A trio of talented African-American woman authors — Catrina J. Sparkman, Fabu, and Sherry Lucille – will be the host of the Love Released Launch Party Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Central Branch Library.
Sparkman will be releasing a new novel titled “Opening the Floodgates.” Fabu will be releasing a new book of poetry called “Love Poems.” Lucille will be releasing her new novel “Love Promises.” 
“All three of us are members of the same church and we talked about creating a writer’s collective so we are all founding members of A Place At The Table,” Lucille tells Madison365. “Basically, it’s a space where a bunch of creative women get together to encourage each other and push each other to venture out from the group.
“The ‘Love Released Book Launch Event’ came out of the three of us wanting to do something together around the theme of love,” Lucille adds. “We decided to have it held around Valentine’s Day and to focus on love and all of its expressions.”
Sparkman is a playwright and best-selling author and a graduate of UW-Madison. She is a master’s degree candidate in the African American Studies department at UW, and an instructor of Theatre and Drama. She works as a content writer, a theatrical consultant, workshop trainer and public speaker for various national and international organizations.
Fabu Phillis Carter, known as Fabu, was appointed Madison’s Poet Laureate in 2008 and served in that position until 2011. She was chosen for this honorary position by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and voted in to office by The Madison Arts Commission in recognition of her years as a major figure in Madison’s literary arts movement. Fabu was also selected because of the inspiration she has provided for more than 20 years in poetry, reading and writing to school children, women and the African American communities.
Lucille is a certified life coach and speaks on the topics of motivation, decision making, and living out loud. She is also a school counselor at Madison Memorial High School. “My adventure is inspiring destiny. I’m all about inspiring people to do what they might have done. It’s never too late to be what you might have been. That’s one of the reason I went in to counseling and that’s why I’ve done life coaching … because I really want people to realize their potential. I think that gives you joy when you are living your purpose.”
Lucille’s “Love Promises” is the third in a “love” trilogy of interracial love stories that also includes “Love Dreams” and “Love Changes.”
“The trilogy are love stories set in Chicago in 1969,” Lucille says. “They all deal with various interracial situations. What I like about my stories is that they are spinoffs – they are all individual stories. They are self-contained stories – you don’t have to read one in order to understand the others.”
“The thing I like about storytelling is that it expresses this other part of me – parts of me that are not obvious,” adds Lucille. “It’s a way to express my internal workings. It’s an avenue for my creativity.”
It’s pretty rare to have three talented African-American women authors together for an event in Madison. Lucille agrees. “Fabu talks about that all of the time because she’s also a historian. She talks about the rarity of how we recognize female black authors,” Lucille says.
Lucille will also be debuting a new song at the event called “Love Promises” with two back-up singers. There will be treats from Chocolaterian, a European-styled patisserie that specializes in desserts and sweets.
“You should come to the event to be inspired,” Lucille says. “I think you should also come to hear some wonderful literature and be around some inspiring love stories. Feb. 13 will be a good kick-off for your Valentine’s Day weekend. Get your love started early.”
“Love Released” Book Launch Event will be held at Central Library in Meeting Room 302 on Feb. 13, 1-3 p.m.
For more information, e-mail [email protected]
