Academics

**Eugenio Belgrado \ / Bert Schifferdecker** *portraits and dreams* **Live portrait painting and photography** *Be part of the picture...* WHEN: **25 June, 7-9:30 pm** WHERE: **The Living Room**, 1080 Vienna\* Free admission. Small contributions are welcome. Reservation (here on meetup) is required. \*New to the Living Room? We'll send you a message of confirmation containing the address.

Halfway through 2026, we are curious to find out more about what people in our community have learned: Everyone is invited to **share something that helped them progress in their work this year** \- whether it's a tool\, a book\, an article\, podcast\, project\, or any other insight\. No slides needed\, no pressure: just bring your inspiration and tell us what you learned\, or simply come to listen and be inspired by others\. The second half of the evening is all about **networking and conversation**. Whether you're looking to practice public speaking, connect with fellow UX professionals, or gain fresh perspectives, this is the perfect place to start. Please bring your own drinks and snacks. Tab water is available at the venue. We look forward to seeing you! By participating, you agree that your likeness may be recorded and authorise UX Vienna to use any such recordings for event documentation and promotional purposes.

The biggest football tournament on earth is finally here! 🌍🏆 The FIFA World Cup 2026 is taking over the USA, Canada, and Mexico, and we are bringing all the action, energy, and stadium atmosphere straight to you. Whether you are a die-hard football fan or just love the unmatched vibe of a global tournament, this is the place to be! We are hosting our official World Cup Watchparties at **Munchy The Urban Kitchen** – your favorite local pub with great screens, cold drinks, and an amazing community of sports lovers. Reserve your table here - Follow the link: https://urbankitchen.at/ Enjoy your Watchpartie! 🥳 [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/makingfriendsinvienna)❤️ [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/makingfriendsinvienna)💙 Do you have questions? Write us on Instagram 🎉

**IMPORTANT UPDATE:** Due to unexpected sick leaves within our speaker and organizing team, **we have to postpone this MeetUp to June 25th**. Everything else stays the same. **@everyone: Please review and update your RSVP status accordingly.** \-\-\- We'd like to invite you to our fourth installation for the Cloud Native Vienna MeetUps in 2026! Again we'll have two deep-dive talks and time to network and chat with friends in the Viennese cloud native community. A big thank you to **WKO Inhouse GmbH** for hosting us and providing food and drinks! **Agenda:** * **17:30:** Doors Open & Networking * **17:55:** Welcome from the Organizers * **18:00:** **Talk 1:** Rober Klonner (WKO Inhouse GmbH) **GitOps Visibility: Precise Argo CD diffs on every Pull Request** * **18:45:** Break & Refreshments * **19:00:** **Talk 2:** Thomas Hanser (Untis GmbH) **The Untis Platform Engineering Journey: GitOps Multi-Tenancy with Flux, GitLab, and Friends** * **19:45:** Open Networking We look forward to seeing you there! \-\-\- **Talks:** Rober Klonner (WKO Inhouse Gmbh) **GitOps Visibility: Precise Argo CD diffs on every Pull Request** Today's GitOps deployments are generated through layers of templating - Helm charts, Kustomize or ApplicationSets. Modifying these abstractions and trying to mentally render the output is error-prone. This talk introduces a method that uses Argo CD itself to render accurate diffs of Helm charts and Kustomize overlays between branches and posts the result directly on your pull request. We'll walk through a production setup using the Argo CD Operator, Argo CD Diff Preview, and GitLab CI, optimized for performance, minimal maintenance, and security. Through real-world use cases, we'll show what issues this approach catches before they hit your cluster. Thomas Hanser (Untis GmbH) **The Untis Platform Engineering Journey: GitOps Multi-Tenancy with Flux, GitLab, and Friends** Operating in the European education sector means juggling compliance, student privacy and massive traffic spikes when school starts. Historically at Untis, keeping this running in production was the burden of a single operations team. This session details our transition to an automated, multi-tenant GitOps platform managing a fleet of internal and external Kubernetes clusters. We share our approach of building a platform that gives product teams actual autonomy without compromising on security or control: * **Structured Multi-Tenancy:** Mapping GitLab groups to namespaced tenant projects using Flux’s multi-tenant model. * **Secure Access Control:** Leveraging the GitLab Agent for Kubernetes to enable scoped, declarative self-service cluster access. * **Flexible Delivery Models:** Supporting multiple decentralized deployment strategies by balancing governance and freedom for both internal teams and external guest environments. Prepare for an honest demonstration of challenges like managing secret lifecycles across a growing fleet, moving from script-driven tenant onboarding to true automated self-service, and wrestling with the classic "chicken-and-egg" problems of bootstrapping Flux and handling GitOps release management.

