What’s all this?

Hi! I’m your hostess, Callan (she/her). For context, I’m a cis woman in my 30s, happily married lesbian, living in Fort Collins.

This book club came out of post-election 2024 terror, and a desire to do something to feel less…powerless. I immediately had the idea to start a book club, but didn’t really know how to go about connecting with like-minded women in the area.

Immediately following the election, another wonderful woman in the area, Kristine, started a Facebook group called Northern Colorado: Women Rising Collective. We talked about my book club idea, and Kristine graciously allowed me to piggyback and post about it on her immediately-very-popular FB group. The idea was popular, and hence the Words to Rise By Book Club was born!

We initially functioned solely as a FB Messenger chat thread, started via the Women Rising Collective main page. Then we added a Signal group (secure messaging app - highly recommended).

I have deleted my entire Meta presence; the group will no longer be updated there. The Signal thread is active, and is the main avenue for group conversations. I plan on getting started on Bluesky shortly.

Please use the Contact Me forms on this site to send me an email with your info, and I can add you to either Signal or Bluesky group/thread.

I initially wanted to use Signal to organize the club because the original intent was to meet at my home, and I prefer to keep my address within a secure app and approved group of people (of course).

HOWEVER - a wonderful plot twist occurred: the group rapidly became too large for my house to hold! Another group member, Donna, has graciously stepped forward with a larger venue. Venues moving forward will be flexible based on the group size.

You can email me (via the forms on this site) in order to contact me directly if you have questions/comments/suggestions.

Please note that I’m a busy lady and will likely only be able to catch up with email correspondence once to twice a week. Head on over to the Signal chat for more timely responses.

Cheers!!

Callan