May 18th, 2008: The New York Times…

It’s really real. I saw it in the paper with my own eyes. The Friday Night Knitting Club is #1 in the May 18 edition of The New York Times. You know I’m bringing that home to show my parents! (And you want to know something else that’s wonderful? It’s going to also be in the top spot on May 25!) Thanks to everyone who has read my first novel or mentioned it to a friend or colleague; your support is phenomenal and I thank you sincerely.

Frankly, I’m enjoying a great weekend in Charlotte. I have an event Monday at Joseph-Beth and it has been a blast spending time with my best friend from college and her family. Back in 1993 we shared a room in the dorm (really a bathroom with two attached singles) and it’s funny how much has changed – and how much has stayed the same. I still continue to pull all-nighters like you wouldn’t believe, and she has two wonderful kids. Same and different. But old friends are good friends. They know your history and that is a precious gift indeed. My friendships are very important to me, a topic which I had much fun discussing with Debba at Girlfriendology.

 

May 11th, 2008: FNKC is #1 on the NYT

I have a day off today and it’s time to spend a little quiet time absorbingall that’s happened this week. Not only has Comfort Food just been published– and believe me, it’s such a joy to have my second book come out – but Ialso learned some amazing news. And it’s news that your support helped makehappen! After 18 weeks on the list, The Friday Night Knitting Club is now #1 on the New York Times bestseller list!! I called my husband, my parents, mysiblings, my friends, and, of course, I want to share the news with all ofyou. Thank you for being behind this book and telling your friends, yoursisters, your colleagues, your book clubs. I appreciate it!

 

May 2nd, 2008: Book Clubs Update

Thanks to Emily for the pic.

Just wanted to share this photo from a March book club call-in I had with Emily and her Michigan book club! Thanks for sending the pic. We had a great chat at that meeting. And I am having such a wonderful experience “meeting” readers over the telephone: I’ve talked to groups in California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Washington, Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Connecticut, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, New York, Ontario, and even Grenada! So drop me a line if you’re choosing one of my novels for your book club. I’ve already started scheduling telephone calls to discuss my new book, Comfort Food, which will be in stores on Tuesday, May 6!

 

February 15th, 2008: Frozen Fun

Fun in Toronto’s snowstorm

Okay, I’m actually writing this in April. I kinda skipped out on blogging for awhile there, didn’t I? That’s because I’ve been super busy writing a new book and working on a redesign for this site that’ll be launched next week. But I didn’t want to skip over the great time I had in Toronto in Feb. You cannot imagine how unbelievably cold it was – the worst storm in decades or so the weatherman said. Ack! In about a millisecond after exiting the airport terminal, I had a vivid flashback of the winter months when I attended university in Ottawa, another notoriously cold Canadian city. And yet in spite of the huge snowstorm, the bitter wind, and the icy streets, I had a fabulous time. Had a chance to see some family and old friends, and also spent a delightful afternoon at In the Loop, a cute knitting & coffee shop that was the perfect warm-me-up antidote to that crazy weather. Not to mention the fun I had elsewhere: at the intimate event at Type, the great chat with ET Canada at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop, and the delightful evening at the liquor store! Yes, I had a book club event at the world’s most elegant liquor shop in Bayview Village as part of the LCBO Cocktails and Conversation series. (Both the cocktails and the conversation were very good, btw. Some sort of chocolate martini raspberry tasty delight concoction. Yum!)

 

January 31st, 2008: Packing Up

So I’m loading up my suitcase again. Going to enjoy a little rest and relaxation with my better half – and perhaps do a little research work for future projects – before I arrive in Toronto. I’m so pleased and excited to do some promotion for the paperback of FNKC in Canada! There’s a reading and signing on Monday, Feb 11 at Type bookstore, which looks very, very cool – I Googled it – and then I have another fun night with the LCBO Cocktails and Conversation. All the info is on the events page and I hope to see you there!

 

January 25th, 2008: Home Again, Home Again

Back at the house, unpacking, doing laundry, and reconnecting with my husband, Jon. And with Baxter, of course! Just nice to hang out, as a family, watching all the Project Runway episodes that aired while I was on book tour. Can you think of a better day?

Kate and Jon at last!

The Baxter boy

 

January 24th, 2008: Photo Finish

Katie & Kate

Well, wouldn’t you know it? My last event of the tour and I end up getting a little misty-eyed, thanks to a reader at Vroman’s who wanted to know more about my own grandmother, Nanny. Seems this reader loved Georgia’s Gran and wanted to know about my own relationship with my grandmother. Yes, she was opinionated, a great knitter, a great cook, and had endless energy to play cards and chat about life. I loved to listen to her talk about the olden days; she made everything, in retrospect, seem like it had been an adventure when truly it must have been quite difficult. That is one of the hallmarks of a great storyteller, I think. One of the first things we did when we would arrive at Nanny’s house was sit down with the old photo albums and just look at the story of our family; one of the things I did at Vroman’s after my reading was purchase some new photo albums to organize the big pile of photos I have sitting in a box at home.