I'll be reading and signing books from noon till 4 PM as one
of the featured authors on the "Writers' Block" (isn't that the most clever
name?) at the Upstate
Women's Show in Greenville, SC, on Saturday, August 23. This is Greenville's
first women's expo, and it promises to be a fabulous event. Don't miss it!
I'm very pleased to announce that I have a new agent. Claire
Gerus is a former executive editor of Adams Media and Citadel Press, was
responsible for putting Esther Williams' and Laura Bush's biographies on
bookshelves and the bestseller list, and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead!
Feeling
charitable? Read my
blog to
learn how you can make a difference for the Foothills Animal Rescue!
Okay, so I don't
hate summer as much as I used to and yes, I definitely like the
slower pace (although I haven't noticed much of that in my life
these past couple of months!), but this will never be my favorite
time of the year. I hate heat. I hate sweat. (And,
yes, I know ladies aren't supposed to sweat, but if you've ever
spent August in the south, you know even Queen Elizabeth would
GLISTEN like a farmhand!)
Thus it is that I
have immense admiration and respect for magnolias and crepe myrtles.
It's possible I have shared this with you before, because every
year, when the thermometer hovers around 100 and even the concrete
looks wilted, I look around at those creamy sanguine blossoms and
frilly fushchia blooms and think, "You go, girls!" (Not to be
sexist, but I'm pretty sure magnolias and crepe myrtles are all
female.)
How is it possible
to stand there in the yard or along the roadside in sweltering,
suffocating heat, your leaves and flowers baking like some leafy
green vertical pizza in a gazillion-degree oven, your roots as dry
as an Arizona brittlebush, and look fresh and elegant and kempt and
even cool?! I tell you, it is downright
inspiring--proof that we can survive anything with the right
attitude...or, possibly, the right DNA. (Hey, they've just decided
happiness is genetic; why not heat tolerance?)
All I know is that
my [very broadbrimmed] hat is off to the "Ladies of Summer," and
I've decided if they can take it, so can I. Sort of. I'm not ready
to join my husband in the garden at sunrise, or pick blueberries
with my friend Margaret at midday, but you might find me
under the shade of my crepe myrtle-- stretched out with a gallon of
iced tea, a book set in some winter wonderland, and the very biggest
fan I can find!
Welcome
to my website! Whether you're here by intention or accident, I invite
you to spend a few minutes looking around. Some elements of the site
are permanent; others are changed and updated on a regular basis. Feel
free to e-mail comments or suggestions. PLEASE NOTE: I'm happy for you
to share my work with others, but please contact me for permission--and
so I can acknowledge your publication--before including any of my poems
in a personal website, church newsletter, etc. Thank you!
