Let's celebrate a few of the who's who of Black women mystery writers! 

EVENT DEETS

When: Monday, January 26, 2026 @ 6:30 PM CT

Where: Virtual! Sign up and we'll send you the link to the Zoom. 

How: RSVP ONLY to get the link to the Zoom! RSVP WITH BUNDLE to get a copy of each of the authors' book and support the bookstore!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Valerie Wilson Wesley writes mysteries, novels and children’s books. She is the author of the Odessa Jones Mysteries including A Glimmer of Death (2021), A Fatal Glow (2022) and A Shimmer of Red (2023). She has also written nine mysteries in the popular Tamara Hayle Mystery series, including When Death Comes Stealing, named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best mysteries and thrillers. She has written three stand-alone novels and two paranormal romances under the pen name Savanna Welles. Her books for children include seven titles in the Willimena Rules! series and the Afro-bets Book of Black Heroes co-written with Wade Hudson. Her novels and mysteries are published in Germany, France and the UK and her nonfiction has appeared in journals including Poe Studies History, Theory Interpretation 2023.  She is a former executive editor of Essence magazine. Wesley is a proud member of Crime Writers of Color (CWoC), Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.

Carolyn Marie Wilkins is a practicing psychic medium, a Santeria priestess, and a professor at Berklee College of Music Online. An accomplished jazz pianist and vocalist, she has toured South America as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. She is a member of Crime Writers of Color and Sisters in Crime New England. When she is not writing, performing, or offering Reiki to students at Berklee, Carolyn maintains a private practice in healing and mediumship. She lives in the Boston area and can be found online at CarolynWilkins.com.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Dr. Michelle Watts is a native Houstonian and humanities educator who is committed to using humanist literature to bring diverse groups of people together to find common ground. Over the years, Dr. Watts has taught a full range of students – from Kindergarten to graduate school- and delights in her students’ achievements and efforts to effect substantive change in the world around them.

Mount Holyoke College which was fertile ground for her interests and activism and while there, she began her lifelong journey with the theory and practice of Black feminism. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, Michelle returned to Houston to study American Literature and Culture at Rice University, where she earned both a Master’s and Doctorate. She went on to teach at Miami University in Oxford, OH and the University of Cincinnati. While at Miami, she was recognized as an Honored Professor for her ‘remarkable commitment to students.’ She has extensive experience in the public sector where she has worked to advance educational equity and social justice causes in youth-serving organizations. She is currently at work on a research project on African American children’s and young adult literature, and is the New Member Coordinator for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Houston Chapter.

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Dylan Allen writing as Lucy Wilson-Tagoe comes the first story in her new Blurred Lines Duet series…

Who gets to tell this story?
The sinner who lived it?
Or the saint who stole it?

Sin Sackey is driven by the same hardwired need as every eldest first-generation daughter—to make her family proud. And she built her career and chose her partners with that single goal as her north star.

Everyone said she had it all. And for more than twenty years, Sin let herself believe they were right.

Until a near-death experience makes the truth impossible to deny.

Her relationship is on life support. Her journalism career is in freefall. And the city she thought she’d conquer has chewed her up and spit her out.

With everything to prove—and everything to lose—Sin moves back home to Washington, DC, determined to start over. No more chasing shadowy criminals. And no more men who look too good to be true.

But on the eve of the first day of the rest of her new life, the saying about old habits proves painfully accurate.

A new lead falls into her lap, and Sin dives back into the story that nearly cost her everything.
Then, when a man who is all the things she’s sworn to avoid invites her to dinner, she says yes.

After everything she’s been through, it’s reckless.

But this story could resurrect her career—and take down an entire black-market empire. She’s closer than ever to catching its elusive leader, and she can’t let go now.

And this man—who makes her blush, makes her laugh, and understands things she usually has to explain—could be the one. So, she lowers her walls just enough for him to climb over.

But just when it seems her gamble might pay off, her lead starts to feel more like a trap. And the man she’s let herself love appears to be the one who set it.

To Catch a Sinneris a steamy, suspenseful friends-to-lovers romance between a relentless journalist and a mysterious lawyer with a complicated shared past. Set against a fictionalized Washington, DC, this fast-paced, high-stakes story explores reclaiming identity, challenging power, and the pursuit of a new American dream.

Many people have never heard the term "cozy" or "cozy mystery". So, we decided to amplify several Black authors who are writing in the genre. We hope you join us to learn more about cozies from some of the best! 

EVENT DEETS

When: December 1, 2022 at 7PM CST

Where: ZOOM

How: RSVP on our website or directly on Zoom  If you would like to support the authors and programming. Consider purchasing the author's work through us or the cozy mystery bundle! 

