There's a story here.
Join Fred, a very forgetful heron, as he embarks on an important mission tonight! With the help of his friend, Sandi Piper, Fred is tasked with lighting the Fairhope Christmas tree. Experience the magic and wonder of this special celebration in the charming town of Fairhope!
About Hannah V Warren
Originally from Ellisville, a small town in Jones County, Mississippi, Hannah V Warren is a poet, translator, literary critic, and Fulbright Scholar living in Birmingham, AL. She is the author of Slaughterhouse for Old Wives’ Tales (2024) and two chapbooks. Her poetry has appeared in Gulf Coast, Passages North, THRUSH, Fairy Tale Review and Crazyhorse/swamp pink, among others. She has a PhD in literature from the University of Georgia, an MFA in creative writing from the University of Kansas, and a BA in English from Mississippi State University. Hannah’s writing and research interests focus on the grotesque, post/apocalypse narratives, and representations of alterity. She has a vested interested in how women experience, suffer, and embrace Southern Gothic landscapes—all themes which appear in her current projects; she is developing a poetry collection that examines the intersections of trauma and monstrous bodies, as well as a speculative novel that considers ritual, gender norms, and post-apocalyptic social restructuring. In addition to Slaughterhouse, Hannah is the author of two chapbooks: Southern Gothic Corpse Machine (Carrion Bloom 2022) and [re]construction of the necromancer (2020), which won Sundress Publications’ 2019 chapbook contest. Hannah also translates German poetry; her recent translations of Alexandra Bernhardt’s work are in Denver Quarterly and Action Books.
About the Book:
"we live with the horrors of our own bodies / ornamented machines gnawing into the future / we may as well feed them dried plums / & pretend to love our young"
Slaughterhouse for Old Wives' Tales, Hannah V Warren's full-length debut, is a visceral collection that is not only read but also felt in the body. These fertile poemstrace the lineage of hunger from mother to daughter to sister. Beginning with an excavation of dinosaurs, Warren's writing explores evolution-where we come from, what we offer, and what is left behind "when we plant our tree bodies." This is a collection of bones and organs. The line between flesh and earth, human and animal, blurs in its gorgeous, gruesome descriptions. Warren weaves language in ways that birth new meaning- "tender gash," "rotmouth," "skindamp," "lung-wide." Slaughterhouse for Old Wives' Tales will leave you breathless, haunted, and ravenous for more.
Come by Page & Palette to meet our local authors and artists - Alan Samry from 1-3pm and JD Crowe from 3-5pm on Open House!
Come by Page & Palette on Saturday, November 30th at 1pm to meet and talk to David Preston with his books!
Ever wondered what the lives of the unidentified soldiers buried at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery were like? In 1917, the United States entered World War. I, the war to end all wars. One of the most famous American divisions in the war was the 42nd Rainbow Division. An integral part of that division was the 167th Alabama. This story follows what could have been the experiences and lives of those men that fought galliantly and bravely in some of the fiercest fighting along the Western Front. This coming of age story follows a young man from a small Southwest Alabama town that goes out into the world to find adventure and finds himself and his friends in the middle of the fighting.
David was born in Gurden, Arkansas. He lived there a whole week and then his family moved to the Dallas, Texas area. While living in the Dallas area suburb of Plano, his mother pased away when he was 11 months old. At the age of 5 and a half, his family moved to the Memphis, Tennessee suburb of Hernando, Mississippi.At the end of middle school, his family moved to the Mobile, Alabama area, where he has resided ever since.
David graduated “Thank The Lurd” from Daphne High School in Daphne, Alabama in 1999. He attended Faulkner State Community College (now Alabama Coastal Community College) and the University of South Alabama, where he majored in Political Science.
David has been a Business Owner, political columnist and Reporter. He ran for Daphne C ity Council in Daphne, Alabama at age 19 in 2000, loosing to an entrenched incumbent by less than 200 votes.
David currently resides in Mobile, Alabama with his four dogs, Moonpie (a Yorkie and the boss of the house), Sampson Beauregard, Starla Grace, and Ziva (all Weimaraners).
For fun, David likes to write and visit historical places and about knew people.
Join Fred, a very forgetful heron, as he embarks on an important mission tonight! With the help of his friend, Sandi Piper, Fred is tasked with lighting the Fairhope Christmas tree. Experience the magic and wonder of this special celebration in the charming town of Fairhope!
Join us for a Keeper of Lost Cities Fan Gathering! On Tuesday, December 5th at 5pm, we're celebrating the release of Book 9.5, UNRAVELED! Meet other Keeper fans, participate in themed activities, and test your knowledge on all things Keeper of the Lost Cities!
Get ready for our fan event by pre-ordering your copy of UNRAVELED. Visit the following link or stop by P&P!
Keeper Of The Lost Cities Pre-Sale
ABOUT THE BOOK
The past and present unravel into staggering truths in this can’t-miss installment of the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Keeper of the Lost Cities series told entirely from Keefe’s point of view.
Please be careful. Please be happy. And PLEASE forget all about me. It’ll be better for everyone that way.
Those were the last words Keefe Sencen wrote to Sophie Foster before he ran away to the Forbidden Cities. He didn’t want to leave, but it was the only way to keep his friends safe while he figured out how to control his scary new powers and searched for answers about his past.
What he found was so much more than adventures in Humanland.
Where did he go? What did he do? And who did he meet while the rest of his friends worked to solve the mystery of Stellarlune? The answers go far beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined and give Keefe the power to change his destiny.
Join us on Thursday, December 5th at 6PM to meet Signe Pike and hear all about to her newest book in the Lost Queen series, The Shadowed Land. Ms. Pike will be in-conversation with P&P’s Anderson McKean.
