Ginger Rue's Blog, page 10
September 22, 2010
Mary Steenburgen Loves Dogs
How beautiful does Mary look on the cover?
Here's a link to GUIDEPOSTS magazine's October cover story I worked on with Mary Steenburgen. She tells a sweet story about her dogs. Everyone loves Mary from her movie roles, but did you know she's also an entrepreneur? She has her own line of candles and also has a partnership in a home decorating store. She's funny and extremely sweet, too. I could have listened to her talk all day–what a gorgeous Southern accent that Arkansas girl has!
September 18, 2010
Book Trailer for JUMP
Many thanks to the students at PATS-TV for making this cool book trailer for JUMP! I wasn't expecting to be interviewed when I stopped by for a visit, but I tried to sound as coherent as possible on short notice. I'm learning so much about what to do with myself when being photographed (see recent, unfortunate butt-grabbing pic) and now filmed…like, for example, that one should not shift in one's chair during an interview or it will look like you are suddenly hurling yourself into the camera!!! Ha ha ha!
September 14, 2010
Happy Birthday, JUMP!
September 14 was the big day. Celebrated with a launch party at Tuscaloosa Academy (the wonderful school where, for eight years, I taught hundreds of students I love dearly to this day). Books-A-Million sold lots of copies, cake was eaten, and I got to hang out with so many of my awesome friends! Here's a pic of me with Slaven from BAM. I'd like to go on record as clarifying that I am NOT grabbing his butt, a gesture I'm sure his wife would not appreciate! (I never know how to pose correctly for pictures!) Thanks to everyone who came out for the party!
July 17, 2010
CSI: Malibu
Sometimes as a freelancer, you get the coolest gigs ever. Such was the case for me when I got to travel to Malibu to interview Emily Procter, star of CSI: MIAMI, for the August cover of GUIDEPOSTS magazine. We did the interview the same day as the photo shoot, and let me tell you, everyone there was completely taken with Emily. She is unbelievably sweet and fun to be around–plus, she had a really great story to tell. She'd really spent a lot of time thinking about how she wanted the story to take shape, which made my job a breeze. I thought you might enjoy some behind-the-scenes pics from the shoot. Read Emily's story at http://www.guideposts.org/celebrities/csi-miami-star-emily-procters-inspiring-story
Southern girls represent! Stylist Lauren Sample is from Mississippi, Emily's from North Carolina, and I'm from Alabama.
Emily overlooking Malibu Beach
Shooting on the beach
Photographer Jack Guy is amazingly talented.
June 5, 2010
Cheers for BRAND-NEW EMILY!
A couple of weeks ago, I hung out with the cheerleading squad from Hillcrest Middle School in Tuscaloosa. All the girls had recently read Brand-New Emily as sort of a team book club selection. I signed books, met all the great girls, and ate a cinnamon bagel…I'd say that makes for a pretty fun time! Thanks, girls, for inviting me! Go Pats!
May 9, 2010
Springville Road Library with Irene Latham
I returned to my old stomping grounds this weekend to do a writing workshop with Leaving Gee's Bend author Irene Latham. Springville Road Library in Birmingham is where I looked up everything for my senior research paper on how The Great Gatsby was influenced by The Waste Land (I still think it's a fascinating topic to this day!). Irene and I went to high school together and were even in the same service club, but we never knew each other very well. She graduated a year ahead of me, even though I'm actually a year older than she is (she's one of those grade-skipping smartypants types!). I do remember a service club slumber party at her house where we toilet papered the yards of new members, which was so much fun! Then, what do you know, twenty years later, we both had teen novels come out within a few months of each other! It's so great to be back in touch with Irene; she's such a sweet person and so generous about helping aspiring and emerging writers.
Adding to the fun was the fact that I brought along two of my best friends, Jody Evans and Cita Smith, who are both excellent writers. I fully expect to be posting info about their debut novels someday.
Thanks to (unfortunately camera-shy) librarian Rochelle and the book seller from St. Vincent's Hospital for putting together an event that I hope was inspiring and educational for those who attended.
Jody gets down to business.
Jody, Me, and Cita
Workshop participants hard at work
A good crowd!
May 2, 2010
Embrace Your Inner Geek
L-R: Ellen, Amanda, Tami, Chris, Barry, Me, Angie, Martin, Chandra, Rochelle
Had a fantastic time this past Saturday at the first-ever Gadsden GeekFest! The festival, dreamed up and brought to life by Gadsden Public Library's Tami Brooks, was a day of author talks/signings/panel discussions, comic book exhibits, video game tournaments, rock-n-roll, and of course, fried snack foods. I know what you're thinking: can all this much fun under one roof possibly be legal? But I assure you that no arrests were made. However, the American Heart Association will probably not be sponsoring the event anytime soon considering that much damage was done to the arteries of those who consumed fried Oreos, Reese's cups, and Moon Pies. I am officially ruined for life. Darn you, fried Oreos, for being so magically delicious! Stop haunting my dreams and tantalizing me with your deep-fried, powdery, at-once-crispy-yet-soft scrumptiousness!
I had fun getting to know authors Chris Crutcher, Angela Johnson, Barry Lyga, Ellen Schreiber, Chandra Sparks Taylor, and Martin Wilson. I now have even more books I'm dying to read! Also, hats off to Mr. Blackwell's Petty Thieves, who rocked the house between author presentations.
Thanks to librarians Tami, Amanda, and Rochelle for all your hard work on a fantastic event. I can't wait to wear my GeekFest tee with pride!
Ellen, Chris, and Me. Ellen is so super stylish and cute, and Chris is so funny--love his wry sense of humor!
Chandra, Me, and Martin. I love these two!
If this is what being a geek looks like, sign me up! What a great-looking bunch of kids!
with Barry and Chris at the book signing table
Tuscaloosa native Martin Wilson is a fantastic writer and an awesome person!
Had to get a pic with GeekFest mastermind Tami Brooks!
Cross-section of fried Oreo. Yum!
Barry signs books as the rest of us plot to steal his iPad.
April 30, 2010
Getting Schooled
Northside Middle. Check out the pink tee: "Sometimes sassy, mostly sweet"
It was school visit week this week! On Monday, I hung out with the very nice kids at Northside Middle School all day long. Their parents would be proud about all the number of "yes, ma'am" and "no ma'am" responses I heard. Then, on Thursday, I visited Hillcrest Middle School, where we kicked out all the boys and had some serious girl talk! Thanks to all the students for your great questions and attention! Next stop: Gadsden GeekFest!
Northside Middle. The girl on the left is a future celebrity publicist...get ready, Hollywood!
Hillcrest Middle. The blonde next to me said I was her favorite author! 
In case you didn't know, wearing your visitor badge on your thigh is the in thing at Hillcrest Middle. (Actually, I had no choice b/c the sticker kept catching my hair.) Inside joke to HMS girls: insert sticker joke here!
