blog entry

August 31, 2008         Tune your radio dials to WSVH Public Radio – station 91.1 FM on your dial – at 6 p.m., Tuesday, September 2, to listen to the program you find there. You should hear a familiar voice at some point during the broadcast!        August was a busy, busy month – with many talks given and many books sold – and September is already shaping up to keep me just as much on the go. I have a couple of really exciting events in the works (make that three) that I'm itching to tell you all about, but I don't want to spoil the big surprises when they come to pass. Keep checking in here so you don't miss any future announcements! On the evening of the 8th I'll be speaking to members of well-known Savannah author Rosemary Danielle's Secrets of the Zona Rosa group. That promises to be a very fun evening as my buddy, Savannah's Batman (Gordon Varnedoe), has threatened to attend. On Sept. 11th I'm scheduled to speak to members of the Lion's Club at their noon luncheon at the Savannah Golf Club. My lively friend Trot Hurd will be there, so that promises to be another fun event. My business partner Cynthia Fritts Stillwell was here from NYC the last week in August and we spent one full day of planning (and laughing) together, lining up events through the rest of this year and beyond. All I can say is, if you think it's been interesting around this website up till now - you haven't seen anything yet! On a personal note, my brother, Robert, and my niece, Delinda, will be visiting me at the end of this month from Washington State and Pennsylvania. And my daughter and her family are almost ready for their move to Statesboro, Georgia from their home in Ireland. I'm looking for them the end of this month - or early next! Son Clay earned his pilot's license this past month, son Forrest bought a Chinese Junk, and son Delton is in the process of acquiring a (haunted?) mansion in England.  I'll be moving out near Statesboro, too, the first week in October. I've found a place out in the country on a lake, dock, and a lot covered over with figs, scuppernongs, and blue berry bushes. It's a 35-40 minute straight shot into Savannah from there so I won't be that far from business and friends – but I'll be lots closer to my kids and grandkids, and that's very attractive to me. It feels like a great place to write, too, so maybe I'll make a start on my next book in the reasonably near future … Meanwhile, the books I have in print are all doing great. Waking Up Men's second edition got a rave (front page!) review wonderfully written by Savannah Morning News reporter and portside columnist Mary Mayle (posted here), and in Savannah it has been Number One on E. Shaver Bookseller's Best Seller list going on its third week! Then They All Got Naked is earning its own good reviews (and sales), this one from the owner of a lifestyle club in another state: "We love the book and it is so right on point. We have had several of our patrons ask to borrow it, but we told them "No way, support this lady in every way you can." We thank you for giving swinging a fair shake as it were. … if you are ever in our neck of the woods, let us set up book signing … Good Luck, Gennie D."  I had a book signing in a club in Atlanta in early August and it went very well, so send me some directions, Gennie, and I'll see about getting there! J

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Message from Sender:

Latest and greatest on "Waking Up Men!"

'Waking Up Men' back in bookstores
by Mary Carr Mayle

O.Kay Jackson's "Waking Up Men," a fascinating, irreverent and often hilarious ode to Savannah's port and the folks who bring the world upriver, is in its second printing and back on bookshelves around town.

Click here to read more on our site

TV Appearance Ahead

7/24/08               Savannah's TV celebrity Sonny Dixon has once again invited me to be on his WTOC-TV morning talk program this coming Tuesday, July 29, at 10 a.m., to talk about the reprint of Waking Up Men. I hope those of you in this area will adjust your dial and tune in. It should be fun!  Following the TV event, I'll be signing books from 2-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, August 1 and 2, at E. Shaver's Booksellers in downtown Savannah.                     On August 8 I'll again be speaking about Waking Up Men to members of the Military Order of the World Wars, Savannah Chapter. And I've had several more requests for talks from various groups for this fall, events I'll post here as the time gets closer.             This weekend I'm going to Atlanta for a book signing on Then They All Got Naked, which continues to find its readers – and fans. I've had several people tell me they enjoyed it even more than Waking Up Men. So if you haven't read it yet (Jerry!), it may be time to investigate what the new buzz is all about.             And my manager from NYC will be here the end of August to map out some very exciting special events, which you'll also read about here as they unfold! Keep coming back!  J

