What had happened was...  [20 books arranged on a piano bench, from left to right: Death of the Author, Kills Well With Others, Savor It, Scot and Bothered, Say You'll Remember Me, Flirting Lessons; a horizontal stack from top to bottom - Break Point, Murder by Memory, A Wager at Midnight, Believing in You, One in a Million, Let Me Be the One, Wild Side, The Perfect Rom-Com, The Usual Family Mayhem, Love on Paper, The Charlie Method; and 3 more books from left to right - Stealing Home, Breakaway, One on One]  So my nearest library branch needed to close in order to complete some urgent building repairs. At first, it was supposed to take two days, but that turned into seven days. So my book requests accumulated during that time.  Did I pursue the super practical option of reading all of the other library books in my possession in order to clear the way for this growing and delayed bumper crop of loans?  No I did not.  I borrowed ebooks from my county's library sy...

Last Saturday, Jade and Wilnona - the And I Thought Ladies, honored me with an Inspirational Woman in Literature Award for my work in supporting authors and promoting literacy! It was an unexpected honor and much appreciated coming from two people who work so diligently to create successful opportunities for other authors and creatives. A browse of their socials reveals how much time, effort and travel they expend transforming their own and others' publishing aspirations into reality.   [a framed 8in x 11in "Certificate of achievement, Inspirational Woman of Literature, Cardyn Brooks, You have shown excellence and innovation as an inspirational woman of Literature 2025, Jade Dee, Wilnona Marie, And I thought Ladies"]  We enjoyed a cozy lunch at the Reynolds Tavern in Annapolis, which provided a charming atmosphere and scrumptious food.  [three women standing in front of the corner of a brick building with a "Reynolds Tavern..." plaque above their heads; a "...

Rereads, new reads, reissues and more evidence of my BAC (Book Acquisition Compulsion) problems  [a vertical row of trade paperback books from left to right: Played, Pucked Up, The Garden of Small Beginnings, Get Lost with You, My Big Fat Fake Marriage - on top of a vertical stack of TBR books from top to bottom: Flirting Lessons, Say You'll Remember Me, Scot and Bothered, Savor It, Kills Well with Others]  Comfort reread contemporary romance, Played by Naima Simone and (not shown) historical romance, Devil In Disguise by Lisa Kleypas. Indulged in another angsty YA hockey romance, Pucked Up by Helena Hunting. Emotional upheaval and struggling through the stages of grief in contemporary women's fiction with romantic elements, The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman. More struggles and triumphs of moving forward after returning to one's childhood home in contemporary romance, Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan, and an amusing break from the glorification of a-hole bil...

A woman creates the man of her dreams and sets off a problematic chain of cascading consequences.    [a hardcover book arranged face up: "BLOB, A Love Story by Maggie Su" with a "NEW" sticker in the upper right corner]  BLOB, A Love Story by Maggie Su  contemporary speculative fiction  Harper, January 2025  Comparisons to a more lighthearted Frankenstein are appropriate for this poignant tale about excavating the fundamentals of identity. Vi Liu is experiencing a very rough entry into adulthood. She's lonely. When a chance to create her perfect mate presents itself, she goes for it. Unexpected revelations and mayhem ensue.  Similar to The Blob movie of the 1950s starring Steve McQueen, once it starts absorbing things it's hard to stop.  BLOB is ultimately a provocative self-love* story that explores the ways in  which people reconcile the various elements of themselves - or don't.    *For romance fans: This is a love story, not a ro...