You all need to see what Patti Digh
told us after her visit here in Saluda this past Saturday.

Dear Jane,

Well, that's it.

I've decided.

I'm moving to Saluda.

I'm going to work at Random Arts, eat gorgonzola mac & cheese at the Purple Onion every day for lunch, get an ice-cold Cheerwine at the hardware store for dessert, and swing on the swing sets across the train tracks every day at 3pm.

What a glorious day! I am so touched that you spent your afternoon with me - and so, so, so appreciative of Jane and Joyce and Jen hosting me at Random Arts. The moment I stepped in and met Jane with her incredible energy and saw those cupcakes in my favorite color (teal) and those little flower cookies and that purple bathroom and all that beautiful paper, I knew it was a special place, a special day.

And I was right. What an amazing energy in that room. I wanted it to last forever. Thank you for your support and love and stories. The fact that my words have been meaningful to you in some small way is so precious to me. I hope we will meet again. Tess asked me all the way home if you all really liked her spider story - she was thrilled to share it...

A few notes:

If you are loving Life is a Verb, I hope you might consider writing a review of it on Amazon--even if you didn't buy it from them, you can write reviews on their site, and those are important in the book world. My publisher thanks you. :-) Alternatively, if you're not comfortable posting on the Amazon site, if you'd like to write a short statement about the book that the publisher might use in publicizing it--what it's meant to you, for example, or how you are using it--I'd love to receive those also and will pass them along.
If you are interested in pursuing a more in-depth exploration of Life is a Verb, perhaps my April 24-26 retreat near Asheville might be of interest--there are a few spaces left and it would be lovely to have you there.
My next book readings are in Atlanta on Feb 5th and in my hometown, Morganton, NC, on Feb 12th (at the annual "author's luncheon" for the public library I read about in the story "Save Face for Someone Else", so that will be really meaningful to me - I guess I should take tissues, eh?!). If you're close by or know people in those areas, I hope you'll pass the word along to them! If you'd like to invite me to your town, let me know. I've been known to say yes!
Life is a Verb was recently chosen from over 440 nominees as one of five finalists for the prestigious "Books for a Better Life" awards, alongside Randy Pausch's bestseller, The Last Lecture. I'll take my older daughter, Emma, to NYC for the award's ceremony on Feb 23rd. On that evening, light some good vibes candles for us, won't you?!
I'll be back in touch about art for the next book! The thing I forgot to tell you about the artwork for Life is a Verb is that I asked the publisher to hire the woman who first sent me that artist trading card, Donna B. Miller, to create the cover art for the book, so there was a great sense of a circle being completed in having her work also serve as the cover.
Many thanks again for joining me in Saluda for such a special gathering. It meant a lot to me for you to be there. Let's do that again! Since I'll be living there, it'll be easy... (smile).

Love,
Patti