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Free Book Stimulus Plan | Arts Calendar | STARS | Book Festivals | Gossip | Author 2 Author | The Blogs | Read This! | found in Lady Banks' Commonplace Book | On her ladyship's bookshelf
On the difficulties of hollyhocks
 Dearest Readers,
Spring is a time when all our very best intentions seem to be so very possible, so closely attainable, do they not? Take, as an example, hollyhocks. Her ladyship the editor has been attempting to grow hollyhocks in her garden for years. Each new spring she sets out her seedlings of Indian Summers or Country Romance pinks and they thrive. And just when her ladyship is beginning to congratulate herself that this season she will actually have her flowers, the relentless heat of summer sets in, the plants wilt and droop, and one fatal day her ladyship forgets to water the garden and all is lost. Until the next spring, when her ladyship, unable to resist the image of a garden full of hollyhocks, once again reaches for the unattainable.
 Rather more attainable than the prospect of hollyhocks is her ladyship’s reading list, which has recently been increased in the amount of 97 books—precisely the number of books to appear on the nomination list for the 2009 SIBA Book Award.
Her ladyship loves to see the nomination list because it represents such a varied range of interests. In a few weeks a few finalists will be chosen by booksellers, and a few weeks after that, the winners will be decided and her ladyship is quite sure that the winning titles will be most deserving. But the nomination list is attractive because it is so spontaneous—it is simply a list of southern books that booksellers have felt especially fond of and worthy of notice. At some point, somewhere in the South, a bookseller handed each and every one of these books to a customer and said “You have got to read this.”
98 books is a noble reading list indeed, especially when one considers that her ladyship has rather less than 36 weeks left in the year to read them all. That would be somewhere between 2 and 3 books a week. If her ladyship’s flowers suffer this summer, it will probably be because she has been too busy reading.
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Announcing the ultimate solution to our ailing economy: Wanda Jewell's Free Book Stimulus Plan
As if she didn’t already have enough to read already, her ladyship recently received a copy of An Antebellum Plantation Household by Miss Anne Sinkler Whaley LeClercq in the mail. Is there anything better than receiving a new book in the mail? Why yes, if the book comes absolutely free of charge.
Her ladyship, the editor’s dear friend Ms. Wanda Jewell has too many books. This may seem a most unlikely situation, but while her ladyship has been enjoying the spring sunshine and weeding her garden, Ms. Jewell has been attempting to weed out her library. She has decided, therefore, to both reduce the number of books threatening to take over her house and do her part to stimulate our economy. Thus Ms. Jewell has therefore created her own “Free Book Stimulus Plan”: Every person who sends her a receipt of a purchase they made at their local independent bookstore would receive a book from her own personal library, completely free of charge
Her ladyship was quite unable to resist such an offer, and duly sent Ms. Jewell her own evidence of a recent foray to her neighborhood bookshop. Buying books is always such a pleasure, is it not? And buying books from your local independent bookstore is quite excellent karma. Readers may visit FreeBookStimulusPlan.com for details and a list of participating bookstores. Her ladyship is quite certain that no one reading this note needs a good excuse to buy a book, but is happy to be able to offer one anyway.
A last note:
Did you know that May 1st is "Buy Indie Day?" Ms Jewell says that if anyone sends her a receipt dated May 1, 2009, she will send them TWO books.
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Authors Round the South is the home of one of the most extensive listings of literary events in the South, including author readings & appearances, book club meetings, book & literary festivals, open mics, poetry slams and writing groups. No matter what part of the South you live in, you can find a bookstore and author appearance near you!
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 Reader, meet writer: STARS authors on the road
The following authors are traveling this month and open to meeting with book clubs, talking to schools and participating in library programs. To find out more information click on the author's name to see their profile and request them for an event. There are hundreds of authors in the STARS directory, and new writers and trips are added every day. Visit the STARS directory at Authors Round the South for more information.
