A sincere thank you to the community of Boise, Idaho for coming out and supporting the book tour for The World Is a Kitchen. I have just returned from 5 very busy days in this wonderful community, attending events at Barnes & Noble and Easy Cookin, visiting some of their wonderful independent bookstores (Vista Book Gallery and Rediscovered Bookshop), dropping by the Log Cabin Literary Center, and participating in the Logghe Gals Writing Group.
Our first event, at the Barnes & Noble on North Milwaukee (see photo of Judy Ware below), was well attended with an attentive and inquisitive group. We sold and signed a huge number of books, so get on down their for your autographed copy to wrap up as a holiday gift for your best friend.
Our second event was at the Easy Cookin Kitchen Store in the Overland Park Shopping Center. This is the Sur La Table of Idaho. Nancy, the owner, has put together a friendly and knowledgeable staff and has a great and varied assortment of kitchen pots, pans, gadgets and gizmos. (I bought quite a haul, including a beautifully handcrafted Thai spice container.) Easy Cookin hosts classes by in-house and celebrity chefs, with classes running most every day of the week on a variety of subjects.
Boise also has a wonderful resource in The Log Cabin Literary Center. Located in a log cabin on South Capitol Blvd, the center offers educational programs and workshops, author readings, and a widespread mentoring program called Writers in the Schools (WITS). This non-profit agency exists to inspire and celebrate a love of reading, writing, and discourse and was most impressive. Kudos to the staff and volunteers for keeping this going. (And adjacent to the Log Cabin Literary Center is the powerful Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial. This educational park is a peaceful reminder of a painful past, with inspiring words spread amongst the babbling brook, shade trees, benches, and open space constructed through the generosity of Idaho citizens.)
A personal thank you to Jim and Judy Ware, my generous hosts and personal site-seeing guides, as well as tireless cheerleaders for The World is a Kitchen. And props to the Logghe Gals, who allowed me to attend their monthly meeting. This talented group of dedicated writers embraced me, both literally and figuratively, and inspired me to work harder to be a better writer (and served some darn good food, to boot).
f you are traveling to or live in the Chicago Area, we have an event
coming up on June 9th and 10th. Join contributor Helen Gallagher at the Illinois Women's Press Assn. Booth at the 23rd Annual Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Book Fair, the largest Midwest free outdoor literary event. The streets will be packed with over 150 vendors of new, used, and antiquarian books, as well as author events, workshops, and food, glorious Chicago food.
