From a hotel room in Pittsburgh

Molly–born on lucky July 13

Party hostess Kathy Ahl on left, with her mom, “Chick” on right

That’s me, with new friends Cheryl and Joel, and Stuart Krichevsky

Signing books at Spring Lake Library

Me–getting the joyful news about Molly’s arrival

Greetings from Asbury Park

Two different friends emailed me this week to point out that 13 should be my new lucky number. How right they are! Two weeks ago, THE FIXER UPPER debuted at #13 on the New York Times bestseller list. And on Monday, July 13, the world’s most perfect baby, Miss Molly Hogan Abel, made her debut in Atlanta. To say my week has been a whirl would be an understatement. After spending the weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, I motored over to the Jersey Shore. At first, I was totally a stranger in a strange land. As I was checking into my hotel, the clerk asked me if I needed a beach badge. Huh? In the South, you don’t need a badge to go to the beach—just a sackful of quarters to feed the parking meters. I had to sign a document stating that the hotel could bill my credit card $150 if I didn’t return the badge. WTF? But Sunday night, Meg Walker, the marvelous marketing maven, and her mom, Kathy Ahl, picked me up to take me to dinner and give me a proper orientation to the Jersey Shore. Turns out there are different beaches for different folks. Spring Lake, where I was staying, is known as “The Irish Riviera.” Too funny–I guess a Hogan like me would fit right in–if she had a beach badge. Just down from the Irish beach is the Italian beach. And further down, was the gay beach. Good to know. Meg and Kathy took me past Ocean Grove, which has a famous summer religious retreat tent city, which apparently dates back to Victorian times. I’d seen photos in magazines, but the glimpse I got the other night was fascinating–the most adorable teensy canvas homes dolled up with gingerbread, flowerboxes, ect. For dinner we went to a restaurant called Moonstruck, which prompted me to tell Meg and Kathy to “Snap out of it!”. Very delicious food–washed down with a pink Pommerey champagne called Pink Pop. Then came a quick tour of Asbury Park, which has been totally revitalized since the days when Bruce Springsteen came of age in its gritty bars. I saw the Stone Pony, where an all female Led Zeppelin tribute band, called, yes–Lez Zeppelin–recently played. Lots of cool bars and restaurants and shops–and a restored beach boardwalk, made me want to spend more time in Asbury Park. We did go to a hip rooftop bar called The Watermark. On Monday, when Katie called to tell me she was checking into the hospital, I was too nervous to stay around the hotel, so I went to my happy place–junking. I’d heard about an antique mall in Point Pleasant Beach, a few miles away, so I headed over there. Of course I bought a sweet little vintage baby dress and slip for you-know-who, and then I found an awesome old sign warnign “No swimming, fishing, ect from bridge.” It’ll go in The Breeze Inn. I was so nervous I couldn’t even concentrate on junking–can you believe??? So I headed back to my hotel, where I was to meet Stuart, my amazing agent, who drove down from New York for my talk at the Spring Lake Library, and the party afterwards, given by Meg and Kathy. I was standing on the porch of the hotel when Katie’s best friend Carolyn called to tell me about Molly’s arrival. I think you can tell from the picture how excited I was. Stuart and I had drinks on the porch at a very cool Victorian place called The Palmer House, in Sea Girt. And then we headed over to the Spring Lake Library, which has to be one of the prettiest old buildings ever. It’s a 1920s era red brick wonder, built as a community center for returning World War I veterans, with beautiful mouldings and antiques. I gave my talk in the community theater, which is a jewel box. I was nervous that nobody in New Jersey would turn out to see a displaced Southerner, but we had a great turn-out, probably more than 100 people, and everybody was so warm and welcoming. After the signing, it was time to party! Meg and Kathy had a great spread, and I met lots of their family members and friends. Such fun. Tuesday morning, Stuart and I met Meg at a local luncheonette called Who’s on Third, where I sampled the local specialty–pork roll. Kinda like a cross between bacon and ham, on a yeast roll. Tasty. Then it was time to leave the beautiful Jersey shore–of course, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I headed to Philly for a signing there last night, and tonight, I signed at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, which is in a revitalized development on the spot of a former US Steel mill. Appropriate, since Mr. Mary Kay’s family is from this area, and many of them worked in the mill or cokeworks. Tomorrow night, I’ll sign books with my old friends at Mystery Lover’s Bookstore in beautiful Oakmont, PA.–and then it’s home Friday to get acquainted with my new grandgirl. Can’t wait!

