If you live in the South, you know all about it. If you don’t, the rumors are true: Okra is the food of the gods, especially when it is fried and even more especially when it’s fried by your grandmother in actual Crisco and you get to stand by the stove and pick off pieces right as they hit the paper towel that is there to soak up their grease, even though you know it’s going to burn your fingers and your mouth.
I love okra even more now than I did as a kid (even when it’s just boiled or baked, not fried) and most especially since I became an author. On the eve of the THE SECRET TO SOUTHERN CHARM official launch I just found out that my new book baby is an Okra Pick! Yup, favorite veggie status solidified!
What in the world is that?
Southern Indie Booksellers have brought in their Spring crop of Okra Picks: a season’s worth of delicious reading with a Southern flavor.
All the Okra Picks have a strong Southern focus and publish between April and June, and all have fans among Southern indie booksellers. Nineteen forthcoming titles—including fiction, nonfiction, young adult and children’s literature—have been chosen by booksellers as the Southern books they are most excited to hand sell. There is something for every kind of reader, and every book has that “You’ve got to read this!” quality that makes readers push them into the hands of everyone they know.
I am so grateful to all the Southern booksellers who have been so enthusiastic about this book, SIBA, who does so much for authors and booksellers the the incredible Southern booksellers that are hosting me on this tour. You can order personalized copies from any of these fabulous Southern Book Shops: South Main Book Company, Fiction Addiction, Hub City, Foxtale, Avid Book Shop, Park Road Books, Litchfield Books, Buxton Books, The Book Loft, The Bookshelf, Sundog Books, The Country Book Shop, Duck’s Cottage, Downtown Books and Dee Gee’s.
Events Taking Place This Week!
April 2: Rowan Regional Public Library Friends of the Library Meeting, Salisbury, NC, 7 pm
April 3: Launch party at South Main Book Co., Salisbury, NC, 5:00-7:00 pm, free and open to the public
April 4: Holcomb Reading Club in Spartanburg at Spartanburg CC, Spartanburg, SC, 11:30 am, private event
April 4: Afternoon tea, Poinsett Club, 807 East Washington Street, Greenville, SC, ticketed event, open to members, For tickets Stacia Smith, (864) 242-3062, stacia@poinsettclub.org, 3:00 pm, private
April 4: Hub City Book Shop, 6 pm, Free and Open to the Public
April 5: Kiawah Reads talk and signing, Sandcastle Community Center, 23 Beachwalker Drive, Kiawah Island, SC29407, beverages and light snacks, Contact Mandi Danker mandi.danker@kica.us for tickets, 11:00 am, open to the public
April 5: Doctors Bruce and Lee Foundation Library, 509 S Dargan St., Florence, SC 29506, Contact Mary Wiser, Friends of Florence County Library, 843-413-7065, mwiser@florencelibrary.org, 6:00 pm, open to the public
April 6: Moveable Feast through Litchfield Books; Litchfield Beach, SC, contact is Vicky Crafton, 843-237-8138, litchfieldbooks@att.net, 11:00 am with signing at bookstore at 2:00 pm, open to the public
April 6: “The Secret to Southern Charm at Woodhouse Day Spa,” Woodhouse Day Spa, 725 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464, wine and nibbles, Contact is Kimberly Powell, 843-203-1772, kim@charleston.woodhousespas.com, 4:30-6:00 pm, open to the public
April 7: SOLD OUT, Hosted by Buxton Books & Robin Scarella PR and Special Events, Buxton Books, 2A Cumberland Street, corner of Concord and Cumberland, Charleston, SC, The cost is $21/person, groups of 4 or more, $18/person, and $18 for Seniors, Seating is limited. Please RSVP to Buxton Books by April 2nd. Call 843-834-6575 or register online at http://bit.ly/TS2SCTea. Passover Matzoh will be available.
April 8: Southern Sweet Tea Author Talk & Book Signing at Summerville Library presentation Dorchester County Library, 76 Old Trolley Road, Summerville, SC 29485, tea, water, lemonade, and pastries served; Contact is Leslie Koller, lkoller@dcl.lib.sc.us, 843-871-5075 ext. 220, 2:00 pm, free and open to the public
I look forward to seeing you on the THE SECRET TO SOUTHERN CHARM tour!
And the winner of the $200 Target Gift Card is…
Congrats, Elizabeth, and thanks to all who entered!
Kristy, I must not have eaten the right kind of okra because I have not aquired a tast for i fried or any other way.
Congratulations on you OKRA nomination, how exciting AND ON THE EVE OF YOUR LAUNCH. SO EXCITED FOR YOU AND YOUR BOOK. YOU SHOULD BE VERY PROUD! BE SAFE ON YOUR JOURNEY AND ENJOY EVERY MINUTE.
AND HOW EXCITING FOR ME TO HAVE ONE YOUR GIVEAWAY! THANK YOU!