Available nowThe Weight He Carries
The Plight of the Black Man in America
An unflinching look at the burden carried in silence, and the dignity that refuses to be put down.
NonfictionSocial CommentaryMemoir
Audiobooks
All audiobooks will be live August 1st. Browse the catalog →
New Release
Under the Purple Umbrella
by Ramon Lyles, Author
A Novel of Arizona, Italy, and the Boy Between
A love story that walks the cobblestones of northern Italy, held together by a single purple umbrella and everything left unsaid beneath it.
About the Book
“Under the Purple Umbrella is Ramon Lyles' first novel, a slow-burning story set against the rooftops, balconies, and rain-slick streets of the Veneto. It follows two lives drawn together by chance, kept close by longing, and tested by the choices only travelers understand. Lyrical, intimate, and quietly devastating, it is a book about the seasons a person carries with them long after the trip is over.”
FictionLiterary NovelRomance
The Collection
More from Ramon
A growing shelf of fiction and nonfiction that sits with hard questions and refuses easy answers.
Available now
Available nowTwo Christianities
An Onlooker's Case for the Bible Over the Movement That Claims It
An onlooker reads what the Bible says, watches the movement that claims it, and asks where the two stopped matching.
NonfictionFaithCultural Criticism
Available nowJust My Thoughts
Reflections from Years of Posts, Conversations, and Morning Thoughts
A small book of honest thoughts, the kind you keep to yourself until somebody quiet enough asks what you are really thinking.
NonfictionReflectionsEssays
Available nowIf You Want a Good Woman
Be a Better Man
Eight lines that grew into fifteen chapters, a plain-spoken book about follow-through, honesty, and the man a good woman is actually looking for.
NonfictionRelationshipsPersonal Growth
Available nowThe Right and Wrong Time
When Love Arrives Before You're Ready
A slow-burn novel about friendship, growth, and the fear of being loved on time.
FictionLiterary NovelRomance
From the Blog
Notes & release news
July 23, 2026•Release
The Right and Wrong Time is live
The new novel is out. A slow-burn love story about two people who meet at exactly the right table on exactly the wrong night.
Read the post →
July 18, 2026•Site Update
Audiobooks are now on the website
Every listed title now has a listening sample on the site, and full audiobooks are available for purchase directly at ramonsbooks.com.
Read the post →July 8, 2026•Release
Under the Purple Umbrella is here
The first novel is live. A love story set in the Veneto, built from longing, rain, and the things people leave unsaid.
Read the post →Reader Notes
What readers are saying
“I just started reading Under The Purple Umbrella, and I'm LOVING the characterization! I feel as if I'm standing nearby watching Clouds and Ronnie fall in love! So far, I'm hooked!”
Jackie Lyles Kersey · Facebook
On Under the Purple Umbrella
“Ramon writes like a man who is not trying to win an argument. He is trying to tell the truth. I put the book down twice just to think.”
Marcus · Atlanta, GA
On The Weight He Carries
“I have never read a book that made me look at my own church this honestly. It is fair, it is grounded in scripture, and it does not flinch.”
Denise · Chicago, IL
On Two Christianities
“Under the Purple Umbrella pulled me in on the first page. I felt the rain, I felt the ache. A love story that respects its reader.”
Alicia · Brooklyn, NY
On Under the Purple Umbrella
The Author
Ramon
Lyles
Ramon Lyles writes nonfiction that refuses to flinch. His books read the Bible on its own terms, sit with the weight of the American story, and ask readers to look before they answer.
New titles arrive as they are written. Subscribers hear first.
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