Meet Molly

Please join me in welcoming little Miss Everything, our very first grandchild–Miss Molly Hogan Abel, who was born Monday at 4:39 p.m. at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. Mom Katie, Dad Mark, granddad Tom-Tom (heretofore known on this blog as Mr. Mary Kay) Uncle Andy and Great Aunt Jeanne have all gotten to see and hold her. I, sadly, am still four days from home, but my friend Margaret Maron assures me that they will not have kissed all the new off her before I get to her. My heart is just about to burst with joy!

From a motel room at Rehoboth Beach

Delaware yard sales seem more exotic!
You’ve never seen such massive hydrangeas

The sign that started my adventure

My first visit to a “northern” beach was a big success. I walked on the boardwalk here at Rehoboth Beach and bought caramel corn. I sat on a bench and watched the hordes of people enjoying a beautiful July day at the beach. I mean hordes! The signing at Browseabout Books Friday afternoon was great. Such warm, welcoming booksellers, and a fabulous store. Browseabout is huge and it sells everything; books, of course, but tons of gifts and toys and beach neccessities. Wish we had a shop like that at Tybee. Jennifer, one of the booksellers, turned me onto a new book which I can’t wait to dive into, it’s called EAST OF THE SUN, by Julia Gregson. Jennifer also tipped me that you can watch old movies on Youtube. What??? When I got back to my room Friday night I found the movie she recommended, FIRELIGHT. And yes, you have to watch it in installments, but it was well worth it. I got so engrossed I didn’t go out to dinner, just stayed in and ate my caramel corn, propped up in bed with my laptop. Such a beautiful, incredibly romantic movie. Of course, now my keyboard is unspeakably sticky…On my way to Rehoboth I almost had to slam on my brakes when I saw the above sign in the gorgeous little town of Lewes. Saturday morning I got up bright and early to go explore the town. Lewes bills itself as the first city of the first state. The town reminded me of Nantucket. I walked all over, prowling through the many quaint shops. I hit the antique fair, but didn’t buy anything. I did, however, manage to find a yard sale, where I bought an antique porcelain fish plate. Lewes is brimming over with flowers–I wonder if you have to be a gardener to live there? Even the humblest little house seems to be surrounded by blooms. And the hydrangeas–oh my! Blooms the size of a dinner platter. I had a nice lunch at a restaurant called The Buttery, and then spent the afternoon cruising around enjoying a beautiful day. Last night I had dinner at a restaurant here in Rehoboth called Lupa di Mare, in the lobby of the Rehoboth Hotel, which reminds me of a hotel in South Beach. I had a divine salad of grilled artichokes and cherry tomatoes and struck up a fun conversation with the five divine gay men at the table next to mine. Rehoboth seems to be the home office of fabulous gay men. I would have gone shopping with any one of my new friends! Today I’m off for Spring Lake and new adventures on the Jersey Shore.

