Mindy Writes

"A Southern Belle never ignores a compliment. She knows she's worth it."

So I want to give a call out to Mindy Long, a talented free-lance writer, and reader of great perspicacity. She has a terrific blog on writing and writers. A few days ago she was kind enough to review my novel, The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc. Here's a taste:

"On a recent trip to the bookstore, I just happened to reach up on the shelf and pull down The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc: A Novel by Loraine Despres. I was hooked before I even finished reading the back cover, which starts, “It’s a steamy June afternoon in Louisiana, circa 1956, and Sissy LeBlanc is sitting on her front porch, wondering—half seriously—if she could kill herself with aspirins and Coca-Cola.”

Within 30 seconds I knew I would be taking the home with me and I’m so glad I did. It is a page-turner packed with small-town scandal and choices–not to mention a cute high school football star. The author’s Web site says, "More than a rip-roaring good read about a feisty Southern girl tearing up her hometown, The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc is a poignant story about innocence lost and hope regained, about the dangers of taking a risk—and playing it safe, about wresting control of your life before someone does it for you. Shifting back and forth in time, Loraine Despres limns an utterly captivating portrait of Sissy LeBlanc’s tumultuous coming of age and her struggle to break free from the loveless, stifling marriage it led her to."

I was already staying up past my bedtime to read, then I hit Chapter 13 and BAM! The book got even better with a plot twist..."

For more and to read an excellent blog on writers and writing go to: http://mindylong.com/the-scandalous-summer-of-sissy-leblanc/#comments.

Never hide your light

A Southern Belle never hides her light under a bushel...or under anything else. Admit it, we all love attention. So let's live in the spotlight while we can. Rule 230 Southern Belle's Handbook.

Ok, I admit it. I love it when someone praises one of my books. I was delighted to find Mindy Long's excellent blog MINDY WRITES especially when she wrote:

"On a recent trip to the bookstore, I just happened to reach up on the shelf and pull down The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc by Loraine Despres. I was hooked before I even finished reading the back cover, which starts, “It’s a steamy June afternoon in Louisiana, circa 1956, and Sissy LeBlanc is sitting on her front porch, wondering—half seriously—if she could kill herself with aspirins and Coca-Cola.”

Within 30 seconds I knew I would be taking the book home with me and I’m so glad I did. It is a page-turner packed with small-town scandal and choices–not to mention a cute high school football star. The author’s Web site says, "More than a rip-roaring good read about a feisty Southern girl tearing up her hometown, The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc is a poignant story about innocence lost and hope regained, about the dangers of taking a risk—and playing it safe, about wresting control of your life before someone does it for you. Shifting back and forth in time, Loraine Despres limns an utterly captivating portrait of Sissy LeBlanc’s tumultuous coming of age and her struggle to break free from the loveless, stifling marriage it led her to. I was already staying up past my bedtime to read, then I hit Chapter 13 and BAM! The book got even better with a plot twist I never saw coming." For more and to read her excellent posts about writers and writing go to: http://mindylong.com/the-scandalous-summer-of-sissy-leblanc//

Married Men

A woman who goes out with a married man always plays second fiddle to his wife--
Southern Belles don't make that kind of music.

Rule #54 The Southern Belle's Handbook, Sissy LeBlanc's Rules to Live By

THE FLAVOR BIBLE

We Southern girls love to cook--and if we don't actually cook ourselves we love to eat. For real cooks, the ones who itch to try a little of this and pair it with a little of that to see how it tastes, I mean the really creative cooks who don't want to be recipe bound, but want to create something original THE FLAVOR BIBLE is a must. The authors, Karen Page & Andrew Dornenburg spent eight years interviewing great chefs all over the world and came up with parings--what tastes great with what. The book has been out 52 weeks inspiring amateurs and professionals and is now in its 4th printing. So the Southern Belle lifts a virtual glass of champagne. Way to go Karen.

Rule No 172, The Southern Belle's Handbook: There's nothing so sexy as a man who cooks.

A Slice of Life in the Big Lemon

My husband and I came home from a wedding in San Diego and found the road to our house was blocked. A water main had flooded.

Water gushed down Coldwater Canyon and flooded Ventura Bldv in the valley damaging homes and shops. Beverly Hills is safe. Isn't that always the way?

Here are some amazing photographs of the street. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/coldwater-canyon-could-be-closed-for-3-days-due-to-destructive-water-main-break.html

And in color:

http://laist.com/2009/09/06/water_main_break_floods_ventura_blv.php?gallery0Pic=1#gallery

The irony and tragedy is we're in the middle of a terrible drought.

We're fine. Our house is high in the hills. But it's all a slice of life in the Big Lemon.

--
www.LoraineDespres.com

Why You Can't Dress Like a Super-Model

A friend of mine is a stylist and he just did a gorgeous photo spread for a fashion magazine in Asia. He hired a beautiful young European model who had, in his words, "giraffe legs." He shot her in a micro-miniskirt and stiletto heels on a rocky mountaintop. The shot was gorgeous. The shadows under her slim derriere echoed the shadows in the mountains.

But the question on everyone's lips was, how did the model climb up the mountain in those stiletto heels?

The stylist laughed, "She didn't. She couldn't. I carried the heels and two of us lifted her into them for the shot."

Who Are They Kidding?

I just got an email from Neiman Marcus about the new trend in leggings for this fall. What? Does a message go out in New York? "This year we'll torture women by putting leggings on their legs, but making them go barefooted into shoes with heels so impossibly high they can't walk down the block." And get this, "We'll charge $100 for them! Or more if we print the fabric. And we'll all make the same kind that bag at the ankles! That'll be really chic."

Who buys this stuff? Does anyone look good in them?