Book Festivals & Special Events
Malice Domestic
Date: May 1 -3
This is a three-day convention that brings together the readers and writers of the “traditional” mystery—those which contain no explicit sex or excessive violence, and usually feature an amateur detective, a confined setting and characters who know one another. In addition to author panels, presentations and signings, they have two auctions (one live, one silent) with proceeds going to a local charity,
Books in Bloom
Date: Sunday, May 3rd
This festival is one of the kick-off events for the their Festival of Arts, and offers a wide array of authors for every literary interest. Pretty location too.
Blue Ridge Book and Author Showcase
Black Rock, NC
Date: May 8-9
Robert Morgan, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Sharyn McCrumb, Vicki Lane, Joan Medlicott, Gary Carter, Sheila Kay Adams, Keith Flynn and many other writers and poets will be in Hendersonville NC as part of the event.
Author! Author! Shreveport’s Celebration of the Written Word
Location: Shreveport, LA
Date: July
This festival promotes reading in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas with not only guest authors and the usual book festival activities such as workshops, panels and author presentations and signings, but also a Pre-Opening Event and a Grand Ball.
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Sarah Addison Allen, author of Sugar Queen at Osondu Booksellers in Waynesville, NC (05/30/2009) |
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 Gigi Amateau, author of A Certain Strain of Peculiar at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA (05/14/2009)
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Mark A. Anderson, author of The Hozma's Son at Page After Page in Elizabeth City, NC (05/02/2009)
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Eric Alpenfels, author of INSTINCT PUTTING at Country Bookshop Inc in Southern Pines, NC (05/21/09) |
Issac Bailey, author of Proud, Black, Southern at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (05/22/2009) |
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Anne Barnhill, author of What You Long For at McIntyre's Fine Books in Pittsboro, NC (05/17/2009), Mountain Lore Bookstore in Hendersonville, NC (06/27/2009), Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (06/24/2009) & Two Sisters Bookery in Wilmington, NC (06/13/2009) |
Hester Bass, author of So Many Houses at The BookStore in Huntsville, AL (05/16/2009) |
Danny Bernstein, author of Hiking the Carolina Mountains at Fireside Books and Gifts in Forest City, NC (05/02/2009), Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/22/2009) & City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC (05/29/2009)
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Clay Carmichael, author of Wild Things at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/19/2009) |
| Nancy Chickerneo, author of Woman Spirit at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (05/02/2009) |
| Patti DiRienzo, author of Florida: A Journey Through Its Colorful Past at Inkwood Books in Tampa, FL (05/14/2009) |
| Rick Doble, author of Cheaper: Insiders' Tips for Saving on Everything at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/09/2009) |
| Jim Dodson, author of A SON OF THE GAME: A Story of Golf, going Home, an at Country Bookshop Inc in Southern Pines, NC (05/14/2009) |
| Hal Duvall, author of Juniper Road at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (05/08/2009) & Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, SC (05/08/2009) |
| Marc Fitten, author of Valeria's Last Stand at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA (05/11/2009) |
| Phil Fitzpatrick, author of A Beautiful Friendship: The Joy of Chasing Bogey G at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/22/2009) |
Mindy Friddle, author of Secret Keepers at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (05/29/2009) & Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, SC (06/02/2009) |
Bob Fulton, author of Bob Fulton My Career My Life at Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, SC (05/15/2009) |
Lise Funderburg, author of PIG CANDY: Taking My Father South, Taking My Fathe at Country Bookshop Inc in Southern Pines, NC (05/26/09) & Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/28/2009) |
| Greg Garrett, author of Shame at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (05/15/2009) |
Ben George, author of The Book of Dads at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/26/2009) |
Susan Gregg Gilmore, author of Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen at Lincolns Loft Bookstore in Hodgenville, KY (06/16/2009) & City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC (06/20/2009) |
| Stephanie Grant, author of Map of Ireland at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/07/2009) |
Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/02/2009) |
