Hey, y'all!

I just got back from the Southern Kentucky Book Festival in Bowling Green, KY.  And oh, what fun it was...to actually sleep late!  No baby alarm clock at 5 a.m.  And eat real food, too -- after a whole year of starvation and sweat, trying to get rid of the baby fat.  Mission accomplished, though (as "W" would say)!

Now just where in the world is Bowling Green, Kentucky, you say? Well, first of all, it's one of the prettiest places I've ever seen, with the nicest people on Earth.  Meaning, of course, that it's in the South!  In fact, it's about an hour north of Nashville, TN, where Salem has offices.  And whoa, what a great time! A hundred or more authors, all hanging out, signing books and giving talks...and giving moi, yours truly, the newbie author, a real education about the publishing industry. Talk about scary! This business is as tough as uncooked grits, y'all. Enter at your own risk.

Although, I must admit, it wasn't much of a hardship meeting all of those fabulous authors.  Take, for instance, Scott Turow and his charminjg girlfriend. As luck would have it, Scott just happens to be ex-law partners and very close friends with one of my old bosses, Russ Bradley.  I worked as a legal secretary for Russ in Geneva, Switzerland, while putting myself through law school. Nice guy, both of them. And although Scott has achieved phenomenal success as a writer, he continues to practice law, bless his heart.

The funniest incident of the weekend may have been some gushing about Turow's "latest book," by a devoted fan.  She just loved "The Bourne Identity," she said.  I looked at Scott, bit my lip and said, "Ummm...isn't she confusing you with Robert Ludlum?"  I didn't mention that "The Bourne Identity" had been published ages ago.  The stoic Mr. Turow simply shook his head, grinned and said, "I've written all of John Grisham's books, Robert Ludlum's, and even a few by Stephen King." 

I wonder if this happens with movie stars, too?  Paris Hilton should be so lucky.

Another cool introduction came with Rick Bragg, the Pulitzer Price winner and former New York Times reporter.  I actually sent Rick a fan letter too, way back in 1997, after reading his amazing memoir, "All Over But the Shoutin'." A former Atlanta resident, he was just as sweet as pie, too -- not a stuck-up bone in his body.

I also spoke with Cassandra King (Pat Conroy's wife), whom I have interviewed several times, the most recent being for a story in the Athens Banner-Herald (great paper, edited by my darlin' friend, Courtney Pomeroy). And finally, I met the venerable Christian author, Janette Oke. For those not-in-the-know (as in, me), it's pronounced "Ja-NET" and "Oke" (rhymes with hoke). Good thing she told me.

So, well (pronounced "WAY-yull," if you're in my family), I made some great new friends and hung out in the hotel lobby 'til all hours of the night (okay, so it was just midnight, but for this mother of an 18-month old, that's LATE, y'all!). And making new friends is always worth the price of admission -- especially for writers, who spend their days alone, toiling in front of a computer. Unless you're me, of course, in which case you WISH you could spend your days alone, instead of being hounded for PBJs, bagels and trying to shake a clinging baby off your leg so you can send just one more email to your publicist...who no doubt feels the same way about YOU that you do about your toddler.

Hey, it's the circle of life (and love 'ya, Lisa!)

So take a gander at some of my new best friends (below, in no particular order), who write all sorts of things, for men and women, both fiction and non-fiction. Better still, buy their books and send 'em an email to tell 'em how great they are. We all need a little encouragement every now and then, right?!

• Melanie Lynn Hauser, "Confessions of a Super Mom" and "Super Mom Saves the World"
• Cheryl Strayed, "Torched"
• Kristy Kiernan, "Catching Genius"
• River Jordan, "The Messenger of Magnolia Street"
• Tasha Alexander, "And Only to Deceive"
• Adrienne Martini, "Hillbilly Gothic"
• Hana Shank, "A More Perfect Union"

I'll be profiling some of these authors -- and many, many more -- in upcoming blogs.  In fact, you book lovers out there will be pleased to know that I'm turning this into a book blog, so stay tuned!  Good things are a'foot!

With Southern love,
Annabelle
http://www.southerngirlsguide.com/