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On this episode, we welcomed back Tracy Cross (who first joined us in Season Two) for our conversation on October 5, 2024 to talk about her recently released second book, A Gathering of Weapons.

About A Gathering of Weapons

Nearly four years have passed since the events of Rootwork (the first book of The Conjure Series) and the youngest Conway sister, Pee Wee, is now thirteen years old and on the cusp of magical greatness. Ever since the tragedy of 1889, she's worked tirelessly to practice her Hoodoo and hone her conjure skills so as to right the wrongs done to her family. But as a young Black girl living in the post-Reconstruction era of the segregated South, her growing powers do not go unnoticed. Strange and malevolent forces have descended upon the small Louisiana parish Pee Wee calls home, and she must use her newly acquired conjure skills to fight back. Will she use them for good? Or will she pledge herself to the ghost of a dead Voodoo priestess and the darkness the woman serves in exchange for unlimited power and the promise of generational revenge? A Gathering of Weapons is the second book of The Conjure Series.

About Tracy Cross

Tracy Cross’s debut novel, Rootwork, explored racism, sexism, karmic justice, and the power of family and faith. Her second novel in the series, A Gathering of Weapons (Dark Hart Publishing, 2024). Her work can be found in several anthologies, including Don’t Break the Oath, Black Magick (13 Tales of Darkness, Horror and the Occult) and 99 Tiny Terrors. She has been a recipient of a grant from the Ladies of Horror Fiction and the Horror Writers Association Scholarship from Hell. She lives in Washington, DC, is an active member of the HWA and a huge Prince fan. She also enjoys disco and has an Esty page for her other artistic endeavors.

Learn more about Tracy and her work, please visit tracycrossonline.com.

Find Tracy on Instagram: @tracycrosswrites
Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread
Find Black Writers Read online: blackwritersread.com

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This episode features our conversation from September 28, 2024 with Lori L. Tharps, founder of the Reed, Write & Create platform.

Lori is an award-winning author, journalist and educator. A self-described, storytelling evangelist, Tharps is a recognized voice in the areas of race, identity politics and African-American culture. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Glamour and Essence magazines, among others.

In 2021, Tharps moved with her husband and children to the south of Spain, where she launched Reed, Write & Create, a podcast and platform that celebrates and supports BIPoC stories and storytellers with content, coaching, and community. The Reed, Write, & Create podcast was named Best Literary Podcast by the Black Podcasting Awards in 2023 (Black Writers Read is the recipient of the 2024 Best Literary Podcast Award from the Black Podcasting Awards.

A graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Tharps is the author of three critically acclaimed nonfiction books, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain, and Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America’s Diverse Families. Tharps also penned the novel, Substitute Me.

Tharps also works as a book coach and collaborator with celebrities and public figures, and has written four books in this role, including The Redemption of Bobby Love and I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here. Both of these titles began as posts on the popular Humans of New York Instagram feed.

The Reed, Write & Create platform provides multiple opportunities for writers to receive a range of support including the blog, the podcast, and The Sanctuary.

Learn more about Lori, her work and the Reed, Write & Create platform, please visit: ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Find Lori on Instagram: @loriltharps
Find Reed, Write & Create on Instagram: @reedwriteandcre8
Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread
Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

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This special bonus episode of Black Writers Read is the first episode of Season Eight of Podcasting is the New Kink! which features me as a guest co-host! I was invited by Jasmine Gary to join her on her platform to chat about the novel, The Other Black Girl (Atria, 2021) by Zakiya Delila Harris, and the subsequent television series adaptation (now available to stream on Hulu). ​​​​Urgent, propulsive, and sharp as a knife, this thriller, Harris's debut novel, is about the tension that unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing.

The Other Black Girl has received multiple accolades including being recognized as a NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and A Good Morning America and Read with Marie Claire Book Club Pick and a People Best Book of Summer.It was named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by Time, The Washington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Parade, Goodreads, Fortune, and BBC AND Named a Best Book of 2021 by Time, The Washington Post, Esquire, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, Harper’s Bazaar, and NPR. This book was and remains a popular read, which is why it was optioned and adapted into a television series.

Podcasting Is the New Kink! is a space for Black women to get inspiration and insight! Join host, Jasmine Gary (she/her), best known as Pink Lady, as she interviews wellness and healing professionals and reviews television adaptations of novels written by Black women. Learn to be your best and favorite self, and think more critically about media and society.

Find Jasmine on Instagram: @pinkladyprod and @pod.kink
Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread
Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

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