After emerging as a staunch advocate for voter mobilization last election season, Stacey Abrams is no stranger to the national spotlight. Now, the 47-year-old is gaining much attention for the re-release of three of her romance novels in 2022.
On Tuesday, Berkley announced that it had acquired the rights to republish three of Abrams’ out-of-print novels that she penned under her nom de plume of Selena Montgomery almost 20 years ago. Berkley, which is a Penguin Random House imprint, will reissue the books in 2022.
“As my first novels, they remain incredibly special to me,” Abrams said in a statement, per AP News. “The characters and their adventures are what I’d wished to read as a young Black woman — stories that showcase women of color as nuanced, determined, and exciting. As Selena and as Stacey, I am proud to be a part of the romance writing community and excited that Berkley is reintroducing these stories for new readers and faithful fans.”
And under a slight coincidence, the book releases fall on the year of the politician’s potential run for governor. In 2018, Abrams rose to the national scene during her gubernatorial race which quickly became the center of the conversation on disenfranchisement as closed precincts and voting equipment failures were cited across the state. This past election cycle Abrams has been widely recognized for increasing voter-turnout that would flip Georgia blue and subsequently sent Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate.
The three books that will be released next year — “Rules of Engagement,” “The Art of Desire” and “Power of Persuasion” — are a part of the eight novels that the voting rights activist has written under her pseudonym. Her first book, “Rules of Engagement,” was written during the politician’s third year as a student at Yale University. “The act of writing is integral to who I am,” she said in a 2018 interview with the Washington Post. “I’m a writer, a politician, a tax attorney, a civic leader and an entrepreneur. I am proud of what I’ve accomplished.” Her latest book, “While Justice Sleeps,” debuts later this month from Doubleday.
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