BONUS EP BEVERLY JENKINS

“BLESSED BY MS. BEV”

Happy #JenkinsJuly! This week the entire RomBkPod team gathers for a special interview with Beverly Jenkins to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Vivid, homemade doughnuts, and the power of romance

BONUS EP HOSTS

> ANA COQUI (she/her) A lifelong genre reader, Ana grew up reading fantasy, sci-fi & mystery novels in Puerto Rico, before finally wandering into the romance section of the library in search of HEA’s after bawling through one too many dystopian novels. When she is not reading, knitting, writing about romance for Love in Panels or running #RomBkLove on Twitter as @anacoqui, Ana is a school librarian

> DANIELLE (she/her) is the voice behind LoveReadListen.com where she writes about her adventures in reading romance, YA, and audiobooks. Danie has a passion for promoting Black Romance and can’t wait to share her favorites with you. When she’s not reading, Danie enjoys anime, cartoons, and hip-hop. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @DanieReads

> MEKA WHITE (she/her) is the voice behind BookAbility.me where she writes about her adventures in reading romance and being visually impaired. Meka loves pushing books and can’t wait to share her favorites with you. When she’s not reading, Meka also enjoys singing and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her guide dog, Treble. You can follow her on Twitter @Mektastic

> MELINDA UTENDORF (she/her) was that child reading Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High books with a flashlight until 2 a.m. and checking out stacks of books from the library every week. After getting sick of ‘important’ books in her English degree classes, she turned to romance and HEAs and hasn’t looked back since. Melinda spends her time doing puzzles, listening to podcasts, and helping as admin for @RomanceSparksJoy. When she’s not busy with all of that, she’s a freelance editor or talking about books as @MelindaEdits

> SARAH JEAN (she/her) From the woods of Massachusetts, Sarah Jean has been reading queer romance for 12 years. She runs a queer book club called Rainbow Readers of Massachusetts (https://www.facebook.com/rainbowreadersmass/) that celebrates queer lives, joy, and empowerment through genre fiction. When not reading or listening to books Sarah is plotting her queer historical romances, cuddling with her cats, and planning her next adventure. Follow Sarah on Twitter @queer_reader

> SARAH JOHNSON (she/her) is a life-long reader with a passion for historical fiction and non-fiction. After having her first child, Sarah turned her attention to historical romance and is half-way to completing her collection of first edition Beverly Jenkins historicals. Sarah is the producer of RomBkPod, and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @LustFoundReads

BONUS EP GUEST

BEVERLY JENKINS (she/her) Beverly Jenkins is the recipient of the 2017 Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for historical romance. She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature, was featured both in the documentary “Love Between the Covers” and on CBS Sunday Morning. Since the publication of Night Song in 1994, she has been leading the charge for multicultural romance, and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and NPR. You can visit her website at https://beverlyjenkins.net/ and follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBeverlyJenkins/ and on Twitter @AuthorMsBev

BONUS EP DISCUSSION

NOTE: This conversation was recorded in mid-June during the 2020 Covid pandemic

NOTE: We have not included content warnings this week. If you’d like content warnings for a book we’ve read, please contact us @RomBkPod on Twitter or Instagram. Thank you!

> Beverly Jenkins’ second book Vivid is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1371130.Vivid

> Here’s an article on Dr. Rebecca J. Cole one of the real-life inspirations for Vivid

Link: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/woman-challenged-idea-black-communities-destined-disease-180969218/

> Here’s an article on Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler another real-life inspiration for Vivid

Link: https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/the-trailblazing-black-female-doctor-that-american-history-forgot/92708/

> Beverly Jenkins’ next historical romance, Wild Rain, featuring Spring Lee is due in Feb 2021 and can be pre-ordered now

Link: https://bookshop.org/books/wild-rain-women-who-dare-9780062861719/9780062861719

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZP1NLD8/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_fV.-EbVWTDVAF

> Beverly Jenkins’ first lady rancher was Jessi Rose featured in The Taming of Jessi Rose

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1007001.The_Taming_of_Jessi_Rose

> The character Spring Lee was first introduced in the book Tempest

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068495-tempest

> Thank you to reader Zufiya Edwards for sharing her #MyFirstJenkins story with us!

> Beverly Jenkins’ Always & Forever is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1363223.Always_and_Forever

> Beverly Jenkins’ Something Like Love is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1007000.Something_Like_Love

> Ana mentions Beverly Jenkins’ Indigo and Bring on the Blessings

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/347339.Indigo

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3733459-bring-on-the-blessings

> Thank you to @Lillie_80 for sharing her Ms. Bev family tree with us! Stayed tuned later this month for more on the tangled web of Beverly Jenkins!

> Ana mentions Beverly Jenkins’ Forbidden

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25760151-forbidden

> The character Rhine Fontaine was first introduced in Through the Storm

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1006999.Through_the_Storm

> Here’s an article and video on the Boston Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada, where Forbidden is set

Link: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/boston-saloon-1864-1875/

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI8aiS0UPQo

> Ms. Bev mentions the book Bullwhip Days, a selection of oral histories collected during the 1930s as part of the WPA writers’ project, which inspired Indigo

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25311070-bullwhip-days

> Ms. Bev mentions the historian Dr. Benjamin Quarles and his work as favorite research resources

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/202577.Benjamin_Arthur_Quarles

Link: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/quarles-benjamin-1904-1996/

> Ms. Bev mentions We Are Your Sisters by Dorothy A. Sterling, the book considers her “bible” when it comes to researching her female MCs

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1258415.We_Are_Your_Sisters

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Sterling

> Ms. Bev mentions the historian William Loren Katz and his work for her research into the Old West

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/152693.William_Loren_Katz

Link: http://williamlkatz.com/

> Ms. Bev also mentions the historian Art Burton and his work for her research into the Old West

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/349687.Art_T_Burton