Scotland, AD 580: A queen has risen. A battle has been won. Loved ones who were lost have been reunited. But in a land of power-hungry kings, peace is precarious and cannot last for long. All too soon, circumstance pulls both Britons and Scots back to their own destinies. The warrior Artúr receives a mysterious summons from his father in Dalriada. Queen Languoreth and her brother must return to Strathclyde with the dangerous former bishop Mungo in tow, determined to maintain the fragile balance between the Christians and the people of the Old Way. Meanwhile, the young priestess Angharad must travel deep into the shadowed land of the Picts, hoping to become the initiate of Briochan, a druid who practices the secret Celtic art of weather work. As they rise to meet their fates, they are pushed to impossible new frontiers: each must decide whether they are willing to do what it takes to become the heroes their harrowing days demand. Set in the sprawling historical landscape of early medieval Scotland, Pike’s critically acclaimed retelling of the Arthurian saga thrusts readers into a world of ambition, loyalty and love, revealing truths that have for too long been buried by legend.
“A legend-steeped story of the real King Arthur and his contemporaries, The Shadowed Land is full of mystery and Celtic magic, shimmering lochs and verdant glens, snow-cloaked mountains and deep forests, fierce battles and fragile love. Deeply researched, sweeping, and utterly compelling, The Shadowed Land is this winter’s can’t-miss historical epic.”
—Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Daughter
Signe Pike is the author of The Lost Queen series, which has been optioned for television, and the travel memoir Faery Tale. The series (originally a trilogy) is being developed as a television series by Made Up Stories after Bruna Papandrea won the rights in a competitive Hollywood auction in 2018.
Signe Pike was born in Ithaca, NY, and graduated from Cornell University with her Bachelor of Science in Communication. She worked as an acquisitions editor at Random House and then Penguin before leaving to write her first book, a travel memoir entitled Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World. Pike has researched and written about Celtic history for the past fifteen years.
“When you have lived a life as long as mine, you come to understand that all gods, and all stories, are different names for the same thing. Beneath it all, there is one god with many faces, but always one god. There is one story with many variations, but always the same ending.”
On Saturday, December 7th at 10:00 AM, join us for a fun-filled photo op and storytime with the Pigeon from Mo Willems’ new Christmas Classic, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!
You’ll snow want the special Pigeon Christmas activities and yummy treats, too.
From #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning author and illustrator Mo Willems comes a new holiday classic.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—for driving a sleigh! ’Tis also the season—for driving a sleigh! Oh, and joy to the—driving a sleigh! The Pigeon has made a list and checked it once. Can his holiday dream come true? Or will The Pigeon be left out in the cold?
You’ll share some HO-HO-HOs and HA-HA-HAs finding out in three-time Caldecott Honoree Mo Willems’ ninth Pigeon book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!
Kelli: My life was fine. I worked, went home, and spent time with my best friend. Until I gained some unwanted attention, that is. To keep me safe, my childhood crush hides me away with him and his two roommates, who are also ridiculously attractive. Can I stay here for weeks without falling for one of them... or all of them?
Brian: She's my brother's best friend and the love of my life. I've been keeping an eye on her from afar for years. But when her life is in danger, I do the only thing I can... keep her safe and hidden with me. Can my heart handle having her so close, yet not having her to myself?
Josh: I've always been the quiet one who prefers to be alone. Then she came along. She's a ray of sunshine in my darkness and a woman I shouldn't want. The need to keep her safe is ingrained in me, I just need to separate those feelings. Can I manage that when she is burrowing her way into my heart?
Logan: Our home has been missing something for a while. We've been doing the bare minimum, surviving, but not really living. Then we took Kelli in and she pulled on all of our heartstrings. Now all I can see is her. If we keep her safe, can we just keep her?
DO YOU HAVE AGING PARENTS AND THE STRESS OF KNOWING YOU WILL BE SETTLING THEIR ESTATE SOMEDAY? DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE STRATEGIES AVAILABLE THAT YOU CAN IMPLEMENT WHILE THEY’RE ALIVE TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY?
In the delicate balance of aging parents and looming inheritance, the responsibilities of managing their finances can be overwhelming. But what if these duties could be transformed into a proactive game plan that benefits not only your parents but your entire family?
The Inheritance Playbook explores the nuances of serving as power of attorney, sharing insights you can apply to your own family’s unique circumstances. Author and expert Chad Holmes weaves complex tax-saving strategies into relatable, entertaining parables, making advanced financial concepts accessible and easy to comprehend. The strategies shared here aren’t reserved for the ultra-wealthy; they are tailored for any family navigating the emotional journey of losing a loved one and the fear of wasting the inheritance on unnecessary taxes and expenses.
In this engaging, occasionally humorous narrative, you will learn:
What probate is and why you would typically want to avoid it
The benefits of being proactive before your parents pass away
What information you need to know now to avoid stress and headaches later
The tax strategies that can be done for free and don’t require a fancy trust
Simple hacks to maximize your inheritance and avoid unnecessary money loss
The time to act is now. Embark on a transformative journey that guides your family to take advantage of less-known tax laws to save money and simplify the estate settling process. Keep the torch of your parents’ legacy shining brighter for longer. Get a copy now!
Join us Friday, January 10th to listen to Fiona Davis talk about her newest book, THE STOLEN QUEEN, along with Patti Callahan Henry. The book is available for pre-sales and will come out on January 7th! This is a ticketed event, each book sale is a ticket and will guarantee a seat within the Book Cellar.
From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back.
Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. But after an unbearable tragedy strikes, Charlotte knows her future will never be the same.
New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for iconic former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.” Though Annie soon realizes she’ll have her work cut out for her, scrambling to meet Diana’s capricious demands and exacting standards.
Meanwhile, Charlotte, now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art, wants little to do with the upcoming gala. She’s consumed with her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.
That is, until the night of the gala. When one of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing . . . and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening.
As Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they’re to have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.
F I O N A D A V I S is the New York Times bestselling author of seven historical fiction novels set in iconic New York City buildings, including The Spectacular, The Magnolia Palace, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her articles have appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal and the Oprah magazine.
She first came to New York as an actress, but fell in love with writing after getting a master's degree at Columbia Journalism School. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages and she's based in New York City.
