https://youtu.be/iT96LaS3NjY https://www.thewritewomenbookfest.org/blog At The Write Women Book Fest, founder Heather Brooks is our knowledgeable, talented, super effective tech wrangler. And thank all the merciful forces of the universe because that's NOT my wheelhouse.   After a near-miss with virtual recording catastrophe in 2019, maybe the lack of tech-related panel chat drama during TWWBF2020 and TWWBF2021 made me too confident last week when setting up to begin Desirable Women of Color—Cultural Touchstones and the History of Body Positivity with Shai August, Pamela Beverly, Delaney Diamond, Carla de Guzman, and Jamie Pope.   At first everything's fine while admitting panelists and chit-chatting, closed captioning activated then the dreaded “connection lost" before the last panelist. Terror, panic, bad language while scrambling to troubleshoot WiFi and log in via my phone, which isn't my preferred device for moderating a panel. But it's better than nothing. Pr...

  Desirable Women of Color--Cultural Touchstones & History of Body Positivity panelists Jamie Pope, Pamela Beverly, Delaney Diamond, Carla de Guzman, and Shai August generously agreed to chat about their work and trends in publishing, especially romance. The recording of that panel chat will post next weekend.  In the meantime, the following reviews are intentionally brief and vague teasers to avoid spoilers while enticing you to add these authors to your TBR list—if they're not already on your reading radar.   Return to Sweetheart Lake by (Jamie Pope writing as) Evelyn Jordan   Contemporary romance   Alcove Press, 2021   Secrets, guilt, revelations, redemption. Childhood friends, young lovers, now grown-up strangers, Romey and Gray endure painful self-reflection to gain perspective and forgiveness in this multifaceted, deeply emotional second-chance love story that also celebrates the tastes and textures of family and community....