CRAVE Chicago, The Urban Girl's Manifesto

Two years ago I was working a wedding show and a stack of books on a vendor's table with a snappy hot pink logo on the cover caught my eye. I've been following Crave Chicago ever since.  Basically, Crave is a network of female business owners, a book with featured entrepreneurs, and they conduct workshops and networking events throughout the year.  The book contains a short bio of the lady-superstars, sharp and bright photographs, and interview-style question and answers that give you a tiny bit of insight into what drives them, what inspires them, advise for others, etc.  Also at the end of the book are deals and discounts for many of the businesses featured.
The second edition just came out and Spilled Ink Press is a proud member of the group, along with friends from FIG, Urban Worm Girl, Village Paperie & Gifts, and I've already started to connect with so many others from this 2nd edition through twitter and events.
To be honest, I was a little nervous about joining the group (perhaps "intimidated" is a better word? "humbled"... "shy"... I know, these are counter-productive emotions for a business owner to have), but spoke to one of the example business owners from the Crave website.  She said, "Crave will be for you what you make of it- if you put yourself out there, you'll meet a lot of great people", and so far it's been amazing.  This is so true for almost all things in life, isn't it?  Hesitation melted...
The official launch of the book was last week.  I sat down a few days later to dive into the contents on a quiet Saturday morning when Tony was out running errands.  Just me and my coffee... and wow.  Suddenly, it wasn't just me and my coffee... it was me, my coffee and over 100 examples of just awesome.

...I think I may send a book to Craig Ferguson and Terry Gross.  Meh, why not?

I've got lot's of books of my very own now... and only 1 Mother and 1 Mother-in-law, so there's many more for the offering.  Let me know if you'd like one!

PS- Amy Boyle did the photography, she did a great job and she's one of the featured business owners.  I learned from that day that I'm MUCH more comfortable when my invitations are being photographed instead of me, but she made me feel at ease despite that.