PRESLEIGH. She's The Pianist

The PROFESSIONAL & PRETTY Book Series is a pentalogy novel sequence, five individual books, each telling the story of a beautiful, confident, professional, and polished African American woman. While each book in the series is devoted to one character, these ladies have one thing in common: they all want us to know that women can be professional and pretty. These five protagonists remind us that women can don pretty hair, flawless makeup, and strut in high heels, all while being at the top of their games professionally. They prove to us that pretty girls can do things well, personifying beauty and brains. They have the respect of fellow women workers, their contemporaries, and they command the respect of high‑profile men. Why? Because the execution of their expertise is undeniable. They are very good at what they do. The fact that they look good doing it is a bonus.

The second book in this series is Presleigh’s story. Presleigh Montgomery is a pianist.

Each chapter title in the Presleigh Montgomery story is also the title of a song, because her life is all about music. She is an accomplished, world‑renowned classical pianist who lives in the Dorian‑Silversmith metroplex. The “Dorian” of these twin cities was named for Dr. L. Robert Dorian, a prominent dentist who help found the city. Dr. Dorian was beloved, and became a dentist because of his empathy. He believed nothing hurt like dental pain, and often served his clients for free, just so they would feel better. The “Silversmith” part of the name is for the region’s silver mining and excavation.

Back in the day, DSil, as it’s now referred to by its residents, was a small town that was both charming and endearing. Then the discovery of silver there put it on the map, and it became the heart of the silver mining industry. To let Mr. Bernard Daringer “BD” Liston tell it, extracting silver from the earth was extremely hard, grueling, back‑breaking work. And he should know. He did it for 45 years. According to an award‑winning article written in the town newspaper, The DSil Daily Observer, BD was part of the mining crew who first discovered silver in the city.

Since that time, DSil has grown into a bustling metropolis of over six million people. There are quiet neighborhoods with families and yards and pools. There are highways lined with shiny, pricey vehicles in bumper‑to‑bumper traffic. There are millennials and Gen Z’ers living in high‑rises, using Lift and Uber, or riding on scooters to get to their office cubicles. They prefer to carry no mortgages and to make no monthly car payments, whether to lease them or to buy them.

Presleigh, her husband Clark, their son Maxwell, and their daughter Malaya, have lived here for more than a decade. Clark is also a musician. He’s a guitarist. Their son Maxwell is exceptionally smart. Even at his young age, it’s apparent that he has the intellect to become a rocket scientist, or anything else he’d like to be. Maxey has his sights set on becoming a quarterback in the NFL.

Their daughter Malaya is into ballet. Hearing the sounds of her mom’s rich piano playing flowing from the great room in their house has no doubt influenced her love for the art of this dance. The minute Presleigh’s fingers begin to glide across those piano keys, Malaya’s arms and legs take on lives of their own. Before her mom can get through the first measure of her sheet music, Malaya leaps onto her tippy toes.

During the course of her career, Presleigh has performed all over the world. Everything has been seamless, that is, until a hand injury derails and nearly puts an end to her career. As gifted as she is, she has to rely on God, the Giver of that gift, to bring her through the nightmare of facing what could very well be the end of life as she knows it.