**Important note on RSVPs** To keep the breakfast format focused and useful, registrations are reviewed manually. Meetup may show the event as “full” because we are using the waitlist to manage confirmations. **Please still join the waitlist if you would like to attend.** We will review registrations and confirm participants individually. Thank you! **SNOWFLAKE & ACTIAN Breakfast at SPG** **How AI changes enterprise data search?** with **Ole Olesen-Bagneux** Join us for a breakfast meetup at the SPG office in Vienna together with Snowflake and Actian. O'Reilly Author Ole Olesen-Bagneux will share his perspective on how AI is changing enterprise data search, what this means for modern data platforms, and how organizations should think about metadata, context, governance, and usability in the AI era. We will also include a short **Snowflake update post-summit**, following the latest developments from the Snowflake Summit in San Francisco. Expect coffee, breakfast, good conversations, and a practical discussion for data leaders, architects, engineers, and everyone working on modern enterprise data platforms. **When** 25\. Juni 2026\, 08:30–11:00 **Where** SPG Office Hoher Markt 5 1010 Wien **Agenda** 08:30 – Arrival, breakfast & networking 09:00 – Welcome by SPG 09:15 – Actian: How AI changes enterprise data search? 10:00 – Snowflake: update post-summit 10:20 – Q&A and discussion 10:40 – Coffee, networking & wrap-up Looking forward to seeing you at SPG.

This practical webinar is designed for self-employed professionals and small business owners in Austria who want to become easier to find, easier to trust, and easier to choose - both on Google and in AI-driven search. Save your spot: [https://www.self-employed.at/event-details-registration/boost-your-google-ai-visibility-practical-visibility-steps-you-can-implement-tomorrow](https://www.self-employed.at/event-details-registration/boost-your-google-ai-visibility-practical-visibility-steps-you-can-implement-tomorrow) About the event Google is no longer the only place people search for solutions. Today, your potential customers are also asking tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and other AI systems for recommendations. The question is: Will your business show up when they are looking? This practical webinar is designed for self-employed professionals and small business owners in Austria who want to become easier to find, easier to trust, and easier to choose — both on Google and in AI-driven search. You will leave with clear, realistic actions you can start implementing the next day. What this webinar is about: Many businesses want quick visibility. They ask: “How do I get to number one on Google?” “How do I appear in ChatGPT?” “How do I make my content perform better?” These are valid questions, but they often focus on speed instead of substance. The businesses that win long term are not the ones chasing shortcuts. They are the ones that clearly understand their audience, build trust consistently, and position themselves in the places where buying decisions are made. This webinar will show you how to start doing exactly that. In this session, you will learn: How Google and AI search are changing the way people discover businesses Why being visible is no longer just about rankings, but also about trust and authority What makes a business more likely to be found, understood, and recommended online How to identify the search terms, questions, and topics your audience actually cares about How to improve your website content so it speaks to both people and search systems What practical steps you can take tomorrow to strengthen your online visibility How to think long term instead of chasing short-term tactics Who this is for: This webinar is for you if you are: A freelancer, consultant, coach, service provider, or small business owner Trying to attract more consistent inquiries through your website Interested in SEO, Google visibility, and AI search, but unsure where to start Tired of random marketing tips You do not need advanced technical knowledge. The session is practical, accessible, and focused on actions you can realistically implement. Why this matters now: Search behavior is changing. People still use Google, but they are also using AI tools to compare options, understand services, and make buying decisions. That means your business needs more than a few keywords on a website. You need clarity. You need content that answers real customer questions. You need trust signals. You need a presence that helps both humans and search systems understand who you are, what you do, and why you are relevant. This is especially important for self-employed professionals, because trust is often the deciding factor before someone reaches out. About the speaker: The webinar is led by [Rilwan Mogaji ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rilwan-mogaji-digital/)\- the co\-founder of [Mogaji Digital Communications](https://seo-agenturwien.at/en/), an SEO agency based in Vienna. For more than five years, he has helped companies become more visible through Google and, increasingly, through AI systems like ChatGPT — with the goal of generating new customers consistently and predictably. His work has been featured in outlets such as MeinBezirk, Wiener Wirtschaftszeitung, Radio Afrika, and Leadersnet. He also publishes industry-related articles on platforms such as [unternehmer.de](http://unternehmer.de/) and [designenlassen.de](http://designenlassen.de/). His mission is to help companies move away from short-term marketing tricks and toward long-term positioning built on clarity, consistency, trust, and a genuine understanding of their audience. You will walk away with: A clearer understanding of how Google and AI visibility work A practical checklist of improvements you can make to your online presence Ideas for content that directly answers your audience’s real questions A better understanding of how to build trust through your website and digital presence A long-term mindset for attracting more relevant customers online Event details: Date: June 25 Time: 17:00 Location: Online via Zoom Duration: 1.5–2 hours Format: Live webinar with practical examples and implementation-focused guidance Save your spot: [https://www.self-employed.at/event-details-registration/boost-your-google-ai-visibility-practical-visibility-steps-you-can-implement-tomorrow](https://www.self-employed.at/event-details-registration/boost-your-google-ai-visibility-practical-visibility-steps-you-can-implement-tomorrow)

