This is what I’ve been waiting for! To go all over to discuss national parks in the Southeast

After a great book launch at Malaprop’s Bookstore, I’m visiting bookstores, hiking clubs, outdoor stores and even a church to talk about the National Park Service Centennial and sign my book,  Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey through the National Parks of the South.

I just returned from three days in Charlotte, North Carolina. First, St. Peter’s Catholic Church, an event organized by their hiking club.

My editor, Nicole Ayers, had made the contact for me and they welcomed me with open arms. The church staff was so, so organized. They held the talk in a social hall, complete with projector, speakers, and a screen.

The church was on S. Tryon St. in the heart of downtown Charlotte, but no worries, they had the parking organized as well. You don’t realize how grateful I was.

When I travel to do a book talk, I don’t have an entourage. No sister, spouse or adult child to help with driving directions, heavy lifting or to bring me cups of tea. I certainly don’t have a person meeting me at my lodging and driving me to the event location. It’s just me!

Even the priest was in the audience. Should I tell the story about Natchez National Historical Park and why William Johnson, a freed slave, baptized all his children in the Catholic Church? Well, I did and they all smiled. Whew!

Next, Jesse Brown’s Outdoors, an outfitter owned by Bill Bartee. I call Jesse Brown, my home in Charlotte because I’ve presented all four books there, starting in 2007. It was a small but knowledgeable audience. I didn’t sign too many books that evening, but a few more people knew about the Centennial.

Today, at Main St. Books, in Davidson, I had a unique experience.

Last night, after coming in late from dinner, I made the mistake of checking my email.

Adah, from Main St. Books, said that they were expecting the fourth and fifth grade class from Davidson Green School.

Children?

Will children find my talk boring? How can I change it at this late date to make it more relevant? I certainly wasn’t going to change my visuals.

I added the story about Kings Mountain National Military Park, which I decided was probably the closes park to Davidson.

Instead of talking about tactics – the Blue stood here, the Red stood there – I talked about J. Hamrick, a NPS employee, who’s great grandfather, seven times over, was an Overmountain Victory soldier.

Here’s the original post.

The kids were asked to introduce me. They had read my bio in the book and three were chosen to read parts of it to the audience. I was never so serenaded in an intro before.

Next week, South Carolina and Florida. No, I won’t write about every event. If you want to see where I am, see my events page.

Yesterday, on the Ides of March, my book, Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey through the National Parks of the South, was officially launched – a soft launch.

It’s now available on Amazon in both paper and eBook. You can also buy it from Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville.

I’ve published the book independently and it’s been a challenge. Some would soften it and call it a journey – OK, a challenging journey. I loved the traveling, writing, researching, talking to rangers, visitors and park volunteers. I even liked the editing part.

But once I had to deal with design, printers and distributors out in the world, I found myself very frustrated. I hired wonderful expertise but no one could give me a blueprint on how to work with Kindle, Ingram and other technical questions that I never thought about when I had a traditional publisher.

It was important to me to get this book out in 2016, during the National Park Centennial. With so much air time being taken by our presidential elections, the media is only doing a few sensational stories about the large western parks, what I call in the book the YY parks (Yosemite and Yellowstone). But what about Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area or Christiansted National Historic Site? Who’s writing about them?

To the naysayers who told me that there wasn’t an audience for this book or that I couldn’t compete with the YY parks, I smiled, thanked them for their input and moved on.

I’m no longer upset at the publishers and editors who didn’t answer,  even after a long email engagement. The best revenge is sending them an announcement about my book launch. I’m confident that I have such a great subject, the national parks, that I’m not too worried about being rejected.

The reviews that have come in so far have been gratifying. Readers really got it. FAB is not a traditional guidebook but my journey through the national parks of the south. Readers meet the rangers, visitors, volunteers and park partners – the people who make the park come alive. Some even forgive me for being a “Yankee” and not being born in the South.

I’m starting a book tour through the South – North and South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia. No one invited me to give a talk in the US Virgin Islands, though I would be there in a New York minute.

My first book event is at my home bookstore, Malaprops on Friday April 8 at 7 pm.

I hope to see you there. Can’t make it? Here’s my list of events, so far.