5/14/08
Hello from Natchez, MS on this rainy day in May! Let me begin by saying thank you to everyone who is out there buying "Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some
Color On!" My publicist just emailed me to say we made the SIBA bestseller list today! That's Southern Independant Booksellers
Aliance and we're #14! I'm so humbled that I am practically speechless. Okay, sorta speechless. Okay, y'all know me too well. I'm not
speechless but I am truly humbled. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And now, the update...
I've been at Turning Pages in beautiful historic Natchez, MS. It was a great signing. Here are some pics:
I wish I could do this mural justice. It's a scene painted in the courtyard of Turning Pages. It was awesome.
The girl on the left is a LP girlfriend living in Natchez now. To the right is a great new friend who came out to buy the book
A few more sweet book lovers:
This lady's daughter goes to my church. I appreciated her coming out!
And this was a very neat surprise. My Papa (yellow shirt far right) showed up to surprise me with my Aunt Marleta (yes, THE Aunt Marleta) on
the left and two dear, dear family friends in the middle. This tired, emotionally spent traveler couldn't quit hugging on her Papa! You may remember that my dear Mama had surgery right before the tour or she'd be right up in the middle of this. I miss her, but we're
keeping in constant touch thanks to Cingular!
Okay, so after the fun of the signing, and after getting caught in a deluge, I arrive at my hotel soaked to the skin. After I get checked in, load the luggage cart
and trudge it up to the fourth floor I make the delightful discovery that the room key won't work. It hasn't been rekeyed. Oh, goodie. Here I am sitting on my luggage
cart on the fourth floor waiting for someone from the front desk to bring me another room key. I talked that poor soul into taking this when he arrived so y'all would
see what a drowned rat looks like.
And here's a pic from my hotel window.
I'm in my room now, dried out and planning for tomorrow. I'll be in Jackson, MS. I have a TV interview
on WLBT-TV (NBC) there in Jackson at 12:15. The signing is at Lemuria Books at 5:00. Hope to see you there!
Big hugs,
Shellie
P.S. The next stop after that will be Shreveport at the Barnes and Nobles, 7:00 PM, May 16th. Remember, you can find the rest of the
tour here on the calendar page.
5/13/08
Hello from Baton Rouge, LA! It could possibly be illegal to be having this much fun. I hope Peguin USA doesn't find out. I
think they call this working! Trust me, I've hoed cotton-- this "ain't" work!
Not a lot of pics to post this evening. Red, you may remember, had to go home today. I guess I'm used to her taking the
photos because I kept forgetting. Which reminds me, for those of you worried about me, don't be. I appreciate your kind
emails but my family members are taking up Red's slack. They're determined I not finish this out alone. Of course, I
miss that silly redhead. You would, too. However, I am relaxing a bit more. Red and I are notorious for playing pranks so I'm
not checking my toothpaste as closely. (She has been known to play like she's being nice and put toothpaste on your
toothbrush-- only to put something like Brill Creme under the toothpaste!)
But, back to the tour...The reading and signing at Barnes and Nobles was a lot of fun. I'm sorry I didn't get but one pic, but again,
I just got too busy with the meet and greet.
And here are the wonderful lodgings Penguin hooked me up with for my overnight stay:
This is a beautiful mural painted in the foyer.
The lobby opens us to a beautiful courtyard.
The rooms surround the courtyard:
And here are a few pics of the fountains, foilage, and koi up close.
Goodbye for now. See you at Turning Pages in Natchez, MS tomorrow at noon. Remember, you can find the rest of the
tour here on the calendar page.
Y'all sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.
Hugs,
Shellie
P.S. I moved the earlier tour days here.
IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
• "Front Porch Chat from Shellie"
• "Chuckles" Southern joke of the week
• "A Taste of the South" Southern recipe of the week
• "It's Been Said..." Southern Quote of the week
•
"Southern Comfort" Inspiration from my heart to yours
• "A Southern Exchange" Readers Write In
Email Shellie
"Mercy Me!"
Hello folks, welcome back to the porch. Grab yourselves a
seat and let's chat...~smile~
Did y’all hear about the high school baseball game in Japan that
was called at the bottom of the second? The score was 66 to
nothing with one out. The coach said he called it to protect
the pitcher from injuring his throwing shoulder. Yes, he was
curiously slow about reaching that conclusion, but it may not
be entirely his fault. I mean, what type of kid is willing to stay
in there and keep throwing after the 65th run? We could be
looking at the very epitome of optimism-“Wait, Coach! Don’t
pull me. I’m getting in the groove. I can feel it!”
Still, someone should’ve been calling for the mercy rule a tad
sooner than 66-0. That mercy rule is a good thing. I know if there
wasn’t a mercy rule in Little League, some kids would grow old
right out there in the field. I once watched an exchange between
my nephew, a very bored center-fielder, and his equally bored
left-fielder.
The other kid said, “Hey, you, I forgot your name. Can I call
you Blood?” Blake considered this request, blinked twice, and
declined the nickname with a solemn head shake.
If memory serves, that was the season of the great clash that’s
still heard around these parts. That spring one of our Little
League teams was being coached by a certain Husband and
Wife Coaching duo that will remain nameless. Mister was coaching
third base and Mrs. was coaching first. They’d been in disagreement
about every coaching decision from the first pitch of the season. The
last straw came one night when Mister Coach, who had a notoriously
aggressive coaching style, sent a runner straight into a tag out at home
plate during a crucial playoff game.
“Did you send him?” Mrs. yelled across the field.
“I sure did!” Mr. answered with a what-about-it look.
“Have you lost your mind?” Mrs. demanded.
It only got worse after that. Believe you me, if we fans could
have called a mercy rule on those two we would have done it
sooner rather than later...
See y'all on the road!
Hugs,
Shellie
