Denver White Elephant Extravaganza!

Scene at Denver Literary Ladies Luncheon December Extravaganza: Sharon Glassman, Christie Hartman, Nancy Hightower, Karen Carter, Kate Schafer Testerman (face obscured).

Denver's second annual LLL White Elephant Gift Exchange was held yesterday at the Gracious Home of Bella Stander, National Cofounder & Western Social Secretary. Everyone shared food, drinks and tastefully wrapped dreadful (or not-so) regifts. To add to the fun, there was an Accessories Swap. Gold hoop earrings were the thing to de-accession; at least 7 pairs were up for grabs (seen at Karen Carter's rear, above).

Carleen Brice demonstrated her "Welcome White Folks" video, to much hilarity. Andrea Cohen is seated at left; Sharon is looking over her shoulder. At the next screening, Tamara Greenleaf laughed so hard she cried; she's wiping her tears at right. Carleen gave a copy of her book, ORANGE MINT & HONEY, and an audiobook. Not exactly White Elephants, but they were greatly appreciated.

Left, Denise Turner receives the gift acclaimed as Best Wrapped. Little did she know what many of us guessed: that it contained the ghastly double-necked vase Carleen got last year. We expect it to reappear in 2009. A can of guava paste has been circulating in Charlottesville for a decade; here's hoping it turns up again this Friday.

Right, the Tackiest Gift, a balky lava lamp bestowed on Karen by Nancy Hightower.



Above left, Sharon models a fetching ensemble--black knit cap & mauve camisole--received from Janet Singleton (rear), who's holding the finishing touch: a red-flowered scarf. Center, Christie models a belt from the Accessories Swap. Right, Nancy models a flowered neck--we think--thing and black handbag, from Vanessa Appleby, who had to leave (escape?) before all the gift giving.



Left, Janet responds to Kristin Nelson's gift of a pewter spittoon...er, urn...er, vase?



Right, Bella with the Most Ghastly Gift, courtesy of Denise, who gave as good (i.e., bad) as she got.





As you can see, Janet was stunned by the spotted green frog from Denise. Carleen was amazed by an opened bag of Snickers bars (another Halloween leftover) and can of evaporated milk from Debra. They were packed in the most precious and patriotic gift bag EVER (the trifecta: teddy bear, angel & American flag). For some reason Carleen refused to take it with her, so it was squirreled away by Bella, to make a glorious reappearance next year.



More hapless giftees.

Left, Debra Goldyn with Nelly CD.

Right, Elizabeth Wrenn with PURE SKIN. (Note how her eyes match the book jacket!)



Left: Pleased (or faking it) recipient Paula Singer and giver Elizabeth Wrenn with--ick!--POOH'S LITTLE BOOK OF FENG SHUI.

Below: Best-Coordinated Package & Recipient Nancy Jarrell and bag (Denise is at left). Inside was a silver bookmark in the shape of a heart. Groans all around for its being truly lovely.













Happy giftees Kate Schafer Testerman with cat thingy; Kristin Nelson with DOGA: Yoga for Dogs (dog on left resembles her Chutney).

Report from Denver

Colorado Literary Ladies deep in conversation on August 1.

After a lull in July, when there was a cozy affair for four, the Colorado LLL returned with a roar on August 1. Fourteen (14!) Literary Ladies showed up to chow down at The Empress Dim Sum Sea Food Restaurant in Denver. Newcomers included writer/memoir coach Kathryn Black (at rear, in white) and literary agent Beth Jusino of Alive Communications (4th from right, facing camera).

A good--cheap! ($11.60 each, including 20% tip)--time was had by all. By popular demand, next month we're meeting at Bombay Clay Oven, which is conveniently located halfway between Your Humble Correspondent's Gracious Home and favorite dog-walking park.

Belated Report from Denver

June 6: Our biggest group ever. We're wearing leis courtesy of Andrea Cohen (center rear, holding her book, A BLESSING IN DISGUISE, below Bella in blue), who gave them out in celebration of her birthday.



Doreen Orion (the short one) and Carleen Brice posing for good fortune (at least that's what we hope the Chinese shield means). Next day was the official pub date of Doreen's memoir, QUEEN OF THE ROAD, which was picked for the Borders and Celestial Seasonings book clubs and featured at Target. Carleen's wearing Hollywood shades because her first novel, ORANGE MINT AND HONEY, was optioned for a Lifetime TV movie. The audio book went on sale at the end of June.

LLLer Makes the LA Times Bestseller List

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE: 39 Life Lessons from Today's Greatest Teachers by LLLer Andrea Joy Cohen is #7 on this week's Los Angeles Times Bestsellers List.

LOOK!

