Deep South Magazine

Thankfulness…..

I’m not doing the whole Facebook “Day #: I’m thankful for these things”- not because I don’t believe that it’s a good idea, but mainly because the people who really know me already know the things that I’m thankful for. But for the people who read my blog- you may not know some of the things I’m thankful for- so here goes:

1. Books- without books (whether it’s real books or e-books) a world without books would be a sad place.

2. Photos- I’m the girl with the camera. Always. I take tons of pictures. Why? Because one day- when I’m sitting around in elderly years I want to be able to look back and see the proof that life rocked. Maybe it wasn’t always all glittery and sunshine, rainbows and unicorns- but hopefully the pics will show that life was good more than it wasn’t.

3. Journals- I don’t keep one in particular, I have a few different that I write in. 99% of what I blog, tweet, facebook, etc about is ME. The real me. The me that I want to be recognized, understood, loved, etc- however; there are times when I need a place to write that only I’ll see. Maybe self-doubt is creeping in, maybe I’m unsure if anyone will understand- but mostly I worry that someone will dismiss my thoughts/worries. This is when a journal comes in handy.

4. Erin from Deep South Mag. Ever since she started following me tweets from my first SPQ wkend, a great twitter friendship has formed. When I finally got to meet her over the summer- it was so weird putting a face to a person that I’ve “known” for over 2 years. Erin- thank you for all you have done- the encouragement with my blog, book recommendations, and more. xoxo

5. Robin O’Bryant- could be considered at the center of much good news. Through her, I found out about Joshilyn Jackson coming to Turnrow Books for luncheon book signing. So I went- got to meet Joshilyn Jackson and Robin O’Bryant- then the girl sitting beside me started talking- her name was Keetha and surprise- we live in neighboring towns. Finding someone that lived near me to talk books with was nice- then joining Keetha and her book club worked out even better. Keetha introduced me to Books on the Nightstand podcasts, and told me about Booktopia in Oxford. So I signed up and met even more ladies who rock: Dawn, Michelle, Jana, Cathy, Jennifer, and Suzanne (these are just a few of the wonderful Booktopia people I met). Not to mention the Booktopia authors- Susan Gregg Gilmore and Ellen F. Brown are tops in my book for how they acted towards me and the sweet gift they gave me! But back to Robin being at the epicenter of this- after seeing Robin rave about Kimberly Brock’s book The River Witch- I knew I had to read it-and we started following each other on Twitter. Which led to me getting to know her and becoming part of She Reads Blog Network- and finding another group of people to talk books with.

5. Various authors such as Erika Marks, Erika Robuck,Nichole Bernier Jenn McKinlay, Lucy Burdette, Cleo Coyle, and Alison Pace. xoxo to all you ladies for responding to social media, for writing great books- books that make you think, transport you to another time, a book that is like a warm and cozy sweater- just makes you feel good and happy.

6. Deidre (aka Yankeefan2975) a Twitter friend that is up to date on Days of Our Lives, books and movies. She makes the Twitter fun!

7. Naturally,  family and true friends 🙂 They make life good!

8. Zeke, my beautiful dog. He was great, he loved me and he instinctively knew when a hug or doggy grin was needed to brighten the day. I still miss him every day; but at least not as much as I did when he first passed away.

xoxo

Literary Friday ya’ll..

It’s been a week- people- have had some sickness in the family (been spraying Lysol like it’s my BFF), perusing my brother’s wedding pictures, and beginning to get crafty for our holiday pictures.

But today’s Friday and it’s time to relax and anticipate the weekend:

1. Deep South Magazine will have Tweet chat with Janis Owens, author of American Ghost, from 1-2 pm CST TODAY. Be there and use #southernlit to participate!

Deep South Magazine and their weekly #literaryfriday- early reveal of Erika Robuck’s new book cover Call Me Zelda (it’s a great cover!), National Book Awards and news about Gillian Flynn and a new book deal!

2. A couple of giveaways that I posted about yesterday are still going on- How to Eat a Cupcake and The Mermaid Collector are being given away by 2 other blogs that I like to read. For more information on the giveway, read my post HERE.

3. On Black Friday- Amazon will have 25 Kindle Books on sale! While the complete list is not known, Kimberly Brock’s The River Witch will be $1.99 on Black Friday. Buy it. Read it. Devour it. You’ll gain a new appreciation for pumpkins, unconventional families, and stories that help a person heal.