July 19, 2008

July 19, 2008     THE BIG NEWS IS – TAH DAH – WAKING UP MEN, AT LONG LAST, IS OFF THE PRESSES AND IN HAND!!!!               Yes, the second edition of Waking Up Men is finally available, complete with new prologue and epilogue, and even a spiffy reader's aid bookmark (the result of  comments from readers of the first edition).   The blurb on the book cover is different, too, as are most of the back cover quotes, including this one from Captain John A. Jones, Retired Senior Pilot and Immediate Past Secretary-General of the International Maritime Pilots' Association:       "Waking Up Men is a book that I just did not want to put down! Crammed full of stories and anecdotes about the Savannah River and the people who work on it, it is highly entertaining, often very amusing, and best of all, TRUE! It is written by someone with inside knowledge of the day to day workings of a large port, and is an absolute must for anyone with even the slightest interest in Ships and Shipping."   I'm very pleased with the reprint. It's still a very fun read and it still makes a great gift for anyone on your list with a maritime interest – or a love of Savannah.

July 1

July 1, 2008 –    I have fallen waaaay behind on my blog, but only because things are happening at a rapid rate and blogging has taken a back seat to everything else. Waking Up Men's second printing is taking place right now and book will be shipped to me this week. The timing is perfect as I sold my very last available copy of Waking Up Men at a house book party at the home of Jerry and Mary Anne Hogan this week!           Mary Anne had invited many of her good friends to the party, which was a great success and great fun!  Mary Anne had set a table that should have been photographed for Better Homes and Gardens magazine She even served pink lemonade in stemmed crystal glasses with rims encrusted with pink-sugar! I remain impressed!             There have been other parties and speaking engagements too, keeping me nicely occupied while beginning a whole new level of book selling experience ever since I reconnected with Cynthia Stillwell, former Savannah Dynamo now living in New York City (and still a dynamo). Good Savannah friend Gordon Varnedoe (aka: Batman, aka: General Oglethorpe) had me get in touch with Cynthia before my NYC book launching party and I'm so glad he did! Cynthia came to the party and bought a copy of Then They All Got Naked. We later met for lunch while I was still in Manhattan and, at her request, I passed along a copy of my two earlier books. Cynthia liked them all. And the long and short of this serendipitous reconnection is that Cynthia – who wheels and deals and the very highest levels – has become my manager!  So continue to watch this space folks, because we're all about to take a very exciting rocket-ship ride to new and far-reaching places!  Ready … Set …. Go! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

June 3, 2008

The book launching party in NYC last week was amazing! It seemed like half the city's population turned out for the event, but some of them were people just out on the town in the city's historic district. Stone Street, I'm told, is the oldest street in NYC and Stone Street Tavern – where my book signing/launching party was held - reeked of ambiance and good times.

            Many, many of Heather Swanson's wonderful friends were there, plus a couple of mine, too. And many books flew off the table into eager buying hands, which is always fun the most fun ever for an author.

            The following night Heather threw a Memorial Day Weekend Bar-B-Q for the neighbors in her Madison Avenue Condo, creating another evening of good times were had by all. I love New Yorkers and the folks who live in Heather's building are some of the best New Yorkers in the city.

            If you missed either of these events, I'm sorry. But maybe next time when you're invited, you'll attend. J

 

May 8, 2008

 

Look Out Big Apple!

The big, official, exciting book launching party for Then They All Got Naked will be held May 22 starting at 6 p.m. at the Stone Street Tavern at 52 Stone Street, NYC, NY. Many of the beautiful New York City models in the book's photographs will be there, as will Heather Swanson, the well-known NYC photographer who shot them. This is going to be one fabulous par-tay, so if you are anywhere near there on the 22^nd, come on by!

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