On Saturday, Susan Gregg Gilmore, author of Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, returned to Chattanooga to sign books at the newly opened Barnes & Noble in Hamilton Place Mall. Gilmore and “The Love Chef” Jernard Wells, author of 88 Ways to Her Heart: Cooking for Lovers from the Kitchen to the Bedroom and founder of several restaurants in the South, got a chance to meet in person after Chef Jernard created a special Tomato Aspic recipe for Susan Gilmore to celebrate the best-selling novel that takes place in the community in which Chef Jernard and his wife are raising their eight children — Ringgold, GA.
Need the Tomato Aspic recipe for Thanksgiving? Check it out here.
Hoping for more culinary inspiration as you head into this week of Thanksgiving feasting? Check this out.
Congrats to author Helen Hemphill!
The prestigious IndieBound Next List has chosen The Aventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones as one of it’s recommendations for the 2008/2009 Winter Kids’ Next List.
It’s especially an honor to be chosen for The Indie Next List because a book is nominated by booksellers around the country as a “must read” book to stock for customers. IndieBound coordinates and sponsors the List.
This is how the American Booksellers Association (ABA) website explains the list:
The Indie Next List, drawn from bookseller-recommended favorite handsells, epitomizes the heart and soul of passionate bookselling. Independent booksellers are and have always been discoverers of the next big thing, the next great read, the next bestseller, and the next undiscovered gem. The monthly Indie Next List flier, sent to members via the monthly Red Box and available for download online, includes a bookseller quotation and complete title information for each outstanding book. Each monthly flier also announces the paperback releases of previous Indie Next List titles, and include Notable recommendations. The Indie Next List is also featured on the consumer website, IndieBound.org.
IndieBound and I are on the same page. Below are some of the messages they are recreating this year to encourage holiday gift shoppers to remember why books make such a great gift: They’re all good, but my personal favorites are in bold:
- A Book. Longer-lasting than a fruitcake, cheaper than a flat screen, more fun than a partridge in a pear tree.
- Shop Indie: nurture your community this season.
- Books: return dividends for life.
- Why a book?: Because a new tie never changed anyone’s life.
- Affordable. Portable. Memorable. Books are a gift beyond measure.
- Give love. Give time. Give joy. Give books.
- A Book: The perfect gift for someone who has everything. The perfect gift for someone who has nothing.
Great opportunity to submit an unpublished manuscript in early 2009 for consideration in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
Early next year, Amazon.com and Penguin Group will launch the second annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, an international competition seeking “the next popular novel.”
From Shelf Awareness today
Between February 2 and 8 next year, writers with an unpublished English-language novel manuscript can submit their work to amazon.com/abna. Up to 10,000 entries will be accepted, from which Amazon editors will select 2,000. Reviewers from Amazon will then cull the best 500 of these 2,000 entries. Reviewers from Publishers Weekly will then select 100 from that group. Out of those 100, Penguin editors will choose three finalists. At that point, authors Sue Grafton and Sue Monk Kidd, literary agent Barney Karpfinger and Penguin Press editor-in-chief Eamon Dolan will read and post critiques of the three finalists on Amazon.com. Amazon customers will then have seven days to vote for the winner, who will be announced on May 22. The grand prize: a publishing contract with Penguin and a $25,000 advance.
Last year’s winner was Bill Loehfelm whose Fresh Kills was published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in August. But he wasn’t the only winner. Penguin liked the quality of four other top 10 novels enough to acquire them: Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan (to be published by Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam in July 2009); The Wet Nurse’s Tale by Erica Eisdorfer (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, August 2009); The Butterflies of Grand Canyon by Margaret Erhard (Plume, January 2010); and Casting Off by Nicole Dickson (NAL, August 2009).
Do it!
While I believe there is no better gift for a reader this Christmas than a book or gift card to a bookstore, I checked in with the Queen of the best gift lists for writers and book lovers that go beyond books. Cheryl Rainfield always has the best ideas on the web for creative, unique gifts for book lovers and writers. Check out her recent blog:
http://cherylrainfield.com/blog/index.php/2008/11/05/gifts-for-book-lovers-and-writers/
(Click on photo to see Hagan’s acceptance speech)
There was lots of cheering and hugging in Greensboro, NC last night as the national media announced that Kay Hagan would be the new United States Senator from North Carolina. Although I couldn’t see everyone who was there, I would guess well over 1,000 people showed up to hear Kay make her acceptance speech with her family beaming behind her. I was fortunate to be standing the in first row just below the podium in front of her.
Some rambunctious men in the crowd began singing “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead” after it was announced on television that Elizabeth Dole had been defeated but before Kay showed up. Being the gracious person she is, I’m sure she wouldn’t have cracked a smile, but having grown up in the shadow of The Wizard of Oz, I found it really funny. No doubt North Carolinians intended to send Elizabeth Dole “back home to Kansas” — but I have a feeling she will remain a resident of the Watergate in Washington, where she has resided for decades.
I’ve worked with Kay enough on economic development issues to know that when she talked about securing good paying jobs in the state as a top priority, I can vouch that fully intends to carry though on that priority.