From a motel room in Baltimore

The tour for THE FIXER UPPER seems to be going great. I’ve met lots of wonderful readers and awesome booksellers. So, let’s recap the previous week. I got the news that we’d made #13 on the New York Times list while I was at home last Wednesday. Took daughter Katie and son-in-law Mark out to dinner at Feast in Decatur to celebrate. Appropriate, I thought, since that’s where we had the book launch party. Then I flew over to Fairhope and Page and Palette Books where I managed to sneak in a little quality junking time at a couple of this charming town’s many antique stores. I scored a vintage $5 straw boater complete with red hatband, and an adorable old children’s cloth picture book, which I want to have made into pillows with some old ticking I’ve been hoarding. I also found another great black and white beach snapshot from the 1920s. We had a great, standing room only crowd at P&P–distracted only momentarily when a huge thunderstorm blew up in the middle of my talk, sending half a tree crashing down on a car parked on the street below. Among the many friendly faces in the crowd was blogger Layla from The Lettered Cottage, who drove through the gathering storm with her husband and mom. Layla is a talented self-taught decorator, junker and photographer, so check out her blog. The next morning I got up at the butt-crack o’ dawn to hop a plane from Pensacola down to Savannah, where I had an 11 am signing on July 3 at Seaside Sisters. All my Tybee peeps came over to show some major book love–we ran out of books twice and had to send into town for more. Managed to sneak in some R&R over the weekend at The Breeze Inn with Mr. Mary Kay, my sister-in-law Jeanne, and nephew Alex and his girlfriend Mary Beth. We cooked burgers and made trailer trash for dinner guests Polly and Steve. Polly is a stringer for People magazine, so we got to catch up on the antics of Miley Cyrus, who’s shooting a movie on Tybee this summer. We got to watch Tybee’s Friday night beachfront fireworks from the roof-top of friend Sally’s home, which was really cool. On Sunday, I finally got to go out fishing in the boat with MMK–first time this year for me. We anchored off Little Tybee and enjoyed the overcast skies and breeze. I only caught some puny trout and “puppy drum”–redfish too small to keep. But as we were leaving, a mama dolphin and her calf swam up beside the boat and followed us for several yards, begging for scraps, and swimming close enough to the boat that I could have leaned over to scratch her poor lil’ scuffed up snout. (Did not feed scraps as this is illegal). I got to spend two days at home–catching up on laundry, mail and grocery shopping before heading back out on tour. Wednesday night I was in DC, and caught up with another blogger buddy, Sue from Vintage Rescue Squad. Sue loves estate sales as much as I do, and although she has a “big-girl day job” she also has two booths in an antique mall in Leesburg, Va. We had a blast talking junk and books–and she gifted me with a bundle of vintage beach snaps to add to my stash! last night I had a first-time signing at a neat bookstore called A Likely Story Books in Sykesville, which is a Baltimore suburb. Owner Debbie Scheller did a great job The big treat for me was that my friend Laura Lippman, award-winning author of many Baltimore-set mysteries, including the Tess Monaghan series, took me to the signing. Laura, like me, is an ex-newsie (she did time at The Baltimore Sun, I did time at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) so she had the brilliant idea to interview me for the event. We had a great time, and an even better time afterwards, when fellow mystery writer Marcia Talley, (author of the Hannah Ives series) who’d driven over from Annapolis, joined us at The Wine Market in Baltimore for dinner. Today, I’m headed for the Jersey Shore. First stop is Rehoboth Beach, DE, for a 4pm signing at Browseabout Books. Stay tuned for my Jersey junkin’ journal!

Books. Stay tuned for my Jersey Junkin’ Journal.

NYT Bestseller List: THE FIXER UPPER IS #13!!!

Here’s your pony, everybody! I had to take it out for a little ride, just to make sure it was safe for all you novice pony-girls and boys. It’s name is Jiffy. Do you like my jaunty hat? So much cooler than the same-ol’-same’-ol’ cowgirl hat, doncha think? Okay, here you go. Your turn.

Wow! I’m thrilled, excited, bewitched, bothered, bewildered. Thanks everybody! What? You didn’t buy multiple copies of THE FIXER UPPER yet? No worries. The stores are open late over the holiday weekend, and wouldn’t it be just extra-sweet if I could actually move UP the list next week? Don’t forget, you want to buy at a New York Times reporting bookstore, not your local likker store or swap-meet. Thanks everybody!

If you’re in the vicinity of Fairhope, Alabama tomorrow, come see me at Page and Palette.

