Oasis

A crippled economy changes Lola Jones' silver-spoon status to copper and threatens to rip her sheltered family from the upper echelons of society, dropping them into the rotten bowels of East St. Louis. Only one thing can save Lola's children from the claws of poverty, and that comes in the form of a million-dollar life insurance policy. It is, however, just a useless piece of paper unless she's dead. With that in mind, Lola vows to make the ultimate sacrifice for her children's well-being.There are two problems--she doesn't have the guts to kill herself, and her insurance doesn't pay out on suicides. With only days left before her family learns the true meaning of homelessness, Lola turns to Blas , a desensitized hit man with a "no turning back" policy, to execute her murder. To foot Blas 's upfront bill, Lola seeks prostitution. It's not long before the hole she's dug gets deeper.Living on the erotic edge leads her to an unforgettable sexual encounter with Mannish Major, a lonely married man with skeletons swinging in his closet. Their tryst explodes into a full-blown love affair that renews Lola's will to live. But not even a budding romance will cancel the expiration date Blas has set on Lola's soul. Now Lola and Mannish must make a final and desperate attempt to stop the hit man, or else they will die trying.

A fast-paced tale of greed—Push Comes to Shove examines the pitfalls and struggles that an honest family faces to survive the perils of financial woes.The bills are due again for Greg “GP” Patterson, but this time, they won’t get paid. He and his wife are facing robbery charges when a simple assault they committed goes bad. After a few days in jail, the Pattersons lose everything they own and risk losing their children forever. Luckily Aunty Jewels bails the Pattersons out, but GP must make some serious moves if he is to provide decent shelter for his family again. A visit to Squeeze, a villainous loan shark, leads to killer interest rates and a murderous default penalty. Nevertheless, GP accepts the terms. When GP gives Jewels the loan money to flip in a high-stakes credit card scheme, she gets robbed for every single dime. Now GP has to figure out how to pay his debt and gain the respect of his family again, but in the meantime, Jewels has already figured out how to make everybody pay. An entertaining, multicultural drama, Push Comes to Shove is a cautionary tale for today’s economically fraught times.