A funny thing happened before a recent book signing of my published book Miss Hildreth Wore Brown - Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. A new library had just been built in my hometown and the library foundation had graciously asked me to do a book signing.  The event would be complete with a Southern tea and beautiful belles in antebellum dresses using the catchy theme “Books and Belles.” The Sunday before this lovely event, the announcement came out in our local newspaper, but due to a sleepy proof editor the event was billed “Books and Bellies—A Taste of the South.” The head of the library foundation immediately called with the words, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. My friend said to look on the bright side—maybe a lot of people will come just to see exactly what she is going to do!”

I assured this gracious gal that if they were expecting a belly dance they would be sorely disappointed. As I explained, “I was raised by a host of Southern women and threatened within an inch of my life if I ever showed my belly in public. I am still not over it. This belly has yet to see the light of day.”

As my birthright, I passed this on to my daughter. It is true I had to give in to bikinis, but if she were not within two inches of a beach, her belly was not to be seen. Before she left the house, I even made her perform the “belly test,” as she exasperatedly called it. She had to raise both arms so I could be sure her shirt covered every inch of her belly. If you are raised by a slew of Southern women, some lessons stick for life. Trust me on this one!

Midwife of Venice

AUTHOR: Roberta Rich

PUBLISHED BY: Gallery Books

ISBN: 978-1-44516-5747-0

RELEASED DATE: February 2012

PAGES: 344

    Hanna Levi, a Jewish midwife, is known through Venice for helping mothers give birth by using the ‘birthing spoons’ that she designs herself. A Papal forbids any Jews to give medical treatments to Christians, which the rule has never been a problem for Hanna, until a Christian nobleman asks for her help. His wife has been in labor for days and he wants Hanna to help with his son’s birth. In exchange, he’ll pay for husband Isaac’s ransom. Isaac has been captured and forced into slavery in Malta. Hanna must go against her religion to help save her husband.

Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch
BY: Lara Parker
PUBLISHED BY: Tor
PUBLISHED IN: First Mass Market Edition 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7002-0
PAGES: 336

    The now human Barnabas Collins is ready to start a new life with his fiancée Dr. Julia Hoffman, who curried him from the vampire curse set upon him by the witch Angelique. The Old House, which was mostly burnt in the previous novel, is now owned by the mysterious flower child named Antoinette, who is the split image of Angelique. Julia tells him to forget about it, but he can’t forget about all the horror the witch has put him through.

    Barnabas, along with his manservant Willie Loomis, stumbles into the reconstructed Old House and he shockingly finds that the interior is the exact duplicate, as if the fire never occurred. Now he is more than sure that Angelique has returned from the grave. Before leaving, they find a corpse with bite marks on the neck. Is there another vampire in Collinsport?

    Barnabas is determined to find out the truth, which takes him and young David Collins to Salem, where he starts to have doubts about who Antoinette is. He even starts to fall in love with her. Barnabas is soon encountered with the so-called-vampire and is bitten. Now to save the Collins family he may have to return to his curse.

I stumbled upon Dark Shadows: The Best of Barnabas part of The Greatest Episodes Collection at my local Wal-Mart for under ten dollars. Dark Shadows aired from 1966 to 1971 normally in the late afternoons. At the time of it’s peek Dark Shadows had around twenty million viewers, which is an incredible number compared to the low ratings of today’s soap operas (Sadly, there are only four on the air.). And it was known for having errors, such as actors forgetting their lines; stagehands walking in the background; microphones where in the frame shot; etc, because of the tight filming schedule demanded by ABC.

There have been dozens of Dark Shadows sets released over the years. The complete series is coming out this summer but at a whopping $599.98 retail price tag. The show has become more popular due to Tim Burton’s remake starring Johnny Depp being released on Friday, resulting in MPI Home Video releasing The Best of Barnabas to DVD.

Dark Shadows: Angelique’s Descent
BY: Lara Parker
PUBLISHED BY: Tor
PUBLISHED IN: First Mass Market Edition 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7002-0
PAGES: 336

    Now cured of the vampire curse, Barnabas is ready to start a new live as a mortal, starting by furthering his relationship with his savior Dr. Julia Hoffman. He is now living in the Collinwood estate and plans on becoming a productive member of the family. The night before the demolition crew is scheduled to tear down the Old House, he returns there just before a mysterious fire occurs, burning down almost the entire house. The only item that survived the burning was a journal. The journal of the witch Angelique Bouchard.

    Despite of Julia’s demands for him to toss the book into the fireplace, Barnabas begins reading the haunted tale that takes place on island of Martinique. At a young age Angelique is ripped from her mother’s arms and forced to live with her father, a plantation owner. Voodoo witchcraft had been in her family line and at an early age her father recognized it in her. Angelique is treated more like a slave than a daughter as she is used in her father’s scheme to control his slaves, leading her into pledging her soul to darkness and becoming immortal.