Southern women are fascinating: Southern Indie Bestsellers, October 30

In This Issue

• Southern Indie Bestsellers
• Good Gossip
• Lady Banks' Commonplace Book
• Okra Picks
• Great Bookstores
• "STARS" Authors
• Special to the Southern List
• Authors Round the South

Special to the Southern List

(Books that appear on the Southern list, but not the national list)

Click on a book to purchase from a great indie bookstore!

Author Readings

John Lane, author of My Paddle to the Sea at Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, SC  (November 7 2011)

Elaine Fantle Shimberg, author of Growing Up Jewish in Samll Town America at Inkwood Books in Tampa, FL  (November 7 2011)

Amor Towles, author of Rules of Civility at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC  (November 8 2011)

Lisa Patton, author of Yankee Doodle Dixie at Turning Pages Books & More in Natchez, MS  (November 8 2011)

Winston Groom, author of Kearny's March at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL  (Nov 8 2011)

James Nolan, author of Higher ground at Octavia Books in New Orleans, LA  (November 9 2011)

Walter Edgar , author of South Carolina in the Modern Age at Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC  (November 9 2011)

Ken Bob Saxton, author of Barefoot Running Step by Step at Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC  (November 9 2011)

Caroline Preston, author of The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC  (11/09/2011)

Jonathan Lethem, author of The Ecstasy of Influence at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville, AR  (November 9 2011)

John Connolly, author of The Infernals at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC  (11/10/2011)

L.E. Modesitt, Jr. Modesitt, Jr., author of Scholar: A Novel in the Imager Portfolio at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Atlanta, GA  (November 10 2011)

Terry Graedon, author of Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them at Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC  (November 10 2011)

R. Mordant Mahon, author of Why Real Women Drink Straight Tequila at Literary BookPost in Salisbury, NC  (November 10 2011)

Condoleezza Rice, author of No Higher Honor at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL  (November 10 2011)

Jennifer Chiaverini, author of The Wedding Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC  (November 10 2011)

Pam Iorio, author of Straightforward: Ways to Live and Lead at Inkwood Books in Tampa, FL  (November 10 2011)

John Hodgman, author of That is All at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC  (11/11/2011)

Hanne Blank, author of Big Big Love: A Sex and Relationships Guide for Pe at Charis Books & More in Atlanta, GA  (November 11 2011)

Christine Warren, author of Paddlefish at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL  (November 11 2011)

Rose Anne Sands, author of Nature's Spirit Messages at Barnhill's in Winston-Salem, NC  (November 11 2011)

David Joy, author of Growing Gills at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC  (November 11 2011)

Caroline Preston, author of The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC  (November 11 2011)

Raiza Denise, author of White Knight at Literary BookPost in Salisbury, NC  (November 12 2011)

Krista Ashe, author of The Road to Damascus at Yawn's Books & More in Canton, GA  (November 12 2011)

Bonnie Doerr, author of Island Sting at Barnhill's in Winston-Salem, NC  (November 12 2011)

Debbie Moose, author of Fan Fare: A Playbook of Great Recipes for Tailgat at Literary BookPost in Salisbury, NC  (November 12 2011)

J. Mark Boliek, author of The Mahogany Door w/CD at Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem, NC  (11/12/2011)

Stephen King, author of 11/22/63 at Octavia Books in New Orleans, LA  (November 12 2011)

Michael Bricker, author of Historic West Salem: Images of America at Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem, NC  (11/12/2011)

Nancy Thomas, author of Moravian Christmas in the South at Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem, NC  (11/12/2011)

John Hutton, author of Sister Maus: Another Small Tale of Sister's House at Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem, NC  (11/12/2011)

Jay Mims, author of The Five Santas at Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC  (November 12 2011)

Michael Bricker, author of Winston-Salem: A Twin City History at Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem, NC  (11/12/2011)

Jane Congdon, author of It Started With Dracula:The Count, My Mother and M at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Atlanta, GA  (November 12 2011)

Chef Sonya Jones, author of Sweet Auburn Desserts at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Atlanta, GA  (November 12 2011)

J. Michael Dew, author of All The Bad Things at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Atlanta, GA  (November 12 2011)

Cynthia Moore Brown, author of CYNTHIA MOORE BROWN - Foktales and Ghost Stories o at Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem, NC  (11/12/2011)

Sen George McGovern, author of What It Means To Be A Democrat at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC  (November 13 2011)

John Lane, author of My Paddle to the Sea at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC  (11/13/2011)

Steve Almond, author of God Bless America at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC  (11/14/2011)

