Excitedly, many years ago, I was a young girl who was a novice author, publishing with Penguin-Putnam, one of the world’s largest publishers.

After a four-day auction, the book’s illustrations about the grace and hospitality of the South, it sold and I was stupidly stunned as I wound up on shows like The View (a much calmer version than today) and featured in People magazine as well as other major newspapers and television shows.

There I was, tossed out in the media world knowing little except, thank the good Lord, I had a journalism degree and a good bit of experience as the interviewer of questions. There are many stories from that tour but here is one of my favorites:

I was appearing on an early morning radio show in Charlotte, NC. I hated the five o’clock calls from the front desk t

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