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Getting Things Done & Countdown to TWWBF2025!

Only 4 months plus a few days until The Write Women Book Fest kicks off on Saturday, July 19th from 12 noon - 5 p.m. & Sunday, July 20th from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Bowie Comfort Inn & Conference Center in Bowie, Maryland! 

This is how our planning sessions usually start. 

[a dining table covered in a white linen cloth; 2 linen napkins, 2 salad plates, 2 filled water glasses, 2 glass goblets half-full of red wine, charcuterie plates of fruit, meat, bread, crackers, brownies]  

[6 trade paperback library books from left to right: 2 arranged spine up - Deep End, Better Than Friends; 4 arranged face up - A Lifetime in 30 Days, A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke, Maybe in This Lifetime, Single Player] 

A Lifetime in 30 Days by A.C. Arthur 
contemporary suspense fiction with romance 
Montlake, December 2024 

key themes: a weekend getaway gone astray, intrigue, danger, regrets, healing, letting go, moving forward into healthier possibilities 


Single Player by Tara Tai 
contemporary romance 
Alcove Press, January 2025 

key themes: gamers, adversaries-to-allies-to-lovers, workplace romance, haters gonna hate, Hollywood ending 


A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke (Las Leonas #3) by Adriana Herrera 
historical romance 
Canary Street Press, February 2025 

key themes: overcoming narrow-minded gatekeepers, unexpected allies, emotional connection and vulnerabilities, scorching sensuality, creating trustworthy community 


Maybe in This Lifetime by Asia Monique 
contemporary speculative fiction with romance
January 2025 

key themes: a little spin on "While You Were Sleeping" and "Inception" with alternating POVs - and realities? Or is something else happening? Finding out provides a bumpy emotional journey and a pleasurable read. 


Deep End by Ali Hazelwood 
contemporary new adult romance 
Berkley, February 2025 

key themes: collegiate sports, grief, injury rehab, therapy, power exchange sexual dynamics (some squick), sibling dynamics, relationship evolution, emotional safety nets 


Better Than Friends by Jill Shalvis 
contemporary adult romance 
Avon, January 2025 

key themes: second chance, neighbors, secrets, grief, family drama, scorching sexual chemistry, organic inclusion of neurodiversity in secondary characters 


Happy After All by Maisey Yates 
contemporary adult romance 
Montlake, January 2025 

from chapter 33: 
"... The work that goes into a happy ending is the hardest work. The world doesn't value it. The work to be in love, the work to be happy..."  


This week's stack of reading temptations 
[a bookstack of 4 titles from top to bottom: Spiral, Unloved, Give Me Butterflies, Blob]  

While funding for the arts and libraries and other essential cornerstones of an enlightened and educated society are under attack, please prioritize maintaining your mental, medical, physical and emotional health during these challenging times. Also, please support your local public library system by using its resources. That usage data helps them justify their existence and their budgets. 

Happy reading (in whatever formats meet your needs)!   

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