Aaron Gwyn, author of THE WORLD BENEATH at Country Bookshop Inc in Southern Pines, NC (06/04/09) |
Jessica Handler, author of Invisible Sisters at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/08/2009) |
| John Hart, author of Last Child at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (05/13/2009), Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/15/2009), McIntyre's Fine Books in Pittsboro, NC (05/16/2009), Eagle Eye Book Shop in Atlanta, GA (05/22/2009), & Country Bookshop Inc in Southern Pines, NC (05/28/09) |
Sam Haskell, author of Promises I Made My Mother at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (May 21, 2009) |
| Patti Callahan Henry, author of Driftwood Summer at Bay Street Trading Co in Beaufort, SC (06/04/2009), Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (06/05/2009), Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (06/11/2009) & Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, SC (06/16/2009) |
| Cheryl Renee Herbsman, author of Breathing at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/21/2009) |
Phyllis Hoffman, author of Southern Lady - Gracious Spaces at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (05/08/09) |
Cathy Holton, author of BEACH TRIP at Wild Hare Books in Signal Mt., TN (05/16/2009), Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (06/11/2009), Country Bookshop Inc in Southern Pines, NC (06/12/09) & Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC (06/13/2009) |
| Morgan Howell, author of A Woman Worth Ten Coppers at Two Sisters Bookery in Wilmington, NC (05/02/2009) |
| David Hume, author of Travels to Italy: From Rome to Verona at Pomegranate Books in Wilmington, NC (05/13/2009) |
| Allegra Huston, author of Love Child at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/02/2009) |
| Lindi Dini Jenkins, author of Up in the Villa at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA (05/08/2009) |
| Tim Josephs, author of A Camouflaged Fragrance of Decency at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/23/2009) |
Terry Kay, author of Book of Marie at Book Exchange in Marietta, GA (05/03/2009) |
| Laurie R. King, author of Language of Bees at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA (05/05/2009) |
Helen Kraus, author of Rain Gardening in the South: Ecologically Designed at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/05/2009) |
| Anne LeClaire, author of Listening Below the Noise at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA (05/07/2009) & Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/12/2009) |
| Tom Lowe, author of A False Dawn at Inkwood Books in Tampa, FL (05/07/2009) |
| Michael Lux, author of The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in Americ at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/13/2009) |
| H. Ronken Lynton, author of Veiled Destinies at McIntyre's Fine Books in Pittsboro, NC (05/02/2009) |
Michael Malone, author of The Four Corners of the Sky at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC (05/07/2009), Country Bookshop Inc in Southern Pines, NC (05/08/2009), Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/09/2009), Books & Books Inc in Coral Gables, FL (05/13/2009), Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (05/15/2009), G.J. Ford Bookshop in St. Simons Island, GA (05/16/2009), Book Mark in Atlantic Beach, FL (05/16/2009), Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/20/2009) & McIntyre's Fine Books in Pittsboro, NC (05/24/2009) |
Janna McMahan, author of Ocean Inside at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (06/19/2009) |
Stephanie Pearl McPhee, author of Free Range Knitter at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (05/19/2009) |
| Bee Patricia, author of Try'umsee's Wings & Mama's Pearls at Bay Street Trading Co in Beaufort, SC (05/02/2009) |
Cathy Pickens, author of Can't Never Tell at Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, SC (05/07/2009) & Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/29/2009) |
| Reynolds Price, author of Ardent Spirits: Leaving Home, Coming Back at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/01/2009) |
| Douglas Preston, author of Cemetery Dance at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Atlanta, GA (05/23/2009) |
| Pauline Reage, author of The Story of O at Bound to be Read in Atlanta, GA (06/07/2009) |
Bob Reising, author of Chasing Moonlight at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/02/2009) |
Jack Riggs, author of The Fireman's Wife at Bay Street Trading Co in Beaufort, SC (05/09/2009) |
Cokie Roberts, author of We Are Our Mothers' Daughters at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (05/27/2009) |
| Terry Rollins, author of Married to The Military at Osondu Booksellers in Waynesville, NC (05/02/2009) |
| Ann B. Ross, author of Miss Julia Delivers the Goods at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (05/01/2009), Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/10/2009) & Fireside Books and Gifts in Forest City, NC (06/18/2009) |
