Spring is in the air!
Hello Friends,
Happy Women’s History Month!
Happy Spring!
Happy Bookversary to me! It’s been a year since THIS: A Simple, Complex Love Story was released — the experience has been wonderful and humbling. I’m grateful to everyone who has been along for the ride on Jasmine and T’s love journey. Their story is not necessarily a made for Hallmark movie — it’s a sweet, messy, and complicated tale about two women trying to find love.
I’m sharing a few special memories from the last year… THIS out in the wild at a Baltimore County Public Library and Baltimore’s Pride in the Park with Charm City Books, breaking the top 500 on Amazon, and one of the lovely reviews that made me smile.
I have been taught that you should always say ‘thank you.’ Chances are, I may forget someone but I’m going to try anyway. Thank you: author friends; websites that curate lesbian and sapphic books; podcasters that allowed me to talk about THIS; independent bookstores; and the Baltimore County Library System for saying yes, adding THIS to circulation, and inviting me to author events. My deepest appreciation is for everyone who has read and reviewed my debut novel. Positive reviews are energy boosters to keep writing.
What’s new?
I hope you got an opportunity to check out Gulfport, Florida’s literary festival, ReadOUT 2024. It was wonderful! You can listen to prerecorded readings here to get a feel for some of the work represented… yes, there is an excerpt of THIS. Fingers and toes crossed, I’ll be there to participate in person next year.
I visited a wonderful place recently that is an author’s dream. It smelled like paper, creativity, and boundless possibilities. Among other paper-related items, Drama Mama sells beautiful journals in which you can select from a plethora of cover designs.
Have you heard? RuPaul (yes, that RuPaul) co-founded an online bookstore, Allstora, with a focus on elevating marginalized voices. Its launch has not been without controversy however, I’m not mad at him for trying to change the game. The paperback version of THIS: A Simple, Complex Love Story is available on Allstora and you can get 50% off of your first order.
If you volunteered to be a beta reader… thank you. However, it’s not too late. I would love to have a couple more readers on the team to make book 2 the best it can be.
I can see clearly now the snow is gone! Wrong words to the Jimmy Cliff song, but you get my meaning. I see prolonged sunshine (daylight saving time begins this weekend) and flowers are on the horizon. My new, cute gardening boots are helping stoke my excitement. Yey! Spring is coming…
March on!
Naomi
