Jamey and I just returned from a delightful book event in Highlands, N.C. Having turned into a couple of plump-ish chickens roasting on a spit for the past few weeks in Atlanta's heat, the mountains provided quite a cool respite for my husband and for me.
*One marvelous perk of becoming an author is being invited to speak to charming groups of readers and this was no exception.
The gathering came about through Boo Jackson, a darling friend whom my Jamey has known for a long, long time-----well almost since the day he was born!
*Admittedly, Jamey was quite a spirited young man; and Boo made note of the fact the bad little boy from Clanton, Alabama, still has a certain, shall we say,"zest for fun"? We'll not discuss the cherry bombs at the county courthouse or Mrs. Popwell's garage fire.
My audience was made up of some kindly enthusiastic ladies from the Center for Life Enrichment. We did have a pleasant afternoon of conversation and viewing the Ociee movie. ALSO they fed us a wonderful lunch. Prior to the program, my special guests, Mary Brantley and Betty George, the audience, and I feasted on yummy tomato pie, cookies and salads, AND pimento cheese sandwiches----with the crusts trimmed away! That's work as any woman knows.
*Could it be that people are more inspired to cook while in the comfortably cooler mountains miles away from summer's heat? Just a theory.
At any rate, everyone seemed to enjoy the luncheon as well as my talk. As for me, the amount of food I consumed certainly adds credence to the phrase "I work for food."
Thank you, Boo, and thank you, too, Evelyn Miller and Jack, for your tremendous help, especially with the Ociee DVD. Milam
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Nook Book . . . DUH!
I was having lunch with some friends yesterday when one of the ladies mentioned "NOOK BOOK" . . . here's where the "Duh" comes to light. I pulled up my website and realized, thanks to Belle Books, I currently have FOUR, make that FOUR BOOKS available through Nook Book (Barnes & Noble ebook).
Here's the list: "A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street", "Ociee on Her Own", "The Further Adventures of Ociee Nash", AND, for those of you who might be interested in reading about someone besides my grandmother(!), Nook Book offers "Creola's Moonbeam." The novel is based very roughly on this author and, according to my high school English teacher, is my best story.
Happy Fourth of July to one and all! Milam
Here's the list: "A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street", "Ociee on Her Own", "The Further Adventures of Ociee Nash", AND, for those of you who might be interested in reading about someone besides my grandmother(!), Nook Book offers "Creola's Moonbeam." The novel is based very roughly on this author and, according to my high school English teacher, is my best story.
Happy Fourth of July to one and all! Milam
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Amazing PARTTTTTEEEEEEE
Last night was our 44th wedding anniversary, and what a grand time we had-------at a BOOKSIGNING! The gathering was so much fun, the food delicious (CRABCAKES!!), and the guests so delightful that my bridegroom and I couldn't drag ourselves away for a "just us" anniversary dinner.
I joined three other authors poolside in an Eden of a Garden until the sky cracked open; thunder, lightening, heavy rain, hail even. All of us ran, books in hand, for the safety of the host's home.
Oh my, what a home it was! Beautiful, welcoming, and around every corner was something or someone interesting to enjoy. For those of you who have read "Creola's Moonbeam", think of Beatrice's art-filled abode. If you haven't, try to imagine a magical house with marvelous surprises in every direction you turn.
John Cuevas, the author of "Cat Island", headlined the list of booksellers. His fascinating story is set on a Mississippi Gulf Coast barrier island. Painstakingly researched and beautifully written, John's historic book about his own family's island makes for quite a read.
We were also in the company of Casi McLean, whose book, "Wingless Butterfly: Confessions of a Recovering Jerk Magnet" was released only days ago. I recently met this courageous gal and plan to check out her website: www.WinglessButterfly.com.
You've often read about Frank Cox in my blogs. Our longtime friend was also there last night and hopefully had as much fun as did Jamey and I. His "Lullabies for Lieutenants" is still going gangbusters! More congratulations to our Marine.
