Author Next Door: Booklovers and Book Lovers | Busboys and Poets Books
About this Event
On Sunday, August 9th at Busboys and Poets Hyattsville, join us for Author Next Door: Booklovers and Book Lovers, the next installment in our rotating celebration of community storytellers from across the DMV.
This romance-focused panel will spotlight authors whose works explore love stories shaped by culture, community, and the courage to challenge expectations that are as powerful as they are romantic. Each of our featured authors will read from and discuss their writing, come together for a conversation about the intersections of their books, and answer questions from the audience. Whether you are a devoted romance reader or simply looking to discover and support local authors, we encourage you to come celebrate the power of a great love story!
The River's Daughter by Dr. Punita Rice
A dark romantic fantasy of forbidden love, feminine rebellion, and river magic-rooted in South Asian folklore.
She let the river take her fully, blue markings blooming beneath her skin as ancient waters whispered of memory and change. There was no ribbon in her hair now-only loose strands, wild in the breeze...
In the town of Jaraan, women are bound by stillness: trained to be silent, obedient, and contained. Nineteen-year-old Sahira Raazaan has always been the perfect Covenant daughter. Silent. Still. Her future arranged, her desires contained. She's betrothed to the town's golden boy, expected to fulfill the life laid out for her.
But when she meets the gaze of a forbidden stranger, a river-marked musician from the Mehr'an people, something ancient stirs. Water moves at her touch. Blue markings bloom beneath her skin. The river begins to speak to her.
Sahira begins to unravel the truth about her mother's disappearance, and about the long-suppressed power hidden in her own blood.
With her marriage ceremony fast approaching and her family's honor on the line, Sahira must choose: the life she was raised for, or the truth buried in her blood. The river's pull, and the stranger's touch, promise a freedom she never dared imagine.
Some currents cannot be contained forever...
Inspired by the legend of Mirza Sahiba, The River's Daughter is a lush, spellbinding tale of forbidden love, feminine rebellion, river magic, and reclaiming your voice.
For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus by Varun Gauri
Disillusioned with modern romance, globe-trotting Meena tries an arranged marriage with Avi, an aspiring politician in Ohio. But when Avi's political opponent launches racist attacks, Meena and Avi are forced to defend their immigrant community, which narrowly understands its own traditions, and protect their increasingly shaky relationship. This is an intimate, funny, and heartbreaking novel about small-town America and the politics of marriage.
FOR THE BLESSINGS OF VENUS AND JUPITER by Varun Gauri, a debut novel, is the winner of the 2024 Carol Trawick Fiction Prize from the Washington Writers' Publishing House.
Love in the Key of Black by Shanti Edwards
Like a 90s R&B album, Love in the Key of Black is a collection of slow-burning Black romance stories where love moves in rhythm, and every story is a track.
In New Orleans, a disciplined classical pianist collides with a magnetic street musician who plays by feel, not rules. Opposites attract in a city that demands she stop performing and start living. In Philadelphia, a local DJ has always loved her from a distance. At a summer block party pulsing with basslines and second chances, friends-to-lovers tension finally rises to the surface.
And in Prince George’s County, Maryland, business owners clash in a sharp-tongued enemies-to-lovers romance, until late-night confessions and undeniable chemistry blur the line between competition and desire.
Laced with jazz, R&B, and the legacy of Black love, these sensual, emotionally rich stories explore one central question: will you choose love or let it pass you by?
Turn the page. Press play. Fall in love.
Princess and the P.I. by Nikki Payne
An amateur online sleuth must enlist the help of a jaded PI to clear her name while taking down a shady tech start-up in this exhilarating romantic suspense novel.
Fiona Addai is ready to set her plan in motion. To honor the anniversary of her brother's death, she's going to steal back his brilliant invention from the ruthless corporation that stole and claimed it as their own. As a famed Reddit detective known as @Princess_PI, Fiona has used her online connections and sleuthing skills to time every step down to the minute. But with one disastrous misstep, instead of getting justice, Fiona finds herself accused of M**der.