“In this tantalizing latest from New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art takes center stage in a fast-paced tale that spans from 1936 Egypt to 1978 Manhattan. Davis is known for framing stories around New York City landmark buildings, and in The Stolen Queen, the Met comes to life on the page with her trademark touch. But she also delves into Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, and into some fascinating mysteries related to both ancient Egypt and to a 20th century tragedy. You’ll fall in love with the strong Charlotte and the plucky Annie as they face the reawakening of a legendary curse and the surfacing of long-buried secrets, all to the chaotic and fascinating backdrop of Diana Vreeland’s famed Met Gala in its 1970s heyday. The Stolen Queen is a powerful ode to both the magic of New York City and the resilience of the human spirit, set both in the storied Met and in the rock-cut pharaohs’ tombs of Egypt”
Come by and celebrate the new release of Onyx Storm (#3 in Fourth Wing series), by Rebecca Yarros, on Monday, January 20th!
Born in Bosnia, a boy was uprooted by civil war and thrust into a life displaced. Arriving in a new country, not once, but twice, he faces challenges of language barriers, cultural differences, and starting over. Always an outsider, always looking for a community, a resting place, a home. The young refugee finds solace in the beautiful game. Determined to pursue his quest for identity, he searches across continents for a football club that he sees himself in and will help him realize his dream of finding a community of like-minded people. The story explores themes of hope, perseverance, and the power of football to unite people from different backgrounds.
Debby Hackbarth is a retired teacher, learning specialist, and administrator. Debby's fifty years in various educational settings helped her understand that all students enjoy using their imaginations. Debby is a survivor as she was born six weeks early and developed R.O.P., so she has low vision. She knows what it means to overcome tough situations in life. First of all, Debby is a professional author who has written the Glisten Trilogy - three separate books highlighting the Fairhope Dragon - along with the companion coloring book. Debby believes people around the work are captivated by the dragons around us. The Glisten books feature the challenges and adventures of Glisten, a tiny dragon, born very early, who thrived in the beautiful climate of Baldwin County, AL. The exciting books are for sale at Page and Palette in Fairhope, AL where Debby has had author signings. She has also published poetry. Secondly, Debby is a professional artist. At Melt and More in Fairhope, she sold gnomes and other art - canvases that featured black and white sketches of animals and coastal scenes. She uses recycled wood in her creations. Finally, through her business - HAART, LLC - Debby provides private professional tutoring sessions. She is well qualified to work with students of all ages because she has been working in the field since 1972 and she has two separate Master's Degrees in Education: Special Education (Learning Disabilities) and Curriculum/Instruction (Literacy). She sells Memory Magic - a supplemental program to enhance reading, writing, and spelling skills for students of all ages.
This memoir is a remarkable compilation of prose, poetry, and a plethora of precious photographs. It tells my story and it is meant to be an encouragement for all people who struggle with visual disabilities and low vision as well as those who are smaller than most through premature birth or heredity. The font used is best for folks with challenged vision.
Over the past several years, I have been able to gather photographs of my parents and their families. Many photos have already been passed onto our children and grandchildren. However, many remaining snapshots are included here to assist in telling my tale.
I have recalled stories and information to the best of my memory as both of my parents and their families have passed away. If I have made errors or misrepresentations, I apologize and hope you may gather inspiration from my trek through time.
Come by Page & Palette on Sunday, November 17th to meet Nancy Dennis, a St. James member who has been a huge advocate for showcasing and selling the limited copies of Fairhope Favorites cookbook. Come by to buy as supplies last!
Born in 1936, in Naples, Italy, to a newly widowed mother, he could not know that his Mamma had two other children to raise, and she worked long hours in a bomb factory in war-torn Italy. His father had been killed before he was born, so he never had a father to teach him how to become a good man. WWII provided a severe backdrop and a formative time for Andréa.
When he meets American soldiers at the end of WWII, he dreams of going to America, the “Land of Milk and Honey,” and becoming successful, being able to have enough to eat, to find true love, to have a family, and to actually live the “American Dream.”
Join us on Wednesday, November 13th at 6PM to meet Paul Brueske and hear all about his newest nonfiction book, DIGGING ALL NIGHT AND FIGHTING ALL DAY: The Civil War Siege of Spanish Fort and the Mobile Campaign, 1865.
The bloody two-week siege of Spanish Fort, Alabama (March 26–April 8, 1865) was one of the final battles of the Civil War. Despite its importance and fascinating history, surprisingly little has been written about it. Many considered the fort as the key to holding the important seaport of Mobile, which surrendered to Maj. Gen. Edward R. S. Canby on April 12, 1865. Paul Brueske’s “Digging All Night and Fighting All Day”: The Civil War Siege of Spanish Fort and the Mobile Campaign, 1865 is the first full-length study of this subject.
General U. S. Grant had long set his eyes on capturing Mobile. Its fall would eliminate the vital logistical center and put one of the final nails in the coffin of the Confederacy. On January 18, 1865, Grant ordered General Canby to move against Mobile, Montgomery, and Selma and destroy anything useful to the enemy’s war effort. The reduction of Spanish Fort, along with Fort Blakeley—the primary obstacles to taking Mobile—was a prerequisite to capturing the city.
After the devastating Tennessee battles of Franklin and Nashville in late 1864, many Federals believed Mobile’s garrison—which included a few battered brigades and most of the artillery units from the Army of Tennessee—did not have much fight left and would evacuate the city rather than fight. They did not. Despite being outnumbered about 10 to 1, 33-year-old Brig. Gen. Randall Lee Gibson mounted a skillful and spirited defense that “considerably astonished” his Union opponents. The siege and battle that unfolded on the rough and uneven bluffs of Mobile Bay’s eastern shore, fought mainly by veterans of the principal battles of the Western Theater, witnessed every offensive and defensive art known to war.
Paul Brueske, a graduate student of history at the University of South Alabama, marshaled scores of primary source materials, including letters, diaries, reports, and newspaper accounts to produce an outstanding study of a little known but astonishingly important event rife with acts of heroism that rivaled any battle of the war. It will proudly occupy a space on the bookshelf of any serious student of the war.