From a motel room in Lexington

My new best friends at Rare Bird Antiques
Mason’s Motel–a great spot for lunch

Thanks to a Facebook friend, I had a wonderful road trip from Nashville to Lexington, KY. today. I’d posted this morning that I needed a junking spot on the way, and a kind reader immediately suggested I try Goodlettsville, TN. So I dialed up the town on my trusty GPS, and low and behold, the shop she suggested there, Rare Bird, was totally worth the trip. It’s a small antique mall–and the owners specialize in old store stock–unused merchandise from out of the past. I could have stayed for hours. One booth in particular captivated me. The owner had decorated it for the 4th of July with red, white and blue. He’s also a talented folk artist. I bought a hand-made Uncle Sam figure made with vintage textiles–holding a vintage box of sparklers. Just enchanting. I’m going to put it in my booth at Seaside Sisters this weekend, but if it doesn’t sell, it’s mine! In another booth I found a great vintage black and white beach snapshot to add to my collection, and then, to top it off, I found a maroon 1920s wool one-piece bathing suit, just like the ones shown in the photo–for a great price. I would have bought lots more at Rare Bird, but I’m flying home tomorrow. Of course, that never slows me down. From the shop, I went to a nearby Goodwill store and bought a cheap used suitcase to haul my treasures home. The gals at the shop tipped me to a great lunch spot, at a mom and pop motel just down the road. Mason’s Motel looks like it was built in the ’30s–a cluster of white painted brick bungalows, with a restaurant in the middle. It looks like a place Weezie would check into. The women in the restaurant were just what you’d expect, high teased hair, and the service was as sweet as the iced tea. I had fried chicken, ‘tater salad just like my mama used to make, yummy fresh from the garden baked squash, corn muffin, and yes, I’ll admit it, coconut custard pie. Mmm, Aunt Bea! The check–including a generous tip–came to ten bucks! If you ever get to the Nashville area, a trip to Goodlettsville is totally worth it. After lunch, I drove my woozy self to Lexington. A beautiful, blue-sky day, I enjoyed seeing the bluegrass area and horse farms. Tonight’s signing at Joseph-Beth Books was a success, and as always, it was a treat meeting Kentucky fans. Tomorrow, I’ll head home just long enough to unpack and re-pack before heading off to Fairhope, AL. for a Thursday night signing at Page and Palette. Then it’s down to Tybee for my Friday signing at Seaside Sisters, and an old-fashioned fireworks fourth at the beach.

From a motel room in Nashville

Bay Point Junior High reunion with Joe and Bruce
Now don’t forget–buy lots of books!

Me and my Nashville peeps

Hey, Nashville peeps–thanks so much for showing me the love tonight. We had a great signing for THE FIXER UPPER at Davis-Kidd Books here. I’ve been signing books at this store since I first started getting published–17 books ago, and the welcome in Nashville is always so warm and down-home. I even had a chance to catch up on two old, old friends from my hometown of St. Petersburg. I’ve known Joe since he was four and I was five, I think. Our mothers were best friends, and our older sisters were close friends too. As for Bruce, his older sister is one of my oldest, dearest friends. So we had a Bay Point Junior High reunion, right there in Davis-Kidd. I’m off to Lexington, KY. and Joseph-Beth Books in the morning–and if you Tenn-Ky. readers have any good junking suggestions for the trip up there, send ’em my way.

And we’re off!