Jeff Roth, author of Jewish Meditation Practices at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/27/2009) |
| Hester Rumberg, author of Ten Degrees of Reckoning at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/20/2009) |
| Louise Morgan Runyon, author of Landscape: Fear and Love at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC (06/26/2009) |
Brian Rutenberg , author of Brian Rutenberg at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (06/26/2009) |
| Russell Schroeder, author of Disney's Lost Chords at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC (05/01/2009) |
| Joanna Catherine Scott, author of Child of the South at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/16/2009) |
| David Sedaris, author of When You Are Engulfed in Flames at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (06/22/2009) |
Nicole Seitz, author of 100 Years of Happiness at Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, SC (06/16/2009) |
Irene Silverblatt, author of Harvest of Blossoms at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/23/2009) |
| Mark Smith-Soto, author of selections at McIntyre's Fine Books in Pittsboro, NC (05/28/2009) |
Warren St. John, author of Outcasts United at Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC (05/06/2009) |
| Frank Stitt, author of Bottega Favorita at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (05/07/2009) |
Donna Stone, author of Tough as Stone Brandons Story at Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, SC (05/01/2009) |
| Misty Terry, author of Under Fire! Find Faith and Freedom at Lincolns Loft Bookstore in Hodgenville, KY (05/21/2009) |
| Paul Von Ward, author of The Soul Genome: Science and Reincarnation at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/28/2009) |
| Benjamin Walker, author of Winds of the South at Fireside Books and Gifts in Forest City, NC (05/23/2009) |
Kathryn Wall, author of Covenant Hall at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC (06/12/2009) |
| Jim Warren, author of Cowlicked! Rants, Remembrances & Ruminations at Horton's Books & Gifts in Carrollton, GA (05/02/2009) |
| Wendy Wax, author of Body Movers Series: #4, #5, #6 at Book Exchange in Marietta, GA (06/24/2009) |
| Karen White, author of The Lost Hours at Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC (05/02/2009), Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA (05/3/2009) & Milestone Books in Vestavia Hills, AL (05/07/2009) |
Neil White, author of In the Sanctuary of Outcasts at Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, AL (06/25/2009), Lorelei Books in Vicksburg, MS (06/15/2009) & That Bookstore in Blytheville in Blytheville, AR (06/05/2009) |
Susan Rebecca White, author of Bound South at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/01/09) |
Susan Whitfield, author of Hell Swamp at Quarter Moon Bookstore in Topsail Beach, NC (06/25/2009) |
| Doug Williams, author of Sharecroppers at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (06/06/2009) |
| Kevin Wislon, author of Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC (05/15/2009) |
| Sam Wolfson, author of Jewtopia: The Chosen Book for the Chosen People at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA (05/03/2009) |
Stephen Wren, author of Jeremiah Bloom at Fireside Books and Gifts in Forest City, NC (05/15/2009) |
Jeanne Yarborough, author of Ultimate Baby Massage at Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, SC (06/23/2009) |
| Sherry Zangas, author of A is for Alabama Roll Tide Roll at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL (05/9/2009) |
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If her ladyship could cite choose but one person to watch over her pen and guide her literary endeavors, it would be the wit and wisdom of Flannery O’Connor, a woman who, perhaps more than any other, may be justly called the queen of Southern literature—its matriarch and its muse. Mr. Frank Reiss of A Cappella Books speculates on the influence of O’Connor while commenting upon the production of a new stage adaptation of several of her stories in a recent article on GBP Cover to Cover:
“Just as Hemingway once said all modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn, many of us interested in Georgia literature would say that a good starting point would be the work of Flannery O'Connor.” ( read more here)
And he is not alone in his estimation her worth. Apparently, even the person responsible for choosing books for the book club on the television show “Lost” is a fan.
Flannery O’Connor in the news:
Macon News
New York Review of Books
A Largehearted Boy
Susan Larson
A Striped Armchair
Arts & Letters
Salon.com
Marlon James
The New York Times
Also of note:
Mr. Pat Conroy was inducted into the South Carolina Literary Hall of Fame and a novel of his has been made into an opera.
