Valentine's Day Romance Panel with Nora Dahlia & Katie Holt - moderated by Taj McCoy

Pick-Up - Harkening to the witty and swoon-worthy rom-coms of Christina Lauren and Kate Clayborn, a new enemies-to-lovers romp whisking us from the stress of city life to lush Caribbean beaches. Sasha Rubinstein is not on her game. Parenting with an absent (and objectively douchey) ex has never been easy, but, lately, the judgmental side-eye from people at school pick-up feels extra. It doesn't help that some entitled dad--with his perfect t-shirts and perfectly punchable (yet adorable) face--keeps stealing the last after-school spots and school hoodies out from under her. Ethan Jones is not trying to trip Sasha up... at school or otherwise. In fact, ever since they met (which she promptly forgot), he's been hoping for the exact opposite...or at least to stop thinking about her. When a game-changing job lands them trapped together on an exclusive private island, they resolve to stop sniping at each other and keep things professional. But with tension building between them and the permeating intoxication of island time, temptation blows in on every tropical breeze.PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781668061169?ic_referral=7Ax6vYcPaPG-uSqPuJcur-2b4WYLxkLlJq0NeN5ppbowMweDXFeYlAqujlEuTQY2zbJIkLaaQCdT4bd8bxmKxdl-2NBLUKGyn8_x59g0LPq3_cllqNNbkxSJ_7Lw_sFZnLbXzQNora Dahlia is a style writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, among others. Nora is also a branded content expert, book doctor, ghostwriter, collaborator, and writing coach. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two kids, and enormous cat, Waldo. Pick-Up is her first romance novel.Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian American, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her archnemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington--an obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn't have much patience for the romance genre or for Rosie.Not in My Book - Rosie and Aiden regularly go to verbal battle in workshop until their professor reaches her breaking point. She allows them to stay in her class on one condition: they must cowrite a novel that blends their genres.The reluctant writing duo can't help but put pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel, and their manuscript-in-progress provides an outlet for them to confess their feelings--and explore their attraction toward each other.When Rosie and Aiden find themselves competing against each other for a potentially career-changing opportunity, the flames of old rivalry reignite, and their once-in-a-lifetime love story is once again at risk of being shelved--unless they can find a way to end the book on their own terms.PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781639109753?ic_referral=1RjCs-opMPEbjWBDtOeJzsFhVD7qhJEjsZzpCyUA7vAwM0vuh9YBCPcQHjmkCqnqIaElq9N5WRA0lgqB1BbbxIyzjlG6q6VB7hLmQD3yhRSEpHB0XTZS8Q_-CPieCoxnZdfHnQKatie Holt is a New York City resident but a Tennessee native. She studied English with a concentration in creative writing at NYU and fought with every professor to prove that romance novels were worthy of their time. She's a Nora Ephron fanatic, Swiftie, and warm chocolate chip enthusiast. Not in My Book is her first novel.Dahlia and Holt are in conversation with Taj McCoy, an Oakland-born law grad who is committed to championing stories that include Black and multiracial women of color, plus-size protagonists, Black love, Black joy, and strong senses of sisterhood and familial bonds. Taj started writing as a small child, enjoying her first publications in elementary school. When she's not writing, Taj may be on Twitter boosting other marginalized writers, practicing yoga, sharing recipes, or cooking private supper club meals for close friends.*recorded 2/14/2025