Category: My books

The Wrinkled Egg

After my cousin suggested that The Wrinkled Egg in Flat Rock, North Carolina would be a good place for my book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to sell, I passed that information on to Arcadia Publishing. The sales department followed up with Virginia and she ordered a dozen copies for her store! I dropped by The Wrinkled Egg on Tuesday afternoon, although the fog was getting thicker by the mile and I hesitated to leave the interstate. Virginia was not in but I enjoyed talking to Patty. My book had not arrived, but I hope it will be available there before Christmas.

The Wrinkled Egg on a foggy December day in Flat Rock, North Carolina.
The Wrinkled Egg on a foggy December day in Flat Rock, North Carolina.

The Wrinkled Egg is a quaint gift shop in lovely Flat Rock. Across the street from the famous Flat Rock Playhouse of North Carolina, the shop is in a perfect location for the convenience of shoppers and visitors to this village that is tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Flat Rock. Carl Sandburg and his wife bought a farm there and lived out the last years of their lives there. Their home, “Cannemara” is a State Historic Site and is open for tours. Plan a trip to Flat Rock, where you can visit Cannemara, take in a play at the Playhouse, and shop at The Wrinkled Egg!

My two-day trip to Tryon, Hendersonville, Canton, Asheville, and Flat Rock was an energy booster for me. It was my first opportunity to visit the area covered by my vintage postcard book and see my book on store shelves there. I enjoyed meeting bookstore owners and employees and it was indeed a thrill to see my book on the shelf at several stores!

Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center

I visited the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center near Asheville on Tuesday. How I have missed it for all these years is a mystery. I love driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway!

The visitors center cannot be seen from the road. It is located about five or six miles south of the Folk Art Center — one of my favorite places in the mountains — and adjacent to the parkway headquarters. The building is eco-friendly. It is difficult to tell in the photograph, but grass and weeds are growing on the sod roof! It reminded me of a storybook I had as a child that had a drawing of a house with a cow grazing on the roof. I want to return to the visitors center next summer and see what the roof looks like then.

Outside view of the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center near Asheville.
Outside view of the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center near Asheville.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into the bookstore/gift shop in the visitors center and found my book displayed on the shelf! I did not know the visitors center had my book in stock. Since there was only one copy, the employee said, “I guess the rest of the copies have sold.” I don’t know how many copies they started with or when they received the book. I hope they will restock it!

Janet with her book at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center near Asheville, NC.
Janet with her book at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center near Asheville, NC.

I want to stop by the visitors center again on my next trip to Asheville. I was on a tight schedule on Tuesday and did not have time to look at anything but my book.

The Quintessential Bookstore

It was a treat on Tuesday morning to spend an hour or so at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. Alsace had invited me to come by and autograph copies of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I met Alsace and Malaprop’s owner, Emoke B’Racz. Erin retrieved some of my books out of the window and the ones on display in the regional books section so I could autograph them.

My book was prominently displayed, which was a thrill. Malaprop’s is the quintessential independent bookstore. It has a great atmosphere and welcoming staff. I told them I wish we had a bookstore like it in our area. After following Malaprop’s website and receiving their weekly e-newsletters for several months, I was glad to finally get there in person. I could have easily spent the day there.

If you ever get to Asheville, be sure to visit Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe at 55 Haywood Street. It is a book lover’s heaven!

Janet with her book at Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, NC on December 2, 2014.
Janet with her book at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, NC on December 2, 2014.

The Book Shelf in Tryon, NC

On the way to my speaking engagement at the public library in Canton, North Carolina on Monday morning, I dropped in on The Book Shelf at 94 North Trade Street in Tryon, North Carolina. A delightful independent community bookstore, The Book Shelf has been a fixture in Tryon since 1952.

I was thrilled to find two copies of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina on a shelf in the regional books section! With the front cover facing out, the book was quite eye catching. I was very pleased. Penny Padgett, the owner of The Book Shelf, was not in the store at the moment. Her employee, Judy, was very pleasant and welcoming.

Janet's Bk Trip to Mts. 12.14 003

With a recommendation from Judy, my sister and I enjoyed lunch just up the street at The Lavender Bistro. It was a lovely restaurant with an impressive menu.

After lunch, I returned to The Book Shelf and got to personally thank Penny Padgett for selling my book. She asked if I could come back next spring and have a book signing. I assured her that I would love to do that.

I couldn’t have been more pleased with how my morning and early afternoon went in Tryon. It was a great way to start out a two-day trip to the North Carolina mountains to publicize my book. I look forward to visiting The Book Shelf again.

