POETS & WRITERS &&

April 19, 2018 Leesa Cross-Smith

Exciting! I wrote an essay called IN PRAISE OF QUIET BOOKS for the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. It's avail only in print! And you can read my convo w/Silas House (one of my v fave writers) online here! You can also listen to me read the opening section of my essay on the Ampersand podcast!

I also wrote abt finding inspiration in period pieces and pretty dresses for WRITERS RECOMMEND!

And so many lovely and kind bookstagrammers have been taking the prettiest pics of WHISKEY & RIBBONS! You can follow me in IG @leesacrosssmith and I try to keep up w/posting them bc they're beautiful and I love seeing them!

Dig the EVENTS page for where I'll be for the rest of April and May! SOKY book fest, Arkansas Lit Fest, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Quail Ridge and Flyleaf and Greensboro Bound in NC! If y're in or around these places, come say Hi! <3

WHISKEY & RIBBONS LAUNCH WEEK! AVAILABLE NOW!

March 11, 2018 Leesa Cross-Smith

WHISKEY & RIBBONS Research Notes over @ Necessary Fiction!

WHISKEY & RIBBONS playlist over @ Largehearted Boy!

@prose_and_palate's March Book Picks over @ SheReads! (and she took the beautiful pic above!)

My Lit Box Reveal! WHISKEY & RIBBONS is one of their March picks!

And Audible Audiobook available now too!

WHISKEY & RIBBONS IS OUT IN THE WORLD! YOU CAN BUY IT!

March 6, 2018 Leesa Cross-Smith

AVAILABLE NOW!
@HubCity
@Amazon
@BarnesandNoble
@Audible
@ YOUR LOCAL INDIE/anywhere books are sold! Pls request if they don't have it! And same for yr local library too!

You can also read an excerpt over @ Lit Hub!

INTERVIEW @ ELECTRIC LITERATURE

February 23, 2018 Leesa Cross-Smith

Over @ Electric Literature I talked to Latria Graham abt writing Whiskey & Ribbons and Kentucky and and and!

While reading, I came across the idea of a fugue, a piece of music that intertwines several different voices, some of them repetitious, and then a voice drops out. That’s exactly what I needed to do when I was putting this book together.

EMOTIONAL RESCUE @ LENNY LETTER

February 20, 2018 Leesa Cross-Smith

I wrote abt my crush on Matthias Schoenaerts and crushes in gen over @ Lenny Letter. Such a beautiful illustration by Chrissy Curtin! And thank you to Jessica Grose and Jack Jones Literary Arts and Hub City Press and my super-agent, Kerry D'Agostino for making magic happen! <3

Though I was blown away by Cotillard’s performance, in truth, I only watched Rust and Bone originally because of Matthias Schoenaerts, the actor who works alongside her. I have a crush on him. My celebrity crushes are emotional rescue when the world is too much. Like a security blanket or a warm mug of tea, they serve a right, proper, selfish purpose — one piece of the puzzle to your girl’s chill, emotional well-being.

THE GLIMMERING HUSH

February 16, 2018 Leesa Cross-Smith

The first installment of my column THE GLITTERING HUSH is live @ Oxford American as part of their The By and By series! It's abt finding quiet in a loud world and comes complete w/mixtape tracklist!

I think often of escaping from noise. Wherever I am, I like to sit by windows, doors. I like knowing how to get away when I need to get away. I’m easily startled and I hate loud sounds. I don’t mind natural loud noises like thunder or rain or wind; I love the deep rattle of a summer storm, the drip and birdsongs afterward in rainbow light. There is a cocky rooster a couple houses down from us and I love hearing him—that’s a Kentucky, country kind of quiet I love. Can I find the away-from-the-city, Kentucky quiet I’m used to when I’m in a busy urban area like Atlanta? Virginia? North Carolina? South Carolina? Arkansas? Tennessee? Anywhere? Everywhere?