Book Tour Continues: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi

Sorry I didn’t post on Wednesday or Friday… I was on the road (drove about 1000 miles in four days). This was a “mixed” book tour, with one event for Tangles and Plaques and two events for A Second Blooming. I’ll share the highlights, but one of my favorite things about the trip was visiting with my author friends in each city.

 

Great support from Joe Formichella and Suzanne Hudson. Photo at Page & Palette books in Fairhope, Alabama.
Great support from Joe Formichella and Suzanne Hudson. Photo at Page & Palette books in Fairhope, Alabama.

On Tuesday I drove from Memphis to Fairhope, Alabama, where my hosts were Suzanne Hudson and Joe Formichella. Suzanne and Joe are both brilliant writers and we’ve become good friends since we met about seven years ago. I loved staying with them at their “house in the woods” in Waterhole Branch, just outside Fairhope. They helped promote my event for Tangles and Plaques at Page & Palette Books in Fairhope. I always appreciate audience participation with this book, and was honored to have some heartfelt exchanges with several folks who are at various stages of caregiving for loved ones.

 

NancyKsy Wessman, Emma Connolly, Susan Marquez, Susan Cushman, reading and signing at Garden District Books in New Orleans
NancyKsy Wessman, Emma Connolly, Susan Marquez, Susan Cushman, reading and signing at Garden District Books in New Orleans

Wednesday I drove from Fairhope to New Orleans, where I stayed with my friend Emma Connolly (who used to live in Memphis) and her husband Robert. Emma’s essay in A Second Blooming is about her move to New Orleans at age 65 to open a new business, Uptown Needle and Craftworks. I had fun visiting her shop, and the folks at Garden District Books were wonderful hosts for our event, which included Jackson contributors NancyKay Wessman and Susan Marquez. Susan’s daughter Nicole lives in New Orleans, as does my oldest son Jonathan, and both of them were at our reading, which made it even more special. Dinner afterwards at Joey K’s made the visit even more fun.

 

A few more photos from New Orleans:

Emma Connolly at her shop on Magazine Street in New Orleans, Uptown Needle and Craftworks
Emma Connolly at her shop on Magazine Street in New Orleans, Uptown Needle and Craftworks

 

 

So happy to have my son, Jonathan, at the event in New Orleans where he lives and flies a med-evac helicopter.
So happy to have my son, Jonathan, at the event in New Orleans where he lives and flies a med-evac helicopter.

Thursday I headed up to Jackson, Mississippi, for a third event, this time at Lemuria Books. Jackson contributors to A Second Blooming, Susan Marquez and NancyKay Wessman joined me, and I was thrilled with the turnout from friends and family in my home town. Lemuria bookseller Kelly Pickerill was a terrific event host, and bookstore owner John Evans stopped by to cheer us on. Lemuria is one of the most supportive bookstores for authors, and I always love being there. Dinner afterwards at Bravo with NancyKay, Susan, and a new friend (for me) Janet Wagner. We closed out the evening with (the best ever) Willie Morris Old Fashioneds at the Library Lounge at the Fairview Inn.

 

Here are a few pictures:

Signing with Jackson residents Susan Marquez and NancyKay Wessman at Lemuria Books.
Signing with Jackson residents Susan Marquez and NancyKay Wessman at Lemuria Books.
Great to see Kathy Moore Kerr, friend from high school who was matron of honor in my wedding in 1970!
Great to see Kathy Moore Kerr, friend from high school who was matron of honor in my wedding in 1970!

 

Murrah High School classmates (1969) came out to support me: Sally McClintock Thompson, and AB Clark Nichols.
Murrah High School classmates (1969) came out to support me: Sally McClintock Thompson, and AB Clark Nichols.
Always love to see my niece, Aubrey Leigh Goodwin!
Always love to see my niece, Aubrey Leigh Goodwin!

 

 

 

 

My next event is April 18, when I’ll be a speaker at the Dyersburg State Community College’s 3rd annual women’s conference, where I’ll be talking about my journey as a “late life” author. I’ll be taking a break from the book circuit this next week as we enter Holy Week, with many services at our parish, culminating with Pascha (Easter). Thanks, always, for reading, and I love to hear from my readers. Please leave a comment here or on Facebook.