Black love. Black joy. Black drama. Humanity in its vast melanin array.   [front cover of a paperback ARC for The Best Man: Unfinished Business; silhouette of three adults] The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen  adult contemporary fiction with romantic elements  Storehouse Voices, July 2025   First, dedicated fans of The Best Man franchise and its beloved characters need not fear how they’re treated in this first of three novels. In fact. One thread of Harper’s storyline seems to reflect the real-life author/screenwriter/director’s battle to protect and maintain the integrity of The Best Man universe. Mission accomplished.  Second, once readers - fans or not - start this novel they won’t want to stop. The compulsion to re/watch The Best Man movies and limited series and maybe even to reread this book while anticipating the release of book two in 2026 will prove difficult to resist.  Who are you?  Who are your people?...

[cover art for the DVD case for the BBC Dracula series, three-quarter profile of the lower half of a man's face; open mouth displaying fangs with blood dripping over his lower lip and chin]  Bloodsucking and Other Supernatural Fare?  Past and present TWWBF authors can help satisfy your cravings:  Shai August  Golden Angel  H.L. Brooks  S Courtney  Kait Disney-Leugers  Jeaniene Frost  Rhiannon Futch  Claire E. Jones  Mary E. Jung Hannah Levin  J.S. Living  Glori Medina  C.L. Merklinger  Liv Macy  Leslye Penelope  Ivy Quinn  Sheri Queen  Rebecca Rivard  L.C. Son  Olivia Springer  Rose Staine  Michelle Summers  Maria Vale  Plus more fiction and non-fiction from all of these other talented TWWBF2025 authors and vendors: in-person  https://www.thewritewomenbookfest.org/2025-authors--vendors.html#/  and virtual  https://www.thewritewomenbookfest.org/2025-...

[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...

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...