Post Pride Reflections

Jul 21

Happy Summer,

When we said goodbye to June, we needed to sit down and rest! Pride felt a little different this year and we were here for it! We chopped it up with Kitchen Table Literary Arts, participated in a Juneteenth Festival at the Woodlawn Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL), marched in the Baltimore Pride Parade, heard the incomparable Jennifer Holliday at a Pride gala, fangirled crime thriller author S.A. Cosby, and wrapped the month up at BCPL’s North Point Branch in Dundalk, Maryland at their first-ever Pride panel. We had a time last month and hope you were able to celebrate too—Black Music History Month, Father’s Day, graduations, weddings, flowers blooming…something.

Pulitzer Prize author Gwendolyn Brooks was absolutely correct when she said, “Books are meat and medicine and flame and flight and flower.” Books matter. They can offer an escape. And considering all that is happening in the world, escaping, if only for a brief moment, feels absolutely necessary. Our recently read books: All Her Little Secrets by Wanda Morris (ooh chile) and Kindred by Octavia Butler (it’s amazing to reread a classic!). If you’re looking for more to read, pick up a few freebies at Sapphic Romance & Fiction and Christmas in July: Sapphic Multi-Genre Book Giveaway. By the way, the ebook of THIS: A Simple, Complex Love Story is 50% off at Smashwords through the end of the month too.

If you’re in the DMV area on August 9th, we’ll be at Spark in the Park in Severna Park, MD. Come see us!

We’re checking the boxes off to get Why Not Us? into your hands. We think the draft book cover is beautiful and eye-catching—we can’t wait to share it! One of us is planning a party and the other is correcting commas and tense.

We’ve celebrated, now back to work…

Don’t let up, continue to reach out to your legislators about dangerous policies and bills that have become U.S. law. Remember, WE are the people! Consider using “5 Calls,” a platform to stay abreast of what's happening in the White House and Congress and easily make your voices heard. 5 Calls provides summaries of ongoing issues as well as suggested scripts. Download "5 Calls" from the App or Play Store or access it on a computer to contact your representatives and senators.

Lastly, do something fun!

Naomi + Rivers