We've got a winner for Lynne Hinton's 'Pie Town'

Hey, baristabrwn, you've won a copy of "Pie Town," Lynne Hinton's new novel.
Email me your mailing address, and I'll send it to you. Thanks for reading.

And by the way, Hinton will be reading from the novel on Friday, June 10, at Barnes & Noble at The Arboretum. 3327 Pineville-Matthews Road.

'Hassie Calhoun': A new novel from a Charlotte native

If you're a longtime Charlotte resident, you may know Pamela Cory as Pamela McMahon, daughter of Sam and Carolyn McMahon and a graduate of East Mecklenburg High and Queens University.

What you might not know is that Cory, a former cabaret singer, voice coach and model, is now a novelist, author of "Hassie Calhoun," the first book in a planned trilogy from Scarletta Press.

The coming-of-age novel centers on Hassie, just 17 when she escapes small-town Texas in 1959 in search of a Las Vegas singing career.
Hassie has beauty and talent, but also a "tendency to make the wrong decision, to put it mildly," Cory says.

She'll read from the novel at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 15 at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road.

Cory, who splits her time between Dubai and New York, got the idea for the story when her husband, an architect, was working on a hotel project in Las Vegas. To gain background, she dove into books and movies about the city and the Rat Pack era. Frank Sinatra appears in the book.

She's now working on the next Hassie novel. When the trilogy ends, young and naive Hassie will have evolved into a "fabulous, mature woman" in her 60s, Cory says. "So the payoff is there."

Sister Souljah in Charlotte on Saturday

Novelist and social activist Sister Souljah will read and sign copies of her books, including her new novel, "Midnight and the Meaning of Love," 6-8 p.m. Saturday, June 11, at Red@28th, 2424 N. Davidson St. in Charlotte.

Souljah's other novels include "The Coldest Winter Ever" and "Midnight, A Gangster Love Story."

The event is free, but RSVP at contact@RealEyesBookstore.com.

Win a copy of Lynne Hinton's new novel

Charlotte Observer readers know Lynne Hinton as a columnist for the Faith and Values section. But Hinton, a North Carolina native who now lives in New Mexico, is also a novelist.

Her new novel, out this week, is "Pie Town," (William Morrow; $13.99). It's set in Pie Town, New Mexico, where two newcomers are about stir things up. The book is a "feel-good story," says Booklist, "one that will be enjoyed by readers of Jan Karon and Nicholas Sparks."

Hinton will sign copies Friday, June 10, at Barnes & Noble at The Arboretum. 3327 Pineville-Matthews Road.

But you can win a copy here. Leave a comment on my blog. Include your name or some way to identify you -- not just "anonymous." Then check back on Wednesday, June 8, when I'll announce the winner, chosen at random.

'Write More Good' authors in Charlotte Friday

Sure, some of us still cling to stuffy style and grammar rules. We consult dictionaries to check our spelling. We avoid cliches and omit needless words.

But really, isn't that so Old Media?

Now, "Write More Good," a phony writing guide that's been called "perhaps the least useful writing aid ever compiled," injects some humor into the dreary world of writing rules.

The book (Three Rivers Press, $13) is the work of a group of writers who call themselves The Bureau Chiefs. Some will be signing books at 7 p.m. Friday, June 3, at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road.
The idea for this new guide was born from @FakeAPStylebook, a Twitter feed that has amassed more than 200,000 followers by offering such advice as: "There are two acceptable euphemisms for the uterus: 'Ark of the Covenant' or 'Female Hysteria.'
Here are a few gems from the book:

* Proper usage: “World War” should be used only for conflicts involving countries on at least three continents. For large-scale battles against clones, killer tomatoes, or a fifty-foot woman, use “attack” instead.

* Entertainment Journalism: When writing about a celebrity for an online audience, save your readers time by linking directly to nude photos of him or her.

* Science Reporting: When writing about those robots that seek out and consume houseflies for energy, the parenthetical aside “(OH GOD, WE’RE DOOMED!)” is implied and is therefore not necessary to include in your story.

And the best-read city in the Carolinas is...not Charlotte

One city in the Carolinas is on Amazon.com's new list of the nation's best-read cities.
Can you guess which one it is?
Here's a hint: College towns did well in this contest.
So you might think Chapel Hill. But no. Cities had to have a population of 100,000. It's too small.

I would have guessed Raleigh or Durham. Nope.

The answer: Columbia, home of the University of South Carolina, was 16th on the list of 20 cities.

My family was puzzling about this at dinner last night. Why Columbia and not Raleigh or Durham, both with large numbers of college students and faculty?

My husband offered a plausible explanation: Columbia, with a population of about 130,000, is much smaller than the other two. So college types are a larger percentage of the city's overall population. Don't you love him? He was a math major.

Cambridge, Mass., by the way, topped the list of 20 cities that purchased the most reading material from Amazon (Kindle and paper form) per capita since January.

Local authors to lead free writing workshop in Rock Hill

The Charlotte Observer's Rick Rothacker and Charlotte author Judy Goldman will lead discussions on June 11 at a free writing workshop organized by the Rock Hill Chapter of the S.C. Writers' Workshop.
Rothacker, The Observer's banking reporter, is author of "Banktown: The Rise and Struggles of Charlotte's Big Banks." Goldman, a novelist and poet, is author of "Early Leaving" and "The Slow Way Back."
The workshop, "From the Mind and the Heart to the Page: Write Your Story," will be 9 a.m.-5 p.m. June 11 at Grace Lutheran Church, 426 Oakland Ave. in Rock Hill. Lunch is provided. Registration is required. Contact kim.blumhyclak@gmail.com.