Set in the early 1980s, book #1 of The Priscilla Trilogy portrays a bright, carefree, enterprising young woman firmly bound to her father--a Methodist minister and consummate politician about whom she has conflicted feelings. Shortly after she begins her career as an assistant professor of political science at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, her father asks her to relocate closer to home (Prendergast, New York). She contacts an Ohio state senator for whom she performed an internship during her graduate studies at The Ohio State University and with whom she had an affair. The senator offers her a job as his legislative aide. She accepts. The story is off and running. Throughout, Priscilla takes a deep look at the forces which made her what she is: her family roots in highly-segregated Mississippi, her upbringing in upstate New York where subtle racism leaves its scars despite her loving father's protection, a campus date rape that leaves her with unhealed wounds and, a scintillating season as a high-powered legislative aide in a life-altering political scandal. "Trilogy begins. M. J. Simms-Maddox's Priscilla dives into politics." Salisbury Post.   “A classic bildungsroman….” MARIE UMEH, author and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.   "Priscilla survives an affair with her boss, weathering it like a veteran from New York tabloid wars while writing a letter about her former allies that would have destroyed someone in real life." The AALBC, AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE BOOK CLUB.   "There are some great stories in whose form we identify an elevated piece of creative writing, fundamentally as the sole conception of a writer's innovative mind, premeditated through meticulous attention to craft and solemn devotion to her muse." African Literature Today, AFRICAN LITERATURE TODAY (Volume 36).   "'When writing a novel, a writer should create living people; people, not characters. A character is a caricature,' said Ernest Hemingway. A living person is precisely what M. J. Simms-Maddox created in her book." OSIRIS VALLEJO, 2017 National Book Author, Dominican Republic.   "The author is a true storyteller who keeps you on the edge of your seat." LAURA JOHNSON, Andrew Carnegie Library, Livingstone College.   "I didn't find anything objectionable. I rate M. J. Simms-Maddox's captivating story titled Priscilla five out of five stars." OnlineBookClub Review-PRISCILLA.

Book #2 in The Priscilla Trilogy begins as the bride pauses for an instant before walking down the aisle to marry a man she likes but does not love, and in that hesitant moment, a shot rings out, and then another. The groom falls. Blood stains the sanctuary. Priscilla J. "PJ" Austin--a magnetic, up-and-coming baby boomer--catches a glimpse of the shooter before everything blacks out for the bride. Set in the mid1980s, "Mystery in Harare" is a stylish, fast-paced, character-driven thriller that unravels the secrets behind this carnage at a Midwestern American black church. Priscilla's fortitude is sorely tried as she awakens, sometime later--sedated and confused, on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe--to face the adventure of her life. She is "stashed" away, more than once, down deep into the savannas and the wilds of southern Africa--Zimbabwe and apartheid-ruled South Africa--where she falls prey to the vicious South African Nationalist Movement's Patrol Guard. Along the way, there is mayhem, murder, mistaken identities, and a barbed reunion with Carlton Elliott Bernhardt, a swarthy, intrepid special operative who may be her one true love. Recipient of the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Award for Mystery & Mayhem. "The beautifully evoked African setting and accompanying descriptions make this a real stand-out in cerebral mysteries. Simms-Maddox brings the reader along, making us feel a part of the story, careening down the path with Priscilla in all her experiences. Indeed, the author creates in Priscilla an individual with a formidable spirit and charisma that will appeal to many readers. Mystery in Harare is undoubtedly a successful terrorism thriller novel and a good place to start understanding the underbelly of the period of Apartheid in South Africa and its implications on all of its citizenry." Chanticleer Book Awards Review.   "M. J. Simms-Maddox is an excellent writer. There is a Maqoma in (her)." THEMBA NGABA, Amava Heritage Publishing, Ltd.   "After having had the privilege and opportunity to read the manuscript before it was published, I have no doubt that this book—which is part of a trilogy—has broken new ground reflecting Priscilla's leading role in what could be described as mission impossible since the issue of Apartheid South Africa has always been sensitive." VIRGINIA PHIRI of Zimbabwe Women Writers.   "Mystery in Harare" and her first book, Priscilla Engaging in the Game of Politics, both indicate that it is time to come forth with stories that have not yet been told and that it is time to introduce new heroines, too." MICHAEL D. CONNOR, actor, director, writer, and professor of theater, Livingstone College.   "Politics and faith are prevalent throughout the novel, diversity, lots of symbolism … and all of the senses are used. I was particularly impressed with the relationships between the different people in Priscilla's life. Very descriptive, such as in the scene at the governor's mansion when Priscilla wears an outfit that is not typical of what the other women wear. That shows her sense of self-worth and her humility." KAREN K. ALEXANDER, KKA Architects and Mayor, City of Salisbury.   "The novel reflects how the political decisions we make here in America impact the lives of people in other places in the world, such as the enactment of the South African divestiture bill." OBAFEMI BALOGUN, Professor of Business Administration, Livingstone College.   "Simms-Maddox writes so well. I'm right there. She brings the animals and the people alive and makes the reader feel a strong presence in each scene. I particularly like her use of the Book of Judges." HELEN TURNER, Director of the Reading Center, Livingstone College.

