Making Waves in Kentucky, Part III: In which the book is kidnapped by a pirate.

 

I have been so overwrought these past few days that I've been unable to recount the events of Friday last, but thanks to much Diet Coke and a few hours on the River, believe I can now share with you my experience; I will share the facts and allow you to draw your own conclusions about the hazards of internet friendships.
I have been blogging and tweeting about my tour of Northern Kentucky with Tawna Fenske 's book MAKING WAVES, and recieved a suggestion to visit the fair city of Verona, Kentucky, just a hop and a skip from my own home.  So I went. 


What a quaint little town! 

As I toured this one-stoplight town (sorry, no picture of the stoplight, it was green and I had to go), I spied author Keri Stevens, with whom I've tweeted (yes, it was she who suggested visiting Verona.  She said there was a semi-nekkid statue in the cemetery there, so I wanted to check it out).  So I stopped and said, "Hey!" and took the opportunity to snap a picture of her with the book:


She opened it to a good part.  She likes it, hey Mikey!

 Apparently, she liked it a little too much, because before I could put my camera away, she was STEALING IT! 


Can you believe it?  Pirating a book about pirates? 

 I was NOT going to let this slide.  That's my book, dammit, and I want it back!  The chase was on.  Over hill and dale, past horses, cows and tractors, I pursued the pirate disguised as a soccer mom: 


Beware writers driving SUV's:  it makes 'em look trustworthy. 

 For a few minutes I thought I had lost her.  But I am nothing if not determined.  I used every bit of knowledge I gained from years of reading Nancy Drew mysteries--and there is also a good bit of Stephanie Plum in this soul.  Using high powered surveillance equipment I found a clue! 

It's the Wine Canoe! 

I had found the Dread Pirate Stevens!  I chased her again, scared the heck out of her whole family, the dog and a couple of cats, and finally caught her on the back patio:

There was no blood spilled, but there might have been a bruise or two (which I got falling on my butt after she let go of the book). 

Since I am an aspiring romance writer, I have to give this story a happy ending (But not a romantic one.  I don't swing that way, and I'm pretty sure Keri doesn't either).  After the big climactic battle scene, I explained that Keri could get her own darned copy of MAKING WAVES.   







Look!  You can order it for your Kindle!



Phew.  That was exhausting.  Fortunately, Verona offers vittles, if one needs to refuel after fighting pirates.

Verona Vittles.  Yum! 

Keri, it was great meeting you!  Maybe next time, you can show me the semi-nekkid statue, unless that was just a ruse.   

Making Waves In Kentucky, Part II: Cody's Ass

There is this really great secondary character in MAKING WAVES, by Tawna Fenske (by the way, go to her blog and check out the details on how you can get a skinny drink coaster).  Anyway, this character's name is Cody, and I don't think I'll be giving too much away if I tell you that he's a slightly (okay, maybe more than slightly) quirky, former professional football player with a fair amount of skill in the kitchen. 

Even before I started reading the book, I thought I would make a stop at Cody Pass part of our Great Making Waves In Kentucky Book Tour.  How delightful to then start reading and make Cody's ( I mean, Cookie's) acquaintance!

Don't you just want to know who lives on Cody's Ass?  Me, too. 

Since Cody is such a great cook (and because we were volunteering in a friend's booth), The Big Guy and I took MAKING WAVES to the Queen City Sausage Festival Sunday evening.  I might point out that the Queen City is Cincinnati, and the Queen City Sausage Festival was held in Newport, Kentucky.  But whatever.  You can see Cincinnati from Newport. 

A view of Paul Brown Stadium (home of the Bengals, be afraid.  Be very afraid. Or not.).  Also, the Roebling Suspension Bridge, built by the same guy that did the Brooklyn Bridge (and we'll sell you some of our bridge, too. Note the artsy sunset photography.  The smog in the Ohio River Valley is very conducive to pretty colors at sunset. 

I suspect that Cody, I mean Cookie, might have appreciated the Andouille Sausage and pasta, although I can highly recommend the goetta Reuben.  If you don't know what goetta is, you gotta getta sample.  It looks nasty, but is seriously tasty.  Google it. 

I can also recommend the Cottage Pie Bites.  Not the name, but the pastry itself. 

One of the fun things about the Ohio River, between Cincinnati and Newport/Covington/Ludlow/Bellevue, is the boating.  I know you can't hear this, but the drunken revelers on this raft of boats must have had binoculars, because they started chanting "Tawna! Tawna!" when they saw me carrying the book around on the shore.  Really. 

Okay, maybe not.  But they looked like they were having fun, and I bet if I'd asked them too, they would have started chanting.  Come see us during the WEBN Fireworks on Labor Day Weekend.  They'll take off their clothes and chant then, too. 

Thus concludes Part II of the Great Making Waves In Kentucky Book Tour.  We have a couple more stops to make, but I've been so busy reading the book, I haven't gotten out to take it places.  The 115 degree heat index isn't helping, either. 

Oh, BTW, a shout out to Gregor Mendel, who would have been 189 today.  Eat some peas in his honor. 

Making Waves in Kentucky, Part I

As I mentioned last week, I won a blog contest at Don't Pet Me, I'm Writing.  What I won was an ARC of Making Waves, the debut novel of Tawna Fenske.  And the opportunity to take Making Waves on a tour of Boone County, Kentucky. 


Northern Kentucky may not seem like the most interesting destination on the planet.  Yeah, we have Cincinnati just to the north of us, but, really...it's Cincinnati. Northern Kentucky is considered by most to be simply "Southern Cincinnati".  But I would like to point out that there are a great many interesting places to visit in NKY, especially if you have a dirty mind.  

So I bring you part I of the Great Making Waves in KY book tour.  Yeah, this is going to be a multi-parter, because I need blog topics this week. 

Day 1:  I arrived home late Friday night to find a big brown envelope in my mailbox.  I took it to my favorite place in the whole wide world:



Here I am, about to make the aquaintance of Alex and Juli and the rest of the crew:  Cody, Jake, and Phyllis.  Can I just mention that, before I became Teri, that I had an evil twin named Phyllis? 

 Then my daughter and I went to our family's campsite.  We have a little spot near the mouth of Gunpowder Creek. 

I introduced Making Waves to Grandpa's boat, but Grandpa wasn't there to take us for a ride. 

Fortunately, The Big Guy was able to get our boat fixed so we were able to get out on the water. 

When I was in college and drove down I-75 with my friends on our way to Spring Break in Daytona Beach or Ft. Lauderdale, we always giggled at the signs for Big Bone Lick State Park.  Well.  I never thought I would find myself living so darned close. 

Or, as the Sam Stanley Experience called it (before he could read):  Big Bone Lipstick Park

  People don't believe me when I tell them that this stuff is real, but you should really visit the thriving metropolis of  Sugar Tit (actually, most people, especially the mayor and the post office, call it Union).  There used to be a sign, but it got stolen.  Huh. 


I bet more people would go to services here if it were called the Sugar Tit Baptist Church.

 In case the Union Baptist Church doesn't work for you, there is also: 

OR:

Yes, if you zoom a bit, you can see that this is the Beaver Lick Baptist Church. 

Just in case you are not Baptist, there are some other options, but none are quite as interesting. 

And thus ends the first day of the great Making Waves in Kentucky Book Tour.  You can follow our exploits on twitter, look for #makingwavesinKY !