The entrance to The Book Shelf on Trade Street in Tryon, NC.
The entrance to The Book Shelf on Trade Street in Tryon, NC.
Front window of The Book Shelf in Tryon, NC.
Front window of The Book Shelf in Tryon, NC.

Canton Public Library Author Event

On Monday afternoon, December 1, I had the pleasure of talking to people who had participated throughout the month of November in National Novel Writing Month “write-ins” at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County, North Carolina, Public Library about my experience while writing a book for Arcadia Publishing. This was different from all my earlier speaking engagements about by vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

The audience members were attentive and asked some good questions at the end of my presentation. I enjoyed my time with them. I felt like we were kindred spirits since I, too, hope to get a novel published someday.

In addition to talking about my experience in writing a book for Arcadia Publishing, I told them about Judith H. Simpson’s book, Foundations in Fiction and recommended that they look for it. It is a good “nuts and bolts” how-to book about writing good fiction. Judy was my teacher fall semester 2001 at Queens University in Charlotte. Her Fiction Writing course was a life-changing experience, and one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. Judy is no longer with us physically, but she is a very real presence every time I sit down to write. Judy was a gifted teacher.

Each time I have a speaking engagement, I feel a little more at ease than the previous time. I hope that means I’m getting better at it, too!

Marketing my book

In an attempt to get the word out about the availability of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, I have written letters to 30 bookstores, pharmacies, and gift shops around the state this week and enclosed a marketing postcard from Arcadia Publishing.

Today I was thrilled to hear from Allen Eskens, author of The Life We Bury. He saw my blog about his book, and dropped me a note of thanks.

I was supposed to participate in the Downtown Christmas Festival in downtown Lenoir, NC tomorrow in a tent with several other authors. Circumstances prevent my going, so I had to cancel at the last minute. I hope to schedule some author events in some stores or public libraries in that area after the first of the year.

Scheduling author events continues to be the most challenging part of the writing process for me.

Author event at Aldersgate

I enjoyed a delicious lunch and speaking to the Presbyterians who live at Aldersgate in Charlotte yesterday. I opened with some facts about the ways postcards have changed over the years, and then I talked about a few of the many things I learned while doing the research for The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina vintage postcard book. I passed around 60 of my vintage North Carolina mountain postcards afterwards along with copies of one of the word find puzzles I designed to go with the book. The old postcards and the word find puzzles seemed to be hits. It was a cordial group and many of the places and events I talked about seemed to trigger good memories for many of them.

I learned last Thursday that my book is available at Moose Pharmacy in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. Today I was notified that The Wrinkled Egg in Flat Rock, North Carolina has ordered a dozen copies. Great news!

Author event in Mt. Pleasant

I had a wonderful time last night making new friends and talking about my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina at the public library in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. The people in the audience were happy and interested. Thank you, Mt. Pleasant Friends of the Library, for hosting the event.

Where would we be without Friends of the Library organizations? Thank you for all you do to support and put a spotlight on our public libraries!

Author event at library in Concord

I held my third author event to publicize The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina at the public library in Concord, NC on Saturday. Speaking in a large auditorium and using a microphone was more than a little intimidating. The mic wouldn’t pick up my voice when clipped to my lapel, so I had to hold it in my hand. I couldn’t hear myself, so it was difficult to judge if those in the audience could hear me. That was stressful. I felt like I talked too fast and too softly. Seasonal allergies in my throat didn’t help matters.

I was honored that the Concord Friends of the Library hosted the event. They did a super job with publicity. The event was touted on the front page of the Cabarrus News section of the Charlotte Observer twice! Several people in the audience commented on my mountain photos slide show, so I think it definitely adds to my presentation.

My next scheduled event is on November 13 at the public library in Mt. Pleasant, NC. I hope my voice will be stronger for that engagement.

Invitation to Malaprop’s Bookstore

Tonight I received an e-mail from Malaprop’s Bookstore — a wonderful independent bookstore — to drop by the next time I’m in Asheville to autograph some of my books. I hope to do that in December.

Today I had copies of my writing pamphlet printed to send to the president of the North Carolina Society of Historians for inclusion in the packets for the people attending this year’s awards luncheon. I was pleased with what I was able to create using Microsoft Excel for the first time. If I can do it, anyone can do it!

I visited Books-a-Million at Concord Mills Mall today and was disappointed that The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina was not on the Arcadia Publishing shelf in the “Regional Books” section of the store. That needs to be rectified tomorrow.