It was a fast 40-hour trip to North Carolina and back to see Kay win and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world! To see Kay and her incredibly supportive and wonderful husband, Chip, and their three terrific grown kids on stage after all the work they had done, was a real treat. I’ve got to compliment her campaign team as well, a terrific group of dedicated professionals who were obviously committed not just to the campaign to get their candidate elected, but to Kay herself. Linda Cary, the force behind all of Kay’s campaigns, was standing next to me last night and I couldn’t help but think of how far we’d all come since the first election a decade ago.
In this economy we’re all looking for the best value. For $15 - $24 it’s possible to give a gift that entertains a family member or friend for 8, 10, 12 hours — it’s a great value for a thoughtful gift that is always shows a personal touch. A book automatically is an indication that you’ve put thought into the gift (unlike giving someone a ham or a tin of nuts for the same price or more). And, it’s an appropriate holiday gift for folks of all ages.
One of my favorite gift ideas is to have the author personalize the inscription to the person who will receive the gift. I know that Davis-Kidd Booksellers is planning to have in-house events on Dec. 6 and 13th in Memphis and Nashville, respectively, with authors on hand to personalize books on those Saturdays. I’m sure there will be many independent booksellers who will be doing this as well.
If you know of other bookstores around the country planning to have signings with a number of authors on hand in November and December please let us know so that we can promote that!
It may feel like it’s rushing things a bit to mention this when Halloween candy hasn’t even been marked down from 50% to 75% off yet, but holiday music is already blaring in the stores. When we get closer, say, after Thanksgiving, I will post some suggestions for gifts for readers and writers.
Helen Hemphill’s The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones is being promoted on YouTube in a fun and funny way — check out the “cowboy” dog talking and learn more about this high adventure!
The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill (Front Street, Nov. 1, 2008) is now available in fine bookstores everywhere.
A historical fiction novel for Middle School readers, this fast-paced story will especially appeal to boys (and aren’t we all trying to get our sons to read more!). Prometheus Jones, a young African-American boy from Tennessee, gets in a bit of a scrape at home and decides to join a cattle drive to find his fortune (and hopefully his daddy) on his way West during the time of Manifest Destiny.
This novel has been meticulously researched and young readers cannot help but to learn about the time period, the issues facing cowboys and the prejudice against various ethnic groups in the late 1800s.
While adults may not realize that 5,000 or more African-Americans chose cowboy life as a way to leave the South during Reconstruction after the Civil War, because there are no cowboy television shows (no Gunsmoke) and very rarely a Western Movie is released by Hollywood, kids today actually know very little about the whole Cowboy movement…lasooing, stirups, and other cowboy terms may be completely new to young readers.
This is an excellent piece of historical fiction, well-written and evokes emotions from readers of all ages. I recommend this for parents trying to get their sons to read, for teachers looking for good literature to share with their history and English classes and for Santas looking for a fun stocking stuffer this holiday season.
A brilliant third novel by award-winning author Helen Hemphill.
What the reviewers are saying….
Hemphill lassos readers with her gift for dialogue and nail-biting scenes of danger, and holds them with fascinating descriptions of cowboy life and clever historical references, such as a near-escape from braves fatigued from their victory over Custer at Little Big Horn. For a high-spirited tale of courage, talent and passion, gather ’round the campfire!
The adventures are nonstop, with mentions of Custer and warring Pawnee and Sioux Indians adding to the excitement and danger of buffalo stampedes and river crossings… the characters enjoy three-dimensional treatment… Prometheus’s transformation into Deadwood is convincing.
KIRKUS REVIEW
With enough cattle roping and gunslinging to satisfy any young cowboy fan, this is a smart fictional narrative…
ALAN (Assembly On Literature for Adolescents)
An energetic read for ages 10 and up, this is a surprisingly accurate, gritty portrayal of life in the Old West, telling it like it was for hundreds of young boys who left their homes and plantations after the Emancipation Proclamation and struck out for the untamed West. This is funny and sad and riveting, and is a perfect adventure tale for a cool autumn evening.
Helen Hemphill likes cowboys, too, and she has done a tremendous amount of research and exploration for her historical narrative, The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones. I got interested in reading her book after seeing her snazzy book trailer — it looked like the book had adventure and chaos and longhorns — which was good enough for me. In The Adventurous Deeds, I discovered a surprisingly gritty, realistic, historical narrative which reveals a realistic look at the lives of cowboys of all color in the Old West.
I cheered, I gasped, I cried for fourteen year old Prometheus as he and his cousin Omer join a cattle drive headed to South Dakota.
I am sad and disgusted by the attacks against Kay Hagan, a woman I have admired for more than a decade. I used to work for Elizabeth Dole in the 1980s and I am horrified that someone who has held Cabinet level appointments and has been considered a national role model for women would accuse her opponent of being “godless” — knowing full-well that it is untrue. Kay Hagan was an Elder in my church and has been a Sunday School teacher in the church to which I belonged in North Carolina.
Kay has been my role model for her integrity, fairness and moral compass since I met her.
Elizbeth Dole should be ashamed of herself. I wish that she would have a shred of decency and integrity to pull back and apologize for “bearing false witness” against a fine person.
See what Kay has to say about this issue — note that she has taken the high road in this commercial.
The good news is that in the 48 hours after Elizabeth Dole released that vitriolic commercial, Kay Hagan received more than 3,800 on-line contributions and has pulled ahead of Dole by 8 percentage points and counting.
