Do not be bystanders of your own life.

I’ve been thinking a lot about stories and community, and how they are tangled together in the best ways. And the worst. What about those stories we tell each other and ourselves that might, just might not be true? But what about those stories that bring us together?

Two things happened this week that had me spinning around these ideas: The Secret Book of Flora Lea was announced as the Arkansas State Read, meaning the Arkansas library system has chosen this book to be recommended to the entire state. Not that I believe the whole state will read my novel, but they sure will hear about it. Arkansas – I’m coming to you! I’ll be traveling all around your state in July (see my appearance schedule on my website), and I am so looking forward to it!

The other beautiful thing that happened this week was that the Savannah Book Festival (one of the best in the country, in my book) unfolded on a crisp and clear February weekend. I wasn’t a speaker, and my books weren’t on sale – I attended as a reader, sat in the back row, and enjoyed every second of someone else’s books and backstory. I also ran into loads of our effervescent and loyal Friends & Fiction community readers. They wore our Friends & Fiction t-shirts, they met up at restaurants, and saved seats for each other at events. They ran to hug me with sheer enthusiasm. They met up with other authors and cheered them on.

I also spent some time with my mother-in-law (I won the mother-in-law lottery, and you’ll never convince me otherwise), and the first thing we usually ask each other – “What are you reading?” Because we have more in common than her son – because stories bring us together.

So, yes, I’ve been thinking about stories and community and how they bring us together.

Then, while I sat in the talk by Michael Thurmond who wrote a book about Oglethorpe (the British general who founded the colony of Georgia and the city of Savannah in 1732), Michael said something that gave me head-to-toe chills. “Unlearning is as important as learning.”

Wow.

After spending twenty-seven years researching this man, Thurmond again said, unlearning is as important as learning. And with this he added, “Do not be bystanders of your own life.”

And that my friends, is what the braid of story and community can do for us – help us unlearn as well as learn, and not be bystanders of our own life. Dive in. Find a story. Find some friends. Meet up for breakfast and wear matching t-shirts, or not. Whether it is a statewide read, or a book festival, find your story and your people.

INSPIRATION

As always, here is what is inspiring to me in my creative life now!

BOOK: This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell. I’ve been on a bit of an Irish kick and Maggie is one of my all-time favorites. I went back a few years for this one and am now sad I read it because I don’t have it ahead of me to read.

SUBSTACK: J.T. Ellison’s The Creative Edge.

SCENERY: I am set in March to put my feet on the ground in the Lake District of England (where much of my next novel unfolds) and this Instagram is my go-to.

ARTICLE: We can get so addicted to the quick hit of Instagram and social media that we might put aside some more long-form articles—that would be a huge mistake. This one is beautiful and all about the lasts – a “endling.” Read on.

NEWS

TOUR: We are just six weeks out from the paperback release of The Secret Book of Flora. Lea. You can see my full book tour HERE. I hope you will join me on the road if I’m headed to a city near you!

ARKANSAS STATEWIDE READ: The Secret Book of Flora Lea was chosen as the selection for 2024’s “If All Arkansas Read the Same Book” annual, statewide reading program. This program is designed to encourage the enjoyment of reading and promote book discussion in libraries of all types across Arkansas. I’m honored that they chose my book and look forward to traveling through the state of Arkansas in July to talk with readers all about it! Read all about it HERE.

FRIENDS & FICTION

Join us tonight—Wed., Feb. 21st—LIVE at 7pm ET to watch this week’s episode of The Friends & Fiction Show with all four the show’s hosts and founders — me, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristin Harmel — interviewing our Featured Author of the Month, Tia Williams, to hear all about her new book, our F&F Pick for February, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. We can’t wait to discuss Tia’s highly-anticipated follow-up to her New York Times bestselling Reese’s Book Club pick Seven Days in June. This enchanting love story features a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician who are irreversibly linked through the history, art, and magic of Harlem, and has been praised for its “dazzling prose” by the New York Times, and predicted as “one of your most memorable reads of 2024” by People. Watch the video broadcast as it airs LIVE tonight Wed 2/21 at 7pm ET on F&F’s Facebook & YouTube, and catch it on our podcast Fri 2/23.

SUPPORT A WORTHY CAUSE

How would you like to name a character in one of Mary Kay Andrews’s upcoming books? Or, how’d you like to have MKA Zoom in live with your book club to discuss her May 2024 book Summers at the Saint? She’s even throwing in a dozen copies of her new book for the winning book club! These prizes can be yours when you bid in MKA’s online auction! All funds raised will go to the Katie Trocheck Abel Scholarship.

MKA’s family and friends of their late daughter Katie are hosting their big 2nd annual Shamrock Shenanigans event coming up in Atlanta on March 9th featuring fabulous raffle and auction prizes. We know that lots of MKA’s readers outside the ATL might want to help honor Katie’s memory and donate in her name, even if you can’t be there in-person at this event. So, this online auction is a way for everyone to take part in the Shenanigans from afar!

Get your bids in! The auction is open through March 9th. Click through HERE to read all about it. The overview page has a green “donate” button if you’d like to give directly to the scholarship fund. The auction page is where you can place your bids on MKA’s two awesome prizes.

Thank you for considering support of this worthy cause! And may the luck of the Irish be with you!