**Open Source Talks by OffOn x Dynatrace** **❗️Meetup is for discovery only. Don't rely on it for availability or capacity. The actual limit is 50 people.** **👉 RSVP on our website to confirm your spot: [RSVP HERE](https://community.offon.dev/t/open-source-talks-by-offon-x-dynatrace-june-25th/1579)** June 25, 2026 · Vienna Join us for the first Open Source Talks, a community-driven meetup for the Austrian open source community. Two speakers, a quiz, and networking with people from different OSS projects and communities. Open Source · Vendor Agnostic · Community Driven **TALKS**: * Drupal CMS by [Nico Grienauer](https://www.linkedin.com/in/grienauer/) and [Sinduri Guntupalli](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinduri-guntupalli-307542131/) * Flip the Switch: Feature Flags and the Power of Open Standards by [Simon Schrottner ](https://schrottner.at/) **AGENDA** 17:30 — Doors open, networking (30 min) 18:00 — Welcome, OffOn.dev intro (10 min) 18:10 — Drupal CMS 2.0 by Nico Grienauer (25 min + 5 min Q&A) 18:40 — Break (15 min) 18:55 — Flip the Switch: Feature Flags and the Power of Open Standards by Simon Schrottner (25 min + 5 min Q&A) 19:25 — Break (15 min) 19:40 — Open Source Quiz (15 min) 19:55 — Wrap-up, next event teaser (5 min) 20:00 — Networking **SPEAKERS** * [Nico Grienauer](https://www.linkedin.com/in/grienauer/): Drupal expert and Drupal Austria board member. Founder of acolono GmbH, CodeWeekEU ambassador, and initiator of Austrian Open Source Award. * [Sinduri Guntupalli](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinduri-guntupalli-307542131/): Sr Developer Programs Engineer at Dynatrace. Experienced in product and program management, and web development. Passionate about open source with active involvement in the Drupal community. * [Simon Schrottner](https://schrottner.at/): OpenFeature maintainer and CNCF Ambassador. Helps teams release faster through open standards and feature flagging. **[LOCATION](https://maps.app.goo.gl/gziYEaS61aMbid6L7)** Dynatrace Austria GmbH THE ICON VIENNA · Tower 24 · 22nd Floor Wiedner Gürtel 13, 1100 Vienna Getting there: * When you arrive in the ICON tower, walk straight to the info point (reception) in the Atrium. * Ask for a visitor's card for Dynatrace (22nd floor). They will explain the way to Tower 24. * Walk through the 1st glass door. * At the 2nd glass door, hold your visitor's card (left side) against the card reader to open it. * At the turnstiles, hold your visitor card against the card reader, walk through, and look at the screen on your side while entering. * The screen will display a letter (A to D) telling you which elevator to take. * At the elevator entrance, a small display shows the floor it is going to. Enter if you see the number 22. **❗️Meetup is for discovery only. Don't rely on it for availability or capacity. The actual limit is 50 people.** **👉 RSVP on our website to confirm your spot: [RSVP HERE](https://community.offon.dev/t/open-source-talks-by-offon-x-dynatrace-june-25th/1579)** Want to learn more about OffOn? [Visit our about page](https://offon.dev/about/) Questions? Email offondev@gmail.com

