Ashley Harris

All, we’ve reluctantly decided to postpone our August 6 reading at Elodie Farms, given the extreme heat. We’ll reschedule later; in the meantime, please enjoy this brief excerpt from Naked and Hungry, Chapter 8:

“Lordy be,” said H.T.’s mother Myrtle, sticking her fingers through the bars of the cell. At her side stood her African pygmy goat. “Bermadean, say hello to your brother.”

The two-foot goat nudged her way forward, bleating softly. She had long black and gray fur that edged her hindquarters like a petticoat and pink ribbons on her ears. Ever since Myrtle had won Bermadean at a 4-H show three years ago, the two were a regular sight around town. They delivered casseroles and crumbles to the sick, the lonely, and what seemed to H.T. to be an endless supply of obscure relatives. As youngsters, H.T. and his brother Delbert had been forced to accompany Myrtle on these high-cholesterol ministries, which H.T. suspected were not always welcomed by those unfortunate souls who happened to be at home.

Wondering what the real Bermadean looks like? Join us on August 6 to find out! Elodie Farms Owner Dave Artigues will give a tour of the Triangle’s premier goat and and dairy farm. From Lulu the chihuahua to a full herd of miniature goats, you’ll meet a wide variety of “characters” who could easily make themselves at home in Naked and Hungry. The kids (adults and youngsters alike) will then try to locate the real “Bermadean!”

We’ll then go inside the beautiful farmhouse for strawberry lemonade, special treats, and a short reading of Naked and Hungry. And course, there’ll be picture-taking and a drawing for a special prize: a gift certificate to Whole Foods, in support of sustainable agriculture. As some of you know, my main character, H.T. McMullen, has recently retreated to a simple life and now grows his own vegetables, which he douses with harvested rainwater. In his case, of course, life doesn’t turn out to be that easy, as our reluctant discovers that he unintentionally built his one-room cabin on the site of a hazardous waste dump. What happens next? You’ll have to read the book! 🙂

Wanna go? RSVP on Facebook. Hope to see you there!

Had a great time at Coffee & Crepes last night, courtesy of Terri and Andres Pastrana, the owners of a divine creperie in Cary.

They and their staff cheerfully served up H.T.’s recipe for blackberry crepes to a “Naked and Hungry” crowd of nearly 40 who gathered for a reading. The weather was a gift, low humidity with a delicate breeze. Later, a full moon sailed in, no lie, as round and golden as a crepe!

More photos to come later…courtesy of Melissa, but a special thanks to Lauralee for this wonderful arrangement in advance. A book and a crepe, what could be better?  Also, thank you Sarah Beth and son, who kindly oversaw all the little details, including the crepe pan giveaway. Congratulations to Diane of Cary!

Finally, thanks to all who attended and gave up a precious evening at home to spend time with me.  I know it’s selfish, but I wish it could have gone on forever. Thankfully, there’s more fun to come!

Coming soon, details on the next “Naked and Hungry” event at Elodie Farms on August 6. Help us find the real Bermadean! Warning: this event is for the “kids!”

We’ve been thrilled with the level of response to the reading and the blackberry “crepe-a-looza” on July 14 at Coffee and Crepes in Cary. Can’t wait to see all of you and share my love of crepes. You might be wondering…if you don’t already…just why should you love crepes?

1. They’re low in gluten and relatively healthy. (Until you fill them with Nutella, that is.)
2. Pat Conroy does! His cookbook features a recipe for chocolate crepes filled with peanut butter. Might there be a literary connection?
3. They’re easy to make…even easier than pancakes.
4. They’re also cheap. About 8 cents each. Compare that to a ticket to Paris.
5. They can be filled with blackberry sauce, which the main character of Naked and Hungry simply adores.  And who doesn’t love fresh blackberries? Now that could be the subject of another post.

Hope to see you on the 14th. For more information, check out the event on Facebook.

 

 

Mark your calendars for July 14! Just when you thought summer couldn’t get any better, we’re serving up blackberry crepes and even more Naked and Hungry. Join us for a special reading that highlights H.T.’s fascination with French cuisine. Merci Beaucoup to our host, Coffee & Crepes, the Triangle’s ONLY full-service creperie.  

A BIG thanks to all of our friends from Art4Aid.org in Carrboro for hosting the first signing event for Naked and Hungry. It was a great turnout…with both old and new friends. The event was one that my main character. H.T., would have simply loved, especially the delicious barbecue and cornbread. Not to mention the prevalence of flip-flops! Special thanks to childhood friend Callie Hammond who came all the way from Sanford and Kevin and Dani who drove up from Charlotte. And an extra special thanks to all those who bought my book and WERE NOT blood relatives. Wow! And as my blood relatives know, I owe them far more than I could ever pay!

In spite of the forecast, the weather held out, and we were able to chat outdoors under a beautiful canopy of trees. There I read two short excerpts, including the first scene between H.T. and his future love interest Jessica Beane, and the darkly humorous episode in which H.T. overhears the bad guys plot his death.  That scene, appropriately enough, was also at a barbecue.

“You know you could go to jail for threatening us with a deadly weapon,” says one of the villains, when H.T. pulls out his nail gun to defend himself. “I didn’t threaten anyone,” says H.T. “But if you don’t hand me my flip-flops, I’m going to sink a few nails in Earl’s Cadillac and that would only be a misdemeanor.”

The publisher was kind enough to provide a limited supply of promotional copies for sale in advance of the November release. So please stay tuned to our events page for more signings in the near future. And if you have a group of friends who might be interested in hearing me read from the book this summer, be sure and email me.  We’ll talk about the book, our shared love for North Carolina, crepes and more!