You are invited to a night of stories from Our Southern Souls on Tuesday, November 12th at 6PM. Lynn Oldshue will talk about finding stories and chat with two folks featured in the new book: 90-year-old Alma Atkins from Fairhope, and singer-songwriter Kristy Lee. Kristy will also play a few songs as Lynn signs books.
The book will be available for purchase at Page & Palette on October 20th!
The second book from Our Southern Souls is a collection of 160 stories and many more photographs capturing the essence of Southern life through the eyes of the people Lynn encountered on sidewalks, streets, and parks throughout the South. Many of them are completely random, that's what leads to a diversity of stories. Stories of love, family, history, loss, recovery, fresh starts, and making dreams happen. Stories that are personal and revealing. Sometimes it's the first, or last, time someone told their story. Readers often find pieces of themselves in these stories, resonating with shared experiences and emotions. Each story feels like a warm, genuine conversation, offering comfort and connection.
Lynn grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and lives with her husband, John, on a little farm outside of Fairhope. The Mississippi Delta and the Mobile area are her favorite places for pictures and stories, but she takes this everywhere for her blog, Our Southern Souls. The Souls project began almost nine years ago, inspired by her experience writing about bus riders in Mobile, Alabama. She spent months on the buses, listening to the everyday tales of those who rely on public transportation for all aspects of their lives. Lynn is also an award-winning journalist for Lagniappe and Alabama Public Radio. She won the 2024 Nappie Award for "Best Baldwinian Right Now."
Website: www.OurSouthernSouls.com
Follow Souls on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OurSouthernSouls
Come by the Page & Palette on November 9th to meet and talk to Wyatt Waters with his book The Watercolor Road, along with his beautifully illustrated 2025 calendar.
Experience the American South through the expressive paintings and musings of renowned master watercolorist, Wyatt Waters. His rambling and wandering through the southern trail deliver an impressive collection of 133 paintings, 21 essays, and an array of adages that depicts both the South and his relentless trek to be a better painter as a mindset rather than a destination.
The Watercolor Road captures the artist’s longing ambition to explore and present this place he calls home in plein air watercolor. Pulling a 16-foot Casita travel trailer behind his Pastormobile, Wyatt roams the rural and urban, country roads and highways, oceans and forests, BBQ joints and local diners — expressing his visceral connection to each locale with his vivid images. His pictorial explorations span from the Arkansas plateaus to the Louisiana bayous, the Blue Ridge Mountains to the low country marshes of South Carolina, across southern farmlands and down to the balmy Florida Keys — with all points in between.
Having long contemplated his feelings and observations on painting and living through his writings — in this book, Wyatt shares the many truths he has learned along the way and how he applies them to his art and to his life.
The Watercolor Road will appeal to aficionados of southern culture as well as those who enjoy the act of painting and desire a deeper understanding of the “whys" of painting more so than the “how-to’s”.
A prolific painter, renowned watercolorist Wyatt Waters has painted about as long as he has been alive — starting with lessons before he was school-aged until earning a master’s degree in art at Mississippi College, where he received the Belleman award for art and creative writing. In his unrelenting quest of becoming a better painter, Wyatt draws on the influences of masters such as John Singer-Sargent, Edward Hopper, and William Hollingsworth.
Waters works solely on location – preferring the challenges that both plein air and watercolor present. His philosophy is “if it is interesting to see, it can be a painting.” This approach has led to the recent release of The Watercolor Road | Painting and Writing through the American South, as well as the publication of seven very successful books including Another Coat of Paint, Painting Home, An Oxford Sketchbook, and in collaboration with Mississippi restauranteur, Robert St. John, A Southern Palate, Southern Seasons, An Italian Palate, and A Mississippi Palate. Additionally, Wyatt can be found on Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s television series, Palate to Palette, with St. John — a traveling culinary and art series set in Italy and Mississippi. He has also illustrated covers and interiors for 17 other books through various publishers.
A recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Mississippi Institute for Arts and Letters (An Oxford Sketchbook), and the Mississippi Library Association’s Special Award (A Southern Palate), Wyatt and his work have been featured in numerous magazines such as Plein Air, American Artist, American Watercolor, and Arts & Antiques.
Ever the teacher, Wyatt conducts workshops throughout the Southeast, as well as in Italy and the Caribbean. He served two years as a faculty member for Plein Air South — an annual gathering of regional plein air organizations and painting groups.
Wyatt has had numerous solo exhibitions at museums such as MS Museum of Art, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Meridian Museum of Art, and Jackson Municipal Gallery. His work can be found in both corporate and private collections, including those of two former presidents and several U.S. senators. He also is a past president and founding member of the Mississippi Watercolor Society and has had paintings in the national exhibitions of the National Watercolor Society and the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic.
Open since 1999, Water’s eponymous gallery is located on the brick streets of the Olde Towne business district in Clinton, Mississippi and was recently recognized as Best Gallery in Mississippi by Mississippi Magazine. The Gallery features the catalogue of his original work and giclée prints. Following Wyatt’s belief that art is for everyone, the Gallery houses a gift shop where a variety of affordable imprinted gift items can be found, including prints, books, stationary, and apparel.
When they are not traveling, Wyatt and his wife, Kristi, reside in Clinton, just around the corner from the Gallery.
Join us on Thursday, November 7th at 6PM to meet and greet the ladies who support our fabulous community. showcased in the 2025 Fascinating Females of Fairhope calendar.
All proceeds from the calendar go to ART with a Purpose, a non-profit that transforms lives through the POWER of ART.
Butterfly Fly is a wellness-centric children’s book that incorporates Biblical themes while focusing on the author's adult (and childhood) journey to cultivating more self-awareness, hope, and freedom in life. The intention of this story is to also teach children how to regulate and worship with their breath. But children and adults alike will love this book!
