Leave of Absence by S. Renée Bess

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.