On a cruise down the Rhine. Mother managed to pick up the handsomest man on the boat … no wonder!
Monthly Archives: June 2013
It’s Too Darn Hot
I Love Bookstores
Cathy from the BookLink Bookstore at Logan Airport
I love bookstores and the people who work in them. (My husband grew up in The BookStore of the University of Pennsylvania which his father ran while getting a graduate degree. And once upon a time in the early 80s I worked at the Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue in the Text Book Department.) They are portals to other times and places, islands of civility and calm in the crazy cacophonous world (especially the world of airports) and crossroads of storytelling and sharing. I can name every store I’ve been to in every city and town I’ve lived in or visited and sadly many that are no longer there.
But no bookstore experience has been like the thrill of walking in and seeing my own book on the shelves or a table or in the window. It was as exciting as my first steps on a professional stage, as my first night on Broadway. It never gets old and it is only made better by meeting a clerk or cashier who has read the book and liked it. No one besides librarians and book reviewers reads as many books or knows as much about them. A thumbs up from someone who works at a bookstore is high praise.
To the right you’ll see buttons to take you to my local bookstore Vroman’s in Pasadena, the Indie Bound site which can link you to your local store, Powell’s which has featured my work on its site and served the Pacific Northwest for years and years, and of course Amazon which, while demonized by many, serves as a local store for lots and lots of people who don’t live anywhere near a local store.
And don’t forget the stores in airports like BookLink in Boston. They’re fun to browse in when you’ve got a layover and while ebooks are nice, you don’t have to turn a hardback or paperback off during take-off and landing!
Beach Reads
Many thanks to Emma Roberts, The Spartansberg Herald, Jeannette Walls, Oprah Magazine, NPR Books and others who’ve included Chanel Bonfire on their summer reading lists! I am just finishing Cloud Atlas and about to dig into “Where the Peacocks Sing” by Alison Singh Gee, “The Rules of Inheritance” by Claire Bidwell Smith and Amor Towles’s novella “Eve In Hollywood”. Happy Reading, Everyone!
Summer Books & Breakfast
This wonderful book group of book groups, Literary Affairs has invited me to come speak, read, sign books and talk to readers at the Hotel Bel Air on July 8th. I hope anyone in Southern California will come by. It’s a beautiful spot that feels like you’re out in the country despite its central location. And the food is wonderful. Use the link below to learn more and get tickets. Hope to see you there!
Summers of Divorce
Canadian Summers
Me and Robbie with Uncle Chuck
Some times when we’d go to Minneapolis to see our dad, he’d take us to Canada to spend time with our cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents in Ontario. Uncle Chuck lived on a house on stilts over the St. Lawrence river. He was a lot of fun in the summers. You could fish through a hole cut in the basement floor over the river.
Happy First Days of Summer
Wicked Sunburn
Small World: Chanel Bonfire Travels
Chanel Bonfire in Bavaria
While I’m home and library bound, working on the sequel to Chanel, the book, in the hands and on the Kindles and iPads of readers is out and about, travelling the country and the globe. I get a big kick out of pics like the one above (Tweeted by reader SM Giffin) or the one below (Tweeted from Little League practice).
Chanel Bonfire in Texas
I love hearing from readers who are enjoying the book. If you’d like to send in or Tweet pictures, I’ll put them up on the Chanel Bonfire Pinterest Board. And if your book group is reading Chanel, I’d be happy to Skype with and talk about the book and answer questions. You can email me at chanelbonfire@gmail.com or reach me through my Twitter handle @wendylawless2. Happy Reading and Thank you!