FlashAttention is one of the most important pieces of software infrastructure for both training and serving any relevant AI model on cutting-edge GPUs. Let's have a look under the hood. The paper comes with a blog post that may be easier to read: [https://tridao.me/blog/2024/flash3/](https://tridao.me/blog/2024/flash3/) Find the paper here: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.08608](https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.08608) We are trying out a new Location -- right at the Westbahnhof IKEA. Take the elevator to the fifth. We may relocate if it is too crowded. Please Text me if you are late and can't find us. \-\-\- Bring your own printout or pdf-on-a-gadget. If you didn't have the time to read the whole paper, it is sufficient to be able to pretend to have sort of skimmed it. \-\-\- Want to suggest a paper, an event location, or just stay in touch with regular members? We hang out at the following Matrix server: [https://matrix.to/#/%23pwl-wien:rend.al](https://matrix.to/#/%23pwl-wien:rend.al)

**A-B-SEE** is a serious, responsible idea; intended strictly for the strong of heart and anti-dogmatic, open-eyed, and courageously curious cinematic adventure seekers. *Apply only if the description fits.* These events center on uncompromising, taboo-free, film art exploration. *Leave your comfort zone outside.* For **[FilmStory](https://www.meetup.com/filmstory/)** regular members only. * Orientation call prior to first date of participation. * Limited to 10 participants per event.

**‘If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a lot differently. Well, when you look into infinity, you realize that there are more important things than what people do all day.' (Calvin and Hobbes)** How about a serious fun evening at a wonderful place in Vienna (you probably haven’t seen yet)? Meeting at the Cobenzl with wonderful views over Vienna, finding your “Life Tree” and your personal character oracle at the [Lebensbaum](https://www.himmel.at/lebensbaumkreis)[ Kreis](http://www.himmel.at/lebensbaumkreis/ "http://www.himmel.at/lebensbaumkreis/"), and philosophize about the meaning of life while stargazing. And meet some great people and have fun. **Date:** Saturday, June 27th, 6.30 pm **Program:** 06.30 p.m. Meeting at [https://waldgrill-cobenzl.at/](https://waldgrill-cobenzl.at/) 08.00 p.m. Walk around the Lebensbaumkreis (Lifetree Circle) to find your personal tree and character traits 09.00 p.m. Stargazing “Meaning of Life” 10.00 p.m. Am Himmel/Octogon/Cobenzl >> [http://www.himmel.at/oktogon/lageplan/](http://www.himmel.at/oktogon/lageplan/) **Meeting Point:** [https://waldgrill-cobenzl.at/](https://waldgrill-cobenzl.at/) (right next to the bus stop 38A Cobenzl) **Donations:** most welcome (a hat will go around) Looking forward to seeing you! With kind regards, Dieter Langenecker ([www.langenecker.com](www.langenecker.com))

Enjoy the summer vibes with a relaxed picnic gathering paired with easygoing board games! Bring a dish or snack to share, a blanket, and your favorite board game (if you have one) to enjoy with great company. Unwind, connect, and make the most of a summer day in Vienna with fellow younger Americans. The location will be at Pier 22 on Donauinsel.

Yes, you read that right. **Get a glass of Prosecco for free** as a welcome drink by simply **signing up for this event** and showing up. This is a special offer, exclusive to this meetup event! There are also amazing offers on Tapas plates for meetups as well! Not to mention special drink and shot prices! This is a **free** event. **They will be showing the World Cup matches for those interested.** They have both Indoor and Outdoor seating. Suitable for all weathers. Friday evenings after work are all about meeting old and new friends. Have a meal and a few drinks before the real weekend fun begins. So come join us at this cozy bar for a lovely evening! All languages and cultures are welcome. Looking forward to seeing you all. **ATTENTION:** Please note the restaurant/bar may collect the payment at the time of your order, since there are so many people and sometimes people forget to pay. Please cooperate with them. They try to provide the best service they can for a large group. Kindly please carry cash to make payment and service easier and faster. Please support them with good reviews on Google if you like them. Best, Your Organiser - Rohit

