I’m Fixing to Sign Some Books
I’m fixing to sign some books!
I traveled down to LA (Lower Alabama) this past weekend and signed fifty-something advance copies of my new book, Trouble on the Tombigbee, the third in the series following, A Yellow Watermelon, and Secret of the Satilfa.
Besides introducing the new book to my fans and making some new ones, it was good to see my momma and ’em.
One of my sisters-in-law, Betty Lynn, cooked me a pot of fresh shelled peas and some fried okra from her garden, and my brother picked me a five-gallon bucket of pears off of a 50 year old tree he has. I also discovered about 30 more cousins I didn’t know I had.
I drug back in home late Saturday night and slept for 10 hours.
Once I got to my computer I was delighted to find a message from my publisher that the book had garnered a review from Kirkus Reviews, which is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus, and serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers.
The magazine is published the first and fifteenth of each month and will feature Trouble on the Tombigbee in its September 15 issue.
We are still hoping for reviews from Publishers Weekly and Scholastic magazines. In the meantime, please allow me to share with you the Kirkus Review:
“A follow up to the well-loved A Yellow Watermelon (2008) and Secret of the Satilfa (2010); all three volumes follow Ted and Poudlum, a pair of fast friends who happen to be of different races as they negotiate their way through a segregated rural Alabama of the 1940s. When Ted and Poudlum set out to enjoy a fishing trip down the river, they get a whole lot more than they bargained for.
“The two boys stumble upon a secret Ku Klux Klan meeting and learn the identities of several key members. When they are discovered, they take to the river to escape, only landing themselves in even more hot water, so to speak, when a surprise flood sweeps them into the arms of thugs who intend to sell them to a Chinese slaver. The boys survive one calamity after another, counting on their resourcefulness and on each other to get them through.
“This volume, like its predecessors, maintains a light, adventurous tone even as it deals with such difficult issues as segregation, hate crimes and slavery. Dunagan manages this feat not by making light of social ills, but by keeping the narrative tightly focused on Ted and Poudlum, who come off as forgivably naive and immensely likable. This one will appeal to those already fond of Ted and Poudlum and gain them some new fans, too.”
The new book is being released this week and we’re planning a book signing right here in Monticello, just two weeks and one day from today. To be precise, on Friday, September 16, with more details to follow.
Right now I’m fixing to go peel some of those pears.