Speaking of opera, her ladyship was saddened to hear of the passing of Anne Brown, the original “Bess” from Porgy & Bess.
Mr. Michael Malone will be the featured guest at BookBalloon on May 4 – 6
Here is an advertising slogan her ladyship would like to see: Got buttermilk?
The women at My Sisters Books are delighted with their new handmade quilt.
Could this be the end of print(ed catalogs)?
Ms. Eudora Welty enjoyed a birthday
On the anniversary of Gone with the Wind, Molly Haskell thinks “there’s something about Scarlett”
On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allen Poe, Jill Lepore wonders “Just how many ways can a writer insult his readers and get away with it?”
Good Ole Girls a musical inspired by the stories of Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle has, has hit the silver (plasma) screen
Can we ever get enough of pirates? (Well thanks to Johnny Depp and Captain Jack Sparrow, apparently not)
Even Yale acknowledges: The South is better than the North
Mr. Bob Dylan explains why the south is different:
“It must be the Southern air. It’s filled with rambling ghosts and disturbed spirits. They’re all screaming and forlorning. It’s like they are caught in some weird web - some purgatory between heaven and hell and they can’t rest. They can’t live, and they can’t die. It’s like they were cut off in their prime, wanting to tell somebody something. It’s all over the place. There are war fields everywhere … a lot of times even in people’s backyards.”
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Author 2 Author
Gigi Amateau has a new YA book out, Chancey of the Maury River. In this Author 2 Author interview Karen Spears Zacharias quizzes Amateau about the challenges of letting a horse tell his own tail, er, tale. Using her own voice, Amateau shouts praise for kids, horses and Indie booksellers.
Q: Nobody is ever going to accuse you of soft-pedaling the YA market, are they? Your first novel, Claiming Georgia Tate, confronted the issue of incest and the lies we tell ourselves as families. Your latest book, Chancey, addresses disabilities & neglect in both animals and children. Do you ever worry about being censored?
A: I probably worry most about censoring myself by not writing something. Sometimes, I think the perception of what Georgia Tate is about keeps it off of shelves, but I hear from readers who connect with the overall message of the big three: faith, hope, and love, so I’m all good. That’s the thing that I probably ask myself when I’m writing: is this story, is this scene, really coming from a heartfelt place?
Q: You choose to let Chancey tell his own story. Why did you pick that POV?
A: Well, I wanted Chancey to pay tribute to some of my favorite animal stories: Black Beauty, Charlotte’s Web, Misty, and even Flush by Virginia Woolf. Mainly, though, the character [Chancey] came right on into the creating circle, so I tried to let him do his thing.
Q: What challenges did you face as a writer in making the horse the narrator to his own tale?
A: You know, horses see color differently than people do, so I tried to use most of the color words carefully if used by Chancey or give the color references to another character. I also made up a rule that Chancey only really “talks” within his genus, because horses do have a pretty amazing way of communicating with each other. I figured, from the get-go, that there’s a whole slew of people who dislike anthropomorphic stories, but I’m not one of them so that didn’t really bother me. I believe animals feel; they communicate with people, and they bond with people. I know horses who make it their job to reach out and heal people, so you know, folks are either there me with or they’re not on that one. Dude, I had a mule hand me a soft brush with her mouth once because the dandy brush I was using hurt her back.
Q:Tell us more about that "hunter pace" you went on and how it helped shape the story for you.
A: My daughter and I love to ride together in Virginia’s mountains, and our horse, Albert, enjoyed the mountains, too, when he could see. Now, he doesn’t travel so much, except to the occasional book signing (or some times 4-H groups come to him).
A hunter pace is seven or eight cross country miles ridden over varied terrain – flat, hills, water, obstacles. Teams can ride a hunter pace at a leisurely speed or really get it on, but for each level the judges set a blind optimum time, and the riders must judge whether to walk, trot, canter or gallop (yeah!) each section of the course. The outcome of a hunter pace depends on teammates getting across the finish line together and closest to the optimum time; it’s not judged on how pretty you’re turned out, or your perfect leg position, or whether you post on the right diagonal. Good and correct form and turnout are important every time you ride, but even beginning riders can find success with the hunter pace and build their confidence, so a hunter pace was the perfect way for the character, Trevor, to achieve his goal of winning a blue ribbon. I think the hunter pace chapter was one of the first chapters I wrote.