It is time for Priscilla to become the woman she was meant to be.   It was the fall of 1987, one year after Priscilla returned from her first time in southern Africa. She resumed her PR business in Columbus, Ohio, and waited for something substantial to come across her desk. Then, one day, she received a handwritten note: “Interested in spearheading the marketing campaign for the next president?” She didn’t even recognize the signature, so she researched the presidential hopeful.   Priscilla rekindles her secret affair with her former lover, Carlton Bernhardt, who invites her to his family’s home in Bow Lake, New Hampshire. His parents—Emerson C. Bernhardt II, called “Father,” and Lady Chelsea—along with his sister, Arvana, a socialite and cocaine addict, and his surrogate father Ramses, who serves as a head butler of sorts—form an eccentric lot. The Bernhardts hail from Lebanon, where they made their fortune in the olive oil business. Lady Chelsea is the daughter of a land-rich yet capital-poor British duke. As for Ramses, he is the son of a concierge at a hotel in Egypt often frequented by the Bernhardts and has become like family.   During Priscilla’s visit, Arvana is accused of murdering her lover, Hans Verwoerd, who is also her cocaine supplier. However, Hans is more than that; he is a member of the SANM PG who is out to kill Priscilla, “the one who got away.”   Like her work as a legislative assistant in the Ohio Senate, Priscilla’s mettle is once again tested. At each interval, she demonstrates her political acumen, which annoys the campaign manager. As many who know Priscilla say, “There’s just something about her.” Priscilla seldom sees herself the way that others do.   Priscilla’s involvement in the presidential campaign places her in the spotlight. Twice, the terrorists who failed during her abduction to southern Africa closed in on her. The second time, Priscilla’s life hangs in the balance.   In the climax, an ambitious reporter reveals a long-held secret, prompting Priscilla to pause her work on the presidential campaign and perform the PR performance of her lifetime for herself.   By the end of the series’ epic adventures, Priscilla realizes that her world and her possibilities in love and work are far greater than the circumscribed realm of Ohio politics and her traditional family and that she’s also a darn good PR consultant. Timely. The author takes us by the hand and leads us into a world about the election of America’s first black president, whose background competes with the likes of the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. Just like many other prominent families prime their sons to become the president, so, too, do the Hollingsworths of Alabama. A fifth-generation Barbadian American, Fleetwood Marshall Hollingsworth, engages the only remaining challenge for his family’s legacy: the American presidency! Remember, though, this is a novel, and you may have to keep telling yourself that because it seems so real. However, as each scene unfolds, you will find yourself squirming in your seat and sometimes crying tears of joy and sorrow, especially when Priscilla’s (the protagonist’s) life hangs in the balance. The author also leads us by the hand as we dare tread behind the scenes into the realms of political power, the kind that protects its own. But by the end of this rollercoaster ride, your heart will be warmly filled with joy. MICHAEL D. CONNOR, actor/writer/theater director/professor.   “Refreshing to meet the author of a series about a contemporary African American woman comparable to Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins and Leonid McGill,” “Finally, a black female protagonist who is not a former slave, maid, prostitute, ….” and “The intimidating cover is captivating.” [Comments from book club members at the 2019 NATIONAL BLACK BOOK FESTIVAL]