11 Oct THE RECIPE BOX Tour

I spent much of my spring and summer touring for The Recipe Box. I again hit many of the wonderful indie bookstores who have supported me and my work over the years, and who pulled out all the stops to make my events so memorable and well-attended. There was an amazing pie making demo at McLean & Eakin in Petoskey with wonderful desserts from the “real deal” Suzie’s Pies to an actual “Chopped” competition at Saturn Books in Gaylord. I also was invited to be a part of some amazing literary events: I attended the Texas Library Association for the first time, where I was a keynote speaker alongside the incomparable Dorothea Benton Frank and brilliant Jonathan Evison. I ran into Dottie again in Charleston at the Post & Courier Spring Author Luncheon. I shared the stage with Dottie, Charles Frazier (who wrote Cold Mountain), Joshilyn Jackson and James Swanson. A highlight of the tour, however, was being invited after the event to Dottie’s home on Sullivan’s Island, where we had dinner and (many) drinks with her, and celebrated with each other and her amazing group of fascinating friends. (A cannon may or may not have been shot off at the end of the night in the direction of Ft. Sumter!) But the biggest highlight was meeting the countless readers and book lovers who showed up at bookstores and libraries, recipe boxes and recipe cards in hand. You continue to enrich my life and soul and bring as much richness and color to it as my grandma’s cherry chip cake. I’m thrilled to share a few of my favorite photos from The Recipe Box tour! And we’re gonna do it all over again this spring and summer with The Summer Cottage, so stay tuned!