Girls' Night Out @Turn the Page Bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland

[a collage of 4 photos, from left to right, top then bottom: a standing chalkboard sign with "Girls' Night Out Guest Authors: Nora Roberts/JD Robb Lucy Score Madison Score Carla Vergot Lisa Proulx Sherianne Nemby; 3 stacks of paperback copies of Iktome by Sherianne Newby and 1 stack of Nomad Through Time: A Poetic Collection by Sherianne Newby; 1 stack of Lily Barlow: The Mystery of Jane Dough and 2 stacks of Lily Barlow: The Mystery in the Mangroves; a canvas tote bag with "Turn the Page Bookstore Boonsboro, Maryland"]

[a collage of 2 photos from left to right: a tall street light post with an attached banner reading "LOVE your Local Boonsboro, Md Gifts Inn Boonsboro; a standing chalkboard sign with "GNO Thur May 9th 5-9PM curiouser & curiouser Town Wide Event" leaning against the outer wall of a boutique that sells a variety of new and vintage merchandise]

[a collage of 2 photos from left to right: smiling author Lucy Score seated at a table while "a patron" stands next to her; paperback copy of The Blast from the Past by Lucy Score with the Turn the Page Bookstore sales receipt sticking up above the front cover]

Fun road trip to Turn the Page Bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland Thursday night! It was cool, gray, and rainy as we stood in line, but the experience was worth the wait. Nora Roberts spoke to me and gently touched my arm but I was too awestruck to ask to snap her picture (and I'll force myself to wash my arm even though my inner fangirl doesn't want to erase the touch DNA as proof of the encounter).

Also, telling myself NOT to start reading The Blast from the Past* tonight no matter how much I really, really want to despite my early start time Friday morning.

Thought I'd already requested Bride or Die by Madison Score from the library but I was wrong so adding the ebook to my TBR; same for Lily Barlow: The Mystery of Jane Dough by Carla Vergot.

Our group met up with friends from Charm City Romanticon and multiplied the vectors of fun.

Concerns about the weather during the return drive meant we left without dropping in to browse the intriguing items offered by Josie's on Main and other charming businesses. Next time we'll arrive early enough to explore more shops!

Bookish fun was had by all.

*Note about a supporting character with a potential for embodying a problematic trope introduced in the first book in the Riley Thorn series, The Dead Guy Next Door: He's mysterious, possibly mystical and devoted to one of the main characters while not seeming to have family or backstory. The Corpse in the Closet begins to address those details.

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...

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...

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...

Search This Blog