You see them all the time on 125th Street. Tables covered with books that have been dubbed “street lit.” The writers follow the tradition of authors like Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim who documented the culture of tough urban streets.

Adding to the genre is a high school drop out who goes by the pen name Jacki Simmons. Jacki wrote her first book during her free time and was able to sell it to a publisher that specializes in street lit.

Now Jacki is back on track with her life. She has returned to school to get her diploma when she isn’t on tour and attending book signings. Her books are sold in independent bookstores like Hue-Man and Melodrama Books. They are also available on Amazon.com and of course the vendor’s tables along 125th Street.

Jacki’s debut novel Stripped is typical of the genre. It tells the story of a female college student that takes up stripping after losing her fiance. It’s a tale that is a far cry from the life lived by Simmons, a Harlemite.

“I never actually expected it. I never thought it was going to happen,” said Simmons, who still lives at home with her family and pays her bills with a day job at Babies “R” Us in Yonkers. “It was a shock.”