4. I’m reading Alison Pace’s You Tell Your Dog First– and I love Carlie and Alison. Carlie is quite the little dog and while I cried the first few chapters of the book thinking about my recently deceased, Zeke, I will say that Carlie and her antics have put a smile on my face in the latest chapters I’ve read. I’m not finished yet, but so far- this books is heartfelt, heartwarming, and an ode to dog lovers everywhere- and a love song to Carlie.

5. My #fridayreads are Alison Pace’s You Tell Your Dog First & Erika Robuck’s Hemingway’s Girl.

6. My #payitforwardwithcozymystery is Jenn McKinlay and her Library Lover’s cozy series. Recently discovered them and I love them! Check them out if you like good cozy books with great settings and characters!

Happy Reading and have a great weekend!

Janis Owens, American Ghost, & 2 interviews

First, there will be a Janis Owens Twitter chat, hosted by Deep South Magazine, Friday, Novemeber 16 1-2pmCST. Please use hashtag #southernlit to join in the chat. It’s also best if you use TweetChat (although not required). Join in for the chat- Janis Owens is one of the lucky writers to make Deep South Magazines Fall/Winter Reading List. Come chat to hear about the book and maybe some behind the scene information!

To get you ready for the Janis Owens Twitter chat on Friday- here are 2 interviews to read over!

Deep South Magazine interview with Janis Owens

She Reads: Literary First Loves- Janis Owens

Remember: Be on Twitter from 1-2pm CST time to do the Twitter chat thing with Janis Owens- the chats are fun and informative AND the group is always welcoming- so stop in! Come with a question or not- just come!

Literary Friday ya’ll….

Today is Friday- #literayfriday and I’m so glad 🙂

Tomorrow I’ll be shopping at Mistletoe Marketplace and painting later that night- creativity is good for the soul.

But today, today it’s all about #literayfriday- some good stuff, some #giveaways, some news, even some early announcements about Black Friday shopping for readers 🙂

1. Deep South Magazine and their weekly #literaryfriday: Brad Pitt and New Orleans, National Novel Writing Month, Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones made another reading list besides Deep South Mag’s Summer Reading List, book festivals and much, much more.

Also a #giveaway- a sweet Cafe Du Monde giveaway! Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde: Life stories about Food will be given away November 16.

2. Cozy Mystery Reviews is celebrating Young Adult Vintage Mysteries Weekend. Check back often for reviews, giveaways and more.

3. For Black Friday shoppers and readers, Kimberly Brock’s book, The River Witch, will be on sale Black Friday for Kindle. Trust me there will be no better way to unwind after eating too much turkey, doing too much shopping, and enjoying some pumpkin pie than reading The River Witch. And if you are enjoying some pumpkin pie- you may start to feel a kinship to Damacus- but to understand that- you have to read the book! Got a reader in your life, but doon’t want to give the book early- want to save it for Christmas day? That’s fine! Buy it on Black Friday at the low price and send it as a gift- you can then choose the delivery day you want! Easy-peasy!

4. #fridayreads- mine is Nightshade on Elm Street by Kate Collins. What are you reading for #fridayreads?

5. Finished Jenn McKinlay’s Books Can be Deceiving– while I did not enjoy it quite as much as I enjoy her Cupcake cozy books- I did think it was good. Totally worth a read.

6. It’s getting closer to Christmas picture time- because I absolutely adore pictures- this year I’m beginning to work on some Christmas ideas to make our pictures a bit more special. Cricut, a glass of wine and pinterest- let the creativity flow!

Have a happy #literaryfriday- and if you read some great books- please come back and share!

 

 

Michael Morris- Man in a Blue Moon- She Reads November Book Club Pick

Today is November 1- which means it’s time for She Reads to publicly announce it’s November book club pick. The book of the month is: ****drumroll, drumroll,drumroll**** MAN IN A BLUE MOON by Michael Morris.

Check back with She Reads for monthly discussion questions and chances to win prizes. We all love #giveaways don’t we?

If you do the Twitter thing- use HT #srblog to see what members of the She Reads blog group is having to saying about MAN IN A BLUE MOON.

Couple of other important notes: Deep South Magazine will host Twitter chat with Michael Morris Friday, Nov 2nd, from 1-2pmCST (that’s TOMORROW!) Use hashtag #southernlit to follow along with chat- also use Tweetchat if possible- makes for a better chat experience. However, Deep South Mag RT (retweets) the questions and answers- so people can still follow along, even if they do  not use Tweetchat.

To find out more about the Twitter chat tomorrow with Michael Morris- read here!

Also, the fantastic Kimberly Brock (perhaps you’ve read me raving on about her debut book- The River Witch?) had a chance to interview Michael Morris. Her interview is enlightening and terrific. For the interview, read here.

