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Thursday, September 29, 2022

A Dream of Words is available for pre-order!


  Hello, beautiful people. I stopped engaging so much here and on social media because, first, it's been a gothic novel of a year, and second, I wanted to spend my energy on actually writing books. This turned out to be an absolutely winning strategy.
 

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Everyone knows each other in Gold Coast, a friendly place where dreams bloom. Once a depressed flyspeck on the map, the village has grown in warmth and love.
Welcome back to the magical town in Southern Illinois, where everyone glows with hope.

Alas, life in a small town is not for everyone.


Cassie Mack hated living in Gold Coast. Everybody knew each other’s business, her toxic family tried to use her as a workhorse, and there was no way romance would ever come for her. She dreamed of making a world of words, sumptuous words that described food, love, and flavor.

When the luscious words of her secret blog catch the eye of a flailing bakery in Rome, she jumped at their offer to come help them revitalize their presence.

Cassie can run from her family and create herself into who she wants to be. But the wounds still linger. If she wants a chance at a future that suits her, she will have to grow and become the embodiment of her Dream of Words.


Preorder today for the October 3rd release. This will be the perfect book for autumn, full of amazing food descriptions and learning to adore oneself.  We hope it will inspire to dig into your dreams and create them even further.

Watch for the newsletters on the rest of my projects - a book and deck of affirmations based on the Cafe of Hopes and Dreams and another writing reference book.  It's going to be a wonderful end to 2022.


 

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

My top five feminist books.

These are books that I read to keep myself going while living in a patriarchy.

1. Against Our Will by Susan Brownmiller

    This book is not a quick undertaking. It is brutal, honest, and extraordinarily painful. Do not read it all at once for it is a harrowing read. If you read the reviews for the book, though, you will see many  examples of what was later labeled as #notallmen.

2. How to Suppress  Women's Writing by Joanna Russ 

    My first foray into inter-sectional feminism, the late Russ unearths all the fallacies that people drag out to minimize women's creations. 

3. Every single book by Dr. Fatima Mernissi. The late Mernissi was a Moroccan sociologist, feminist, and brilliant writer. Her work explores many of the fallacies of Islamic history and women's rights.

4. The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor. One of the finest examples of intersectional feminism, this book lays the groundwork for a more just society.

5. Afrofuturism: the world of Black sci-fi and fantasy by Ytasha L Womack. This book taught me so much the much under-represented Black experience in science fiction and fantasy. It is hopeful, exciting, and makes you want to write better books.

A few more excellent books and authors:

The Explorer's Guide to Planet Orgasm by Annie Sprinkle, PhD

Feminist Fight Club: An office survival manual for a sexist workplace by Jessica Bennet.  I really like resources that give women "boots on the ground", real life suggestions on how to deal with our daily stressors. 

Everything by Jean Shinoda Bolen

Everything by Dale Spender

The Survivor's Guide to Sex by Staci Haines

Everything by Susie Bright