About the author:
Morgan Tyner was born in Memphis, Tennessee. For many years, she always envisioned writing a children’s book. Her passion for writing and connecting with other people has been a God-given compass throughout her life . Morgan has loved butterflies since she was a child. She has memories of dancing around in the yard with them. She also has so many memories of butterflies landing on her, and those moments felt like magic. They remind her of peace, grace, and freedom. This experience gave her the idea of bringing butterflies into the story. Morgan has always felt an empathic connection to people around her. She has a passion for creating a space for authentic freedom, empowerment, & self-connection. “With each breath we take, we have the opportunity to connect deeper to our God-given callings, aliveness, and peace”, Morgan shares. “Understanding our own identity is key to that powerful connection”. Morgan’s intention for this book is to show readers the goodness of God. She also intends to provide applicable steps for both children and adults to cultivate more self-awareness and hope in their life.
Join us to meet Ellen Skrmetti, Instagram star and comedian, on Sunday, October 27th at 4 PM in the Book Cellar as she discusses her newest book, "Hey Jesus, It’s Me." This delightful read offers sketches of a middle-aged Southern woman's thoughts on mamas, menopause, and menus—along with a little advice for the Lord regarding those unspoken prayer requests.
As a young girl, Ellen Skrmetti loved performing. She starred in plays, sang in the church choir, and even compete in the Miss Mississippi pageant. But backstage at the pageant, she was gripped by severe stage fright and made a deal with God: If you help me get through this, I will never, ever get onstage again. After successfully hitting the high note in “Adelaide’s Lament” from the musical Guys and Dolls, she packed up her drama clothes for good—or so she thought.
When the pandemic hit, Ellen longed to bring a little joy to the dark struggles the world was facing. She thought about all of times she’d asked Jesus to walk with her through pain and heartache—and how often He’d laughed with or comforted her, even during her blazing hot flashes. So she decided to share that message with others, in 30-second videos on Instagram that quickly went viral.
Holding a remote control in her hand, Ellen "calls" Jesus with comments and questions, including asking Him not to make her an advance maternal age mama (again) and if He could bless the nourishment of her food to someone else’s body. She also asks for advice when her best friend’s ex-husband’s new wife shows up in the next pew, or what nursing home plans to make when she's eight years past your first geriatric pregnancy.
From a pageant queen with stage fright, to viral videos, to her growing popularity as a stand-up comedian with sold-out performances, Ellen’s humor is rooted in southern charm and culture. Her relatable stories in Hey Jesus, It’s Me will bring levity to our lives, or at least some validation that we’re not the only ones asking if we can ghost our relatives in heaven.
Software is developed by Dr. Ben Hargett to control human minds hoping to heal the tormented and deranged. It creates the sounds and pulses that mimic human brainwaves replacing those that are defective. But it has been hijacked by men who wish to use it to rule the world through mind control.
Mark your calendar for a P&P DIARY OF A WIMPY KID Release Party! On Tuesday, October 22 at 5PM, come celebrate the release of Book 19, HOT MESS. Pick up your copy and show off your Wimpy Kid knowledge with some fun games and trivia. We’ll have some not-so-messy snacks and giveaways as well!
Visit the following link to pre-order your copy of DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: HOT MESS or stop by P&P!
HOT MESS (Pre-Sale, 10/22) — Page & Palette (pageandpalette.com)
Come by Page & Palette to meet James Sturdivant and talk about his book, One Promiscuous Ruin.
In the summer of 1813, an increasingly crowded group of settlers gathered in an improvised fortification located on the Alabama River in what is now Baldwin County. They strived to avoid attack by hostile "Redsticks," Creek warriors who yearned to return to a way of life free from the advancing European and American cultures. Embracing the policies of Shawnee chief Tecumseh, these warriors, led by William Weatherford, banded together to inflict one of the most serious military defeats in American history. Such a victory was not inevitable or even likely. Rather, it was achieved due to a combination of hubris, ignorance, racism, and fickle fate. This is the story of that defeat. It is a work of historical fiction, but the broad outline of events and most characters depicted are based upon recorded history.
James Sturdivant lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where he is a practicing attorney who specializes in white collar defense and complex government investigations. His family is made up of his lovely wife Susan, four sons, and one granddaughter. This is his first novel.
But ask the animals and they will teach you.
During Jesus's earthly ministry He employed a teaching practice using parables. He told earthly stories and used them as a means of illustrating profound, divine truths. For those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, a parable is a rich way of illustrating the deeper things of God. This collection of true stories about horses is both entertaining and insightful. As you're being entertained, your spirit is being nourished. May your ears be open to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit, teaching and instructing you as you read the stories told by a horse whisperer.
Join Erin Adkinson, our Bartender, for her her yoga classes every third Satruday in the Book Cellar and then Have a refreshing Cocktail right after!!
Due to Football seasons kicking off, this will be the last yoga class of the year!! You can’t miss it!!
Join us on Thursday, October 27th at 6PM to meet C.H. Hooks and hear all about to his newest book, Can’t Shake the Dust. Mr. Hooks will be in-conversation with Caleb Johnson, author of Treeborne.
Buckle Up for a High-Octane Ride through the South's Shadowed Heart In Can’ t Shake the Dust, "Little" Bill Lemon, III, stands at the crossroads of a troubled legacy. From the notorious "Monkey Palace," his grandfather's bar, to the enigmatic history of his father, Wild, to his mother's questionable dog-breeding business, Little takes to the dirt track every Saturday night, racing to outpace the looming shadows of his family's past. Behind the wheel of a ramshackle DIY car, in a place where scarcity reigns— be it money, jobs, food, or even soap to cleanse the stubborn Georgia red dirt— Little teeters on the edge of self-destruction and redemption. As he navigates life on the fringe of Southern backroads, the weight of his ancestry threatens to pull him under. While checkered flags may elude him on the track, Little possesses the heart of a true champion. Readers will find themselves on their feet in the stands, rallying for him as he plunges headfirst into a turbulent voyage of self-discovery and survival. Can’ t Shake the Dust is an exhilarating tale of resilience, tenacity, and the indomitable spirit of those who dare to race against all odds.