Indeed, congratulations to all the authors ... an event like this is what keeps us writing!
Many, many thanks to our host and hostess and to their terrific helpers/cooks/money handlers. The party couldn't have been any better.
How about those Cat Island descendants who graced the gathering . . . quite a family you've introduced us to, Beverly. Thank YOU!
On a personal note, thank you each and everyone, friends, neighbors, fans, Pius alums, Marist buddies, bridge players, and the Artist Way dear one, for our super anniversary celebration----did I mention the crabcakes?
What a night! Milam
I joined three other authors poolside in an Eden of a Garden until the sky cracked open; thunder, lightening, heavy rain, hail even. All of us ran, books in hand, for the safety of the host's home.
Oh my, what a home it was! Beautiful, welcoming, and around every corner was something or someone interesting to enjoy. For those of you who have read "Creola's Moonbeam", think of Beatrice's art-filled abode. If you haven't, try to imagine a magical house with marvelous surprises in every direction you turn.
John Cuevas, the author of "Cat Island", headlined the list of booksellers. His fascinating story is set on a Mississippi Gulf Coast barrier island. Painstakingly researched and beautifully written, John's historic book about his own family's island makes for quite a read.
We were also in the company of Casi McLean, whose book, "Wingless Butterfly: Confessions of a Recovering Jerk Magnet" was released only days ago. I recently met this courageous gal and plan to check out her website: www.WinglessButterfly.com.
You've often read about Frank Cox in my blogs. Our longtime friend was also there last night and hopefully had as much fun as did Jamey and I. His "Lullabies for Lieutenants" is still going gangbusters! More congratulations to our Marine.
Indeed, congratulations to all the authors ... an event like this is what keeps us writing!
Many, many thanks to our host and hostess and to their terrific helpers/cooks/money handlers. The party couldn't have been any better.
How about those Cat Island descendants who graced the gathering . . . quite a family you've introduced us to, Beverly. Thank YOU!
On a personal note, thank you each and everyone, friends, neighbors, fans, Pius alums, Marist buddies, bridge players, and the Artist Way dear one, for our super anniversary celebration----did I mention the crabcakes?
What a night! Milam
Monday, May 23, 2011
Great Career Day at Belmont Hills
Ociee and I just spent a delightful morning at Belmont Hills Elementary School in Smyrna, Georgia. What a grand time we had!
Our audiences were made up of the 4th and 5th graders, all of whom were polite, responsive, enthusiastic, and asked truly interesting questions---one boy, in particular. This young man will know who he is because he said he was smart; AND his teacher agreed!
Another boy, a math whiz, gave me a big hug in the hallway later in the day. I thrive on hugs. Thank you.
And the last group all asked me for autographs. Grin. I felt like a celebrity, sure enough.
Had my late grandmother Ociee Nash, REALLY been there with me, she would have been very impressed with this school.
I don't know if any of the students will go right home and begin to write their own books, but many seemed to want to read mine. Reading is a great start to writing!
My congratulations to the faculty and staff of this very fine Cobb County school.
Happy summer to all of you, and thank you again, Linda Kelleher, for inviting me to Belmont Hills Career Day!
Milam
Our audiences were made up of the 4th and 5th graders, all of whom were polite, responsive, enthusiastic, and asked truly interesting questions---one boy, in particular. This young man will know who he is because he said he was smart; AND his teacher agreed!
Another boy, a math whiz, gave me a big hug in the hallway later in the day. I thrive on hugs. Thank you.
And the last group all asked me for autographs. Grin. I felt like a celebrity, sure enough.
Had my late grandmother Ociee Nash, REALLY been there with me, she would have been very impressed with this school.
I don't know if any of the students will go right home and begin to write their own books, but many seemed to want to read mine. Reading is a great start to writing!
My congratulations to the faculty and staff of this very fine Cobb County school.
Happy summer to all of you, and thank you again, Linda Kelleher, for inviting me to Belmont Hills Career Day!