Tom Brokaw, author of The Time of Our Lives: Past, Present, Promise at Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, AL  (11/14/2011)

Heather Ewing, author of Great Architecture of the Guilded Age at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA  (November 15 2011)

Don Keith, author of Undersea Warrior: The World War II Story of "Mush" at Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, AL  (11/15/2011)

Mary Doria Russell, author of Doc at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC  (November 15 2011)

Jeremi Suri, author of Liberty's Surest Guardian: American Nation-Buildin at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC  (November 16 2011)

Daniel Blake Smith, author of An American Betrayal: Cherokee Patriots and the Tr at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC  (11/16/2011)

Karen White, author of The Strangers on Montagu Street at Fountainhead Bookstore in Hendersonville, NC  (11/16/2011)

John Doyle, author of Tales From the Tail at Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC  (November 16 2011)

Winston Groom, author of Kearny's March at Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, AL  (11/16/2011)

Sallie Ann Robinson, author of Gullah Cooking the Daufuskie Way at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC  (November 16 2011)

Cassandra Whitlow, author of Espresso for the Soul at Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC  (November 17 2011)

Katherine Soniat, author of The Swing Girl at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC  (November 17 2011)

Peter Yarrow, author of Puff, the Magic Dragon! at Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL  (November 17 2011)

Gina & Pat Neely, author of The Neelys' Celebration Cookbook: Down Home Meals at Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, AL  (11/17/2011)

Walter Isaacson, author of STEVE JOBS: A Biography at Octavia Books in New Orleans, LA  (November 17 2011)

Braxton Cosby, author of The Star Crossed Saga: Protostar at Blue Elephant Book Shop in Decatur, GA  (November 17 2011)

John Ames, author of Adventures in Nowhere at Inkwood Books in Tampa, FL  (November 17 2011)

David Wilson, author of I Followed the Wolf at That Bookstore in Blytheville in Blytheville, AR  (November 17 2011)

Oma Boyd, author of 'Round This Mountain at Barnhill's in Winston-Salem, NC  (November 17 2011)

Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever at Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC  (November 18 2011)

Margaret Maron, author of Three-Day Town at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC  (November 18 2011)

John Besh, author of My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cookin at Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, AL  (11/18/2011)

Ron Tanner, author of Kiss Me, Stranger at Inkwood Books in Tampa, FL  (November 18 2011)

Karen White, author of "The Strangers on Montagu Street" at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, SC  (11/18/2011)

Brenda Chambers McKean, author of Blood and War at my Doorstep: North Carolina Civil at Barnhill's in Winston-Salem, NC  (November 18 2011)

Sheila Ingle, author of COURAGEOUS KATE, A DAUGHTER OF THE AMERICAN REVOLU at Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC  (November 18 2011)

Molly Stevens, author of All About Roasting: A New Approach to a Classic Ar at Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC  (11/18/2011)

Jackie Bostic, author of I Know I'm Bad at Literary BookPost in Salisbury, NC  (November 19 2011)

Sheila Ingle, author of COURAGEOUS KATE, A DAUGHTER OF THE AMERICAN REVOLU at Barnhill's in Winston-Salem, NC  (November 19 2011)

Susan Craft, author of The Chamomile at Books Revisited in Columbia, SC  (November 19, 2011)

Christopher T Yarbrough, author of In Summons to the Past at Barnhill's in Winston-Salem, NC  (November 19 2011)

Sally Williamson, author of The Hidden Factor:Executive Presence at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Atlanta, GA  (November 19 2011)

Monika Schroder, author of My Brother's Shadow at Barnhill's in Winston-Salem, NC  (November 19 2011)

Reita Penfry, author of China White at Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC  (November 20 2011)

Elizabeth Spencer, author of Landscapes of the Heart at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC  (November 20 2011)

Cathy Smith Bowers, author of Like Shining from Shook Foil at Literary BookPost in Salisbury, NC  (November 21 2011)

Authors Round the South
www.authorsroundthesouth.com

Dearest readers,

 Like everyone else on this planet with the sole exception of her own mother, her ladyship, the editor has an account on both facebook and twitter. As well as a "page." She enjoys this strange electronic universe mostly because she can now view a near-endless stream of pictures from her sister featuring her ladyship's nephews playing soccer, or the family kitten doing something terribly cute to the family dog.

She also finds it rewarding to keep in casual touch with the other southern readers and writers who have thought her ladyship worth "liking," so that even if she is still waiting on a new book from her friends, she can still bond with them over videos of flocks of birds or the frightening efficacy of the average can of oven cleaner.

