Vivid (PB) (2021)

A call from a Baltimore reporter catapults a mother down memory lane in an unconventional coming-of-age story that poses the question: Who are you when your back is against the wall?

Sheri Calloway turns a job layoff into an opportunity to finally free herself from the weight of the stifling, generational family trauma which has long hovered over the town of Spruce Junction, North Carolina. She and her three children board a train to embark on a new life in Baltimore, Maryland to "make better moves".

Sheri is enthralled by everything Baltimore has to offer. She finds joy in walks around the Inner Harbor and gazing upon the picturesque city views from her office building's conference room window. But Sheri eventually learns that things are not always as they seem when she inadvertently comes face-to-face with a drug crisis that has Baltimore firmly in its grip.

When a series of unusual ailments befall Sheri's children, she realizes she must push past self-doubts and fear to awaken the power within. Sheri connects with a group of concerned parents, led by a larger-than-life widowed mother of four, to take on unethical medical researchers and casually indifferent politicians.

Inspired by actual events, Vivid is a story that spans time and space while illustrating how interconnected our journeys are and how it is never too late to become your own champion.

About the Author

Jana Jones has spent the last seventeen years traveling and working with various nonprofit and public service agencies across the country. In 2014, while living in Los Angeles, she created the Anansi Project, a creative writing program for youth and young adults. The finished product was a literary magazine called Anansi's Web. A Baltimore native, this is Jana's first novel. Find her at JanaJJones.com.