Southern Swing

Steamboat tours on the Alabama River

I had an action-packed weekend doing a little mini-tour through the South.  First stop was at the wonderful Litchfield Books in Pawley's Island, South Carolina.  A beautiful place and a beautiful bookstore. They organized a lunch at a local restaurant, Nosh, and I got to speak to over fifty people about The Rebel Wife.  The food was delicious and the company even better.  Big thanks to Linda, Tom and Carol and everyone else at Nosh and Litchfield Books!!

From there I zipped down to Montgomery for the Alabama Book Festival on Saturday.  Another fantastic group of people and writers.  Thanks to Gail and Jim, Julia and Nancy, and everyone involved with the festival for letting me be a part of the fun!

There were amazing screen printers, many bottle trees and old-time music bands.

These are from Kennedy Prints--they make great stuff!

This bottle tree was in Old Town Alabama

This one was at Old Cahawba, more on that later

Fantastic old-time music!

I got to meet these amazing ladies--Michelle, Christina and the wonderful Vanessa Davis Griggs, author most recently of Ray of Hope.  Check out her website here!  I also had the thrill of meeting Alice Randall, author of The Wind Done Gone and her newest, Ada's Rules, which everyone should check out!

Michelle, Christina and Vanessa

Me and the fabulous Michelle, my escort at the Festival!

Me and Vanessa showing off our stuff!

And from there, I went to Woodstock, Georgia for an event at the beautiful bookstore, FoxTale Book Shoppe. I got to speak with a great group of ladies. I had such a warm and wonderful time there and look forward to the chance to go back.  Thank you, ladies!!

Karen, Ellen, me, Jackie and Carol--I could feel the love!!

While I was in Montgomery, there was a run for breast cancer awareness.  The runners were greeted by  this amazing gospel choir on Court Square just down from the statehouse.

Up Dexter Avenue is the church where Martin Luther King, Jr. was pastor from 1954-1960, during which time he worked on the Montgomery bus boycott.

And just a few blocks more, you are at the Alabama Statehouse, where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office as President of the Confederate States of America in 1861.

And here's a memorial remembering Jeff Davis and those fateful events.

A compelling juxtaposition of historic places and events, and all part of the same larger story.  I would have gone to the Alabama Archives on Monday, but they were closed for a state holiday.