Rick Bragg comin' down

Okay so it's not Sunday morning and I'm not listening to Kris sing Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down.  It's Saturday and I'm off today thinking about Rick Bragg

comin' down to FoxTale.  If you haven't read anything by Rick Bragg you're in for a treat, so RUSH down to FoxTale and pick up "The Prince of Frogtown" for your weekend read.  (Check out our window display in honor of this book complete with a frog prince with a crown compliments of One Queen's Folly).  When we received the galley of this book ( for those of you who don't know what a galley is, also called an advanced reader copy, it's a book publishers send to booksellers in advance of publication) it was a box full of so-so titles when I discovered this treasure lurking in its disguise of plain blue cover,  the only words I needed to get to get me whoopin' and hollerin' and causing my twin to screech whatwhatwhat??!!  - RICK BRAGG.  Rick could write about dog food and make it the finest story you ever laid eyes on.  Really.

Let me digress.  When Jackie, Ellen and I met, we were part of a writing class that met at KSU, and the three of us, along with five others became an entity that our writing teacher dubbed "The Gypsies."  The Gypsies held court every week in class, then proceeded to a lunch location where we spent the afternoon in irreverant conversation and laughter.  It was here that I learned about Rick Bragg. The group had the same reaction I now have when I meet someone who doesn't know Rick and his work.  WHAT?  YOU DON'T KNOW RICK BRAGG!?  GET THEE TO A BOOKSHOPPE IMMEDIATELY IF NOT SOONER!  And so I did.  And fell in love.   He is the quintessential southern writer, held in awe by those of us who esteem the written word.  When we began talking about having our own bookshoppe, we imagined that someday we would have Rick in the shoppe.  Here we are at our one-year anniversary with a scheduled appearance of THE MAN.  Lest you think that booksellers are able to call up and say, oh by the way, we'd like to have ... (laundry list of authors) ....believe you me it is so far from the truth.  Talk to Ellen about the difficulty and her ultimate triumph... It is a high honor and privelege to have Rick Bragg come to Woodstock on his national tour.  We are beside ourselves with excitement and anticipation and we want to share that withYOU, our loyal booklovers.

To give you a taste of "The Prince of Frogtown,"  here is an excerpt from an email I sent to Ellen shortly after finishing the book...

"I finished the galley of Ricky's new book last night.  This boy can wound my heart with his truth and his memories and his lyrical words in a way no other writer can.  He hands me my world, my South, my memories of delight and heartache in the only package that can capture my soul - a book. I wish hopelessly for the words to describe the effect on me - feel the power of my Southern roots, a tie that is so strongly connected to the land that I will never again  live anywhere else.  I know the South in my blood, its language, its customs, its foods - and I wonder if I'm one of the last Southerners who will carry on this legacy.  Rick reminds me of the child I was who lived and breathed in a South that held cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles who could make me believe I was safe in houses that smelled of biscuits and Breck shampoo and surprised you by listening when you had something to say.  I cried over mothers and sons and how that boy loves his momma even in his middle-age.  Rick Bragg has a rare and beautiful gift. while God laughs that She brought it from such an unlikely soul.  Rick broke my heart with his words, then redeemed it with the same."

Now don't go thinking that my tears meant it's a sad book. (I cry over birds that fly into the glass at FoxTale and lie stunned on the sidewalk).  When I am profoundly moved, I cry.  Such tears are reminders of the things that are important in life, and how often I forget, being caught up in a world stuck on fast-forward.

I invite you to share our excitement and our time with Rick on Wednesday, May 28th at 7pm.  Buy the book at FoxTale in advance and we'll give you a ticket to get in.  There's going to be quite the crowd for this one, so don't wait.  We're thrilled to introduce those of you who haven't met Rick or his work, and to those who have, I don't need to say more.