My first hunter pace changed the way I ride and the way Albert and I work together. I’ll always credit the Glenmore Hunter Pace in Rockbridge County with showing me how it feels to canter and gallop without fear. My horse took care of me, and so I finally relaxed.
Q: I love the tenderness of the relationship between Claire and Chancey. Your own Appaloosa and daughter were the inspiration for this story. Tell us how the idea of the story gelled for you
A: Thank you for saying that about Claire and Chancey. Our horse, Albert, is kind of a curmudgeon on the outside, but he has incredible heart and is so attuned to the needs of the children around him that the writing went really well for me as long as I kept returning to the heart of that horse and his connection to the little girl. My Albert lives a good life, so I roughed Chancey up a little bit to make his friendship with Claire all the sweeter once they find each other.
We keep our horses in central Virginia – and as much as I love Richmond, a horse story needs a sweeping, glorious landscape. Rockbridge County, Virginia, the most beautiful place on earth to me, seemed like the perfect setting.
Q: You provide a lot of insider information about horses in general, and insight into the silent ways in which they communicate with others. Only a real horsewoman would know these things. When did you first fall in love with the animal with the long gams?
A: The real horsewoman in our family is my daughter. I feel like I am an eternal beginner! I started riding eleven years ago, right when Judith started riding. Sharing a love of horses keeps us close, and we’ve had so many adventures – clearing trails in national forest wilderness, learning to play polo, hacks through the mountains, swimming with our horses.
Q: What are three things a writer needs to keep in mind when writing for a YA audience?
A: Lord, I don’t know. Let me think. Truthfully, I’ve learned the most about writing YA from reading the work of young adult authors themselves. The students I’ve worked with write about big, important themes: family, belonging, friendship, separation, survival. Even when they’re writing horror, thriller, or fantasy, heart usually reveals itself as the motivating force in their work. Teens face some serious shit in their lives - parents deploying to war, parents not accepting them, juggling caregiving and school, feeling left out, grandparents with bone cancer, chronic health issues of their own, worrying that if they haven’t talked to their significant other then the love is gone – and when they write about what they’re facing they use the word shit, among other good, strong words; it’s their job to do so, they’re teenagers. Oh, and I’ve learned from them that I use the word ‘beautiful’ too often in my work.
Q: Authors, nowadays, have to go about doing the bulk of their own publicity. What's your system for getting word out about your books?
A: Fortunately, Richmond area readers support a number of awesome indie bookstores. Indies make excellent partners in getting the word out about a new book because of their strong and long relationships with readers. I launch my books at Fountain Bookstore, who also comes off-site with me to the barn when I meet with 4-H clubs, and Narnia Children’s Books. Last fall, we got a city permit to shut down a side street, and I brought Albert to Narnia. His vet came, too, and she x-rayed her husband’s arm from the mobile x-ray unit. Albert enjoyed every morsel of clover handed to him by the most precious child dancing under his mouth and singing, “Clovah for suppah, Albutt, Clovah for suppah.” Oh, and Wild Rumpus in Minnesota brought a horse named Misto into their store!! See, where else can authors find this kind of support?
I keep a big e-mail list, too, and, usually, I work up postcards that the stores and I can give out. Candlewick Press assigns me a great publicist, so they help identify any special interest groups, and they also work closely with schools and libraries. I do use Facebook, and I blog (http://www.bufflehead.wordpress.com), though I think I’m not even scratching the surface on the Internet. One day, I’m going to do a reading in Second Life...I’ll have to figure that out first.
Q: Take us through your day as an author. What are you working on next?
