16-Sep-2006
Skinny-Dippers Unite Newsletter #3
Dear Friends and Readers,
Ah, gourmet food is dropping from the sky in the back corner of
our land.
Well, okay, chestnuts are falling from the living fence of chestnut
trees back there, and in their original husks, the nuts are spinney
and sharp and like as not to fall into a patch of poison ivy (and yes,
gentle friends and readers, there is an allegory to life in that image,
isn’t there?). Ah, but how sweet that nut is, lightly roasted, and
how nutritious and delicious. So it’s not just that the chestnuts are
a tasty harbinger of fall, they are also like a south Georgia version
of manna from Heaven.
I hope this newsletter finds you all well, and prospering in spirit
and soul, health and joy, and life. Here in south Georgia, that first
hint of autumn on the breeze is a delightful touch after the dog
days of summer, the fields of purple wildflowers and goldenrod are
just beginning to bloom, yellow butterflies are now feeding in the
purple morning glories, and we are all well at the Buck Creek
blueberry patch.
A new adventure awaits me this winter. I will be a visiting
professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, Jan. through
May, 2007. I’ve never lived outside of Dixie, and I’m looking
forward to this extended visit in the great Northwest.
The third book in the Lilly Belle series, BONE VALLEY, goes on
sale October 24, 2006, I’m pleased to say. But for a preview sale,
you can catch me in Memphis, TN, Oct. 13-4. I’ll be hitting the
road on the BONE VALLEY book tour early as I head out to
Memphis for the great Southern Festival of Reading, followed
October 27-8 with the St. Petersburg (FL) Festival of Reading, and
then the first weekend in November, Nov. 3-4, back to Lilly’s city of
Sarasota, FL for the always glorious Sarasota Reading Festival.
For more information about these book and reading festivals,
which offer much, much more than books, authors and booksellers,
please follow the links at my website (www.clairematturro.com) on
the events page.
And, finishing up the WILDCAT WINE tour, I’ll be on the
beautiful Amelia Island, off the coast of Florida (near Jacksonville),
Oct. 7-8, 2006. On Friday, I’ll be teaching a workshop, and that
night joining a host of other writers doing short readings. On
Saturday, on a free-to-all day of fun and sun and books, I’ll be
doing a solo panel on mysteries and then joining other writers on a
panel.
I hope to meet, or re-meet, some of you along the way. And the
book tour bookstore stops are still in the works, so stay tuned to
the events page on the website.
Mystery fans: sign up for a mystery newsletter, SCENE of the
CRIME, from HarperCollins, they will not abuse your email, and
they will provide you with a great monthly newsletter on the new
mystery books. I’ve signed up myself. Go to
http://www.harpercollins.com/imprints/index.aspx?imprintid=5179
32 (or www.harpercollins.com and select mystery, and sign up at
the bottom right hand corner.)
Finally, hey, thank you to all the newsletter readers who emailed
me prospective names for the fourth book. There were some really
great ones–and my editor has picked DYING TO GET HOME as
the new title.
Y’all take care, now,
Sincerely,
Claire Hamner Matturro
