The Womenade Fundraiser
The Black Widow Agency Joins Forces with Womenade
 to Help Others in Need

There's a funny story how this all came about... The response to THE BLACK WIDOW AGENCY has been overwhelming. I am humbled by all the people who seem to have taken to these four crazy gals who have hearts as big as gold.

I'm equally humbled by the great reviews the book has received. To my absolute delight, it has been reviewed in most of the major journals. Publisher’s Weekly called it “a sharp series debut...”  Deadly Pleasures said, "I need a second book, NOW."  Library Journal Review said, "Debut author Donovan draws on her expertise in law-enforcement technology, cyber crime, and running a company specializing in computer forensics to make her tale believable and authentic." Unfortunately, there was one review that did not share the others' opinions and that was from Kirkus Reviews who dubbed THE BLACK WIDOW AGENCY a "bitch-a-thon."  I took offense to the review because not one word was written about the quality of my writing. The reviewer seemed to take issue solely with the fact that these four women, who had been wronged by men, were now pulling together to help others.

Authors are always at the mercy of reviewers. I blogged about the review because I found in unprofessional, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was an opportunity to set the record straight and teach everyone (including Kirkus) that women working together to help others is not a "bitch-a-thon." It's just women working together.

I've been familiar with the good work done by my local Greater Squamscott Womenade chapter for some time and couldn't think of a better fit. This dedicated group of women works tirelessly to provide grass roots assistance to neighbors in crisis or who have reached a stumbling block in their lives, without the complexity of red tape. Assistance can go towards things like groceries, automobile repairs, prescriptions and the like.