A: I wake up around seven and say to myself, “I’m going to be early tonight.” I drive my daughter to school, then come home and make a strong latte and read the paper – an actual paper, not an online paper. While I clean the house, I think about what I’m going to work on that day. Then I try not to check e-mails, but I do it every day even though I say I’m not going to, so I make myself feel better by calling this “marketing and pr.” I may work in the garden or enjoy a short yoga practice, and if so, I call this writing, too because I’m working stuff out in my mind. If I have a day with no volunteer meetings or school visits, I write for about three hours before I pick up Judith. By the time we get home from school, I’ve crossed the James River at least four times, so every day has a little something wonderful there. In the afternoon, more “pr.” Or, I might work in the garden for two hours; that’s more writing. Or, I go ride Albert, and I call this, “research.” I usually make an awesome dinner and then write or revise for another two or three hours at night. I clean the house again because we are so messy, or pay bills, then I go to bed around 11:00 or 11:30 with research-reading or sometimes fun-reading. Probably most nights, I fall asleep about 1:00 a.m.Right now, I’m revising a second horse story, drafting a new YA novel, starting an historical fiction YA story, and trying to keep up with my horse blog.
Q: If you could have a two-hour lunch with anyone in the publishing business right now, author or publisher, who would it be and why?
Author: Edwidge Danticat. I love her work, and I love Haiti.
Publisher: Karen Lotz, President & Publisher, Candlewick Press. Karen Lotz inspires me, makes me laugh, and helps me see things right. |
From the Blogs
The Authors
A Good Blog is Hard to Find: Outcasts United: For a variety of reasons, the Atlanta area has been deemed by relief agencies as an ideal place to resettle refugees from war torn areas around the world. Clarkston, Georgia is a small town just outside of Atlanta (at the end of the East-West Marta line) that found itself transformed after becoming a designated refugee relocation center in the 1990s. Suddenly little Clarkston had one of the most diverse high schools in the United States with kids from over 50 countries. Another immigrant, Luma Mufleh, decided to start a youth soccer program called the Fugees to help the kids adjust to life in the United States. The Fugees road to success was anything but simple…read more
Maggie Reads: Two women, two different eras, one state, and one love are my thoughts as I consider the poetry written by Margaret Walker and Patricia Neely-Dorsey. At times, I saw little in common with the ladies other than poetry as form. Walker’s poetry rocks with evils perpetrated on living man as Neely-Dorsey’s poetry sings the joys of southern living...read more
Elizabeth O. Dulemba: It's seldom we get to meet real heroes in this world - people who fight against all odds to achieve a dream they've been living and breathing for most of their lives. Terra Elan McVoy is one of those people. And last night was the Decatur launch party for her new novel, PURE. Terra is a former editorial assistant from New York. Lucky for us, a few years ago she moved to Atlanta and became the manager of our local independent children's book store Little Shop of Stories...read more
Kevin Wilson: On eating on tour: I showed up fifteen minutes early and I waited for someone to show up. It did not seem like it was going to happen. I was totally okay with the fact that no one was going to show up. It was a Friday night and I am an unknown writer with a book of short stories. I felt bad because Mary Gay had made a LOT of chicken salad sandwiches for the potluck. I was going to have to eat a LOT of chicken salad sandwiches to make it up to her...read more
A Cappella Books: We have been involved in a lot of wonderful author events at the Carter Center over the years, but I can't think of any that have been more moving than last night's with Warren St. John, the author of Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town. The book is the story of a youth soccer team, The Fugees, made up of boys from families that have been relocated to the tiny southern town of Clarkston, GA, just east of Atlanta, from war-torn and otherwise troubled countries all over the world....read more
A Reading Life:Like most people who like to cook, I have a collection of favorite cookbooks that get opened and used and abused and eventually replaced with clean copies. Also, like most people who cook, I have a collection of accumulated recipes from family, friends, neighbors and other accidental sources that don’t reside in any cookbook, but as a miscellanea of recipe cards, letters, scribbled notes on envelopes, printed emails and clipped newspaper or magazine articles. As a rule in my kitchen, if I am trying something new it is usually a recipe to be found in one of the cookbooks. But if I am making something familiar, it is usually from the casual stack of collected recipes on the back counter that have been accumulating, slowly, all my life....read more
Bound to be Read: Pete the Cat was walking down the street in his new white shoes singing, “I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes,” when … Oh, no … Pete stepped in a large pile of …read more
Consuming Books:In Michael Connelly’s Scarecrow (Little, Brown), newspaperman Jack McEvoy investigates a wrongful murder conviction. As he discovers the truth, he realizes he is being hunted. He reunites with FBI Agent Rachel Walling to go after a killer who has worked completely below police and FBI radar, and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. This is a fast-paced crime mystery that alternates viewpoints, giving the reader a chance to hear the villian’s thoughts.