Milam
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Things are Hoppin'
Happy Easter, Happy Springtime, Happy Reading!
If you read my blogs, you'll know how much this author enjoys receiving fan mail, most especially, letters from young readers.
Well, my latest favorite emails are from a darling girl named Janey. She is reading the entire Ociee series (YES, SHE IS!!!). Janey has told me, even though she's living in 2011, not in 1898, when the stories are set, she finds she has something in common with both Ociee and Elizabeth Murphy. For example, Janey is adventuresome and rather curious.
I've also taken notice about how SMART this young lady is.
For my part, I'm having a delightful time sharing with Janey some of the secrets in my books, such as who the real Elizabeth was/IS, and the fact that the big fire in the movie and in "A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street" actually took place some 100 years AFTER Ociee Nash lived in Asheville!
I'm also having lots of fun talking to audiences about my work. A couple of school visits, a book club appearance, and a trip to the Highlands to teach a class are on my schedule in the coming weeks.
But, prior to these events, I will have a booksigning at our neighborhood pharmacy here in Atlanta. Yes, indeed, all of my books are currently being shelved at Tuxedo Pharmacy on Wieuca Road, a charming shopping destination noted for its fine selection of gifts, childrens items, wonderful greeting cards, and books by local authors.
Wanting to do something special around Mother's Day, Robin, the gift buyer, invited me to visit the store for a couple of hours the first week of May. Kindly write to my e-mail address for details.
I'll close now with best wishes for each and everyone, especially for Janey, for Robin and the folks at Tuxedo Pharmacy, Milam
If you read my blogs, you'll know how much this author enjoys receiving fan mail, most especially, letters from young readers.
Well, my latest favorite emails are from a darling girl named Janey. She is reading the entire Ociee series (YES, SHE IS!!!). Janey has told me, even though she's living in 2011, not in 1898, when the stories are set, she finds she has something in common with both Ociee and Elizabeth Murphy. For example, Janey is adventuresome and rather curious.
I've also taken notice about how SMART this young lady is.
For my part, I'm having a delightful time sharing with Janey some of the secrets in my books, such as who the real Elizabeth was/IS, and the fact that the big fire in the movie and in "A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street" actually took place some 100 years AFTER Ociee Nash lived in Asheville!
I'm also having lots of fun talking to audiences about my work. A couple of school visits, a book club appearance, and a trip to the Highlands to teach a class are on my schedule in the coming weeks.
But, prior to these events, I will have a booksigning at our neighborhood pharmacy here in Atlanta. Yes, indeed, all of my books are currently being shelved at Tuxedo Pharmacy on Wieuca Road, a charming shopping destination noted for its fine selection of gifts, childrens items, wonderful greeting cards, and books by local authors.
Wanting to do something special around Mother's Day, Robin, the gift buyer, invited me to visit the store for a couple of hours the first week of May. Kindly write to my e-mail address for details.
I'll close now with best wishes for each and everyone, especially for Janey, for Robin and the folks at Tuxedo Pharmacy, Milam
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Gretchen
Ociee Nash has two new fans, Gretchen and her mommy, Andreana, who live in Southern California.
Gretchen is a very busy little girl; home schooled, she loves "Little House on the Prairie" and is helping her parents with two younger siblings, Amanda and Toby.
Seems Mommy and Gretchen discovered "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" on Netflix, and much to my delight, wrote to me with a few questions about the real Ociee.
Gretchen also shared photos of her family with me . . . precious people, they made my day! Folks like these are the reason writers write!
Gretchen is a very busy little girl; home schooled, she loves "Little House on the Prairie" and is helping her parents with two younger siblings, Amanda and Toby.
Seems Mommy and Gretchen discovered "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" on Netflix, and much to my delight, wrote to me with a few questions about the real Ociee.
Gretchen also shared photos of her family with me . . . precious people, they made my day! Folks like these are the reason writers write!
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