Dear Sunday Letter friends,
Good morning and happy spring! I just returned home after a trip to the farm with my mother and sister, and that’s always an adventure. It’s mostly fun, except for the times when it isn’t. Occasionally, we have a broken water pipe, and we are regularly forced to deal with the various critters that have take up residence. But all in all, being able to go back to our childhood home is a special thing.
In many ways, the area has changed dramatically since we left for college all those years ago. At the same time, some things never change, like the view from the carport, the distinctive call of the red-winged blackbirds, and the board games lining our closet shelf.
Inspiration is always waiting for me on the farm. Then, after only a few days away, I return home to find spring everywhere! Blooming tulips. Candytuft. Cherry blossoms. It seems I was away for much, much longer.
Memphis Book Club
Wednesday night, I joined eight lovely ladies in Memphis to discuss The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee. I am always thrilled when book clubs read my books. And being invited to join them is a real honor!
Great conversation. Lots of laughter. A delicious meal. The entire evening was fantastic. And Memphis, in particular, is always a trip down memory lane. It was the #1 favorite city of my childhood, and childhood memories hold all the feelings.
These ladies showered me not only with praise for Gracie Lee, but with gifts too. I enjoyed every minute and actually believe I made some new reader friends.
Take a look at this adorable artwork hand-painted by the mother of one of the book club ladies.
She even included my coming-soon book!
Thank you ladies!
Can we talk about the wind??
Goodness gracious, I never remember such W I N D ! On the farm in the flat Arkansas delta, there is nothing to break the wind. And 50 mph gusts make the entire house rattle. When I drove to Memphis for the book club discussion, I thought my vehicle might flip right off the bridge into the Mississippi River. And Ole Man River? He was extra muddy and whitecapping like the Atlantic Ocean.
The air was thick with swirling topsoil. And now this morning, the Fayetteville wind is already howling.
March is certainly taking her windy description to heart this year.
Has it been windy where you live?
My Thought on Bad Reviews
I often harp on the importance of writing book reviews. If you take the time to post a review of a book you enjoyed, trust me, the author overflows with gratitude. Especially those of us without a large publishing house behind us. Or a marketing guru. Or a publicist. Or anyone.
Positive feedback provides much-needed fuel. It also helps ease the sting of negative reviews (and somewhat offsets the resulting rating plunge). I realize that some books just won’t resonate with a reader, and every author receives negative views; it comes with the territory. But when a negative review doesn’t include anything constructive, it seems the reviewer is just trying to be ugly. I call these “Mean Girl Reviews.” (They are almost always written by women, or seem to be, anyway.)
With respect to my four books, here are my personal “favorite” Mean Girl reviews so far:
The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee: “Boring.”
Gene, Everywhere: “I should have liked this book…
It would have meant a lot more if a more experienced writer would have written it.”
Bernice Runs Away: “This story wasn’t funny or sad
and there wasn’t any drama, it was just ok.”
And most recently, The Third Act of Theo Gruene:
“I did not like this book. It was not a good book…”
😂
Sticks and stones, people. Sticks and stones.
Thank you, readers!
I am so grateful for all the pre-orders of The Third Act of Theo Gruene. Seriously, if I had the same volume of sales every month, my books might grab the attention of someone like Reese Witherspoon or Mary Steenburgen. Someone who could envision Gracie Lee or Bernice or Gene or Theo on the big screen:)
How cool would that be!?
If you’ve not had a chance to read the first chapter of Theo, you still can do it by clicking HERE.
Pre-orders are still being accepted, of course.
Pre-order SIGNED HARDBACK or PAPERBACK
Have you ever tasted Pineapple Upside-Down Cheesecake?
Good lord, this cheesecake from The Wilson Cafe in Wilson, Arkansas is, in a word, phenomenal. Our table of four shared this gigantic slice and two days later, the sugar is still coursing through my veins.
Some days just call for decadence.
Things Momma Says:
I can’t scoot anymore. My scooter is broken.
***
I’m looking forward to a productive week ahead. This is my favorite time of year for working outside—there’s so much to see! The allium bulbs I planted last fall are popping up in our front bed, the Thalia daffodils are blooming in thick clumps, and our redbud tree is already filled with bees. Maybe you’ll be spending some time outdoors too?
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Only a miserable person would write a negative review on one of your books. The Mean Girl reviews you shared are a reflection of the writers’ bad attitudes. Save the board games for Liam! He will love them. Glad you have time for Sunday letters again! I’ve missed them.
Thank you, Nancy! I realize not everyone will like my writing, and I’m okay with that. Meanness is just awful though.
That painting is precious and thanks for sending the windy video. We forget how much worse it can be in the “seefer” counties. A friend said I came from a seefer county; where you can “see for” ever.
Haha I’ve never heard it referred to as “seefer” but it’s totally true!
I read your first chapter, and it has reeled me in. Can’t wait for it!
Yes, save the board games for Liam. The wind in Dallas Monday afternoon was awful. I wish I hadn’t ordered groceries for pickup..a cloth bag broke and flew who knows where, if a nice young delivery lady hadn’t come along to help me, I think I’d have blown away too. I never experienced wind gusts like that! The cheesecake looks great! I enjoy your Sunday letters!
Thank you, Carol. That broken bag probably reached here!
Mean girls need to get a life. How rude! Liam will grow into those board games and love them. I’m experiencing windy days too. Day after day! Ugh!
I guess it’s windy everywhere!! And so incredible dry here. Like the high desert.
I just don’t get mean-spirited book or anything else reviews. I suppose it might be a form of bullying, and bullies got to bully people they envy or fear. Mean girls/women must be the miserable of creatures.
I love that painting! What a treasure, my talented friend,
I can hardly wait for Theo.
Thanks, friend!
Bots write those mean reviews. Especially that last one😂. I love your descriptions of the farm, and I share the Memphis memories. Tell your mom that my scooter is broken too!
Haha!
Happy to read more Sunday letters and I appreciate you adding these in to your Already busy life. I have a collection of cut flowers and branches from our yard and roads graduating our table…think of how strong they are that the wind didn’t blow them away! We had a discussion on the wind around our table….that type of wind is very common where we lived in Wyoming and we were debating if Arkansas’ wind was equally intense. I thought it was. Gotta believe it is blowing in Spring!
Yes, blowing in spring for sure!
Really, I have loved your books and look forward to getting this new one!
As for mean girls…the best way to deal with them is laugh out loud at their silly comments.
Thank you! I agree that laughing is the best way to deal with it.
Don’t bother yourself with the mean girl comments. We are definitely have lots of wind in Waco along with dust storms. Last Sunday I work with my covered in dust and splatters of rain making hard to drive to church. We need rain now as it has been very dry with cracks in the ground. Love you “T” and hope you are having a great week. Keep those books coming down the line.
I didn’t read my comment very well before it was posted. Sorry
We were in Little Rock at Wildwood Park for the Arts having a picnic on a really windy day last month. While we were eating, a large branch fell about 15 feet away from us! The flowers were so beautiful that it was worth the ” dangerous ” conditions. 😁🌼🌷
That’s scary. Sometimes I think about that sort of thing happening when we walk our dogs. There are so many huge trees in our neighborhood and many have not been regularly trimmed.