Hope to “see” you tomorrow at the Michael Morris chat- it should be a fun time.

Trick or Treat.. Give me some Good Books to read…

Happy Halloween. Today, while most are celebrating in costumes and taking kids trick or treating, I’m feeling just festive enough to wear my cute jack o’lantern socks (They really are cute socks, though!)

Instead of doing the  Halloween thing of watching scary movies -and because scary movies are not my fav- well I do like the Scream series (and the first 1 still scares me- the 3rd had almost got into a comical territory at times) I believe that I’ll have a Kit-Kat and read on the book MAN IN A BLUE MOON by Michael Morris. It’s a tale of Ella- left by her no-good husband trying to keep her family land. The book has some unsavory characters in it- people who would like to do nothing more than take Ella’s land for their own use. Ella has some help in her quest- but still can’t completely classify him as friend or foe. Only time will tell.

If the book sounds good to you, there will be a  Twitter chat sponsored by Deep South Mag on Friday, Novemeber 2nd from 1-2pmCST. Use #southernlit to follow the tweets or to join in. Erin suggests using TweetChat- it’s the easiest way to keep up with the chat on Twitter. And to tempt you a bit further- there will be a giveaway of the book MAN IN A BLUE MOON during the chat.

To find out more about Michael Morris and MAN IN A BLUE MOON- read here.

Hope to “see” you on Friday at the chat!

Literary Friday ya’ll…

I’ve been so terrible about posting lately. Apologies to all.

#literaryfriday is the word of the day. As usual- I like to post some of the best news that I see around for this day.

1. Deep South Magazine and their #literaryfriday: this week contains news about new author chat NEXT Friday (November 2). Michael Morris author of A Man in a Blue Moon. The book is in my possesion- it’s on my TBR list- I just haven’t yet. Hearing good things about the book, though. Erin from Deep South Mag really goes above and beyond the call- she picks some of the best people. The chats are informative and interesting.

Other #literaryfriday tidbits: Deep South Magazine has a Literary Trail App- because when you are traveling it’s always nice to know what literary greats attractions are nearby. The app can be purchased on Itunes- however, that sweet author Erika Robuck (who is a fan of Deep South Magazine and author of Hemingway’s Girl) is giving away a free download of the DSM Literary Trail App. Either check out Deep South Magazine Literary Friday or Erika Robuck’s blog to find out how to enter. Good luck!

In need of a costume ideas? Check out the #litmajorhalloweeencostumes. Thanks to Deep South Magazine for posting this hashtag- should be a fun way to get costume ideas!

A fan of Pinterest? Like literary themed Pinterest pages? Deep South Magazine has a Literary Friday Pinterest page!

2. October is pumpkin time. I love pumpkins. And today is National Pumpkin Day. So in honor of National Pumpkin Day- curl up with Kimberly Brock’s The River Witch (trust me- it’s def a book you read on National Pumpkin Day) and enjoy.

3. A big THANK YOU to Erika Marks for calling in to my book club to discuss her debut novel- Little Gale Gumbo. Warmed my heart to no end. If you’ve read the book- chime in with thoughts of it. I’d love to hear other people’s opinions!

4. What is your #fridayreads? Mine is Iced by Carol Higgins Clark!

Happy Reading and have a great weekend!

Literary Friday ya’ll….

Weekly round-up of the happenings on #literaryfriday.

1. Deep South Magazine and their weekly Literary Friday. Tim Westover chat, The River Witch by Kimberly Brock is now an audiobook, and some news about Scarlett O’Hara. Read on to find out more about #literaryfriday.

2. October is the month for ghost stories- if a good ghost story is your cup of tea- check back to Deep South Mag all during October. You’re in for a spooky treat. For this week’s ghost story- read HERE.

3. If you missed out on the Tim Westover chat- don’t fear! Tim Westover interview is here– along with talk of Auraria– his book that made the Deep South Magazine Fall/Winter Reading List.

4. #fridayreads- what are you reading? Today, I’m at a loss for what to read- however, I can recommend Sarah Jio’s Blackberry Winter, Douglas Brunt Ghosts of Manhattan, Erika Marks The Mermaid Collector. What can you recommend?

5. If you missed my post yesterday about nostalgia and New Kids on the Block, read about New Kids on the Block: 5 brothers and A Million Sisters– scrunchie & NKOTB music not required (but you’ll probably want both after reading).

Happy Reading and have a great weekend!

Literary Friday, ya’ll….

Been a couple of weeks since I posted about a #literaryfriday- September flew by and my hard drive crashed last week. Fun stuff, right?

