This is a “what’s going on?” over coffee post.

Welcome to the tenth book review of fifty-three. As you know, I provide freelance book reviews to several review companies. It has been a great experience that introduced me to new authors and their wonderful books. Each week this year, I’m opening my Weekend Coffee shares with a link to a review I’ve provided. Reviews are three stars or higher. The genres range from picture books to fiction and nonfiction titles.

Dancing into the Light

Author Kathryn Abdul-Baki 
Published in September 2023
The publisher is She Writes Press
Available in eBook and Paperback (336 pages)
Middle Eastern Studies | Arab & Middle Eastern Biographies | Grief & Bereavement (Books)

If we were having coffee, I would share that the Women in Publishing virtual summit starts on Sunday. I’m attending again this year and looking forward to networking and learning.

If we were having coffee, I would share that I’m working on my next round of edits on my manuscript. I’ve come up against a decision that I’m struggling with. My initial goal was to write a hybrid urban fantasy and cozy mystery. My editor has suggested that I missed the cozy mark in a couple of areas, one being that it is a bit more graphic than cozy readers are used to. For example, one of my characters has a habit of picking their nose, and I describe the slimy feel of their finger in their nostril. She suggested I comb through the manuscript to tone down those kinds of things if I want to hit the cozy mark. The question I’m grappling with is, do I want to hit the cozy mark or just remove that label from my advertising? Hmm, what to do?

If we were having coffee, I would share a puzzle update. I’m still working on my 3000-piece puzzle, but sporadically. I have a tiny section complete; not enough to share a photograph. Looking at my schedule and commitments, this puzzle might take me through the summer.

If we were having coffee, I would share that my illustration class was cancelled this week, but I started working on one of my last pieces. What I have decided is that I need a few more art classes after this one to develop my skills before I attempt to create my Tarot deck. I’ll continue to develop my card ideas and do some of the writing, but this is going to be a long-term project. That said, I am still creating my sourced image oracle deck, but I’m still undecided if that is a personal project or one for resale. Once I finish it and have a physical deck, I will share its images. I’ve created nineteen of forty cards so far. This reminds me. Here is a picture of my Major Arcana name card. This is an exercise in Becoming an Exceptional Tarot Reader by Ethony Dawn.

Well, that’s my news. Here is the coffee bean grinder; how was your week? (Please leave the link to your coffee share in the comments section.)

By Shari Marshall (2026)