As Dallas eased into the summer heat, the OMG too-adorable-above-the-knee sundresses were pulled out with their equally OMG stiletto sandals on Wednesday, June 4th. On the other hand, the Highland Park police must not have been too happy about Lorraine being clogged all block long. . . and this was one of the longer Lorraine blocks.
The reason for the call-to-arms for these chic chicks was author Emily Giffin, who was signing her brand new book, The One and Only, at her buddy Sandy Moore’s home. Emily and Sandy became buds when Sandy had read Emily’s first two books. When she ran into Emily at the Ritz, she “talked her up” at the bar and got her to be the main act at the Chick Lit Luncheon in 2011 benefiting Community Partners of Dallas.
As part of the deal to attend The One and Only event, CPD wunderkinds Paige McDaniel and Joanna Clarke asked guests to bring items and money for the CPD’s back-to-school program. As the guests paraded through the front door, they dropped stuff and ca-ching and scurried into the den, where books were snapped up like first-day released iPhones.
Paige reported that Emily and recent author Julia Reed are all-time Chick Lit crowd pleasers.
Joanna was impressed with the turnout, admitting that they had expected around 85, but that mark was hit within the first 20 minutes, including Leigh Anne Haugh, Nikki Webb, Tara Cosgrove, Holly Scimeca and Emily Upson.
After her gangbuster appearance at the Chick Lit Luncheon, Emily’s legion of local fans dramatically grew. So much so, that the Texas. . . especially Dallas . . . way of life had really made an impression on the New York Times best-selling author. The results? She became blonder and wrote The One and Only about Texas college football. In fact, she did a heck of lot of her research in Dallas.
And just in time for summer poolside reading, the book just came out and Emily returned for Big Darling D. With cellphone cameras as plentiful as flags on the Fourth of July, Emily posed with book promptly held. Why even the back of Emily’s cellphone case had been personalized with the cover of the book. As for the signing of the books, it was a teal-colored pen to match the book’s cover. That gal knows how to market!
As the crowds kept growing, the books kept selling and Emily kept signing, the chatter was about locals being mentioned in the book. Yup, Sandy and her husband Barry are in there. Paige smiled. CPD is on page 326.