Signing Books in London -- Kentucky, that is.

--Did you ever think about how many exotic places we have in Kentucky? Paris, KY - London, KY - Versailles, KY. Although I have to admit the way we say Versailles with our Kentucky country pronunciation doesn't make you think much of France. Then there's California, KY - Washington, KY - Texas, KY - Moscow, KY - Newfoundland, KY.

--I like the odd names Kentucky town founders came up with. How would you like to live in Honeybee or Black Snake or Black Gnat or maybe Quicksand? That last name or maybe all of those names might make you think twice about building a house there. If you want a town where saying your address might lift your spirits you could live in Joy or Happy or Hope, Kentucky. There's not a Love, but there is a Lovely. I like Jeremiah. I'm going to have to let one of my characters in a book someday live in or be from Jeremiah. I did that in my Hollyhill books. Picked a town name I liked - Grundy - and named a neighboring town Grundy, Kentucky. Actually I think Grundy is in West Virginia or maybe Virginia, but it was too good a name to let get away.

--It was London, Kentucky, not London, England (what a surprise, right?) where I did a booksigning at the beautiful Brookhaven Christian Bookstore in the London Shopping Center a week ago. The picture above is of me and Sharon Kidd, one of the store's owners. Sharon and her partner, Mary, have a whole section of great Kentucky books or books by Kentucky authors on their shelves. They also have a lot of beautiful items made by Kentucky craftsmen and women. It's always a pleasure to be at the Brookhaven Christian Bookstore. Actually I enjoy shopping at Christian bookstores anywhere. There's just a feeling of peace and welcome when you walk in the door of those stores. And if you want to make sure you remember the reason for the season, there's no nicer place to shop. I hope you all support your local Christian bookstores. And buy some books for those on your gift list.

--I love buying books. It's a longstanding tradition for me to give a book to all my kids and now since the grandkids and spouses are included in that tradition, I get to shop for lots of books. It's nice if I'm able to pick one they might like, but even when I don't, it doesn't bother me if they pass them on to another reader. Somebody's book is still out there getting read. Of course I like it when people pick my book as a gift for a friend. What would be not to like about that! But I rarely give my own book as a Christmas gift even though I've got plenty in the basement. By the time Christmas rolls around, I've usually already given everybody on my gift list a copy of my latest book.

--The winner of my Thanksgiving book giveaway may decide to use the books she won as Christmas gifts. I drew for the winner a few minutes ago. Drum roll please. The winner is Jennifer in Canada. Jennifer has become a good reading friend and I'm looking forward to sending her the books she won as soon as she lets me know which of my books she wants.

--I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving and that you didn't eat too much the way we did around here. Some person, who shall remain unnamed :o), cooked way too much food. And now that person has to get rid of all the leftovers. I'll bet my puppies will like noodles. I've still got three little puppies to give away if anybody wants one.

--I got my Christmas tree decorated with help from my daughter and son-in-law. Next thing on the agenda is Christmas cards and shopping. But at least it's beginning to look like Christmas around here. I bet it is at your house too. Christmas trees are popping up all over Facebook. Hope you are embracing the season of joy.

Book Clubs by the Millions

Since January seems to be my month for book club talks, I decided maybe I should find out more about book clubs. So I googled book clubs and came up with more than 7,850,000 hits. Wow! Then I read a December 2008 article in the NY Times about book club troubles and it said there were perhaps four or five million book clubs with the number growing. Wow again! So talking to book clubs is good and could conceivably keep me way too busy to ever write another word. :0! But I wouldn't mind being a book club favorite.

Of course most every writer wants to be an Oprah book club pick or at least they used to. There for a while she was only picking books by deceased authors. That took a little edge off the desire to be one of her picks, but now I understand that she's back to living writers. Her fans are certainly ready to listen to her advice. Her picks are usually bestsellers. And she did get people to talking about books more and about book clubs.

Book clubs have been around forever. According to the NY Times article they evolved out of old time sewing circles. I suppose women (and the majority of book club members are women although the NY Times article says there are co-ed and male book clubs) have always been ready to form a group for social, work, and educational reasons. There have been quilting bees since frontier times in our country. Of course the men had cornshucking bees or frolics. Then there were the sewing circles and homemaker clubs. And book clubs. I remember people talking about a book club in my little town when I was a young girl and I thought that had to be the best kind of club. But I have never been a member of a book club. So it's fun now that I'm getting to talk to book clubs and hear what the members have to say about my book and about reading. I always want to know what else they've read recently or what they are planning to read.

Many book clubs are formed through church groups now and generally pick Christian novels, but not always. There are probably as many different kinds of book clubs as there are different kinds of books. A variety of picks would seem to make a book club more fun to me. That would introduce me to a book that perhaps I might not pick up on my own. My granddaughter asked me last week what were some books I might recommend for her. She's a Harry Potter and Twilight fan, but not long ago she read The Robe. As I've said here on my blog before, I always give everybody in my family at least one book and the last couple of years I've picked an old favorite of mine to give Sarah who is 14 and an avid reader. Last Christmas it was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. This year it was The Chosen by Chaim Potok. As I told her when I sent her some other book titles, I like to mix up types sometimes just to stretch the reading muscles. I like mysteries. I like family stories. I like historical fiction. But I don't want to limit myself to those categories. I want to be open to a good story no matter how it might be categorized. And when I think about all the good books out there waiting to be read by a young person Sarah's age or anyone of any age, I imagine a big treasure chest just waiting to be discovered and opened. And that's the great thing about book clubs. They've found that treasure chest and are discovering good stories.

I actually got to meet in person with a book club in London, Kentucky on Friday. That was even more fun than talking to a group over the phone. I like the phone call meetings too because I know I can't drive to Minnesota or New York, but still it was fun to meet with this group in person. We talked a lot about the Shakers and the question everybody wants me to answer is how they could separate the mothers and the children. I think that answer is not something we moms in the modern era can understand. And I think there were mothers who weren't happy with the answer then, but they didn't have the same options we have these days.

After the meeting, I did a booksigning at Brookhaven Christian Books in London, Kentucky. A beautiful store with a couple of lovely owners and a very helpful staff. I hope all of you in that area shop there all the time. They showcased local crafts and books by Kentucky authors in the store. Christian bookstores are not like other stores. They have a special atmosphere you feel as soon as you go through the door. You know you're in a special place where people will go out of their way to make sure your shopping experience is pleasant and that you will get the products you want and leave satisfied. You don't have to worry about buying something inappropriate but instead everything there is aimed to lift your spirits and help you be a better person. I hope you all support your local independent bookstores.

So what are some favorite books you might recommend to a young family member and how many of you are in book clubs? Hope if you are you enjoy every book and every meeting. Talk to you again Wednesday. It's supposed to be frigid around here toward the end of the week, but maybe the computer won't freeze up. I've got to get going on my new Shaker book. I typed Chapter 1 last week, but I don't think I've found the best beginning yet, so I'll probably begin all over again tomorrow. If I keep trying, I'll surely find the best way to jump into my story. Wish me luck.

Oh yeah, and thanks to all of you who let me know how things were going for you after you got my newsletter. I enjoy hearing from readers. I'll announce the winner to my book give-away on Wednesday. Thanks to everybody who entered by sending me an e-mail. I'll have another give-away soon.