MISSISSIPPI DELTA BOOK TOUR
October 15, 2008
Hello Dear Readers,
BACK FROM MISSISSIPPI
I just returned from a very busy week down in the Mississippi Delta, reading and signing WHERE THE LAKE BECOMES THE RIVER at a number of the Mid-South's finest bookstores, from November 9th-16th. Thanks to all the bookstores, whose staff members couldn't have been more welcoming and helpful. Each store has a personality and flair of its own, and it was a pleasure to visit them. I appreciate all the generous support given to my book at these great bookstores.
I started in Memphis, spent a day visiting bookstores and signing copies of the book, stayed the night with friends, and then headed out to Oxford the next day for a reading at Square Books. Old pal Bill Beckwith toured me around Oxford and Taylor. The reading at Square Books ended with all of us sharing ghost stories and dreams.
Next day I drove to Greenwood, caught up with friends there, and did a reading at TurnRow, where members of a local bookclub turned out and livied up the discussion. Afterwards I bought a copy of Jane Rule Burdine's Delta Deep Down, a wonderful collection of Delta photographs. The actual Delta landscape was in her fall colors, subdued and resting from the cotton harvest. Tattered bits of escaped cotton lined the highways--and flocks of birds filled the sky.
At Lemuria Books in Jackson, a substantial group of old Greenville friends who now live down there turned out for my reading; we caught up, shared stories, laughed a lot, and went to dinner together--a real treat to see everyone and spend some great time together.
The next day I had the good sense to take a day off, and spent it with my sister and her family up in the hills, with a dinner trip to Pap's Place in Ackerman.
Next stop was Greenville, where more old friends, and some new ones, turned up at McCormick's Book Inn. I did my best to scare them all silly with a "Ghost Story" excerpt from the book, followed by dinner and lively conversation at Doe's Eat Place--always a treat.
Finally, I returned to Memphis via Highway 61, the immortal Blues Highway, for a signing at Davis-Kidd Booksellers, and enjoyed visiting with friends old and new who dropped in to pick up a book and swap stories.
Now I'm back in Carolina, resting up--and wishing the book tour had included a few more "rest" days to spend with folks, visit some more local attractions (like the new B.B. King Museum in Indianola), and just revel in the Delta's beauty a little while longer. ...Well, next time.
Next is a reading in Charlotte this Saturday, Nov. 22nd, at 2 pm at Park Road Books. News about upcoming readings / signings are posted on my website's EVENTS page (www.katebetterton.com.) and can also be tracked at http://www.booktour.com --just type in "Kate Betterton."
If your favorite local bookstore does not happen to have WHERE THE LAKE BECOMES THE RIVER, please ask them to order it for you. You can also order it from independent bookstores at http://www.booksense.com, or from Amazon, B&N, Powell's, and so forth online. If your library does not carry it, you can request that they add a copy to their collection.
Thanks! And happy Thanksgiving!
All the best,
Kate