C.H. Hooks is the author of the novels Can't Shake the Dust (2024) and Alligator Zoo-Park Magic (2019). His work has appeared in print and online publications including: The Los Angeles Review, American Short Fiction, Four Way Review, The Tampa Review, The Bitter Southerner, and Burrow Press. He has been a Tennessee Williams Scholar and Contributor at Sewanee Writers' Conference, and attended DISQUIET: Dzanc Books International Literary Program. He teaches at Flagler College, and lives and sails in St. Augustine.
Hooks was raised around the South, bridging the border of Florida and Georgia and crossing it repeatedly to live. He is intrigued by the mystical and off-beat sides of the people he meets, and explores those parts of humanity in his characters. Hooks travels the backroads and waters of his state and region to keep the landscape fresh in his writing.
“Strap in and let C.H.Hooks take you on a gonzo ride through the racing circuits and strip malls of South Georgia. Can’t Shake the Dust is a singular addition to the South’s raucous storytelling tradition. As much about aging as coming of age, Can’t Shake the Dust takes you beyond-the-track and into the blue-collar lives of those who can’t quit this beautiful, DIY sport. At once hilarious, strange, and tender—this brilliant novel you won’t soon forget. Long live the Lemons racing dynasty! ”
The very definition of ‘memoir’ is that you look at a life, and then ignore most of it. Jule Moon is a loving friend who shares stories and wisdom with me from her multifaceted experience. There are no dull moments with Jule. I visit one or two times a week, not to cheer her up, but to sit at her knee and laugh or cry at her indefinable brilliance. You are now 105. Truth is, I will not be prepared to lose your loving friendship at any age.
Join us on Wednesday, October 9th at 6PM to meet Diane McPhail, bestselling author of the The Seamstress of New Orleans, with her newest book, Follow the Stars Home.
In 1811, as the Great Comet blazed overhead, a young mom most people have never heard of braved treacherous waters, violent earthquakes, societal strictures, and hostile attacks to chart the course for westward expansion and redefine a newly formed America in incalculable ways. She would do much of it while 8 months pregnant and all with a toddler in tow.
It’s a journey that most deem an insane impossibility. Yet on October 20th, 1811, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt daughter of one of the architects of the United States Capitol—fearlessly boards the steamship New Orleans in Pittsburgh. Eight months pregnant and with a toddler in tow, Lydia is fiercely independent despite her youth. She’s also accustomed to defying convention. Against her father’s wishes, she married his much older business colleague, inventor Nicholas Roosevelt—builder of the New Orleans—and spent her honeymoon on a primitive flatboat. But the stakes for this trip are infinitely higher.
If Nicholas’s untried steamboat reaches New Orleans, it will serve as a profitable packet ship between that city and Natchez, proving the power of steam as it travels up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Success in this venture would revolutionize travel and trade, open the west to expansion, and secure the Roosevelts’ future. Lydia had used her own architectural training to help design the steamship’s interior and wouldn’t dream of missing its momentous maiden voyage. She believes her family should be together for this journey, that she is ready for all the dangers ahead – growing unrest among native people, disease or injury, and the turbulent Falls of the Ohio.
But there are other challenges in store, impossible to predict as Lydia boards that fall day. Challenges which—if survived—will haunt and transform her, as surely as the journey will alter the course of a nation . . .
Diane C. McPhail is an artist, minister, and acclaimed author of Follow the Stars Home, The Abolitionist’s Daughter, and The Seamstress of New Orleans, which was a finalist for the Thomas Wolf Fiction Award and the Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters Award. A graduate of Ole Miss, Duke Writers, University of Iowa Distance, and the Yale Writers' Conference, she is a member of NC Writers Network and the Historical Novel Society. She was born in Jackson, MS, raised on the Mississippi Delta only miles from the river, and now lives in Highlands, North Carolina with her husband and dog.
“From the captivating first line, The Seamstress of New Orleans transports the reader to the mystery and sultry magic of New Orleans. With McPhail’s acclaimed and atmospheric prose, The Seamstress of New Orleans is a tale of well-guarded secrets, societal bonds that must be broken, and women’s powerful resilience. A powerful and fascinating story.”
You are invited to attend the launch party on October 8th at 6pm to hear Leslie Anne introduce the book. Southern refreshments will be provided by Piggly Wiggly. All preorders in September will receive a free We Don’t Push in Fairhope sticker.
Purchase your copy of We Don’t Push in Fairhope by Leslie Anne Tarabella before the release date in October here - We Don't Push in Fairhope (Pre-sale)
What's it like living in a charming town that is growing faster than Kudzu in July? We Don't Push in Fairhope is a delightful collection of humorous and heartwarming tales of the people and places that make Fairhope, Alabama, unique. A mix of travelogue and memoir, We Don't Push in Fairhope provides readers with an inside glimpse of a small town with quirky folks and costume-wearing dogs. Readers will learn about the Walking School Bus, teens locked in the old jail, why a cookout is not a barbecue, and the revelation that an insulated casserole tote is the best thing since Miss Mississippi discovered hot rollers. This book is a must-read stroll through a beautiful Southern town.
For over a decade, Leslie Anne’s newspaper column, Southern With a Gulf Coast Accent, covered the unique character of the Gulf Coast region. Her books, The Majorettes are Back in Town, Exploding Hushpuppies, and Bringing Christmas Home, have brought laughter and tears to readers of all ages. Leslie Anne is a polished speaker and a contributor to Wisdom Harbour, the website of New York Times bestselling author, Andy Andrews. She and her husband, Bob, have lived in Fairhope, Alabama, since 1999, where they raised their two sons.
What if the mold you're trying to fit into is going against the abundant life God designed for you?
It's time to push back against your hectic way of living and find what is truly life-giving. In her debut book, Vanessa Reyner — author, speaker, and Bible teacher —provides attainable steps to reexamine your overcrowded life, one bite at a time, so you can hear God more clearly, experience more joy, love better, and become content with your surroundings and circumstances.
This book will help you:
Name the cultural currents you are getting caught up in that sweep you away from a more purposeful and abundant life.
Learn how to hold tight to the root that grounds you in a fast-paced world.
Practice ways to keep connected to God and hear his voice in a loud world.
It's time to get unstuck from the currents of culture, find your path forward, and the feel the freedom of break through.
