Meeting Susan Crandall

Literary Friday ya’ll…..

Friday, Bloggiesta, and lots of reading! What’s your Friday plans?

1. Deep South Magazine and their #literaryfriday: News of James Franco as Faulkner, SoFest of Books in Nashville, 11 scariest mothers in books, upcoming book signings, what Erin is reading now (some good looking books that *may* be on the upcoming Fall Reading list!) and much more!

2. Bloggiesta is happening this weekend! Basically, it’s a 3 day weekend to work on your blog, make connections and visit the other blogs hosting the mini-challenges. It’s blog love, baby! I don’t always participate in Bloggiesta- but I try to do some work when I can during these 3 day blog-love weekends! This time, I’m REALLY trying because 2 of my fav blog buddies- Rebecca @ Love At First Book and Allison @ The Book Wheel are both hosting mini-challenges (Whoo, Rebecca and Allison! Proud of you girls!)

Here are some interesting Bloggiesta-related things I’ve found today:

Love At First Book: How To Host (and participate) in a Digital Book Club & Giveaway!

The Book Wheel: 50 Bookish Things

Always With a Book: Bloggiesta.. My To Do List and Updates

Books Speak Volumes: Ten Things Every Book Blog Needs

 

3. Did you know that I’ll be co-hosting the Hank Phillippi Ryan chat with Literary New England on September 25th at 8pmEST? You didn’t?! Well, I am! Be there as we talk about THE WRONG GIRL and giveaway some books! Use hashtag #LNEChat to join I the fun! This will be the first of 2 scheduled Literary New England/She Reads chats- and everyone is very excited!

My blogger friend, Always With a Book, got to meet Hank Phillippi Ryan this week (and was kind enough to pick me up a signed book!) Read about K meeting HPR- Author Meet and Greet: Hank Phillippi Ryan

 

4. This isn’t Bloggiesta related, but Ivory Owl Reviews blogged this week about what she learned in her first year of blogging- and it’s worth a read!

 

5. #giveaway: Have you heard of The Returned by Jason Mott? The blog-osphere is all a-twitter about this book! And you are in luck! Luxury Reading is giving away a copy! Need more of The Returned? The Book Wheel was lucky enough to get an interview with Jason Mott (that girl is a mover and shaker- folks!)

 

6. 2 reviews posted this week on Traveling With T: Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand and What A Mother Knows by Leslie Lehr.

 

7. Holly Goddard Jones, author of The Next Time You See Me, stopped by Traveling With T this week for an Interview and Author Spotlight.

 

8. Book Lovers Unite September read Astor Place Vintage is still going on at Book-alicious Mama and October’s book has been announced for when it returns to Traveling With T: The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman I’m very excited for this discussion- and I hope you will join in the fun! Reading schedule to be posted next week!

 

9. Catching up on posting about 2 fab authors I met over the summer: Meeting Anton DiSclafani and Meeting Susan Crandall

 

10. Another Blogger Made of AWESOME: Drey @ Drey’s Library!

 

11. My #fridayreads: Astor Place Vintage, Wedding Belles by Beth Albright, and maybe 212 by Alafair Burke! What are you reading for #fridayreads?

 

Happy Reading and good luck with Bloggiesta if you are participating!

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting Susan Crandall, author of Whistling Past The Graveyard

me and susan c

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet Susan Crandall, author of Whistling Past The Graveyard at TurnRow Books in Greenwood. Funny, charming, and kind enough to pose for a picture, Susan’s book signing was a good one. She had a nice crowd, and was chock-full of stories about her book, writing, and other things.

 

Whistling Past The Graveyard is Susan Crandall’s 10th book, however, it is her first book published in hardcover. A book that made several reading lists, and was highly publicized for being a book to read for book clubs, fans of The Help or several Southern books- “Whistling” is no stranger to praise- even making TurnRow’s Top 20 list.

Susan began talking about Whistling Past the Graveyard happened- and it happened quite by accident. She started writing a suspense novel, but because she kept hearing a little girl’s voice- she quit that and decided to listen to the girl. The girl, who we all know and love, is Starla.

“Writing about a character that is so unlike you is usually a hard thing”, Susan confides to the crowd as we listened intently. But with “Whistling”, she did not feel this problem- even though in past, she might would have inserted parts of herself into the character- but with Starla, the little spit-fire, she felt content to let Starla be Starla.

One of the audience members asked “Why did you choose Mississippi as the background for the book?” Susan Crandall replied, “I know about Mississippi. The story line worked for Mississippi.” Part of the reason “Whistling” was based in 1960’s was not so much because of the Civil Rights movement, but more because Susan needed a time frame for this story before things such as Code Adam and Amber Alerts- as that Starla runs away, and a later time frame, she would have to allow for things of that nature.

Whistling Past The Graveyard is potentially being considered to be made into a movie- and when asked more about a cast, Susan says she does not have a cast in mind. However, because of her disappointment over The Thorn Birds mini-series (in the movie Meggie has different colored hair than the book)- Susan tried to keep her characters looks vague as possible.

Questioned about the person she would love to meet in history and Susan just smiled for a bit, and said “Normally, I have trouble with these type of questions. But I’ve decided it would be Mark Twain”.

 

To read my review of Whistling Past The Graveyard, visit here.