Crystal Lacey Winslow is the author of the Essence bestsellers The Criss Cross and Life, Love & Loneliness, as well as a book of poetry, Up Close & Personal. Her novel Sex, Sin & Brooklyn II is the sequel to her short story in the Essence bestselling anthology Four Degrees of Heat. The founder of Melodrama Publishing, Crystal operates her bookstore, Melodrama Books & Things, in Queens, New York. Visit her website at MelodramaPublishing.com.