Fave Books by Black Authors

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In honor of Black History Month, I’ve compiled a list of books I’ve enjoyed, written by black authors. If I try to give a description of each one, I’ll never get it done. I’ve been trying to do an LGBTQ+ book list with full descriptions but for some reason, it’s been daunting. Probably because I’ve tried to keep my writing focus on the edits of my first book, a cozy mystery, which I plan to publish sometime this year. Believe it or not, when I do a blog post, it takes plenty of time and research to make sure I’ve got all the details right. Plus, there’s lots of personal and political stuff taking up a bunch of my attention, too.

So, if any of these authors/titles pique your interest, please check them out at your favorite booksellers or at the library. Or pick up the middle grade and YA for your young readers (and yourself, of course. Great stories come in all age categories!)

And give these authors some social media love, too!

If you have some recommendations, I’d love to hear them in the comments. C’mon, share!

Happy Reading!

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I Just Wanna Scream!

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I was weaned on soap operas. I watched with The Mom from the time I could sit up on my own. When I’d come home from first grade, I’d demand the story lines from that day’s episodes of Guiding Light, Secret Storm, As the World Turns, and the eternal General Hospital. I watched into my high school years, but when Love is a Many Splendored Thing went off the air in 1973, I took that as a sign to move on from soaps.

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2025 Word For the Year

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I pick a word for the coming year as encouragement, inspiration, and an arrow pointing the way into the next twelve months. The last few weeks I’ve been wearing out my Dictionary app, looking at words like fulfill and achieve. But I finally decided on my very favorite word:

P O S S I B I L I T I E S

I love the word Possibilities because it’s such a liberating word – it opens our minds, our hearts, our imaginations, and our determination.

It ushers in the secret sauce of life – HOPE.

It reminds us that we have unlimited choices.

Possibilities are the steps right before commitment –

the steps that boost us to YES!

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What Mare Read in 2024

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I can’t believe I read 94 books and 2 short stories in 2024!

I read quite a bit on the Kindle phone app, so I sneak in reading time on the treadmill at the gym, waiting in lines and in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep but don’t want to turn the light on. So, I think my reading time is probably around 25% more than if I just read paper books. When I had a long commute, I didn’t have as much time to read paper books but listening to books on CD kept me sane — and, yes, “listening” to books counts as “reading” to me, because it’s all about the story, not about the delivery.

I would recommend any of these books.

My Extra Special Favorites are in RED

I left one or two out of the list that I finished reading but didn’t really like and I won’t mention the books that I didn’t finish reading (DNF). DNF is so subjective – sometimes you’re not in the mood for the subject matter, you find the writing disappointing or the characters or story just don’t spark your interest – so why bum a writer out by giving a bad review when maybe it really is just YOU…  

Listing out all the books I’ve read in 2024 has been an interesting exercise. I read 48 cozy mysteries, fully half of my reads this year. Autobiographies are not usually my thing, but I read 8. I usually read a lot more Young Adult but I only see one on the list! This must be rectified in 2025! It also struck me that I don’t care what category a book is in – I just read what interests me – so when I was trying to categorize some of these books, I had to look them up on Amazon!

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Some Holiday Reading

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Here are a few of the holiday books I read these last few months. Remember, if it’s a little late in the season for you, holiday stories can be read all year long! Same for movies-I watch The Holiday, While You Were Sleeping and Desk Set several times a year.

Christmas Magic at Holly Oaks – Racquel Henry

Originally written as a movie script, you can definitely imagine this as a Hallmark Holiday rom-com. It’s a story of second chances, featuring Rose, a Christmas hater, whose sister plunks her right in the middle of the Christmas Capital of the US. Where she promptly runs into Malcolm, the man who broke her heart nine years earlier. When the Holly Oaks Tree Farm – beloved by everyone in town and a special favorite for Malcolm – experiences a crisis, Rose steps in. And Holly Oaks begins to work its magic. A fun novella with characters you’ll love.

