The Reading Diva

In the last blog post, I mentioned that I help start a book festival in Charleston called Black Ink . Now the festival is in its fifth year and it's going virtual! Black Ink 2021 will be starting tomorrow (January 14) and ends on Saturday (January 16). This year's headlining author is Kwame Mbalia , New York Times best-selling author of the Tristin Strong series. They will also have another New York Times best-selling author, Kiley Reid , who wrote Such A Fun Age. This year's theme is "Amplify Black Voices".  Most of this year's panels are focused to help Black independent authors, including tips on publishing and how to promote their works. I am honored to be a panelist for this year's event.  I will be participating in the " Cultivating and Maintaining Author-Reader Relationships" panel Friday at 3 p.m.  Also, Valinda will be on a panel called "Looking Beyond Amazon". Her panel will also be Friday, but at noon. Charleston County Publi

After more than five years, I decided to make a comeback. The world has changed a lot since 2015. Including mines. 1. After 12 years at the same employer, I decided to take a leap of faith and return to public libraries. As of March 13 (I know I started when the world went to Hell), I am an Adult Services Librarian at one the suburbs of Charleston . There have been bumps in the road (including working from home for two months, not meeting patrons until June and loosing a coworker in October), but it's been a great experience. 2. I also work part-time at Turning Page Bookshop , the only Black-owned bookstore in South Carolina. My friends Valinda and Arrylee opened their store in Goose Creek almost two years ago. I help sell books at events (when there were events), write promotional materials and press releases, help with social media and suggest books to be ordered.  They listen to me...most of the time. LOL. 3. I did a lot of traveling in the Southeast (before the pandemic) with b