Here goes:

1. Deep South Mag and their weekly Literary Friday is HERE. Tons of Events, news, and literary items in this weekly installment; but most notably: Oprah Winfrey included the book The Cutting Season by Attica Locke on her The Best New Books of October 2012. However, Deep South Magazine had already included The Cutting Season on their Fall/Winter Reading List. The Cutting Season looks like it’s off to a good start being on 2 different reading lists. For Deep South Magazine’s full Fall/Winter List- click HERE. Grab a book, and get ready to enjoy the fall and winter seasons!

2. September 30- October 6 is Banned Book Week.  You may have seen some of the cute pictures (especially the spoof of Carly Rae Jespen’s Call Me Maybe) this week as part of the week. Deep South Magazine has an article about Banned Book Week as well as Southern Spines.

3. She Reads is giving away a copy of Erika Marks newest book, The Mermaid Collector, today. I’ve already been raving about how good this book is, heck, even posted a countdown clock about the book’s release date. To win a copy of this book, all you have to do is make a comment HERE. Enter the contest, and find out about the magic of The Mermaid Collector first-hand.

4. If you haven’t read Sarah Jio’s Blackberry Winter, I encourage you to read this book. Great storyline and characters. Also, it’s the She Reads October Book Club pick.

5. Check back here for reviews on Blackberry Winter, The Mermaid Collector, and Ghosts of Manhattan. Have read the first 2, finishing the last book.

As always, enjoy the weekend and Happy Reading!

 

 

A catch-up and preview of things to come…..

Sorry that my blogging has been so, what’s the word, oh yes…. spotty lately! Between a trip to Pensacola for my brother’s wedding AND the very next weekend a trip to Nashville (note to self: booking 2 weekend trips back to back is not advisable- I should have told my brother to move his wedding to a less busy time, right? 😉

So- today’s entry is going to be a mash-up, a catch-up, a running tally of things that I’ve been meaning to talk about but haven’t. Hold on to your hats, I’m getting on a roll!

1.  Deep South Magazine is giving away a copy of Erika Robuck’s book, Hemingway’s Girl, this Friday (Sept.28) AND is having a literary chat with Erika Robuck. If you haven’t heard of Hemingway’s Girl– it’s getting some good reviews from a few book-bloggers, so I anticipate the book being good. To enter the giveaway, click HERE. On Friday, September 28th, Deep South Magazine is hosting a Twitter chat with Erika Robuck- use Tweet Chat (it’s the best way to participate) and #southernlit. The chat will go on from 1-2pm CST.  To find out more about Erika Robuck before the chat- click HERE.

2. Speaking of Erika’s- my blog countdown clock reminds me that Erika Marks new book, The Mermaid Collector, will be released in 1 week. If you missed out on Little Gale Gumbo (Erika Marks first book) do yourself a favor and read that! I hope her second book is as good as the first one!

3. If you find yourself in Dickson, TN- there is a store called Reading Rock Books. Used and new books- I bought myself 2 used books for a fairly good deal. Nice little store- wished I had more time to spend in the place.

4. Speaking of used books- I was in Nashville this past weekend for a girl’s weekend AND the Carrie Underwood concert. We went to a place called McKay Used Books– huge warehouse-style place. Books and Movies- EVERYWHERE. I saw some paperbacks for as low as 5 cents. Definitely worth a look if you are near the area.

5. Melinda McGuire- you know who I’ve been raving about for a few weeks- 1. for her #STHRN project and 2. for her writing skills and because she’ll be at Grand Festival of Arts and Books in Fairhope, Al (October 5th and 6th!)…. BUT- here’s a whole other reason to rave about her: Melinda will have a new book released on September 28 (This Friday!). The book is called Rich Fabric– the tradition, symbolism and stories of quilting.  While the book sounds all neat and all- what makes this even more special is this: All profits from the book will be donated to Twilight Wish Foundation- a non-profit for elderly people who live below the poverty level. For more information about Rich Fabric– click HERE.

Psst- and in case you don’t get enough information from that link- Melinda McGuire will be guest-blogging here in the next few weeks. So keep checking back!

6. I’m reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls for book club. I don’t hate it, but man, it’s depressing. Disturbing, even. Anyone read it? Thoughts?

7. Has anyone read Dare Me by Megan Abbot? I’ve been hearing good things about the book, but haven’t read it.  It sounds good.

8. While it’s still a bit warm where I live- fall is approaching. And while I love reading, I love watching TV and movies, too. So any new shows out this season that are just GREAT? What about movies you anticipate seeing? My movie list is: Taken 2, Pitch Perfect, and Alex Cross. Tell me your list!

Happy Reading- and have a great week!