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Stories

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Hi kids! It’s been a minute… or two… Life, as it will, keeps intruding. I’ve been working on my first cozy mystery after putting the romance novella on hold. Currently working on my third revision and almost ready for my beta reader to take a first whack at it.

I just looked back at the blog and realized I only posted twice in the last 12 months! Truly, this year wasn’t the creative blockbuster I’d hoped for but a year ago, I declared my word for 2024 to be Onward and onward I went, through medical woes, both human and feline, writing challenges and political disappointments.

Now, I want to focus on what I’m reading, writing, and entertaining myself with. Words and stories have been my most constant source of pleasure, wonder and staver offer of boredom. And I want to share it all—the good, the bad and the utterly enchanting.

Starting with A Man on the Inside.

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Hugh Mangum Photography at Muzeo

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We took a trip to the always fascinating local cultural mecca, Muzeo, in Anaheim, home to the OG Disneyland.

I’m going to be lazy and let the pictures do most of the heavy lifting for this post.  The main exhibit at Muzeo right now features the photography of Hugh Mangum, who plied his trade in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. Traveling by train to set up temporary studios, he captured his subjects where they lived. After his death from complications of the flu epidemic in 1922, his photography studio was packed up and moved to an old barn on family property, to be rediscovered in the 1970’s.  I think the flaws created by the ravages of 50 years in a weather-beaten out building add an aura of alchemy to the portraits.

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Marconi Automotive Museum

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For some people, the scent of a certain flower or food triggers a flood of happy memories.  For me, it’s motor oil.

I grew up in a duplex between my grandparent’s house and the garage where my grandfather conducted his business as an auto mechanic.  The smell of motor oil brings me right back to those innocent days, sitting on a concrete front porch, watching him fix cars in his grease-stained blue pants and shirt, tools clanging, the occasional swear word echoing from the rafters.

The visual equivalent of motor oil, for me, is the Snap-On tool truck I sometimes see in Southern California traffic. The big Snap-On truck used to make its way up the narrow incline into our yard every few weeks.  When I see one now, I get misty eyed.

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Onward to 2024

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

In a previous post (Lessons in Grief – Part 7), I detailed the challenges and sadness that this year delivered, like a flaming bag of poo on the front step. See ya, 2023. Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out!

As 2024 takes its baby steps into January, I’m trying to dredge up some enthusiasm for this new beginning that we conjure in our blessedly human minds. After all, January First holds no real magic.  There isn’t some cosmic demarcation at midnights around the world, tying up the old year in dirty twine, then opening the new one with shiny bows and foil confetti. It’s just another day in the life, filled with the usual obligations, angst, and occasional moments of joy.

Yeah, I guess I’m greeting the new year unusually pragmatic. I’m not making any scheduled goals since recent goals didn’t stand a chance against the vagaries of the universe.  If this sounds like I’m channeling Eeyore, I’m really not.  I just want to temper my expectations: of myself, of the world around me, and of the events over which I have zero control.

Work will continue on my Christmas romance novella and the first in a series of cozy mystery novels, followed by the learning roller coaster of self-publishing. It would be nice to get healthier and do a few day trips.  The most I can plan is to do my best, day after day.

And, so, my word for 2024 is ~

ONWARD

Whether it’s at a snail’s pace, a graceful jete, or a jet-fueled race to the finish line, I’ll scrape the shit off my singed shoe and move ONWARD into 2024.

Best Wishes for a Cautiously Optimistic New Year!!

Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash

Looking for Some Holiday/Winter Reading?

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I usually don’t seek out holiday books like I do holiday movies, but this year, I find myself reading to a winter theme. Some are part of cozy mystery series, but you can read them as stand-alone stories. Maybe some will even pique your interest!

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews ~ After a painful divorce, Ivy and her dog, Punkin, move to a rural farm to begin the adventure of their new life. The discovery of a child’s note in the pocket of a Santa suit in the attic sets Ivy on a mystery that brings her friendship, love, and the life she could only dream about. I’m planning to make this an annual read because it was so lovely and satisfying.

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