It was 2008. My business was feeling the hit from the economic downturn. To center myself I went to Barnes & Noble and shelled out full price for the new release "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen" by Susan Gregg Gilmore.
That did the trick. From then until my fortunes eventually changed for the better, I have stayed safe in the Southern tale of the two Cline sisters who used their Saturday trips to the local Dairy Queen to sort out their worlds. Of course, right from the get-go, I contacted the author Susan Gregg Gilmore to babble about her novel. Shock: it was her first. I gave her plenty of advice, which, given her continuing success, she obviously didn't take. I also did Dairy Queen weekly, just like the Cline sisters.
About a week ago, Susan and I again connected. I have been blogging for the financial information powerhouse Motley Fool. In one post I analyzed Dairy Queen as a cult brand. That identity resonated with readers, including those hard-nosed investors. In the post I mentioned "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen" as evidence of the cult status. Here you can read that post which attracted so much attention.
I begged Susan for an interview. She graciously accepted.
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JG: What led you to write your novel, which was your first, about Dairy Queen? And, why do you think the Dairy Queen brand resonates with so many diverse groups?
SGG: For many of us, Dairy Queen is a part of our childhoods. It was certainly a part of mine. My grandfather, a revival-bred preacher, took me and my sister there ever Wednesday night after church services. We always got a Dilly Bar. But I cannot count the number of people who have written me sharing their stories of the Dairy Queen. For people growing up in small town America, Dairy Queen was the gathering place where, I’m convinced, we learned about life and love with a soft serve cone in our hands.
JG: In last year’s tornado Ringgold, GA, where your book is set, was destroyed. Can you describe what happened.
SGG: One killer tornado ripped right through the heart of town around 8:30 pm on August 27th. I live in Chattanooga about 10 miles north of Ringgold. I had watched the sky darken all day as one tornado after another swept through our area. I watched the debris field from miles and miles away swirl above downtown Chattanooga. But I was shocked when I woke up the next morning and realized what had happened to Ringgold.
Restaurants, churches, businesses, homes, schools were all destroyed. Eight people were killed, including two seniors from Ringgold High School.
Ringgold didn’t have a Dairy Queen, but there was a Chow Time. It, too, was gone.
JG: Susan, you mentioned when we reconnected that two book companies made contributions to the area after the tornado. Can you tell us a little about that generosity. How can others make a contribution?
SGG: A wonderful young woman from Ringgold, Julie Golden, contacted me about donating a signed copy to an online auction she was planning. She and I got together and decided to do something a little more. Out of that meeting, RINGGOLD READS was born. We’re a small group of book-loving volunteers of all ages that ran a social media campaign to bring novels back into the high school.
First thing we did was organize a social media campaign to collect novels for the high school.
Bookstores and book lovers from across the country began sending donations One little indie bookstore in Lititz, PA, partnered with us and sent books donated by their customers. And then Random House, my publisher, stepped up and donated big. They sent boxes and boxes of novels. Simon and Schuster read about the Random House contribution and did the same. We were overwhelmed with everyone's generosity.
The head of the school’s English department, Mark Pierce, saw an opportunity to further excite his students about books and reading. So now we’ve started the school’s very first after-school book club. We launched our effort with “Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen.” I was almost teary-eyed at our first meeting - thirty or more kids showing up after a long day at school to talk about a book. It was something special.
Our goal at Ringgold Reads is that every student that participates in the book club is able to keep his or her copy of the selected book.
JG: You also write on cooking. How did that happen?
SGG: Call it cliche, but it’s a Southern thing, I guess. I just can’t separate the foods I love to grow and cook from my writing. Now I’ve teamed up with a nutritionist and registered dietitian to tweak all of those favorite Southern comfort dishes so I can offer a healthy alternative.
I really believe preparing our foods is one of the most loving things we do for our families and our friends. I just want to give people a some healthier options.
It’s called the Southern Culinary Book Club because we love to tie our cooking to books whenever we can! Here is the website.
JG: Also, the novel you have just submitted. You indicate it’s darker. Have you become darker in your world view?
SGG: The title is tentatively called "The Funeral Dress." It is darker, (the title may give that away!) but I don’t think I’ve become darker in my world view. I think these thoughts have been there in my head simmering for a real long time. If anything, I think I’m more hopeful than ever before and maybe it’s only now that I'm able to go to those dark places and see a way out. I do believe you've got to walk through the valley before you can get to the mountain top.
JG: What advice would you give someone who has a “need” to write?
SGG: READ. And read critically. Read all kinds of books to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t, what you gravitate to and what turns you off. And then sit yourself down in a chair and start writing. For many, that’s the hardest part, staying in the chair!
JG: You also do speaking engagements? How can people book you for those?
SGG: I love to speak to groups. It's great to connect with people who love books as much as I do. Just visit my website. You can contact me from there.
JG: Thank you, Susan. It's funny, how lives and themes interconnect. "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen" got me through very tough times. It has been integral to my emerging success as a financial writer. I will be on the look-out at Barnes & Nobel for "The Funeral Dress."
Incidentally, many of the inhabitants of "Downton Abbey" are walking through the valley. Too bad they couldn't read "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen" to help them exit that dark place.
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