“I’ll always marvel at the liveliness of southern speech-so full of metaphor and hyperbole, quirks and vividness.” ~ Frances Mayes
A few pages into “Under Magnolia” I grabbed a brand new notebook along with a light blue highlighter to keep by my side. I found myself lingering on sentences and discovering words that I wanted to remember. Reading ever so slowly, stopping to pause, jotting down words and quotes to come back to was my journey through “Under Magnolia.”
“Images are the pegs holding down memory’s billowing tent.” ~ Frances Mayes
Frances Mayes is a wordsmith who paints vivid images using each word like a paintbrush stroke spreading color all over her canvas. Frances shared her childhood memories with wit, humor, metaphors and hyperboles.
“Families all over have secrets and weird people and foibles, and mine did too.” ~ Frances Mayes
Getting to know Frances as a child, walking alongside her into womanhood certainly exhibited that:
“Your own will can trump how you were raised.” ~ Frances Mayes
My heart ached with sorrow for Frances especially in her fourteenth year. (You will have to read the book to find out!)
“The heart is a lonely hunter.” ~ Frances Mayes
Despite riding on a bumpy road with so many twists and turns, living through losses of great magnitude (“She is the lining of my coat I will have to shed.” ~ Frances Mayes) she maintained her optimism.
“Everyday an air of possibility.” ~ Frances Mayes
Ever so true that statement! Frances Mayes is the author of many books: Bella Tuscany, Every Day in Tuscany, The Tuscan Sun Cookbook and the NY Times Best Selling novel “Under The Tuscan Sun” that went on to be made into an iconic movie. This past summer Frances and her husband Ed released their first line of hand-chosen Italian wines available from Tuscan Sun Wines.
I had the pleasure of experiencing Frances and Ed Maye’s Southern, Tuscan hospitality while visiting with them at their mountain house in Tuscany last July.
Sept 11th, 2013 the Tuscan Sun Wine’s U.S. debut was in Denver, CO and the media party was held at the Denver Art Museum. 
Frances and Ed traveled around Denver signing bottles of Tuscan Sun Wines even during the wild flooding in the Denver area as to not disappoint many who had awaited their arrival.
A Wordsmith’s Banquet Captivating All Your Senses “Under Magnolia” is to be savored with every page turn. ~ KatieSD
Under Magnolia Available April 1st, 2014
Some of my favorite “Frances Mayes Words”: Sangfroid, Scuppernong, Frangipani, Catawampus, Munificence
”I’m always in wonder over the mysteries of love-how it endures in a molten state even under the hardest strata.” ~ Frances Mayes
In addition to her worldwide bestselling Tuscany memoirs, FRANCES MAYES is the author of the travel memoir A Year in the World. She has published a novel, Swan, set in the South; The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide for Reading and Writing Poems; and five books of poetry. Her books have been translated into more than fifty languages. She divides her time between Tuscany and North Carolina. Visit her at www.francesmayesbooks.com.
Frances Mayes on Twitter | Frances Mayes on Facebook | Frances Mayes on Pinterest
For more information, visit TuscanSunWines.com, or follow Tuscan Sun Wines on Facebook and Twitter. For updates and news on TUSCAN SUN WINES, join the mailing list.
I received a complimentary review copy of “Under Magnolia” from : Random House/Crown publishing.
Images shot with a Verizon Android RAZR HD Smartphone and a Samsung Galaxy Camera #VZWBuzz
Katie Shea Design 