But Jaie’s arrogance begins to slip away the day she meets Terez Overton, a woman whose ethnicity matches hers, but whose background is the exact opposite. And then Jaie’s confidence vanishes completely with the arrival of a scheming ex-lover, Seneca Wilson, who is armed with the nightmarish recollections of an unsolved murder and threatens to hold all of Jaie’s future happiness hostage. How will Jaie deal with her past’s truths and their spirit-breaking power?

To watch a promotional video, click here.

To listen to Renée read chapter one of "Breaking Jaie", click here.

To read Renée's blog, "Why I wrote "Breaking Jaie," go to http://www.myspace.com/regalcrest.

Leave of Absence is the story of a small group of women, some African-American and some not, some lesbian and some not, who have bonded through their work at Allerton University. Within this group of diverse characters are Corey Lomax, who is recovering from the betrayal of her ex-lover, Jennifer Renfrew, and the writer-teacher, Kinshasa Jordan, who is fleeing an abusive relationship and accepting the university's invitation to be its writer-in-residence. Both Corey and Kinshasa are hell bent on avoiding any romantic entanglements as they go about their lives balancing the rewards and rigors of "TAAWUWBBAL" (teaching at a white university while being black and lesbian"). As the plot unfolds, so do secrets, relationships and desires.