Laine Bradley

I wasn’t looking for a man. I was looking for a mentor. When renowned photographer Luca Romano returned home to teach a photo storytelling workshop, Hamilton University was buzzing. But a campus-wide email warned us not to approach Luca if we weren’t selected to participate—and I wasn’t selected.

I don’t believe in objectifying men. I don’t catcall men. I don’t ogle the bodies of men. I don’t view men as objects of my affection rather than complex people with feelings, wants, and needs of their own. I don’t treat men the way society often treats women. I treat men the way I want to be treated as a woman - with respect! So, when Carlos ran into me while I was reviewing my interview questions in the park, it surprised me to see my photography classmate out of class. I was also surprised to see as much of him as I did.

I fell for William Grayson in a matter of minutes. The connection between us was undeniable, but our timing was off. I was dating someone and by the time I was single again, he was taken. And a year later, when we finally got together, it was clear that we were soul mates. But circumstances out of our control cut our time short.

Soledad Barnes has her life all planned out. Because, of course, she does. She plans everything. She designs everything. She fixes everything. She’s a domestic goddess who's never met a party she couldn't host or a charge she couldn't lead. The one with all the answers and the perfect vinaigrette for that summer salad. But none of her varied talents can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goes poof in a cloud of betrayal and disillusion.

Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything. It couldn’t save their marriage. Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she’s finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they’re always drawn back to each other, and now they’re beginning to wonder if they’re truly ready to let go of everything they once had.

Aaliyah is determined to celebrate her thirtieth birthday with a boyfriend. And after a failed blind date, the local bartender, Ahmad, suggests she joins a dating app. Filled with lies, catfish, and fetishizing, the wild world of online dating makes Aaliyah think she’s in over her head. And she is. But with her two best friends and a protective bartender by her side, what could go wrong?

After the introduction of a controversial criminal justice reform bill, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles grants Andre “Dre” Owens clemency. Suddenly, he’s forced back into a world that’s more complex than what he remembers. Most are skeptical that he deserves a second chance, and he is too, until a free-spirited dancer bounces into his life. Much to her family’s dismay, Natasha “Tash” Breaux dances to her own confusing beat. After a mutual friend thrusts them together, Natasha agrees to help Andre cope with his newfound freedom, but there’s a problem.

Desmond Simmons' life is at an impasse. After a tragic near-death experience, he’s left struggling to pick up the pieces of an existence that’s grown monotonous. He’s so sure he’s stuck until an old neighbor reappears, turning his new, uneventful life upside down. While reconnecting, the two embark on a journey that leaves them grappling with their new lives and falling back into a whimsical world full of secrets they created as children to escape reality. They soon learn that outrunning the truth isn’t as easy as it once was, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try.

Josiah Joseph is trouble - at least that’s what everyone says about him. Jade Taylor can’t help but to agree with their sentiments. He’s a hotheaded football player and one of her most lackluster students. She’s a young mother and a laser-focused teacher’s assistant, counting the days until graduation.

Dominic DeBlanc is a wayward street hustler and part-time rapper constantly running from a past that haunts him. With a bleak outlook on life, he finds himself teetering between two worlds - a seedy one where he’s not guaranteed to see his 22nd birthday, and a promising one that might bring him recognition for his talent. After a chance encounter with a peculiar waitress, he finds himself engulfed in a friendship he never knew he needed. However, his complex life and reckless decisions challenge their already complicated bond....