Vanessa Riley is an award-winning author of historical romance, mystery, and fiction novels featuring realistic multicultural communities and powerful persons of color including Island Queen, A Duke, the Lady and a Baby & Sister ,Mother Warrior. To fuel her interest in the Regency and early-Victorian eras, she made time for attending renaissance fairs and consuming period novels and films while obtaining her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a master’s in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University, as well as a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Penn State University. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Specialty RWA Chapters: The Beaumonde, and the Georgia Chapters, as well as the Historical Novel Society. A frequent speaker at literary, women's, and STEM events, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her military husband and teenage kid. Visit her online at VanessaRiley.com. Visit her at www.vanessariley.com.
About the Conversation Partner
Tammy Smithers is a resident of Houston, Texas and is an interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner who thrives at the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion and social justice philanthropy. Dr. Tammy holds a Doctor of Education from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, a Master of Business Administration from Rice University, and a Bachelor of Journalism in Public Relations from University of Texas at Austin. As a consultant, convener, speaker, researcher, and disruptor, she approaches justice-related issues with engaging, thought-provoking candor.
In July 2021, during the height of the pandemic, she stumbled on an audience of readers of historical fiction who enjoyed learning about Black women hidden figures. Through an introduction of The Personal Librarian and New York Times Best-Selling Author Victoria Christopher Murray’s urging, Dr. Tammy became the visionary of one of the largest online global book clubs. The Personal Librarians Book Chat boasts 370 members made up of Black women readers, authors, and bookstore owners from around the US and a few international places. PLBC hosts a series of monthly hybrid or virtual author discussions, panel discussions, field trips, and national and international travel to places they read about.
For more information, or to order books, please visit: https://kindredstorieshtx.com/collections/author-talks/products/irl-author-talk-murder-in-westminister-with-vanessa-riley-tammi-smithers-october-19-at-7pm-cst