Hooray for Books!: So Few of Me is a warm and whimsical story for readers of all ages who find themselves too busy to daydream. Reynolds is also the creator of The Dot, Ish, and his latest offering, The North Star. This book is ideal for families who are overscheduled and find themselves multi-tasking all day with not a moment to spare. The message is delivered with humor and terrific artwork. To all of our friends – take a break today and daydream!...read more
Page 854: Populist? Demagogue? Liberator? Dictator? Opinions differ wildly about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez but one thing is sure: the man can sell books. Last week he presented President Obama with a copy of the book, Open Veins of Latin America, by Eduardo Galeano, published by Monthly Review Press. The record does not show that Obama said, "Why, thank you, Hugo, just what I wanted; how did you know?" And the White House was noncommittal as to when Obama would get around to perusing his new gift, noting that the First Reader had a lot of books to get through...read more
Wordhoarder: Steven Johnson’s article on the changes digital readers may bring to the book world in the Wall Street Journal sparked another interesting round of the ongoing bookworld meta-conversation (via Twitter) the other day: what does the digital realm mean for books and bookstores?...read more
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Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton, with Erin Torneo
(St. Martin's, $25.95, 9780312376536 / 0312376537)
"A black man is accused of a terrible crime by a white woman and spends years in prison before being exonerated by DNA evidence. Then, the previously incarcerated man and the victim become friends, team up, and set out on a mission to rescue others falsely accused. No novel tells a story this important or heartrending. Read it!" --Deal Safrit, Literary Book Post, Salisbury, NC
Devil's Garden by Ace Atkins
(Putnam, $24.95, 9780399155369 / 0399155368)
"Ace Atkins writing in the voice of Sam 'Dashiell' Hammett is a match made in heaven. All the elements of great noir are here: the fogs of San Francisco, the cold-hearted blond, and the crooked cops. To make the feat even more impressive, Atkins tackles the notorious case of Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and offers a very believable answer to what happened and why." --Ann Carlson, Harborwalk Books, Georgetown, SC
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, Michael Hoffman (trans.)
(Melville House, $27, 9781933633633 / 1933633638)
"By turns horrifying and inspiring, Hans Fallada's story of an ordinary German couple defying the Nazi's inhumane brutality is authentic and informative -- an admirable addition to German literature." --Nancy Olson, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC
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Lady Banks’ Commonplace Book
First Cotillion
Behind us, balloons drunk
with helium waltz together
as light on their feet as Arthur Murray.
Beaded curtains sway invitations
to the foxtrot, the tango,
and a fan turns the air
like the perfect dance partner.
Everything says we are ready.
Everything says this is what
we have waited for
all those nights our pillow
partners held us to them,
barely touching our waists,
leading us among phantom
couples who dip and glide,
fluid and seamless.
But tonight the boys stand like bayonets,
planted together, angled apart, arms crossed.
Their white Oxford shirts
battened down, starched stiff
as the box steps they strain to remember.
They inspect the wall, the ceiling,
the parquet dance floor
for patent leather mines
waiting to detonate at each misstep.
Who knows, after all,
where danger might lurk,
the crinoline skirt, the anklet sock
its lacy edge only half folded down.
--Janice Moore Fuller, Sex Education (Iris Press, 2004)
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literati mundi meridianus americanus
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Lady Banks' Commonplace Book
Authors 'Round the South
