A Favorite Word: Delight

I love the word delight. It can function as a noun or a verb, which makes it a more actionable word to me than its close synonym joy. That isn’t to say joy isn’t also a wonderful word, but just saying or thinking delight makes me smile...

In Gratitude: Toni Morrison

I have only read two Toni Morrison novels from cover to cover: The Bluest Eye and Beloved. I cannot give the beat-by-beat plot points of either work because I read them so long ago. At least, that’s the articulable answer. The inarticulable answer is I don’t believe I...

On “Relatability” and #RitasSoWhite

Last week, the Romance Writers of America released the finalists for the 2019 RITA Awards, the top award to recognize excellence in the romance genre for the year 2018. Finalists are selected from self-nominated books, as in authors submit books/unpublished...

On Reading: Loving the Mess We Are

Before I ever became an author, I was a reader first; which means before I wrote characters wrestling with the questions I, myself, have, I was looking for books that did the same. When I came across Courtney Milan’s Cyclone series, I was drawn to the stories...

Of Dreams and Diasporas—Celebrating King

Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. celebrated his very last birthday, so it seems fitting that this year his holiday falls on his actual birthday. That being said, I’m sure Dr. King is rolling over in his grave at where this country has gone since his...