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Dear Reader,
Tiffany Quay Tyson is today's guest author. She is graciously giving away two copies of her book, Three Rivers to book club readers. If you've never emailed and said, "Hello" to a guest author, you should. The authors write back, and when you say hello to Tiffany, you'll be entered in the drawing for a copy of Three Rivers. Email: [email protected]
Welcome to the book club, Tiffany Quay Tyson. Thanks for writing today's guest column...
One thing no one warns you about when you sell your first book is that panic will set in as your publication date approaches. You'll wonder if your editor made a mistake. Perhaps she meant to choose a different book with a similar title and didn't realize her error until it was too late.
Now your book will be unleashed on the world and people will judge you based on words you've written. Strangers will write scathing reviews on social media sites. You'll accidentally show up to a reading wearing nothing but your bath towel and a pair of plastic flip-flops. Not since junior high school have you felt so wildly inadequate.
When dealing with self-esteem issues you might not think it would be great therapy to spend time with people who knew you back when leg warmers and blue eye shadow were your defining fashion choices, but I'm here to report it can be restorative.
I recently met up with childhood friends for a long weekend in New Orleans. These five women entered my life over a span of about ten years beginning in first grade. In high school, we spent weekend nights in a white Camaro driving a stretch of road in south Jackson, Mississippi. We wore too much lip-gloss, and teased our hair. We sang along to Bon Jovi and Def Leppard and The Outfield. We stayed out half the night when we could dodge our curfews, and we crashed in and out of each other's homes without invitation. One friend's mom stocked the pantry with candy bars and a dizzying variety of chips. Another friend's mom left The Joy of Sex sitting right out on the coffee table. One friend had a waterbed that made us dizzy.
I hadn't seen some of these women in almost 20 years, but it was like we'd never been separated. We sang along to an 80s cover band on Bourbon Street until we all went hoarse. We ate beignets and squash casserole, drank cafe au lait and beer. We laughed until our cheeks ached. We hashed over marriages, divorces, childbirths, illnesses, and careers. By the end of the weekend, I felt a lot better. Some of my fears are real, while others are pure nonsense. (I never wear flip-flops!) Whatever happens next, I know these women love me.
If you make it to one of my readings, you'll be able to spot them. They'll be the noisy ones telling everyone they knew me back in the day. Say hello. You won't regret it.
--Tiffany Quay Tyson
Email to win a book and say hello: [email protected]
More About Tiffany Quay Tyson...
Tiffany grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, and attended Delta State University. Her short fiction has been published in The Tulane Review and Peeks & Valleys: A Southern Journal. She lives in Denver, where she has served on the board of directors for Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and occasionally leads workshops for the Lighthouse Young Writers Program.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
* This month's Penguin Classics book is THERESE RAQUIN, by Emile Zola. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin tote bag, goto:
http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqT1AFEAEE9EEA&c=CLASSICS
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