**🌏🎭 POLITICAL PUBLIC PANEL DISCUSSION** **& KEYNOTE ON CHINESE OPERA** **China, Global Governance, and the Future of International Cooperation** 📅 **Date: 27 June 2026** 🕔 Time: 17:00 📍 Venue: **Bella Volen Gallery,** Landesgerichtsstraße 6, 1010 Vienna 🗣️ Language: English 🎟️ Admission: Free We warmly invite you to join us for an engaging public discussion on contemporary China and its role in an increasingly interconnected and complex world. China's economic rise, technological development, environmental policies, and growing international influence continue to shape global debates. Yet perceptions of China often differ significantly across cultures and political systems. This panel brings together distinguished scholars, authors, and practitioners to explore these questions from diverse perspectives. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ **🎭 SPECIAL KEYNOTE BEFORE THE PANEL** The History and Role of Traditional Chinese Opera by Bella Volen A short introduction to one of China's most influential artistic traditions, exploring its historical development, cultural significance, and impact on society and politics. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ **🎙️ PANEL EXPERTS** 🔹 **Dr. Ksenia Radchenkova** China scholar, lecturer, and recipient of the Dissertation Award of the Confucius Institute Graz. 🔹 **Helena Chang** Lecturer, columnist, and expert on intercultural exchange. 🔹 **Xiangyu Wu** Author and former lecturer at FH Campus Wien. 🔹 **Dr. Harvey Dzodin** Former ABC executive, presidential appointee under President Jimmy Carter, media strategist, and author. **🎤 Moderation:** **Josef Mühlbauer** Political Scientist, Author, BA, BA, MA (Prae-Doc, University of Graz) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ **💡 TOPICS OF DISCUSSION** 🌱 China's Green Transition and Environmental Policies 📰 Western Perceptions and Narratives about China 🌍 The Belt and Road Initiative and its Global Implications 🤝 Culture, Dialogue, and Intercultural Exchange ☮️ China's Role in International Cooperation and Global Peace 🇪🇺🇨🇳 Challenges and Opportunities in China–Europe Relations ❓ Audience Q&A Session Included ⏳ Duration: approximately 90 minutes ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ **🏛️ ORGANIZATION** This event is organized by Salon Artemira, an Austrian association and interdisciplinary forum dedicated to peace studies, art, culture, and science. Founded by political scientist, author, and peace researcher Josef Mühlbauer and professional painter, interdisciplinary artist, and gallery owner Bella Volen, Salon Artemira creates a platform for dialogue between academia, culture, and society through lectures, discussions, exhibitions, and research-oriented events. We look forward to welcoming you for an evening of dialogue, critical reflection, and international exchange. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ **🚇 HOW TO FIND US** **📍 Bella Volen Gallery** Landesgerichtsstraße 6, 1010 Vienna The gallery is a street-level venue located between Rathaus and Café Bendl. **🚉 Public Transport** 🔹 U2 Rathaus – Exit Rathaus (U2 direction Seestadt, direction Karlsplatz: EXIT Schmidtgasse) 🔹 U3 Volkstheater 🔹 Tram 1, 71, D – Parlament 🔹 Tram 2 – Rathaus 🔹 Tram 43, 44 – Landesgerichtsstraße 🔹 Tram 46 – Auerspergstraße 🔹 Bus 13A – Theater in der Josefstadt 🌏🎭 We look forward to seeing you on 27 June 2026 at 17:00.

If you are curious to know about what Notion can do this meetup is for you. **Speakers:** Philipp Stelzel, Nooa Adams and Beatrix Beer **Agenda**: We will present a workflow in **two different AI environments** — **Notion AI** and **Claude** — where an **AI agent turns AI meeting notes into a draft offer** (positioning, outline, and key messaging), and we’ll compare the process, the results, and the **credits/tokens consumed** while producing the same outcome. Philipp will demo the workflow using Notion AI and we’ll track how many AI credits it consumes along the way. Nooa will run the exact same workflow in Claude so we can compare results side-by-side and see how the credit usage differs. Beatrix will present in German about „Mehr als Mails und PDFs – mit einem Notion-Kundenportal zur Premium-Kundenbetreuung“ **Afterwards**: Drinks, food, networking, template swaps, and questions answered. Join us, meet fellow Notioneers, and level up your workflow