The first week of publication for THE FIXER UPPER was busy. Okay, it was a blur. I remember the launch party–which was great fun. I remember the first signing, at Barnes & Noble in Buckhead, also big fun, especially catching up with former newspaper colleagues and loyal fans. After that it gets a little hazy. I drove to Highlands, NC, and spent an afternoon with Claire and Arthur Simpson, the charming owners of Cyrano’s Books. We sold tons of books, even for what Arthur termed “a dead-ass Wednesday afternoon.” The North Carolina mountains were beautiful–green and much cooler than the flatlands of Atlanta. I even spotted a great billboard on U.S. 441 advertising “Bates Cottages–NOT affiliated with the Bates Motel.” Had to laugh out loud. Flew from Asheville to Atlanta–and then on to Raleigh on Thursday, where I immediately cabbed over to Salon ROI for some intensive care from my buddy Roi–who I met when I shopped his yard sale six years ago after we moved to Raleigh. After Roi clipped and dipped me–and slapped some makeup on me, I scooted over to Quail Ridge Books. Owner Nancy Olsen has been a long-time friend and supporter–going back to the days when I wrote the Callahan Garrity mysteries under my real name–which is Kathy Hogan Trocheck–in case you didn’t know. Nancy and I got a few minutes to chat and catch up on book gossip, and then it was over to dinner with The Scribblers, my NC writers group. Although a couple of the gals couldn’t make it, it was great to see my mystery mama Margaret Maron, Sarah Shaber, Bren Witchger and Alex Sokoloff, as well as mystery maven Molly Weston and her friend. While we were in the restaurant, I happened to look at the television in the bar and see the shocking news about Michael Jackson. But no time to reflect, because it was showtime at Quail Ridge Books. We had a huge turnout, and it was wonderful to see so many old friends, including a couple of my Crusader baseball mom friends from Boomerang Boy’s days at Cardinal Gibbons High School. Boy, did we spend some time in those bleachers during all those baseball games. And boy, do I miss those days of listening to the crack of the bat. I left tons of signed copies of THE FIXER UPPER behind at QRB, so if you didn’t get there Thursday night, don’t worry, there are plenty of autographed books still there. Friday morning, I flew to Memphis. I thought Atlanta was hot, but Memphis, hoo-boy, Memphis was boiling. Still, we had a nice turnout at Books-a-Million in Southhaven, Miss. And then I went back to my hotel room, turned up the AC and watched the bargain DVD of BYE-BYE BIRDIE I picked up at BAM. Talk about a blast from the past–and so appropriate to watch in Memphis, home of Elvis, since Birdie is a spoof of Elvis mania. I flew home Saturday morning, and we’ve spent the weekend celebrating the wedding of good friends Jack and Shay. In between parties, I’ve been doing laundry and re-packing my suitcase. In the morning, I’m off for Nashville, for a signing at Davis-Kidd Books Monday night at 7pm at the Mall at Green Hills. And hey, you peeps in Lexington, KY, I’m headed your way Tuesday night for a signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Lexington Green Circle, which my publisher just informed me about. Then, Thursday, I’ll be at Page & Palette in Fairhope, ALA. As Diana Ross and the Supremes would say, come see about me. On Friday, I’ll head over to Savannah for a signing at Seaside Sisters on Tybee Island at 11 am, and then Mr. Mary Kay and I will have the weekend off, biking around the island with an adult beverage in our handlebar koozies, watching fireworks, and most likely, fixing crabcakes. I’ll report in when I can. Until then, stay cool.

Fixer Upper Contest–with Eddie Ross


Last week when he was here for his Scott’s Antique Market shop-a-thon, Top Design super-star Eddie Ross and I cooked up a little contest to celebrate this week’s publication of THE FIXER UPPER. So here’s the deal:
Leave me a comment about one item in your home on which you’d like to have Eddie perform his FIXER UPPER magic. Maybe it’s that tired country cutesy kitchen window treatment, or your Aunt Mildred’s fugly mahogany china cabinet, or maybe it’s a sofa—a dreaded plaid Herculon nightmare from your early John Denver decorating phase. We’ll have a random drawing, and one winner will win a FIXER UPPER photo consult with Eddie. This means you’ll email him a photo of the item in question, and he’ll come up with a magical solution to your design dilemma. And I’ll send you a personally autographed copy of THE FIXER UPPER. Deadline is midnight June 30. Let’s review:
1. Comments only.
2. Only one potential fixer-upper item please, not an entire room. Eddie’s a genius, but he’s not Houdini!
3. Do NOT send me a photo of your item. When we announce the winner, that person and that person ONLY can email a photo of the fixer upper item.
4. We’re talking inanimate objects. Let’s keep it clean, okay?
5. Eddie’s FIXER UPPER solution will involve suggestions. He’s really not prepared to show up at your crib brandishing a can of spray paint and a glue gun.