Tyree, visit his Web site at www.OmarTyree.com.