There are so many reasons why Heated Rivalry is entrancing millions of people. Showing the explicit pursuit of connection and love as a worthy and rewarding endeavor is one of them, especially in contrast to the real world environment of divide and conquer.   [a rectangular fabric table runner with a painterly pattern of cottages and trees; it's folded in half and draped over the left side of a black travel case]  As a genre, Romance rules in every way except one. It's the most profitable and popular genre in publishing. Dedicated bookstores, streaming channels, annual conventions, workshops, fan sites, hash tags, and podcasts; sold-out author/book tours, events with casts of adaptations and original screenplays--all of them attract and sustain and grow attention, engagement, and cha-ching. (Theatrical releases of rom-coms have dwindled over the years and the few that get released have launched with a high failure rate, but let's save that discussion for another time along ...

Poet Laureate of The Write Women Book Fest Aressa V. Williams and her team of family and supporters hosted a joyous book launch event this past Saturday upstairs at the South Bowie Branch of the Prince George's County Memorial System. The poet, educator, author charmed and advised us through sharing anecdotes about her life and reading from In Deanwood. [Advance Reader Copy of In Deanwood, A Memoir by Aressa V. Williams arranged under a Heal Write Away business card, 3 thank you ornaments: a snowman, a card catalog entry shaped like a star, and bookshelves shaped like a heart]    [a framed sketch of the house at 5000 Sheriff Road where the author grew up, a paperback copy of In Deanwood, and a framed black & white photo of the author]  [a full-color banner of Pancakes & Chocolate Milk, Prose and Poetry by Aressa V. Williams arranged on a table with clear vases filled with Christmas ornaments at each top corner of the banner]  Thanksgiving is over and it's off...

Along with unfinished business from the past that haunts the present  [5 books; 3 face up and 2 spine up, from left to right: Best Woman, The Gist of Bid Whist, Blind Date with a Werewolf, Crazy Spooky Love, The Year of the Wind]  Read  Best Woman by Rose Dommu  new adult contemporary romance  Penguin Random House, September 2025   Madcap. Tenderhearted. Poignant. Satisfying.  Crazy Spooky Love (Melody Bittersweet #1) by Josie Silver  new adult contemporary romance  Penguin Random House, September 2025  Ornery relatives. Dangerous spirits. Romance gone wrong with potential for it to go right. Intrigue. Mysteries. Laughs.  Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs  adult contemporary supernatural romance  Penguin Random House, October 2025  This novel rendered in 5 short stories (3 previously published and 2 new) is all about Asil with cameos of Moira, Tom, and other series favorites. Looking for love in all t...

Need to laugh out loud? To feel inspired? To feel seen? To feel encouraged to pursue your heart's most ambitious desires despite overwhelming odds against succeeding?   Read Zarna Garg's memoir, which offers an intimate, compelling coming of age, immigrant's journey, family saga, and keen observations about humans and life as experienced by a hilarious, intrepid individual.  [front cover of "Zarna Garg, This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir" showing the Statue of Liberty holding the author in her arms with the New York City skyline in the lower half of the background]  This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg  non-fiction memoir  Ballantine Books, April 2025  Universal themes of family love and family conflict, support and abandonment, grieving as a years' long process with lulls, parenting and being parented (or not), finding your people in friendship, romance, community presented and dissected with the author's sharp wit ...

Halloween is over but in these three compelling reads each featured character is haunted by their pasts.  [3 books arranged showing their front covers, from left to right: King of Ashes, Revolve, Good Spirits]  King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby  contemporary mystery suspense thriller with romantic elements  Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar, June 2025  Some legacies are deadly and finding answers to questions that have lingered for years makes it almost impossible for Roman and his sister Neveah to save themselves, their surviving family members and the business they've sacrificed to build. Threats abound in this turbulent, layered, genre mashup that mesmerizes with shock and awe as it entertains and illuminates.  This author offers characters and dilemmas with gorgeous language and brutal reality that deliver on all the book world hype. So good.  Revolve (Off the Ice #3) by Bal Khabra  contemporary new adult romance  Berkeley, October 2025...

An extra hour gives 60 more minutes of reading! (Not working on my 2 different WIPs. Not housekeeping. Not the last mow of the season. Not anything practical. Sometimes making the practical choice is over-rated.:-)  [front cover of trade paperback book "Nikki Payne, The Princess and the P.I." showing a curvaceous Black woman leaning against the front of a desk with a Black man standing behind the desk]  The Princess and the P.I. (Bennetts #3) by Nikki Payne  contemporary fiction w/suspense & romance  Berkeley, September 2025  Fiona and Maurice are determined to right some grievous wrongs and their plans go sideways when she's accused of murder. They make what each hopes will turn out to be a mutually beneficial deal. Grief, religious zealotry used to justify misogyny and oppression, complicated family dynamics and more make their quest to hold the guilty accountable a treacherous endeavor. Snappy dialogue, DMV-area Easter eggs, and lots of drama add humor an...