📊 **Profit from Predictions – Polymarket Strategy** Stop guessing on Polymarket. Learn the analytical system that generates real profit. ⚠️ Complete registration below — RSVP alone doesn't reserve your spot. ### [🔗 CLAIM YOUR SPOT](https://aiventurelab.org/product/Polymarket?city=Columbus&groupurlname=network-of-book-lovers-and-discussion-meetups&startgmtdatetime=2026-06-30T22:00:00Z) --- What you'll learn: - A systematic approach to forecasting outcomes - How to identify high-value markets before the crowd - Polymarket strategies that generate consistent daily profit *The forecasters who win have a system. Get yours.* 🎯

Start your week the right way with Manic Mondays. Giving you an enjoyable Bachata lesson with a push of cool moves. The second hour has Beginner/Intermediate Salsa on 1. You must understand basic Salsa skills to participate. 730pm-830pm Bachata Cool Moves 830pm-930pm Salsa On 1 (Beginner/Intermediate) 15 for One Class 20 for Both Free Parking & Plenty of Dance Space. Viva Dance Columbus 2809 Festival Lane Dublin OH 43017

**Improving Office in Franklinton** Physical location: Improving Office 330 Rush Alley Suite #150 Columbus, OH 43215 Schedule: 6:00 p.m.: Socialize, eat, and drink. Improving will be providing pizza and beverages. 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Main meeting and presentation(s). Topic: This month Chris Pazsint will be talking about Agentic Coding. How does one use CLI Based Agents, and Agentic IDEs such as Cursor, Kiro, Antigravity? How to include agentic coding plugins for IDEs you already love such as Visual Studio Code. We meet on the last Monday of each Month. Presentations are given by members and friends of this group. If you would like to do a presentation (small or large) on a python topic, please contact Central OH Python at centralohpython@gmail.com

Evolve exists to provide a welcoming place for professional women to create an authentic community, deeper connections, and confident growth through networking and workshop events. No cliques, no judgement. **Shades of Sisterhood** is a space for women to grow from the inside out through meaningful conversations, personal development, mindset growth, and courageous self-awareness. These gatherings are designed to create deeper connection, expand perspective, and encourage women to become healthier, stronger, and more aligned versions of themselves — both personally and professionally. Through honest dialogue, shared experiences, and intentional conversations around identity, leadership, confidence, relationships, emotional resilience, and growth, women are invited into a supportive environment where they can learn, reflect, heal, and evolve together. This is not about perfection, hustle culture, or surface-level positivity. It is about creating a safe space for women to have real conversations, challenge limiting beliefs, grow in self-awareness, and step more confidently into who they were created to become. At its core, Shades of Sisterhood exists to remind women that growth starts within — and no woman has to navigate that journey alone. Guests are always welcome. We'd love to meet you! **[Click here to join the call!](https://zoom.us/j/7894682064)** \*\*Evolve Women's Network is a membership based networking group. You can find more information at [www.EvolveWomensNetwork.com](https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.EvolveWomensNetwork.com&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw0UekYvD4PoVa7WUlFFVHyp). Feel welcome to be our guest anytime!

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/a/9/6/600_348310902.jpeg Instructor - Crow, HPS Class fee is $30 at the door or approved exchange RSVP with Advance pay of $25 (discounted) by PayPal on the web or by contacting Enchanted Elements (614) 437-2642. Reservations made directly to Enchanted Elements will be added to the class list manually not online. Private Instruction ~ Closed to the Public ~ Initiated Members Only Please come prepared for ritual. Blessings ~ Crow

Come join us to discuss our July pick "Tusk Love" by Thea Guanzon! Book description: A merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars. “A true delight of a book! Spicy and heartfelt—this one is a winner all around.”—Katee Robert, author of Neon Gods As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure. Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack. Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down—even if the spark between them sizzles with promise. Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance. Written by New York Times bestselling author Thea Guanzon at the behest of Critical Role’s Jester Lavorre, Tusk Love brings the most romantic story on Exandrian bookshelves to life.

Private Group. Closed to the Public Knowing ourselves and understanding our abilities is the first step toward wielding our gifts with control and accuracy. In subsequent classes we will verify and hone our talents with activities and discussion. These are hands-on workshops and participation is expected. The goal of our series will be to develop expertise in areas of particular interest such as mediumship, channeling, divination, healing and, etc.. Our ultimate directions will be determined by class members as we evolve. I look forward to sharing and discovering with you. - Cynthia