Lagniappe

I'm borrowing the title of this post from Jason Ashley Wright, the quirky Mississippi boy who's one of my favorite columnists in our local paper. The first of the month he channels his Southern roots and throws in some lagniappe - a little somethin', somethin' extra, as he says. Last weekend I went to the Celebration of Books and attended the humor session where Jason was a panelist. He's just as cute and funny in person as he is in his column, so I thought I'd "totally name drop" and steal his lagniappe theme to fill you in on several happenings in my world.

Confession time: My suitcase from the ACFW conference is finally unpacked, but the glow of the ACFW conference still lives! For all of you who want to see what all the conference buzz is about Mike Ehret, editor of the ACFW Afictionado Ezine, has just released the Conference Edition. Every year this is a more monumental undertaking as the conference grows. I'm honored to be one of the "reporters", and who wouldn't be? Mike is a great encourager. Clap. Clap. Great job, Mike! And clap, clap for me for getting the suitcase emptied and back in the closet.

New Interview: Fellow writer, Delia Latham featured me on The Bookshelf Newsletter where she asked some fun off-the cuff questions that certainly qualify for this lagniappe kind of day. Thanks, Delia! While you're there, check out Delia's new upcoming Solomon's Gate series from White Rose Publishing.

Since lagniappe is a southern thing, this is a good time to bring up that spot in East Texas where the Deep South begins. Check this out: THE AUTHORS  who will be attending the Pulpwood Queen's Girlfriend Weekend in Jefferson, Texas. January 13 - 16, 2011. A great gathering of some of today's most fabulous authors, including Pat Conroy, Cassandra King, Fannie Flagg, Charles Martin, Jamie Ford, AND a host of others. Complete details on the tiara wearing, book loving queen, Kathy Patrick's website: Beauty and the Book. Did you know the Pulpwood Queens Book Club is the largest book club in the world? Did you know Kathy is the founder and owner of the ONLY Hair Salon/Book Store in the WORLD? Kathy's heart is as big as the hair she does, and I'm not only looking forward to attending the Girlfriend Weekend, but also being one of the featured authors November 12-14 for the Books Alive! charity fundraiser that Kathy sponsors. And yep, it's in Jefferson too.

Looks like I'll be pulling out my suitcase to start packing again soon. I'm thinking I should just leave it out. And all this talk reminds me of one of Jason Ashley Wright's favorite "Clairee" quotes from Steel Magnolias: You know I love ya more than my luggage! Yes, readers, I love having you here. And to wind this up, what's your favorite southern saying?