And she has even, on occasion, found the social web to be a source of good (if strangely typeset) advice. Such as this:

(via)

and especially, this:

Advice doesn't get any better than that.

Happy, happy reading! 

Southern Indie Bestsellers

For the week ending Sunday, October 23, 2011

Columbia, SC - October 30, 2011 - The Southern Indie Bestseller List, as brought to you by IndieBound.org and SIBA, for the week ended Sunday, October 23, 2011. Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance and IndieBound.org.

- A STARS Author | - A SIBA Okra Pick 
Titles in red are SIBA Book Award winners and finalists!
Printable versions: Hardcover | Paperback | Children.

Hardcover Fiction

Hardcover Nonfiction

6. Lions of the West
Robert Morgan, Shannon Ravenel, $29.95, 9781565126268

Trade Paperback Fiction

Trade Paperback Nonfiction

Mass Market

Children's Illustrated

Children's Interest

Children's Fiction Series Titles

Good Gossip

Literary News & Gossip passed along from the readers, the writers, the reviewers, the resellers, the riff raff, and dutifully repeated here by her ladyship (who falls into the last category).

"I am going to write a letter to the editor of this magazine. I am going to type with ill intent, use all the wicked prepositions and strident punctuation I know, and give these people a piece of my mind. If gas were not $19 a gallon, I'd drive to corporate headquarters and get ugly. I mean it–somebody hold me back. I would not be this upset on my own behalf. But these people have hurt my mama's feelings. And not just this year. This has been going on for decades, right about this time every holiday season."
Rick Bragg complains about the impossible turkey

"A bartender asked if they would mind offering their seats to the ladies. Yes, they would mind. Very much. Angry words came next, then a federal court date and a claim for more than $3 million in damages."
Southern Manners on the Decline

"A rollicking fantasy set in the American South, Big Fish centers on the charismatic Edward Bloom, whose impossible stories of his life's epic adventures frustrate his son Will. Now, with Edward on his deathbed, Will must embark on his own journey to find out who his father really is, unraveling the man from the myth, the truth from the tall tales."
Big Fish, the musical starring Michael Hall (Dexter)?

"For Jones, being Southern has to do with hard work and a culture of storytelling in her family and from Southern literature, glazed and fired with the colors and textures of the natural world where she grew up in Tuscaloosa County"
Hot Steams

“For some reason I really enjoy exploring southern women; they are the most fascinating creatures on earth,” shared Childress on NPR’s Weekend Edition."
Childress Turns Up the Southern Heat

SIBA Book Award Winner David Kirby: A Man Like You But Older

" 'Each year, the North Carolina Awards are a chance for us to honor men and women who reflect the very best in imagination, exploration, creativity, and humanitarian service,' said Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle. Ron Rash’s work shows his deep respect for mountain people, language, history, and culture.  He is the author of 14 books, which range from novels to collections of short stories to volumes of poetry."
Ron Rash receives North Carolina Award

Lady Banks' Commonplace Book

Noteworthy poetry and prose from her ladyship's bedside reading stack.

A cabin on a lake

We walked out to the big flat deserted lake and heard wild ducks and geese honking somewhere on the far shore. Out in the middle, the birds moved like hundreds of dark spots, settling and resettling. Their delicate fluff and pale feathers floated along the pier pilings, caught in the pondweed and juniper. The clean fragrance of longleaf pines hung over everything. Warm enough to be spring, the air so soft it stroked my face. Yet it was late December, almost Christmas, 1961. The baby grabbed at things in the white sand, sticks and long brown pine straw, an old gray seashell. It seemed all right there, It smelled good.

And Clyde asked me, as he had back in  the Piedmont on our snowy wedding day, Do you think you can stand this? His voice patiently questioning, his eyes a curious blue.

Sure I said, sure I can. And we walked home, swinging the baby between us. His woodsy, sweaty smell comforted me, a smell streaking through his gray uniform shirt, something tangible that put a skin on our adventures just beginning.

