Spent the weekend with a beloved child (who isn't mine:-). We attended the 2nd annual Black History Fest held at the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center in Columbia, Maryland, which offered a variety of entertainment, education, books, clothes - a handcrafted skirt from Fashion by Abisola, accessories - a beaded bracelet from I-am.com, decorative goods and more from talented creatives across the spectrum of artistic endeavors. The father of author Tamilore Adejumo (Along the Way, Christian nonfiction) made such a compelling pitch that his daughter's book has been added to my very long TBR list. Subject Matter Experts in various aspects of business were there too.   Kid duties shrank my weekend reading time, but currently reading Sex, Lies, and Sensibility by Nikki Payne that among other themes opens with prime examples of Prosecutor Fani Willis's "A man is not a plan" maxim. It's layered and emotionally fraught so I'm not doing my usual voracious binge read,

  [Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne, Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen, Valley Verified by Kyla Zhao, Two Vows and a Viscount (Seduction 2) by Eloisa James, At First Spite by Olivia Dade, The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain]  In theory, a three-day weekend offers the perfect opportunity to focus on making progress with multiple WIPs that are behind schedule. My reality is that using the holiday for reading the books shown above is a temptation likely beyond my ability to resist.  Author and founder of The Write Women Book Fest Heather Brooks gave me awesome presents from her trip to the Hampton Roads writers event she attended at the end of last year. A sturdy canvas tote bag and a clever portable storage journal from Novel Grounds for organizing bookmarks, stickers, and other author swag is so practical and attractive! Plus, she gave me a signed copy of The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope (and said something silly about feeling okay if I wanted to re-gift

  Reading options to occupy me until the Usher half-time show:   [Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones, A Christmas to Remember by (The Ms.) Beverly Jenkins, The Takedown by Carlie Walker, Clover Hendry's Day Off by Beth Morrey]  Baking is my year-round love language amplified during the month of February.  Wishing you healthy love and assorted goodies every day of the year.

  [TWWBF2023 authors Shameka Erby, Eden Appiah-Kubi & author Courtney Duke Foster, who also supported TWWBF2023 by attending; TWWBF2023 author Briana L. Smith; book baskets as raffle prizes created by Nikki Payne's mom; the edge of PGCMLS Community Outreach Facilitator's left arm, Shameka Erby, Eden Appiah-Kubi, Nikki Payne; Briana & Eden looking toward the 1st raffle winner; Eden, Nikki & Courtney]      Saturday's "Celebrating Black Women's Voices in Fiction" with authors Eden Appiah-Kubi, Courtney Duke Foster, Shameka Erby, and Nikki Payne offered an abundance of thoughtful insights, personal revelations, and laughs from these brilliant, generous, successful human beings.  As moderator, Eden Appiah-Kubi's questions about inspirational authors, pivotal reads, book recommendations, the writing craft, self-publishing versus traditional publishing pros and cons, and more invited panelists to answer beyond the superficial, which offered the audien