Meet my family

I’ve been blessed to write this newspaper column for more than eight years. By far the greatest blessing has been getting calls and emails from readers. Last week I wrote about my never ending joy concerning the new high-rise toilets we recently purchased. This week I learned that a lot of you share my unbridled and unexpected enthusiasm concerning a new toilet. Who knew? I was stopped at the grocery store several times and at some Christmas events to hear your testimonials. One dear lady said, “I laughed ’til I cried because I just love our new toilet, Lisa. It’s like you knew what I was thinking.”   
That is the joy of column writing. It’s the realization that we all share a common experience. I never tire of hearing your stories and I’m always glad to meet you. That’s why I’m wildly excited about an opportunity coming up this Friday.  
The gracious folks at The Messenger are hosting a book signing for my new book, “Doug and Carlie.” I’ll tell you more about the new book later but I want to make one thing perfectly clear. You do NOT have to buy a book in order to come by The Messenger office Friday afternoon. My husband, two boys and I will be there from 3-5 and we really do look forward to meeting you.  And if you have a testimonial about low-fat bologna, a miracle frying pan, a parenting mistake or a high-efficiency toilet, you know I’m all ears.
If you are a regular reader of this column, you know how proud I am to live in a small southern town. Actually, we don’t even live in town. As my granny would say, “We live out in the county.” This beautiful area is filled to the brim with hard work, humor and great heart. And that’s one of the inspirations for my first fiction book. “Doug and Carlie” is set in Commerce, Ga., and Sharon, Tenn. It’s all about love and the humorous joys of small town living ... the good, the bad, the “mostly well-intentioned.”
Carlie is a tall, funny, chubby woman with her fair share of insecurities. Yeah, no research required there. She’s 32 years old and works at the Dollar General Store. Okay. I’m not 32 but I remember being 32 a long time ago. I’m hoping that counts for something. If you’d like to read the first two chapters of the book, those are available for free on Amazon.com. Just search Doug and Carlie in Kindle and click on the book cover. I’ll also have copies of my first two books, “The Smartt View: Life, Love and Cluttered Closets” and “The Smartt View 2: Life in Progress” at the book signing on Friday. Those books are compilations of this weekly column. All three books are $10 each or any three for $25.
I hope you and your family can come meet my family at The Messenger office in Union City on Friday afternoon, 3-5. It will help me put a face on the person I’m writing for every week. And that makes writing a lot less lonely.
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For more information about Lisa Smartt, visit her website, lisasmartt.com. She may be contacted at lisa@lisasmartt.com.

Published in The Messenger 12.5.12

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