Stop by Page & Palette on First Friday, October 4th from 6-8 PM for an author signing with Carol Fisher!
The story of Wendy Lee Fisher.
May the story you are about to read touch your heart, May it bring you encouragement and determination to move forward. May it challenge you to forgive, and give you hope that you can make it through your darkest night.
Join Authors John Sledge, Alicia García-Santana, Chip Cooper, & Julio Larramendi, with their book Mobile and Havana on Tuesday, October 1st at 6 pm.
A sumptuously illustrated and vivid account of the deep ties that bridge the histories and cultures of two colorful and storied port cities.
Mobile and Havana: Sisters across the Gulf presents a beautifully written and illustrated survey of the many historic linkages between these exotic port cities. Through an effortless blending of word and image, John S. Sledge, Alicia García-Santana, Chip Cooper, and Julio A. Larramendi, historians and photographers from each side of the basin, share a colorful, complex, and sometimes difficult story never before fully told.
Over twenty years ago, Mobile’s visionary municipal archivist Jay Higginbotham remarked, “Mobile, Alabama, and Havana, Cuba, have only three things in common. The past, the present, and the future.” This book demonstrates just how much that is the case.
This extraordinary book provides a glimpse into how opening a Compounding Pharmacy placed this Pharmacist in a position to experience people who had literally slipped through the cracks of modern medicine. The stories in this book are about real people. It is this Pharmacist’s journey of listening, researching, applying wisdom and using old and new methods to help people to better health.
In a bleak Mississippi farmhouse in 1918, Leona Pinson gives birth to an illegitimate son whose father she refuses to name, but who will, she is convinced, return from the war to rescue her from a hardscrabble life with a distant mother, a dangerous brother, and a dwarf aunt. When, instead, her lover returns with a wife in tow, her dreams are shattered. As her brother’ s violence escalates and her aunt flees, Leona must rely on the help of Luther Biggs, the son of Leona’ s grandfather and one of his former slaves, to protect her child. Told against the backdrop of the deprivation of World War I, the tragedies of the influenza epidemic, and the burden of generations of betrayal, That Pinson Girl unfolds in lyrical, unflinching prose, engaging the timeless issues of racism, sexism, and poverty.
How to stop drinking, stay stopped, and develop emotional skills for a life of excitement and connection…without the hangover.
“No thanks — I’m not drinking tonight.” In a culture that equates alcohol with enjoyment and social acceptance, making this simple statement can make us feel like we’re depriving or even punishing ourselves. “When we realize we don’t want to drink anymore or can no longer drink safely, it can feel like the only choices are to spiral out of control or embrace a joyless life,” says psychotherapist and sobriety expert Veronica Valli. “But it’s not true! Sobriety can be a path filled with fun, excitement, belonging, relaxation, and romance.”
Soberful offers a practical and straightforward program on how to get sober and stay sober by increasing your self-worth, energy, and participation in life. Valli begins by debunking widespread beliefs about alcohol and sobriety, including the illusion that alcohol itself is the problem. Then she takes you into the heart of her method for building an alcohol-free life that works — the Five Pillars of Sustainable Sobriety:
Movement — Taking care of your body for physical and emotional health
Connection — Using self-compassion as a foundation for creating healthy and authentic relationships
Balance — Learning how to disarm the triggers that make you want to drink
Process — Validating, honoring, and accepting the past to move forward into the future
Growth — How to keep changing, keep learning, and keep choosing to stay sober throughout the journey of your life
“When we change how we experience the world, we can stop trying to escape our feelings with alcohol,” Valli says. As a leader and pioneer in the field with 21 years of sobriety, Valli now shares the same steps that worked for her and her clients. Written with gentle humor and compassion, Soberful provides a road map to a life beyond drinking — one that is expansive, fulfilling, and joyously free.
In a world without white people, what does it mean to be black?
One day, a cataclysmic event occurs: all of the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water. A year later, Charlie Brunton is a Black man living in an entirely new world. Having served time in prison for a wrongful conviction, he’s now a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University when he receives a call from someone he wasn’t even sure existed: his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old left behind by her white mother and step-family.
Traumatized by the event, and terrified of the outside world, Sidney has spent a year in isolation in Wisconsin. Desperate for help, she turns to the father she never met, a man she has always resented. Sidney and Charlie meet for the first time as they embark on a journey across a truly “post-racial” America in search for answers. But neither of them are prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it.
Heading south toward what is now called the Kingdom of Alabama, everything Charlie and Sidney thought they knew about themselves, and the world, will be turned upside down. Brimming with heart and humor, Cebo Campbell’s astonishing debut novel is about the power of community and connection, about healing and self-actualization, and a reckoning with what it means to be Black in America, in both their world and ours.
Need a few book recommendations? Join us for BOOK TALK on Tuesday, September 17th at 6 pm!
Anderson, Tyler, Stacy & Carolyn will share their favorite Autumn reads and upcoming releases. We look forward to seeing you!
Missed the last Book Talk? Click here to see what was recommended!
The Blanchards are your typical, close-knit southern family... who also just happen to wield magic. The road through life is never easy, but for three generations of witches living together in their ancestral home, things are getting more complicated. Olympia Blanchard, her daughters, and her adult grandchildren will navigate love, loss, and quite a bit of danger when the magical world creeps into their natural one.
A spell gone awry leaves Salem Blanchard missing and it will be up to Olympia to discover why and where in time she might be. Seth Blanchard and his cousins Yasmine and Fable have all found summer love, but is one of their romantic interests the psycho killer on the prowl? Tragedy will strike the family and a life long enemy will come back into their lives as the Blanchards face a summer they will never forget.
The Blanchard witches will need all of their skill, all of their love, and their indomitable family unity to face the challenges awaiting them. Welcome to Daihmler County, Alabama. Home of the Blanchards. Things are about to get a little strange.
