Charm of the Carolines

Yankee Doodle Dixie Giveaway

I was thrilled a few weeks ago to get to see Lisa Patton again and to hear about her inspiration for writing her first novel Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter. MacMillon gives us a brief synopsis...

Leelee Satterfield seemed to have it all: a gorgeous husband, two adorable daughters, and roots in the sunny city of Memphis, Tennessee.  So when her husband gets the idea to uproot the family to run a quaint Vermont inn, Leelee is devastated…and her three best friends are outraged.  But she’s loved Baker Satterfield since the tenth grade, how can she not indulge his dream?  Plus, the glossy photos of bright autumn trees and smiling children in ski suits push her over the edge…after all, how much trouble can it really be?

But Leelee discovers pretty fast that there’s a truckload of things nobody tells you about Vermont until you live there: such as mud season, vampire flies, and the danger of ice sheets careening off roofs.  Not to mention when her beloved Yorkie decides to pick New Year’s Eve to go to doggie heaven-she encounters one more New England oddity: frozen ground means you can’t bury your dead in the winter.  And that Yankee idiosyncrasy just won’t do.

We learned Lisa had in mind writing three books when she published her first, and just recently the second in the series was published, Yankee Doodle Dixie.

Having watched her life turn into a nor’easter, 34-year-old Leelee Satterfield is back home in the South, ready to pick back up where she left off. But that’s a task easier said then done…Leelee’s a single mom, still dreaming of the Vermonter who stole her heart, and accompanied by her three best friends who pepper her with advice, nudging and peach daiquiris, Leelee opens another restaurant and learns she has to prove herself yet again.

Being from Tennessee (and even born in Memphis) I love these books because I "get it." Southerners are just as quirky as the northern Vermont yankees, and that is what makes these books hilarious!  I still laugh out loud when I think of the word "housatosis" for a stinky Vermont Inn, but now I'm giving away pearls from a book that needs to be read cover to cover.

Lisa has given me a book to give away to one lucky reader of Charm of the Carolines. All you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know you would like to be included in the drawing. I'll randomly draw a number on March 1, 2012, and find the corresponding comment and that will be our lucky winner. You can leave as many comments as you like, but only one per day. If you win, I'll email you and let you know and ask for your mailing address so that I can mail you a copy of the book. It's that easy!  (my only caveat... book will be mailed to US address only)

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The Blank Page

“We will open the book.

Its pages are blank.

We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity,

and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

 

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

 

I love fresh starts, and none is bigger or fresher than New Year's Day. Yes, it's a day full of the 6 Fs (Family, Friends, Food, Fur, Faith, and Football), but it also calls me to reflect and to assesss and to plan. Not a New Year's Day goes by that I don't pull out my journal and jot down goals and dreams. Some rollover from the previous year. Some rollover for years and years. However, I hold all things in divine order and know to keep each dream on the radar screen and soon enough it will be time to fulfill each and every one.

2011 was the year I stumbled backwards into an unexpected, yet glorious, career painting cows and chickens and puppies and old buildings and flowers and all the things I love. So it's not surprising several of my goals and dreams for 2012 involve an investment into workshops from some of my favorite artists, including trying to talk one artist in Wisconsin to travel to Tennessee to teach and another reluctant artist to start teaching.

What does 2012 hold? None of us really know. But I for one am inspired by the blank page, the clean slate, the fresh start and the hope of a multitude of opportunities and possibilities.

Though you can't see me, I'm raising my glass of sweet tea and offering a toast to us all.

May 2012 be

the Best Year Evah, Darlin'! 

*Muah!*

 

 

 

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Thank you to A Field Journal for the use of your beautiful photo!

Lisa Patton

I adore Lisa Patton. We met last year when her publicist at St. Martin's press recommended I contact Lisa to join us on the Very Maury Christmas Tour of Southern Authors in my new hometown of Columbia, TN. Lisa had published her first book Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'Easter and it had sky-rocketed to great commercial success, especially after she was picked up by Target as a featured "emerging new author."

So you can understand my excitement to learn she would be speaking at our local library this evening. I marked it in pen on my Daytimer and counted down the days to see Lisa again and to get the opportunity to have her autograph her new book Yankee Doodle Dixie, the sequel to her first book.

This evening we learned there will be a third book in the series. St. Martin's Press has contracted with Lisa for her to write two more books. The third will be the final in the series featuring our beloved southern belle Leelee Satterfield. The fourth book will be a departure for Lisa, a historical fiction novel based loosely on the life of a woman who has recently passed away. I don't want to give away too much, but you can bet I'll be sharing more information as it becomes available.

Lisa shared with us that her grandmother was born in 1882 and was raised in Columbia, TN, is a house known as Rally HIll, located just feet from the library where she spoke this evening. In her charming accent, Lisa amused us with her grandmother's recollection of the Woh - ah, and why she lived with its vivid memories long afterwards.

And here Lisa is fixin' to autograph the copy of her book I just purchased. I've also asked Lisa if she would contact her PR rep in New York to see if we can get a copy of her book to give away on this blog. Keep checking back... there will be a giveaway soon.

 

*Thank you to Elizabeth Potts and Adam Southern for bringing us so many great authors to meet. I appreciate your work.

 

Magic Bean Buyers

 
“If you are a dreamer,come in.

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,

a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer.

If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,

for we have some flax-golden tales to spin.

Come in! Come in!”

 ~ kindred spirit Dawn Jones shared this quote with me today.

I love it! Originated with Shel Silverstein

 

(Painting by Renoir "The Dreamer")

Martinmas

Recently I made a trip to Chicago and on the flight was reading a book I found in a second-hand bookstore. The book is titled Mrs. Sharp's Traditions by Sarah Ban Breathnach and it's all about reviving Victorian traditions with your family today. One celebration I had never heard of is called Martinmas. I liked the idea so much, I'm considering celebrating Martinmas this year.

According to the book, on November 11 comes the fesitval of Martinmas, a very old European winter celebration dating back to the Middle Ages. As the legend goes, St. Martin of Tours was passing under an archway when he discovered a poor beggar huddled there. It was very cold and the man was nearly naked. Although Martin was not a rich man, upon seeing the beggar, he took off his own cape and ripped it in half in order to clothe the beggar.

The following night Martin had a dream in which he saw Jesus Christ wearing his cape. Christ said, "Martin, what you have done unto the least of your brothers you have done to me, also."

Martin was so moved by his dream, he gave up his career and spent the remainder of his life helping mankind. Today he is considered the patron saint of the poor and outcast.

According to the book, in many countries November 11 is celebrated with a festival of lanterns, symbolizing the light of generosity that illuminates the darkness of lack. You have your children make the lanterns and invite family and friends over for dinner, but everyone must bring unused clothing, clean and folded, ready to donate to those in need... either to the Goodwill, Thrift Store, or church clothes closet.

It is also a tradition for the guests to bring a warm, knitted scarf, gift-wrapped to exchange with the other guests, so everyone leaves with a symbol of warmth, generosity and love to face the cold winter ahead.

The story would end here, but later the same day after reading this story, I decided to use a few free hours I had in the afternoon to take the L from Rosemont to downtown Chicago and tour a portion of the Art Institute of Chicago. What an experience! I can't even begin to describe it, but might try in future posts. The point I want to make regarding Martinmas is to have never heard of this man or this holiday, twice in one day it is revealed to me. At the AIC in the little time I had to spend there, I found a painting of St. Martin.

 

 

In my lifetime I've celebrated egg-toting rabbits and jolly ol' elves, spooks and goblins, pilgrims and turkeys. Why not celebrate light, warmth, love, and generosity?