Hello Stranger!
Come see me this month at our local Book Fest
Long time, no see!
I’ve missed you, readers. I’ve been off Substack for a few months but that does not mean the musical notes of our nest have faded away. Rather, our home has been a buzz with chirps and calls from young ones relishing the joy that warm weather and summer vacation brings. Moments of stillness and silence to write are scarce around here. We’ve been singing the tunes of artful homemaking, of visits with long-distance family and friends, and children’s milestone moments like birthdays, recitals, and First Communion.
A sign on the wall inside my daughter’s piano studio reminded me that:
“When words fail, music speaks.”
Lately, my typed words are few and far between, mostly for house property listings for my husband’s real estate business in south central Wisconsin. Even a house listing can benefit genuinely from a human hand verses a fabrication by AI. And as for the books I’m writing? Instead of written memoirs and prose, they are visual family photo albums of the best of the seasons since migrating to the Midwest.
As for our book Finding Flannery, it has really taken wing this spring. In May, our publisher at En Route Books and Media took our book on tour to Georgia, hand- delivering copies to the college library at Emory University in Atlanta, an independent bookstore not far from Milledgeville, and to the gift shop at Andalusia Farm in the house where Flannery penned her last works. It is a dream come true to see our book come full circle back to her home.
Rewinding further still to March, I headed with a friend to Chicago for Loyola University’s special cultural event in honor of Flannery O’Connor’s 101st birthday (1925-1964), capping the end of her centenary.
I sold and signed some books, and had the joy of meeting several esteemed Flannery authors, scholars, and artists. The vibe was friendly and inspirational, as fans of O’Connor gathered to talk about her legacy today. What I gleaned most from the presentations, with titles like “Flannery as Muse” and “Art Responding to Art,” was witnessing how art begets art, as writers, filmmakers, educators, and musicians shared how O’Connor’s works have in turn inspired their own creations.
A couple highlights for me were listening to Angela O’Donnell read from her own Andalusia Hours: Poems from the Porch of Flannery O’Connor; and meeting singer-songwriter Colin Cutler, whose roots music is deeply spun with O’Connor’s stories.
After the afternoon’s presentations, we savored a catered Southern barbecue meal overlooking the shores of Lake Michigan, ate birthday cake and gave a toast to Flannery — all with strangers who in one day became friends!
This June, I will be participating in the HPL Book Fest, a week-long celebration of local authors and books from around the region! Join me for “A Fling into the Past,”at 608 Vintage in downtown Janesville on June 25th from 3-5:30 p.m. This cozy corner store is full of vintage treasures and modern finds, and I’m proud to partner with them and the Hedberg Public Library. Join me for this literary event and sample southern pound cake and sweet tea! Books will be for sale and signing. Dena Tullis of Tattooed Tree Books of Fort Atkinson will also be there to share information about the area’s newest bookstore and art gallery. Find the full week’s schedule of Book Fest author events here.
Whatever direction your summer takes you, don’t be a stranger to the grace of new friendships that may await around every bend in the road, or in the next chapter of your summer reading. Strap on your traveling shoes, and go!
“The writer operates at a peculiar crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet. His problem is to find that location.” – Flannery O’Connor
still wishing I could have joined you for the other event!
Thanks for keeping Flannery flying Christina! Let us know how it goes. 🩷🦚