The last stop on my book tour was the yarn shop, All Strung Out, in Mobile.  I was greeted by the owner, Susan and this proved to be another fun-filled and successful day.  I had the extra added pleasure of being joined by my webmaster extraordinaire, Cissy Hartley, owner of Writerspace.  Her assistant, Susan, also stopped by and it was nice to meet her in person.

Left to right:  Susan, me, Cissy

Yes, look at all that luscious yarn.  I have to say I was in my glory at each shop being surrounded not only by great women, but by so many different yarns.

When I arrived, the owner, Susan, told me her mother (age 82) had read my book and couldn't stop talking about it and that she'd come by later to meet me.

What a delight she was!  It felt like she was the reality of those southern women I created in SPINNING FORWARD.  Extremely friendly, interesting to talk with, appears much younger than her age and I have a feeling she truly represents that true grit I refer to in my novel.  She even had a southern name I had never heard before...........Ottie Jean.  I love it!  SO much so that I told her I have to use that name and create a character for it in the book I'm working on now.  Here we are.....me, Ottie Jean and her daughter, Susan, owner of the yarn shop.

A huge thank you to Susan for hosting my signing and also to the women that stopped by to meet me and purchase my book.  It was a very enjoyable day.

While I was at this shop something really warmed my heart........two sisters came in, ages 12 and 7, for their knitting class.  I was SO happy to see girls of this age learning this wonderful craft at a young age.  I got to chat with the mom when she came to pick up her daughters and come to find out, Mom does not knit.  So I was all the more impressed that she sent them to Susan's shop to learn how.  They were doing a terrific job of working on their knits and purls.  

My mother taught me to knit when I was about 10 or 11 years old, but you don't see that much these days.  How much better for young girls to be learning not only a practical art but a past time that, in my opinion, certainly encourages their creativity much more than iPods or computer games.  And then factor in how great it is to make hand-knitted gift items and the great socializing that goes with being a knitter.  So I think it's great for girls to learn this age old craft when they're young.  And even if they drift away from it.......like I did, for over forty years......chances are that addiction will come calling again some day like it did for me.  It's been five years since I returned to knitting and my only regret is that I wish I'd done it sooner.  Just another example though of my philosophy.....everything happens in its own time.

As you can see, it was fun visiting the yarn shops and meeting so many wonderful new readers.  I've been playing "catch up" since returning home and I'm hoping to get back to working on book #3 later this week.  

Next on my agenda is the huge Romance Writers of America Conference at the end of the month.  Originally, it was being held in Nashville, but due to all the flooding there RWA had to find a new venue.  So we'll be at the Dolphin & Swan Resort at Disney in Orlando.  

Don't forget, you can keep abreast of my book signings on my website and also at my fan page on Facebook at Terri DuLong - Cedar Key Series.  

And I'll see you back here at Island Writer next time.  Till then, hope you're enjoying your summer............