A conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kathleen Parker

By Margaret Evans, Editor

Calling myself a Kathleen Parker "fan" would be like calling my teenage daughter a Harry Potter fan – a gross understatement. Though I seldom curl up on rainy days with a pile of old Parker columns – a la Amelia with old Potter movies – Kathleen has topped my short list of must-read columnists for as long as I can remember. Smart, witty, fearless, southern. Slightly right of center, except when she's not. Vexing Republicans as often as she does Democrats. Maybe a little ornery.

She’s not just a role model; she’s my spirit animal.

(A version of this essay first appeared in October of 2011. Hopefully, you won’t remember it any better than I did.­ ­– Margaret)

So, last week I’m on my back deck, beating a rug into submission with a broom. It’s another splendid fall afternoon, but I hardly notice.

A conversation with Patti Callahan, author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis

By Margaret Evans, Editor

Like so many of my favorite people, Patti Callahan Henry entered my life thanks to Pat Conroy. Though her reputation as a New York Times bestselling novelist preceded her, we met at Pat’s 70^th birthday celebration a few years ago, quickly learned we had some things in common – Alabama, for one – and just sort of clicked, like women sometimes (but not always) do. I interviewed Patti for the Conroy Center’s Porch Talk blog when she published her 12^th novel, The Bookshop at Water’s End, and our friendship grew, but it wasn’t until I heard about her latest project that I knew we were truly kindred spirits.