ABOUT THE PANELIST

Through his work across many media, Houston and Los Angeles-based artist Vincent Valdez bears witness to the world around him, chronicling an America at the margins. Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream… features work from over twenty years and writings addressing Valdez's work through the lens of politics, history and humanity. Valdez's approach to imaging his country, its people, politics, pride, and foibles includes boxing, lynchings of Mexican Americans, border walls, politics, greed, the Ku Klux Klan, and the failings and triumphs of American society. Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream… accompanies survey exhibitions of his work by the same name at the Contemporary Art Museum of Houston (CAMH) in 2024-5 and MASS MoCA in 2025-6. The bilingual (English/Spanish) publication features both full-color works and a gatefold for The Strangest Fruit as well as a sewn-in booklet of behind-the-scenes studio images. Texts include a reprint of Joyce Carol Oates' On Boxing, essays by exhibition co-curators Denise Markonish and Patricia Restrepo; and a text by Evan Garza on the artist's relationship to Texas.

Learn about the art of coming home to your body with Lyvonne Briggs!

EVENT DEETS

When: April 5 @ 7PM CST

Where: 3719 Navigation Blvd, HTX 77003 (Holy Family HTX)

How: RSVP ONLY to grab your free ticket or support our programming, author, and store by RSVP WITH BOOK. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lyvonne Briggs, MDiv, ThM, an Emmy Award winner, is a body- and sex-positive womanist preacher, speaker, coach, and creator. Briggs is the host of the Sensual Faith podcast and the founder of beautiful scars, a healing- centered storytelling
agency focused on fostering pleasure and resiliency; visionary of The Proverbial Experience; and now curator of Sensual Faith Sunday, a series of virtual spiritual gatherings to nourish your soul. She has been featured in Essence, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, and The Washington Post, and Sojourners named her one of “11 Women Shaping the Church.” Briggs, a New York City native and proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, is currently based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Wale (@theehotgirlbooks)is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor working with folks in New York and Texas. She has a double masters degree in mental health counseling from Teachers College Columbia University. After practicing in New York for a few years, Wale moved back to her hometown Houston and started her own therapy practice in 2020. Wale currently works with individuals and couples on a weekly basis.

Spring is in the air, and love is on the page. Join D.W. Brooks, Alexandra Lechelle, and Zee Renee at Kindred Stories for a celebration of local romance authors.

EVENT DEETS

When: Saturday, May 23 @ 6PM

Where: Kindred Stories: (2310 Elgin St, Houston, TX 77004)

How: RSVP WITH BOOK to support the authors and our store programming. There are four options available: you can choose to support an individual author or select the Romance In Spring Bundle, which includes one book from all participating authors.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

D. W. Brooks

D. W. Brooks  is an author who has independently published three romantic suspense books and two contemporary romance novels. In addition to writing books, D. W. is also a retired ophthalmologist and a kidney transplant recipient of over eight years. She is originally from Alabama but now lives in Texas with her husband and daughter.

Alexandrea LeChelle

Alexandrea LeChelle is a contemporary romance author whose stories explore love, grief, healing, and the complicated beauty of human connection.

Her novels unfold between Houston and Louisiana and center Black characters navigating family legacies, emotional vulnerability, and the quiet courage it takes to love deeply and unapologetically.

Through rich, emotional storytelling and cinematic detail, Alexandrea writes the kind of love stories she rarely saw growing up and entering adulthood. Stories where Black characters are allowed to be flawed, passionate, and deeply human.

What began as a way to process emotions and channel creativity through her own healing journey, slowly evolved into something much bigger: an urge to create and share stories about love, healing, and the complicated paths of life that bring people together.

Her stories often explore themes such as emotional healing, family dynamics, grief and growth, healthy Black love, the courage to begin again. Every story is planted in the belief that love, in all its forms, has the power to change us for the better.

When she’s not reading, Alexandrea can be found working her way through her own TBR, journaling or planning new creative projects, adding recipes to her personal cookbook, and listening to playlists that eventually inspire new stories.

At the heart of everything she creates is a simple hope: That readers will find pieces of themselves in her stories.

Zee Renee

Writing is where Zee thrives, finding peace and purpose. Her journey began at thirteen with a black-and-white composition book, later blossoming on Wattpad, where she captivated over two million readers. In December 2023, she released her debut novel, All In, and was nominated for the 2023 Black Girl Who Writes Best New Author award. By November 2024, Zee became a National Best-Selling Author with the release of When He’s Not There, her third book.

Crafting urban fiction and romance, Zee transforms raw emotions into powerful stories. Her characters are deeply personal, each carrying a piece of her spirit. She is grateful for the opportunity to share her God-given talent and hopes readers will feel the same passion in her words as she does in writing them.

For all the girls in your life who are inspired, deserving, and worthy, bestselling author Marshawn Evans Daniels’ debut picture book Worthy Girl offers a lyrical, inspirational message about believing in yourself and realizing God’s higher purpose for your life.

From early on, young girls seek to find their place and voice in a complex world that tells them who they’re supposed to be. Worthy Girl uses soaring language to combat the forces trying to keep girls small and instead awaken their ambition and instill in them an unshakeable sense of self-worth, confidence, and identity bathed in possibility. This beautifully illustrated picture book anchors girls in God’s promises and challenges them to believe—even at a young age—that God made them for such a time as this.

