Winter Garden Giveaway!!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Hello everyone---
For a homebody, I sure have been traveling a lot lately. This past week saw me hurtling across the country to one of my favorite cities in the world. New York. Honestly, I adore this glittering, elegant, everybody's rushing around city. You may remember that last February, when I was in the Big Apple on tour, the weather was awful. Snowy and cold and ugly. I spent hours on edge, waiting to see if I would even be able to make my flight.
Not so this time. Last week, after a long and thankfully uneventful flight, I 
I checked into my midtown highrise hotel and woke to a flawlessly blue day. And they were beginning to put up the Christmas decorations. I even got to see the tree being delivered into Rockefeller Center! I stood there like a classic tourist, mouth open in awe, watching the tree go up, with the brightly colored skaters gliding to and fro beneath it and the flags flapping in the breeze. It was a magical, Home Alone moment.
I checked into my midtown highrise hotel and woke to a flawlessly blue day. And they were beginning to put up the Christmas decorations. I even got to see the tree being delivered into Rockefeller Center! I stood there like a classic tourist, mouth open in awe, watching the tree go up, with the brightly colored skaters gliding to and fro beneath it and the flags flapping in the breeze. It was a magical, Home Alone moment.
As many of you know, I went to NYC for a cocktail party. How cool is that? I mean, who would think a person would get to fly to NY for a party? It's all very Jennifer Aniston/Cameron Diaz, don't you think? And guess what? I wore big girl shoes. :) It sounds crazy, but as a writer who lives in a small town, I spend most of my time in sweats and Uggs. Heels are about as much a part of my life as high chairs are these days. But the cocktail party was in my honor, so I wanted to look my best. After much dithering, I ended up wearing a dress that I found at a small boutique in Italy, along with a handmade necklace that I bought from the same shop. And then there were the shoes--I bought them online from Nordstrom and failed to actually look at the heel height. When they came, I thought--no way. I can't walk in these. And then I thought, what the heck. I'm going for it. :) I practiced and had an absolute blast. The photos above are from the interview I did with WABC TV prior to the party--and yes, that's Night Road that celebrity interviewer Sandy Kenyon is flipping through. He was an absolute doll and made the interview a ton of fun.
But now it's back to real life. Like you, I'm gearing up for Thanksgiving (getting recipes together--thanks to many of you for ideas), re-working the first two hundred pages of the 2012 book, and beginning to contemplate Christmas shopping. How about you? What are you all doing these days? When do you start your holiday shopping?
Thanks to the many of you who voted for my tour stops this April. We were literally overwhelmed by the number of votes. My publisher is busy interpreting all the data and using it to figure out tour dates. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. Keep checking the blog and facebook for more information.
Finally, I'm doing a Winter Garden Giveaway on December 10th. There are two ways to enter. The easiest way is to go to my facebook page and "like" it. Anyone who likes the page is automatically entered. But of course, I want my firefly blog friends to be a part of the big giveaway, so if you can't join me on facebook, please email me through the website and just say enter me!
Good luck to all of you and here's to a wonderful Thanksgiving week for all of us. If anyone would like to share recipes for side dishes or desserts, please do. I LOVE collecting recipes and seeing what everyone else eats on the big day.
Aloha for now,
Kristin
21 Comments:
I just stumbled onto your work and I love it. I'm not sure how many male raving fans you have but after reading true colors, I'm one!
The pictures are great, and I loved seeing the tree in NYC on your Facebook page. I miss living in that area. We did go to NYC 2 years ago now right after Christmas.
I am making a pork loin in the crock pot for our work Thanksgiving. It cooks with apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, golden raisins, Granny Smith apples, and sweet potatoes. I hope it's good. If it is, I'll put the recipe on my blog. If it's not, it never happened. Our Thanksgiving menu is in the planning stages currently. My brother-in-law and his wife are making homemade green bean casserole. We'll have turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce. The trick is figuring out how many types of potatoes we make. It's a little obscene. I'd like to make 1, but then my mother-in-law likes to have mashed and sweet and then we end up with pretty much a dish per person. I'm kind of in a nice state of denial over the holiday.
I am struggling to find motivation to read (and finish) The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. It's good so far, but I just have been too scattered to sit and read it. I love the way she uses words though.
~ april - off to enter the contest
Kristin,
You look *gorgeous*. LOVE the blue. I have to laught to myself about 'big girl shoes'...that's exactly what I call them.
Greg,
It's wonderful to find a man who loves to read Kristin! She is a wonderful author!
