The Official Website of Michael T. Owens

Coming Soon!

Excerpt: May 17, 2006, 5:49 pm

I call my journal, "The Drama Files" because there's only 3 things guaranteed in life. That's death, taxes, and drama. I got drama at work, drama at home, drama everywhere. Soon I’ll be twenty-three. For most of my life, not counting when I was a baby, I’ve either been in some drama or ran from it. I should correct myself, ALL of my life INCLUDING when I was a baby, I’ve been in some drama or either run from it. I was born in drama let my mother tell it. “Twleve hours of the worse pain ever. That’s what you put your poor mother through. My eyes were blurry, my mouth was dry. Boy, you hurt so bad, I started cursing in Spanish. I DON’T EVEN KNOW SPANISH, Thelonious Michael Willingham!” She tells me this all the time. It’s usually when I ask for something or if she wants to make me feel guilty about something. I hate the name Thelonious Willingham. For one thing, it’s too long. My friends call me T-Double for short. In elementary school, my name was so long, I always ran out of room when I wrote it at the top of my paper. My father said I should be proud to be named after the great jazz musician Thelonious Monk. He picked that name because he loves jazz. Ma likes R&B and gave me the middle name “Michael”. When I was born, she was a die-hard Michael Jackson fan.

A collection of sports stories—rough, rugged, and raw! When it’s game time, nobody wants to get clowned. You either flex your skills and man up or shut up! Don’t Hate the Game puts you in the action on and off the fields, courts, and in the boxing rings. As you journey from locker rooms to boardrooms, from inner city hoods to Hollywood, keep one thing in mind. You can hate the players, coaches, and the teams but please don’t hate the game!

Contributors: Roland Rogers, Vernacular, Tony Lindsay, Michael T. Owens, Eric James Fullilove, Robert Fleming, Edwardo Jackson, Kimani Kinyua, Rich Fitzgerald, Dan Hop, G. Dan Buford, Phillip Thomas Duck, and William Fredrick Cooper.

Michael T. Owens is one of the literary industry's most promising voices with a writing style Urban Reviews calls "a welcome change in today's African American fiction." In perhaps his most intriguing novel, Owens delivers To Be Happy, a powerful story about the drama-filled lives of two roommates in Atlanta.

Life has been tough for hairstylist Tracey Seaver. Losing both parents, battling weight problems and a low self esteem hasn't been easy. But out of nowhere a handsome prince charming appears, offering a new chance at love and happiness. The only thing standing in the way is a revengeful ex-boyfriend. Tracey's roommate Rejinald Manning offers support, but he's dealing with issues of his own.

Since childhood Rejinald has always felt trapped in the wrong body. When he decides to live life as a woman, Rejina aka "JiJi" is born. Now the drama really begins. He's alienated from family, friends, and banned from his own church. To ease the pain, he finds comfort in drugs, sex, and alcohol. Thanks to a prayerful Aunt, he changes his ways and turns his life around. Everything is fine until secrets from his dark past return to haunt him.

All Tracey and Rejina ever wanted was happiness. With so much drama in their lives, they doubt they'll ever find it. If they do, will they be able to enjoy it?

Click here to read a sample now!

Truth Be Told is a collection of short stories written by some of today's hottest Black male authors. Despite the varying perspectives, these stories examine the intricacies of relationships from single to married life and everything in between, giving new meaning to the phrase, "keepin' it real." These stories not only keep it real, but they keep it sexy, exciting, fun, and scorching hot! Consider this a front row seat on a thrill ride you won't forget! Read an excerpt from each story right here!

Give a 20 year old basketball star lots of money, fame, and a plush Los Angeles condo and you're asking for trouble. That's exactly what's in store for Morris "Mookie" Lovett. Along with his girlfriend Pam Rivera, and best friend Fatimus Brown, Mookie leaves his sheltered life in suburban Orlando and heads for glitzy Los Angeles. Against his parents' wishes, he drops college, basketball, and everything else to follow his dream of becoming a chart-topping rapper. With hot lyrical skills, good looks, and charisma, he feels he'll be a star in no time. It doesn't take long for the fast life to send him spiraling towards self-destruction.

Look for Michael's short story, 'More Than Meets the Eyes' in the anthology: Intimacy: Erotic Stories of Love, Lust, and Marriage by Black Men. In this follow-up to the award-winning After Hours, editor Robert Fleming brings together another collection of erotic stories written by today's best black male writers.

K. Elliott, an Essence Best-selling author presents: Fetish: A Compilation of Erotic Stories. Look for Michael's contribution entitled: "Good Enough to Eat."

Pick-Up Lines, is a comedic, yet cautionary tale of how a guy's search for a dream girl leads to more than he bargained for. Told from a male and female perspective, Michael T. Owens introduces us to two twenty-somethings in search of happiness. Leron King is fed up with women who can’t keep his interest. And Michelle Barkley is tired of her workaholic fiancé who touches his laptop more than her. When Leron and Michelle bump into each other in downtown Atlanta, things quickly change. At the onset, each tries to resolve the issues in their lives. For Leron, the complication is a one-nightstand who refuses to go away and whose psychotic tendencies flare when rejected. Using lies, manipulation and deceit, she’s intent on making his life a living nightmare. Meanwhile, Michelle deals with a stressful job, demanding boss, and a persistent boyfriend who can’t fathom her not wanting to marry him. Leron and Michelle struggle to stay together despite the drama that surrounds them. Will the relationship survive or will outside forces tear them apart?