Worthy Girl is perfect for:

* Any girl at any time, but especially for birthdays, graduations, and milestones that celebrate a girl’s life and potential.
* Parents desiring to inspire their daughters to embrace their uniqueness.
* Reassuring girls that God has a plan for their lives and there are limitless possibilities ahead of them.

Encourage kids to find their unique voice and share it confidently with this inspirational story from Pentatonix (PTX) musical performer Kevin Olusola. A self-proclaimed "misfit," Kevin knows what it's like to be different, to have a talent others don't understand, and to find the courage to stand out.

On a regular morning getting ready for school, Kasey discovers that he can make some not-so-regular sounds with his mouth. Snares, cymbals, bass drums—he can do it all! With every beat, Kasey learns that his voice matters and to never stop sharing his gift with the world.

This upbeat and uplifting Own Voices picture book for 4 to 8 year olds . . .

* assures children that the things that make them different make them special;
* encourages kids to embrace their gifts and develop their talents;
* inspires readers to use their abilities and passions to make a difference; and
* includes an author's note from Kevin's heart about how he found the courage to be the perfect kind of different that God made him to be.

With bright, energetic art and lots of fun, rhythmic sounds, this affirming book tells kids that they are not alone and that the world needs who they were created to be.

The long-awaited reissue of Alice Coltrane’s original spiritual teachings and reflections, which provide powerful insight into her transcendent music, cherished by millions across the globe 

ALICE COLTRANE (1937–2007) was a composer, master of various musical instruments, improviser, spiritual leader, and wife of John Coltrane. Throughout her adult life, she worked within and combined a broad range of musical genres, including gospel, R&B, bebop, free jazz, Indian devotional song, and Western art music. She recorded more than twenty full-length albums for Impulse and Warner Bros. Her music speaks to her experiences as a child playing for church congregations in Detroit; the transcendent and mind-bending avant-garde improvisations she performed with her husband John Coltrane; and her religious pilgrimages to India. 

When Monument Eternal was originally published in 1977, Alice Coltrane was living in Southern California and had recently become a swami, building and nurturing an alternative spiritual community. In these pages, she says that the book is “based upon the soul’s realizations in Absolute Consciousness and its spiritual relationships with the Supreme One.” Monument Eternal offers deep insight into Coltrane’s tremendous musical output, and shines a light on her transformation from Alice McLeod, Detroit church organist and bebopper, to sage thought leader Swami Turiyasangitananda. It also reflects the extraordinary fluidity of American religious customs in the mid and late twentieth century. 

Akashic’s long-awaited reissue of Monument Eternal includes a new foreword by Ashley Kahn.

“The life and teachings of Swamini Turiyasangitananda are precious spiritual jewels waiting to be discovered. This book reveals many inspiring and unknown parts of Swamini’s life. Numerous personal accounts of divine healings enhance her quiet yet determined focus to be of service locally and globally. Perhaps most moving is this servitor’s willingness to take on herself, the effects of others’ negative karma. Portrait of Devotion is a doorway that leads to the life of a modern saint. If we pass through this door, there is a good chance that our own life will change for the better.” — Purushottama Hickson, H.Y.T.

“A.C. Swami Turiyasangitananda is a bhakti yogi who practiced karma yoga, a spiritual guru who, with dedication, followed the footsteps of her Satguru. She was a living example of true mental detachment ...while still physically being in the midst of society. She is spiritually evolved in the truest sense.” — Sai Ram Iyer of Mumbai

“Many of us are aware of the musical talents of Alice Coltrane, a gifted pianist, harpist and composer. In this beautiful book, the author takes us on a journey of the spiritual transformation of the artist, Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, who became a teacher of life with feminine strength and conviction. The author brings out what a pure relationship is like between a Guru and student, and most important how a spiritual journey may be straight and narrow at any moment, but that moment will pass on to the next moment of joy. Lastly, the story and lessons of Clarity, Compassion, and Courage, which Alice taught day in and day out to her students will call us to embrace our own spiritual journey.”
— Stephen Rosen, Ph.D

2 inch round button with pin back

A Better Way to Live Is Within Reach

Number one national bestselling author and trusted financial expert Anthony O'Neal provides the practical tools and everyday habits needed to build margin even if you're starting from zero. Drawing from his own story and years of coaching thousands toward financial freedom, Anthony shows you how to create real breathing room and finally take control of your money. Through simple, proven steps, you'll learn how to:

* Stabilize your finances and cast a vision for the goals that will guide you forward
* Eliminate all consumer debt and regain control of your spending
* Save three to six months of take-home pay and create habits that protect your progress
* Invest with confidence so your money starts working harder than you do
* Pay off your home, lock in your family's legacy, and start building wealth that blesses the people you love most

If you're tired of the stress and exhaustion of barely getting by, this book offers a proven roadmap to break the cycle for good. You don't need more shame. You need a plan and someone to walk with you while you take the first step. This is your fresh start.