I realize you never know with me if you're going to get an entry about a robust wine or whine, but I'm happy to say that this time, it's the former (for now).

I called in to the WINE (Women In Novels Enlightened) Book Club in Seattle, WA earlier this week. In keeping with the roughing it aspect of my book (and you know I don't mean no Holiday Inn), this lovely group met in a very outdoorsy spot - the courtyard of a condo complex. Just my style, ladies. Bravo! They've been meeting for almost a year and already sound like a very cohesive group:

From Left: Beth, Jean, Kimberly, Tina & Ashley (not pictured Tanya, the photo taker).

That's some nice condo complex, Jean!

Thanks so much for inviting me to your WINE book club, ladies. I very much enjoyed our discussion and really appreciated your enthusiasm for Queen of the Road. (Especially now that I see from the picture, it wasn't alcohol-fueled.)

Queen On!

As these lovely ladies in the Spies Public Library book club told me about their equally lovely town, I found myself wishing I could teleport on over. The library is in a historic building, on a beautiful marina, right on Green Bay in Menominee in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Seriously, check out their fantastic, historic library .

And of course, a picture of the lovely ladies, themselves:

Back Row - Jan, Gail, Carol, Val, Marlene, Sandy and Ardyce

Front Row - Cheryl, Carole, Sue, Gail, Gail, Connie and Pam

I do adore when a book club gets into it! Although a little early in the day for martinis (and they were meeting in a library, after all) the ladies made do with punch in their martini glasses. And of course, it is never too early for a tiara. (That's why I wear mine to bed.)

As you all know, I love calling in to book clubs and answering questions. Sometimes though, I end up hearing a wonderful story that even warms my cynical heart. And, that's what happened at this book club when one of the ladies told of her own RV trip, decades ago: She had always wanted to do such a journey, so she just did, leaving her husband at home and taking her two young children cross country in a 35 foot rig. She needed some assistance when she started out, and a trucker stopped to lend a hand. Afterwards, without her knowledge, he put out the word to all his fellow truckers on his CB radio that they should all help out the woman traveling alone with two kids - complete with her license and vehicle description. It wasn’t until she got to California that she found out what he’d done.

Tim and I call that "road magic." (That's opposed to the "road tragic" which we, unfortunately, are much more likely to encounter.)

Thank you for inviting me to your book club, lovely ladies of Menominee!

Here's a wonderful book club story:

This book club at the Columbiana Public Library in Alabama has been meeting for 11 years or so, ever since Mary Ann King, a local woman in the community, founded it. Sadly, she died two years ago of ovarian cancer, but her book club lives on. There's even a special book collection in the library to commemorate this avid reader. The lovely gals in the club also informed me that Mary Ann "knew everyone in the state of Alabama." Sounds like the kind of woman I wish I'd known!

Pictured left to right: Teresa, Elizabeth, Jane, Nancy, Duffy, Beth, & Susan

Note the PJs. Nice going, ladies! I hope none of you got pulled over for anything on your drive back. (PJs: hard to explain to the officers. Trust me.) Note also that Jane, the library's director, has got quite the tiara going. I may need to go shopping, after all. (How did you know I wear my tiara to bed? I don't recall mentioning that in my book.)

The book club picked Queen of the Road as part of their summer travel theme, and who am I to argue?

Thanks so much for inviting me to your book club, ladies. Next time we're in Alabama, I promise we'll see more of your state than the Unclaimed Luggage Store. (You've sold me on the coast. Know anyone with a long driveway?)