What is the title of your latest release?
AN APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
When an ambitious judge and a plaintiff’s attorney collide in a high-stakes case, an earthquake, online attacks, and strict ethical lines force them to decide whether protecting their careers means sacrificing the love neither of them expected.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I practiced law for over a decade in downtown Los Angeles, and it is my adopted hometown. I wanted the book to capture the sights, sounds, and flavor of practicing there.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
This is a tough question. At the start of the book, Judge Mahalia Jackson is aloof and career driven. I think I would be intimidated by her. By the end, she has changed. After career and personal setbacks, her faith has grown. She is still complex and brilliant, but much more approachable.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Chivalrous, driven, and compassionate.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Writing is a team effort. The various rounds of editing and polishing only make it better.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
My writing process is chaotic. I write scenes out of order as they occur to me. Some chapters I polish repeatedly, while others I leave untouched until the manuscript is complete.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Jasmine green tea by Rishi. It may not be very foodie, but it is the fuel that keeps me writing.
Describe your writing space or office!
I wish I had a dedicated writing space, but I do not. I write on my phone. I also write in coffee shops, the library, or any flat, uncluttered surface in my house.
Who is an author you admire?
There are many, but Jaime Jo Wright is one of them. She has an impressive output and a sharp understanding of the business side of writing.
Is there a book that changed your life?
The nonfiction book Losing My Cool: How 15,000 Books Beat Hip-Hop Culture by Thomas Chatterton Williams. His father’s approach to education reshaped how we raised our children.
Tell us about when you got “the call.”
I had a lot happening in my life, and I am terrible at pausing to celebrate big moments. I was honored and humbled to sign with Kregel, but unfortunately, the exact moment my agent called is lost to me.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read across genres—Agatha Christie, Christian romance, historical fiction. I’ve recently discovered hockey romances.
What’s your favorite movie?
My kids tell me I constantly quote Moneyball. I love A Few Good Men for the courtroom scenes and almost anything directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
What is your favorite season?
Fall. I love changing leaves and the absence of humidity.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
My birthday and my kids’ birthdays fall during Christmas week. Chaos seems to be the theme of my life, and Christmas birthday week is no exception.
What’s a recent TV show, movie, book, or podcast you highly recommend?
The new Matlock reboot starring Kathy Bates and Elsbeth. I am a sucker for TV shows featuring lawyers and legal cases.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Breakfast food. Eggs, bacon, sausage.
What do you do when you have free time?
I watch Law & Order reruns and play WordFeud.
What can readers expect from you next?
Romantic legal dramas with courtroom scenes, high-stakes cases, faith journeys, and satisfying romances.
WITH LOVE FROM HARLEM by ReShonda Tate
Narrator: Lynnette R. Freeman
A Novel of Hazel Scott
From The Queen of Sugar Hill author ReShonda Tate—a new novel inspired by beloved Harlem jazz performer Hazel Scott and the equal parts exhilarating and tumultuous relationship that changed the course of her life.
Harlem, 1943. At just twenty-three, Hazel Scott is a woman on fire. A jazz prodigy, a glamorous film star, and a fierce advocate for civil rights, she’s breaking barriers and refusing to play by the rules. Then Adam Clayton Powell Jr. walks into her life. Harlem’s most electrifying preacher-turned-politician, Adam is as bold and unyielding as Hazel—charismatic, powerful…and married.
This kicks off a decades-long relationship that propels them into the center of a political and cultural revolution. As Hazel’s star rises, Adam takes the national stage in Congress and the couple becomes the toast of the country. But when their affair turns into a marriage, behind the glamorous façade is a battlefield of ego, ambition, and sacrifice. Forced to choose between her music and her family, Hazel must decide what she’s willing to lose—and what she refuses to give up.
Set against the pulsing backdrop of twentieth-century Harlem and featuring icons like Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin, With Love from Harlem is a sweeping, emotionally charged romantic drama, rich with historical detail. ReShonda Tate delivers a powerful portrait of love, art, and the price of being unforgettable.
Multicultural African-American | Romance Historical [ William Morrow Paperbacks, On Sale: January 27, 2026, Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780063421189 / eISBN: 9780063421202 ]
Buy WITH LOVE FROM HARLEM: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Libro.fm | Audible | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About ReShonda Tate
As the national bestselling author of more than 53 books, ReShonda Tate has the credentials, and the passion, to bring stories to life.
ReShonda writes both adult and teen fiction, as well as nonfiction. Her sophomore novel, Let the Church Say Amen, was made into a film directed by actress Regina King, and produced by TD Jakes and Queen Latifah.
ReShonda made her on-screen movie debut in the film, which was one of BET’s highest-rated programs. Her book, The Secret She Kept, was also made into a movie and aired on TV One. ReShonda made a cameo in that movie as well.
A highly sought-after motivational speaker and award-winning poet, ReShonda is the recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature for her book Say Amen, Again and was also nominated for her books Mama’s Boy and The Secret She Kept. She has received a plethora of distinguished awards and honors for her journalism, fiction, and poetry writing skills, including an induction into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame and a Texas Top Author honor. Considered one of the top African-American authors in the country, her books remain a staple on Bestseller’s lists and have been featured in USA Today, The Washington Post, Jet, People, Essence, and Ebony Magazines.
No Comments
Comments are closed.