--Heather Ross Miller, Crusoe's Island (Coastal Carolina Press, 2000)

Okra Picks

Great southern books, fresh off the vine! Picked for you with care by Southern Indie Booksellers

The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe

"I loved this edgy but lyrical story with its touches of fantasy (Tufa may be a corruption of Tuatha Dé Danann) and its strong-willed, foul-mouthed heroine. Recommended for hip readers of Charles de Lint and/or Sarah Addison Allen." - Jill Hendrix, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC

No one knows where the Tufa came from, or how they ended up in the mountains of East Tennessee. When the first Europeans came to the Smoky Mountains, the Tufa were already there. Dark-haired and enigmatic, they live quietly in the hills and valleys of Cloud County, their origins lost to history. But there are clues in their music, hidden in the songs they have passed down for generations. . . . Private Bronwyn Hyatt, a true daughter of the Tufa, has returned from Iraq, wounded in body and spirit, but her troubles are far from over. Cryptic omens warn of impending tragedy, while a restless "haint" has followed her home from the war. Worse yet, Bronwyn has lost touch with herself and with the music that was once a part of her. With death stalking her family, will she ever again join in the song of her people, and let it lift her onto the night winds?

First Chapter

SEE MORE OKRA PICKS HERE

Great Bookstores

An Indie Bookstore you should know

Eagle Eye Books in Decatur, AL
A great eye for good books!

Decatur's largest and most complete bookstore with over 50,000 new, used, bargain and collectible books. We buy general books and textbooks.

" This is a great store to browse. The owner, Doug, and his top bookseller, George, can answer any question you may have about a book or an author. The number of well-known and new authors who come for readings and signings is huge " --a customer

2076 N. Decatur Road
Decatur, GA 30033
Tel:  404-486-0307      
Fax: 404-486-8714

shop | twitter | facebook | events | signed books | staff picks

STARS Authors on Tour

What are "STARS" authors? These are authors listing in the Southern Traveling Authors Registration Service--a directory of authors who live in, or are traveling in the South and are interested in meeting with book clubs, civic groups, classrooms, and readers of all kinds. The STARS directory is brought to you by Southern Indie Booksellers, who want to connect readers with their favorite writers.

Featured: Renea Winchester

Author, Storyteller, Rescuer of Flowers. Renea Winchester grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina where her love of nature came as easy as skipping stones. She's been published in many anthologies and magazines. Her book: In The Garden With Billy: Lessons About Life, Love & Tomatoes earned her a 2011 SIBA nomination and a GAYA nomination. When she isn't writing she can be found outside enjoying nature.

Website | Blog | facebook

Book: In The Garden With Billy: Lessons About Life, Love & Tomatoes

A chance encounter on a busy Atlanta turns into an unexpected friendship. Renea is in a hurry, running to her daughter's tennis lesson and away from the reality of her mother's illness, when her daughter notices a primitive sign on the side of the road which reads, "Baby Goats 4 Sale." Even though Renea has no interest in smelling goats, she pulls into the drive and meets a man who would change her life. Wearing faded cotton overalls, and walking with a slight stoop, seventy-seven year old Billy Albertson shakes Renea's hand and pulls her into his world.

Little Creek Books $14.95

More STARS Authors:
see the full list online here and find the authors touring in your area here

Ellyn Bache
Pawleys Island, SC 11/4/2011-11/4/2011
Wilmington, NC 11/5/2011-11/10/2011
Asheville,, NC 11/19/2011-11/20/2011

Amberle Cianne
BALTIMORE, VA 11/19/2011-11/26/2011

Susan Craft
Columbia, SC 11/19/2011-11/19/2011

Elizabeth O. Dulemba Brasstown, NC 12/2/2011-12/4/2011

Mark Hainds
Birmingham, AL 12/3/2011-12/6/2011
Tallahasee, FL 11/1/2011-11/4/2011

Jennie Helderman
Atlanta, GA 11/19/2011-11/19/2011

Mary Alice Monroe
Miami, FL 11/19/2011-11/19/2011

Nancy Naigle
Emporia, VA 12/5/2011-12/5/2011
Emporia, VA 12/8/2011-12/8/2011

Valerie Nieman
Hillsborough, NC 11/16/2011-11/16/2011
Greensboro, NC 11/10/2011-11/10/2011

Julia Nunnally Duncan
Marion, NC 11/19/2011-11/19/2011

Lisa Patton
Collierville, TN 11/1/2011-11/1/2011
Blytheville, AR 11/1/2011-11/1/2011
Greenwood, MS 11/9/2011-11/9/2011
Tupelo, MS 11/11/2011-11/11/2011
Oxford, MS 11/17/2011-11/17/2011

Melissa Peagler
Lancaster, SC 11/23/2011-11/27/2011
Columbia, SC 11/25/2011-11/27/2011
Chester, SC 11/23/2011-11/27/2011
Ashville, NC 11/26/2011-11/27/2011
Spartanburg, SC 11/23/2011-11/27/2011

Norma Watkins
Miami, FL 11/1/2011-11/30/2011