Welcome, Greg!! I agree with Kari, It's great to hear from a guy who likes my books! What else do yoy read, Greg?
Good luck with your cooking, April! Definitely post your recipes!
Just finished Winter Garden - wow! My first Kristin Hannah book. Now I have to catch up on all the others - perfect for what promises to be a long winter here in PA! Thanks for a great ride, and looking forward to checking back often.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, I'm cooking very little myself. The boy just roasts the turkey, nothing fancy. I'll be making creamed corn (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/neelys/southern-creamed-corn-recipe/index.html) which is SO not healthy which is why it gets made once a year. I throw in bits of bacon after rendering it for the grease to make it just that much less healthy. Also, I'm making Sausage Pizza Dip which the family really likes though I could probably take or leave it (http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-index/appetizer-starter-recipes/Sausage-Pizza-Dip). I'll be doing cheese and crackers and the family is bringing the rest. I cheated and bought a pie and cake with a coupon I have to Cake Love (a local bakery).
I may bake more closer to Christmas. I've been saving up some recipes and really want to be able to bake even if it scares me a little.
I just finished your book Firefly Lane. I can honestly say I cried at least five times. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your books. I also can't wait for your knew one. You are such a talented writer. I'm still only in high school and your book just made my week off amazing. Keep writing :)
Tracey---
So glad you loved the book. It was a lot of fun to write. I always love the book I just finished more than the book I'm working on---especially at times like this where I'm in the very beginning. Grrr...!
April---
You can never go wrong with ANYTHING that uses bacon and bacon fat. :) Can't wait to hear how the corn is. Let us know! Happy Thanksgiving!
Zoe---
Welcome to the Firefly blog! I am so glad you enjoyed the book. I love it when young women say they were moved by the story. :) Look for Night Road in April---it has a strong high school story in it..
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Totally stayed away from Black Friday.
With Winter Garden soon to be printed in paperback, it is hard to find hardback copies in the stores. Amazon finally got in a new shipment. So, I'm happy I have copies to give as gifts. Still think it's your best.
But, I'm anxious to read "Night Road." My sense is this one could be movie material because of the theme and the age group you will touch.
April -- I have trouble motivating myself to read with by Barbara Kingsolver. The Poisonwood Bible nearly did me in --found it too wordy. Haven't tried The Lacuna. Will be interested in your final thoughts.
Blessings to all,
Patricia
Oh, Patricia, I will recommend you not read The Lacuna if you felt that way about The Poisonwood Bible. I find that I love her use of words, but there are many of them. I'm finding I need to force myself to sit and read. I'm finding the history fascinating as I don't know much about, well, history but especially Mexico (and Trotsky and the very little post-Depression DC mentioned). However, I'm struggling with the story itself. I need to average 43 pages a day until we meet for book club and I will be done. I should also mention that I'm an impatient reader. I usually need to get into a story pretty quickly. Still, in honor of the book taking place in Mexico, we'll be meeting at a Mexican restaurant so at least it'll give us an excuse for margaritas. :) Silver lining.
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!
(My corn came out fine. It needs to simmer, but I forgot to start it when the turkey was resting so it wasn't as thick as it should have been. Still good and went quickly. I'll say farewell to the corn recipe until next year.)
~ april
Please enter me...I'd love to win a copy of your novel...(-:
Just an update that I finished The Lacuna. It ended up well, but you do have to have preserverance. It's a big, lengthy book.
I'm now reading David Sedaris for something light and funny (non-fiction).
My mother recently suggested I listen to Winter Garden as an audiobook, I'm totally hooked! It's actually scary how much of myself I see in those three women. I'll definitely be looking at your other books next.
(And I'm so glad I saw your post about the Winter Garden Giveaway on FB in time to enter!)
Happy New Years Kristin and friends! Hey! This may be my shortest posting ever!
Take care all,
Tracie
Is your new book on my nightstand yet?
I finished Firefly Lane yesterday and I cried for at least 30 min. I really enjoyed that book, your writing is amazing. I love how you worked through their whole lives showing us the importance or their childhood. I am in high school and I started a book a couple weeks ago and you are such an inspiration!
Just finished Night Road. Being a bereaved parent myself I cried a lot. My son was a senior in high school on his way to school 2005. I attend Compassionate Friends have a surving daughter. One difference. I WILL NEVER SAY I HAVE ONE CHILD. I will say 2 children one is in heaven or 1 surving child. I work at a library and will now be checking out your other books. Cindy
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