Magical People, Places, Sleuths & Wise Women

Anthologies - fantastical worlds, multifaceted characters, engaging themes, adventurous journeys

Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction

edited by Sheree Renee Thomas, Oghenechovwe Ekpeki, Zelda Knight

Tordotcom, November 2022

We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2021

edited by L.D. Lewis, Charles Payseur

Neon Hemlock Press, October 2022

All Kinds of Love

Witchful Thinking (Elemental Love #1) by Celestine Martin

contemporary speculative romance

Forever, September 2022

To avoid spoilers, my general feeling is that the author of this delightfully layered and whimsical love story about finding one's purpose, place, and people is probably a fan of some early Tom Hanks movies. Lucinda and Alex's connection exudes #relationshipgoals.

Blackmail and Bibingka (Tita Rosie #3) by Mia P. Manansala

contemporary mystery

Berkley, October 2022

Ah, family... Can't work with them without drama, can't let them get wrongly accused of committing murder--even if maybe sometimes they make you so crazed that you're tempted. Really tempted. Lila and Tita Rosie feed their family's and community's bodies and souls while figuring out who's really guilty. Cue the mayhem. Plus, scrumptious recipes!

Small Town, Big Magic (Witchlore #1) by Hazel Beck

contemporary speculative romance

Graydon House, August 2022

A bit of a more light-hearted The Witches of Eastwick collides with The Stand and ends with the suggestion of a cliffhanger, generating anticipation for the next installment of Emerson and Jacob's story in August 2023.

Comments

Hot Love in the Kitchen & Travelling Through Time

Redemption of the Heart by Moni Boyce contemporary romance Love Snacks Publishing 8 January 2019 Despite addressing heavy themes of domestic violence, incarceration, and grief, Redemption of the Heart is a charming and sweet spicy read in the tradition of a 21st-century interracial homage to Janet Dailey’s monthly romance era. Gemma’s open-hearted ingénue contrasts starkly with Alex’s jaded workaholic. They struggle with a variety of challenges, but ethnicity isn’t one of them—a spin that feels particularly modern. Once readers commit to their suspension of disbelief regarding the cascading impact of lacks in due diligence by several characters, it’s easy to settle in to enjoy this love story. The recent public debate about the pros and cons of Gillette’s “We believe the best man can be” campaign ties in with the contradictory messages in the story threads about toxic masculinity. There’s a scene in which Alex apologizes to someone who was openly bragging among cowork...

Author Cherry Dawn Fagbemi Chats with TBQ + More Books

Hearing author Cherry Dawn Fagbemi read a cliffhanger of an excerpt from Bad Seed at a Prince George's Memorial Library System event last year led us to stay in touch. Here's our recent conversation about her life, her work, this book and a future project on this episode of The Bitchy Quill podcast with founder Heather Brooks, who's also the founder of The Write Women Book Fest scheduled for Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20 at the Bowie Comfort Inn & Conference Center in Bowie, Maryland, where this author and 100+ more will engage with readers, give away swag, sell and sign their books on day one; an assortment of panel chats on day two: https://youtu.be/a73_k4DQZKI [ front cover of a trade paperback book, "BAD SEED, The Midnight Cries of an Island Girl, A Novel by Cherry Dawn Fagbemi"] This week's BAC (Book Acquisition Compulsion) bookstack includes a hockey romance because the Washington Capitals' first-round playoffs win happened during...

A Million Lives Book Festival - An Unfortunate Exception, Not the Event Rule

[2 decorative stickers on lined writing paper from left to right: a round smiley face arranged upside down to look like a frown and a round smiley face arranged right sight up] By now most bookish folk and others have heard about the inaugural A Million Lives Book Festival held at the Baltimore Convention Center last Friday and Saturday. To recap: according to participating authors and attendees many promises were made and almost all of them were broken. As outreach director and co-organizer for The Write Women Book Fest scheduled to host its 6th event Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20 of this year at the Bowie Comfort Inn & Conference Center in Bowie, Maryland, U.S.A., my reaction to the feedback being shared about A Million Lives is nightmarish. Even though we aren't connected to it in any way or familiar with the event organizer or her company, our completely unrelated event has felt some minor residual effects because people are worried. And that's an understanda...

Search This Blog