A New York Times Bestselling novel by the late E. Lynn Harris

E. Lynn Harris

Everette "E." Lynn Harris was an American author. Openly gay, he was best known for his depictions of African American men who were on the down-low and closeted...

. This was the last novel published by the author who died just months before its release.

Synopsis

Mama Dearest depics the return of the diva actress Yancey Harrington Braxton and her con artist of a mother, Ava Middlebrooks, from some Harris' early works.

Yancey and Ava both are trying to fight their way back to the lives they are so accustomed to living. Having just been released from prison, Ava is looking for the easy back to her next royalty status and the finer things in life that come along with it. While Yancey is fighting her way back to her celebrity status as a Broadway star and recording artist. Both are willing to do so much to get back what they had.

Tribute Tour

Upon the release of this novel, several friends and authors came together to perform a tribute tour in Harris's honor. Eric Jerome Dickey

Eric Jerome Dickey

Eric Jerome Dickey is a New York Times best-selling American author best known for his novels about contemporary African-American life...

, RM Johnson

RM Johnson

RM Johnson is an Essence Magazine bestselling author with nine adult urban fiction and one young adult fiction novels under his belt. He is best known for his compelling stories of love, sex, and the varies different challenges the African American community have to face...

, Tracie Howard, Tina McElroy Ansa

Tina McElroy Ansa

Tina McElroy Ansa is an African American novelist, filmmaker, teacher, and journalist. Born Tina McElroy to Walter J. and Nellie McElroy in Macon, Georgia, where she grew up in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood...

, Clarence Nero, and Laura Gilmore hosted the release event on September 22, 2009 at Outwrite Book in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. Other events where hosted on September 25, 2009 in New York, NY; Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, and other cities around the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 by authors such as Dr. Bertice Berry, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Victoria Christopher Murray, ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Mary B. Morrison and more.