I like this hat.

The ladies of a Brookhaven book club read “Jaybird’s Song” thoroughly and thoughtfully and invited me to join them for discussion last night. They came with fabulous thoughts and questions and a slew of details that I had forgotten myself.

They were lovely, full of special touches for the evening, they liked my book and they made me feel like a true novelist. I like that hat. A lot.

Hostess Lynn Roberts, my wonderful high school friend and fellow drill teamer who I haven’t seen in much too long, suggested the book to her group a month or so ago and they bit.

We were mostly all the same age — about the same age as protaganist Josie — and so they had a lot of fun with memory jogging details about life in the ’60s from the story. Maureen even brought of list of things she’d forgotten all about (Petticoat Junction game, DippityDo, pink hair rollers…) and some show and tell items including a folded paper cootie catcher and a gum wrapper chain she’d saved since high school.

This was my first time discussing Jaybird’s Song with readers outside of my own circle and it was affirming and fun. They got my story. They liked my story. And they’ve offered to help out as beta readers for my next book and I’m going to take them up on it.

Thank you, ladies. You made my first visiting author experience perfectamoondo and I loved it.

Maureen brought a gum wrapper chain she’d had from high school — just like the one Tommy gave Josie when they broke up — and a cootie catcher just like the one Donnie brought to the dirt hill.

Lynn made chicken noodle casserole (just like Annie Jo made for Ansley–sans the pink food coloring), a salad made from all the things Annie Jo grew in her garden, and a strawberry cake with fresh strawberries in the center and red sprinkles all around just like the one Josie and Daisy made for dessert one night. She even brought out her Desert Rose dinnerware for the retro look-back occassion.

Seven new friends and Jaybird readers: Lynn, Maureen, Cathy, Kathy, Denise, Laura and Karen (who had to leave before the pic was taken)