LLL Denver News 3

Debra Fine's new book is coming out this month:

THE FINE ART OF THE BIG TALK: How to Win Clients, Deliver Great Presentations, and Solve Conflicts at Work (Hyperion).

She will be speaking and signing books at:

Tattered Cover LoDo, Denver - Wed., January 30, 7:30 pm.

LLL Denver News 2

Andrea Joy Cohen MD's first book is being published today:

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE: 39 Life Lessons from Today's Greatest Teachers (Berkley/Penguin)

She will be speaking and signing books at:

Boulder Book Store - Thurs., January 24, 7:30 pm.
Tattered Cover LoDo, Denver - Tues., January 29, 7:30 pm.

LLL Denver News 1

Carleen Brice's first novel, ORANGE MINT AND HONEY (One World/Ballantine), is debuting on Feb 12. Target has chosen it as a Break Out Title for February, and it's also a pick of the Essence Magazine and Black Expressions book clubs.

Upcoming events:

7:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 26
Tattered Cover LoDo, 1628 16th Street, Denver, CO 80202 (at Wynkoop directly across Wynkoop Street from the new EPA building next to Union Station just blocks from Coors Field). Hourly parking lots are located near the store and streetside parking is also available. Phone number: 303-436-1070.

7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8
West Side Books, 3434 W. 32nd, Denver, CO 80211. "Stories for All Seasons." Free admission and refreshments. Phone number: 303-480-0220.

2:00 p.m., Friday, March 28, VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK
New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Charlottesville. "Families Coming Together," with Tim Farrington (The Monk Upstairs) and Emilie Richards (Touching Stars).

7 p.m., Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Southglenn Library, 7500 South University Boulevard (Dry Creek and University), Centennial, CO 80122. Phone number: 303-LIBRARY (303-542-7279).

Denver White Elephant Gift Exchange

At long last, here's the Denver LLL White Elephant Extravaganza on December 14 at Mead St. Station. A hilarious time was had by all.

Clockwise from left front: Robin Owens, Rebecca Burgess, Andrea Joy Cohen, Debra Fine, Kristin Nelson, Shelly Vickroy, Bella Stander, Rebecca Burgess, Karen Carter and Mary Taylor Young.

The many exquisitely wrapped gifts were piled in the center of the table and the Ladies picked for themselves.

Carleen Brice happened on the most inappropriate gift, donated by yours truly: a self-published doorstop about an Irish guy who fought for the Confederacy, which she immediately regifted to Robin. Then good luck shone on Carleen again, and she walked away with what was unanimously deemed the most horrid item: a white bisque double-necked amphora (I'm sure there's a special term for it) with a Spirit of the West-type owl painted on it.

Andrea Joy Cohen blessed the amphora, but I have a strong suspicion that it's going to resurface next year. Perhaps it will become a rotating gift, like the famous can of guava paste in Charlottesville. If memory serves, the copulating frogs received by Dawn Hunt (see below post) have also made a previous appearance. And the painted-lady wine glasses that Laura Rydin got from (and returned to) Janis Jaquith were given by me two years ago.

Colorado LLLers on the Move!

Boulder Literary Lady Kim Reid will talk about her memoir, NO PLACE SAFE (Dafina), this Tuesday, Oct. 9 (changed from Oct. 10), on the NPR program News & Notes, hosted by Farai Chideya. Be sure to listen in--and then buy the book! It's a gripping reflection of Kim's teenage years, when her mom was one of the lead investigators in the Atlanta child murders, some of which occurred in their own neighborhood.

Edit: Guess what? News & Notes doesn't air in Colorado or Virginia. So we'll have to listen online here.


Denver Literary Lady (and Pajama Gardener) Carleen Brice has her first novel coming out in February, ORANGE MINT AND HONEY (One World/Ballantine). And she's just learned that the audio book will be coming out April 1. Woo hoo!

Report from Denver

From left, seated: Janet Elyse Singleton, Sheri Keasler-Benson, Mary Taylor Young, Paula Singer, Kristin Nelson, Bella Stander. Standing: Karen Carter, Robin D. Owens. Photo by Carleen Brice.

The Northwest Contingent having all sent their regrets, the Literary Ladies met today in SE Denver, at the fantabulous Bombay Clay Oven in Cherry Creek. OMG is the food ever great (even better than Milan in Cville, but don't tell Kermit the host); so are the ambience, service and price. And I snagged one of the two free parking spaces!

Oh yeah, and we talked about books, publicity, good/bad covers (Mary's dad used to disparage her mom's "bosom-frigate" books; i.e., romances), the e-holocaust over thigh-highs at the RWA convention, and what Carleen Brice should serve at her launch party...in February. (It's never too soon to start planning!) Small world: Carleen and Sheri have the same agent, Victoria Sanders.