Maurice Bennett is no stranger to insomnia. These days, he's not losing sleep over the cases he's solving--but running from the one he couldn't. Instead, he's been settling for small-time scandals that don't stir up the guilt he's buried. But when he spots Fiona Addai at the center of a M**der investigation, something clicks. And for the first time in a long while, Maurice feels that old spark of intrigue.
However, Fiona is not the helpless damsel she appears to be. Sure, she needs Maurice's help to clear her name, but she's got conditions of her own: she wants a crash course in real-world detective work. Maurice isn't exactly thrilled. With every late-night stakeout and tension-filled interrogation, their partnership, rife with tension and unexpected chemistry, unravels a dangerous web of corporate crime and familial secrets. To bring the real killer to light, they'll need to trust each other and that might be the most dangerous gamble of all.
Copies of each author’s book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and all authors will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Doors open at 4:30pm and there will be full dinner service throughout the program. The program begins at 5:00 pm and will be followed by Q&A and book signing. Please note that this event is in-person.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Punita Rice is the author of "The River’s Daughter," a mythic love story of forbidden love, rebellion, and river magic, set in a rigid society bound by stillness. The novel is a feminist reimagining of the Punjabi (South Asian) legend of Mirza–Sahiba.
A former middle school social studies teacher and education researcher, Punita holds a doctorate in Education, as well as degrees in Psychology and Teaching. She is also the author of "South Asian American Experiences in Schools" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), and her academic and personal writing has appeared in Berkeley Review of Education, Education Week Teacher, and The Baltimore Sun, among others.
She lives in Maryland with her husband, their two sons, and their dog, and spends her free time daydreaming about rivers, rebellion, and love stories from the past.
Varun Gauri’s debut novel, For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus, was selected for NPR’s Books We Love 2024, chosen as a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Winner in Adult Fiction, and won the 2024 Carol Trawick Fiction Prize. While at the World Bank’s research department, Varun led studies on social policy and behavioral economics in dozens of countries around the world, and his academic work was covered in The New York Times, The Economist, Le Monde, The Hindu, and The Guardian. Varun now teaches at Princeton University and serves on the board of The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD.
Winner of the Next Bestseller Book Competition in Maryland, Shanti Edwards is a romance author proudly hailing from Prince George’s County, Maryland, crafting stories that celebrate the warmth, rhythm, and depth of Black love. A lawyer by day and a writer at heart, Shanti infuses her short fiction with soulful melodies and vivid emotional moments inspired by her love of music and the places that shape her imagination.
When she’s not spinning R&B playlists or building worlds on the page, Shanti enjoys salsa dancing, having deep discussions about reality tv dating shows, and going to the concerts of her favorite artists.
She currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area, where she’s busy writing her next celebration of love, community, and connection.
By day, Nikki Payne is a Tech anthropologist building accessible government services for vulnerable populations; by night, she dreams of ways to subvert Canon literature. Hailed as "Utterly Enthralling" by the "New York Times," Her latest work, Princess and the PI, is a national bestseller and was selected for the DC reads program by the Pen Faulkner Foundation. featured in the New York Times, NPR, Elle, Oprah Daily and BuzzFeed, Nikki Payne is writing black women into their happily ever after.
BOOK DETAILS
The River's Daughter
By Punita Rice
July 15, 2025 | Paperback/Hardcover, 332 pages, $14.99/$28.99
The River Goddess
A Prequel
By Punita Rice
April 09, 2026 | Paperback, 110 pages, $8.99
For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus
By Varun Gauri
October 08, 2024 | Paperback, 236 pages, $18.95
Love in the Key of Black
By Shanti Edwards
June 16, 2026 | $14.99
Princess and the P.I.
By Nikki PayneSeptember 16, 2025 | Paperback, 480 pages, $19
Sex, Lies and Sensibility
By Nikki PayneFebruary 13, 2024 | Paperback, 432 pages, $20
Pride and Protest
By Nikki PayneNovember 15, 2022 | Paperback, 416 pages, $18
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