With relatable stories and disarming grace, popular podcaster and author Sophie Hudson cuts through the confusing, differing stances on Christian women in leadership and offers a resource that empowers women to embrace their roles as leaders. Drawing from the book of Exodus, and using her trademark humor, Sophie skillfully helps you
· identify the leadership traits you already possess
· serve with boldness inside and outside the church
· lead faithfully and consistently
This is your invitation to embrace leadership with confidence and to find joy in understanding how God sees you. Prepare to be inspired, encouraged, and equipped to embrace the truth that you are uniquely made to lead.
Ever feel like it's easier to believe we'll meet God in the afterlife than it is to feel God at work in this life, with its chores and schedules and messes and unrealized dreams? The truth is, God is at work every day of our lives, but because this work is quieter than we expect, we so often dismiss it as coincidence or chance. What if we could clearly understand those divine whispers? What if listening to them is the beginning of living out our truest story and purpose?
In Trust the Whisper, Kathy Izard shares compelling true stories that help you connect the "God Dots" in your life. Sharing her own and others' experiences of moving from a place of doubt that a higher power even exists to being certain about the divine weave in the world, Kathy offers you the courage to recognize God's guidance in your own life. She helps you ask the right questions, trust your deepest intuition, be powerfully present, embrace the unexpected, and risk believing in the dreams God is quietly urging you to follow.
“Who knew that the testimony of a do-gooder could be this refreshing, this amusing, this self-aware? Ellen Ann Fentress has nailed the subject of voluntarism, while eloquently showing how the New South and the Old South bleed into each other when it comes to women and Blacks.” Phillip Lopate, author of A Mother’s Tale
“Ellen Ann Fentress, like many civic-minded, community spirit-filled Southern women before her, has spent her life doing good. But in The Steps We Take, she has dared to ask the perilous question: Did she do good enough? Even more daring and perilous is her answer: No. Over the course of the narrative, she confronts not only her personal past, but the dark and complicated past of the region of the country in which she grew up and still lives. This is a courageous and tough-minded work. It is also an important one.”
Lili Anolik, author of Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A.
"In this arresting and clear-eyed memoir of help offered and help denied, Ellen Ann Fentress lays bare the southern systems that pollute our best impulses: Christian coercion, entrenched racial hierarchies, and unrelenting female self-sacrifice. While the message is stark and at times heartbreaking, the messenger is Fentress's confessional, warm, and often hilarious prose. Reading The Steps We Take, I felt both exposed and embraced, as after any honest conversation with a true friend.
Katy Simpson Smith, author of The Everlasting: A Novel and The Weeds: A Novel
Ellen Ann Fentress is a veteran writer for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She’s also a seasoned southern woman, specifically a white Mississippi one. “Women do a lot for free, no matter the era, no matter the location,” she observes in The Steps We Take: A Memoir of Southern Reckoning. As a good southern woman, Fentress felt a calling to help others. As a teenager, she volunteered as a March of Dimes quarter collector and sang hymns at a soup-and-salvation homeless shelter. Later, she married, reared two daughters, renovated a 1941 Colonial home, practiced her French, and served as the bookkeeper for her husband’s business. She followed the scripts she was handed by society.
But there were the convenient lies and silences that she and most southern—make that American—white women have settled on in the name of convention and, to be honest, inertia. For Fentress, her dodges both behind her front door and beyond became impossible to miss. Eventually, along with claiming a personal second act at midlife, she realized the most urgent community work she could do was to spur truth-telling about the history she knew well and participated in. She was one of the nearly one million students in the South enrolled in all-white “segregation academies,” a sweeping movement away from public education that continues to warp the Deep South today. To document and engage with this history, she founded the Admissions Project: Racism and the Possible in Southern Schools, which has been featured in the Washington Post, Slate, Forbes and other publications.
The Steps We Take tells how one woman reckons with both a region’s history and her own past. Through a lens ranging from intimate to the widely human, through moments painful and darkly comic, Fentress casts a penetrating light on what it means to be a white southern woman today.
Accidental Activist: Changing the world one small step at a time
On December 1, 2023, peacefully but unexpectedly, Mary Allen Jolley died. Her death came just
16 days after she and I had delivered the manuscript of this book to Dr. Joe Taylor, Director of
The University of West Alabama’s Livingston Press. It was my great pleasure to volunteer over
several years with Mary as her editorial assistant in the book’s creation. It’s now my privilege
and pleasure to represent Mary in sharing her story and wisdom so she can continue to be a good
influence in the world! All royalties go to the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers,
which Mary was instrumental in founding, and which works to end intergenerational poverty.
—JAN PRUITT
“Few women have lived a life as courageous and consequential as Mary Jolley’s. From the impoverished Alabama farm where she was raised during the Depression and where her parents taught her the value of education and the virtues of making a difference in the lives of others, she worked her way into the halls of the U.S. Congress, where she arrived in the mid-1950s as a legislative aide to Alabama Congressman Carl Elliott, becoming his right-hand woman (almost always the only woman in the room). Her tireless behind-the-scene efforts helped pass the National Defense Education Act, which has provided millions of deserving students across the nation the opportunity of a college education. With wit, wisdom, and riveting detail, Jolley shares a behind-the-scenes look at the most fiery decade in the history of Alabama and of the nation-—the 1960s—working with Elliott and others to push back against the forces of racism, intolerance and ignorance, not just in her own state but across the nation. Here, she details her lifelong journey, with a cast of characters ranging from John F. Kennedy to George Wallace, and shares how her
efforts to make other lives better has continued over the ensuing half century, right up until today, as she closes in on her 100th birthday. This is a story that will enrich and inspire all Americans, and certainly all Alabamians.”
—MICHAEL D’ORSO, co-author (with Rep. John Lewis) of Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement and (with Rep. Carl Elliott) The Cost of Courage: The Journey of an American Congressman.
“When I reached my 90s, some friends and colleagues told me I should tell about my life and some things I helped to get accomplished. I’ve resisted doing that, but now, though I know my story is not going to change the world by itself, I’ve decided to tell it because it might help somebody else see that they can help change things for the better.
“. . . I personally didn’t do big things. I did little things. . . that helped big things happen. You can do the same..”
—MARY ALLEN JOLLEY
