Kirkus honors! And other goings-on.

Kirkus Reviews – the organization that is generally tough on independent authors – selected Raven for inclusion in its July magazine!

It has been a little over a month since I published Raven. Boy, what an eventful month it has been! The world is changing, in a lot of ways we have yet to understand. But I am optimistic that over time it’s getting better. For what it’s worth: black lives matter, white privilege is a real thing, trans women are women, re-evaluate your communities to make sure they are inclusive, let’s all remember to talk to each other in respectful and compassionate ways, and just wear the dang mask.

As you’ve probably seen, I started reviewing books by black authors. I’m enjoying that immensely, and definitely learning from it. I’ve written 12 reviews so far, and have probably about 20 more books on the pile. I hope to continue with more books that support increased diversity in our society, especially in STEM and tech. I see this as another way I can help push our cultural narrative in a more inclusive direction.

I’ve given talks about my goals – first to the MIT Alumni Club of Puget Sound, and also to Women of Security (WoSec) Seattle. Both were recorded, if you happen to be a member of either organization. I am also scheduled to talk to the Women of Office community inside Microsoft later this month. And last but not least, I was a guest on the AB Testing Podcast with my old friend Alan Page and his compatriot Brent Jensen. That was a fun conversation!

But my extra-exciting news for today! I was informed today that Kirkus Reviews – the organization that is generally tough on independent authors – selected Raven for inclusion in its July magazine! I paid them to review my book, but I didn’t pay them to include it in their magazine. They say:

Less than 10% of Indie authors are selected for this. Your review will be included as 1 of 35 reviews in the Indie section of the magazine which goes out to industry professionals (literary agents, librarians, publishers, book sellers, film executives, etc.). 

It’s live now! https://www.kirkusreviews.com/magazine/current/ You can download the magazine for free from their site. See the Indie section, page 177-178. [Direct link to the PDF]

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