Jim Woodson, my very talented uncle/photographer. I want to do a book with him. I haven’t mentioned it to him yet…
Does Fall always feel like a whirlwind to you? I’m sure it does! Back to school and working hard and it seems like every conference and event is taking place all around. As much as I was lamenting the end of summer, Fall has been wonderful, and with the leaves beginning to change and the weather getting cooler, it really does feel like a fresh start.
My “Southern All the Way” panel. Don’t I look like I’m saying something important? It was probably, “good afternoon” or something!
Last weekend, I got to spend four entire, jam-packed days with the best people on earth: booksellers and authors. The Southern Independent Bookseller’s Alliance (SIBA) trade show was one of the very first book events I ever went to last year, way before I even had a book out. And, I have to tell you, it might be one of the very best around, thanks to Wanda Jewell, Nicki Leone aka Lady Banks and the amazing SIBA board, including Jill Hendrix, who owns Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC and has been my fairy book mother!
Rick Bragg, Pulitzer Prize winner, acclaimed author and Southern Living columnist extraordinaire. (And funniest person EVER!)
I loved getting to spend time surrounded by authors, hearing about all the new books for Fall and Winter (and bringing home a passel of them — seriously, like 100!) and hanging with some of my favorite booksellers in the South, new friends and old. Some of the highlights were meeting the fabulous Karen White, who is so warm, kind and fabulously funny to boot and Ellen Urbani, a fellow Tall Poppy Writer who is simply amazing inside and out. I got to see my precious pal Kim Boykin whose books I can’t put down and Elin Hilderbrand, one of my forever author idols. That’s just the tip of the iceberg!
I love them all, but Leslie Cataldo from The Literary Book Post in my hometown of Salisbury, NC takes the cake as favorite because she’s just all-around awesome! We’re toasting at the Penguin Random House booth!
And I always, always love getting to sign big, huge stacks of books, so that was certainly a highlight for me!
Precious Sandi from Burry Books in Hartsville. She has a great story, which I’ll tell you when I go there to sign Dear Carolina!
The rest of the week has included my very first time chatting on Steve Hardy’s Original Beach Party, speaking to Kinston, NC’s evening rotary, taping a segment for Downeast Today and tomorrow chatting with a favorite blog friend’s book club via Skype! Speaking of, I have lots of fun new events coming up, so, if I’m in your area, I’d love to see you! (And I’d love to visit your book club!)
How’s the fall treating you so far?
September 22: Kinston, NC Evening Rotary Talk, 6 pm, House of Wang
September 24: Skype with Sharon Beaver Book Club, 8 pm
September 28: Signing, Barnes & Noble, Greensboro, NC 4:30-6:30 pm
September 28: Greensboro, NC Book Club, 7 pm
September 29: Downeast Today Interview
October 1: Signing, Kinston Community Council for the Arts, Kinston, NC 5:30-7:30 pm
October 9-11: Southern Festival of Books Panelist, Nashville, TN
October 12: Interview, Live at 9, Memphis, TN
October 14: Kinston, NC Book Club
October 15: Wilson, NC Book Club Luncheon
October 23-25: Tall Poppy Writers Retreat, NYC
November 11: Salisbury, NC Book Club
November 14: Signing, Next Chapter Books, New Bern, NC, 2-4pm
December 15: Beaufort, NC Book Club
January 15-17: Pulpwood Queen’s Girlfriends’ Weekend, Nacogdoches, TX
January 24: Bookmarks, NC Event
April 5, 2016: LIES AND OTHER ACTS OF LOVE Releases!
Great to see you at SIBA! I need to come take a peek at all your goodies, it’s like BEA all over again 🙂