I met Joshilyn Jackson last year in Atlanta and thought she was a riot. So, I can't wait to read her new book, BETWEEN, GEORGIA. Here's a little teaser about Joshilyn's follow-up to GODS IN ALABAMA.

There's always been bad blood between the Fretts and the Crabtrees. After all, the Fretts practically own the tiny town of Between, Georgia, while the Crabtrees only rent space in its jail cells.

Nonny Frett understands the meaning of the phrase "in between a rock and a hard place" better than any woman alive. She's got two mothers, "one deaf-blind and the other four baby steps from flat crazy." She's got two men: a husband who's easing out the back door; and a best friend, who's laying siege to her heart in her front yard. And she has two families: the Fretts, who stole her and raised her right; and the Crabtrees, who lost her and won't forget how they were done wrong. Now, in Between, Georgia, population 90, a feud that began the night Nonny was born is escalating, and a random act of violence is about to ignite a stash of family secrets. Ironically, it might be just what the town needs...if only Nonny weren't stuck in between.

"From bittersweet to laugh-out-loud hilarious, the essays in this collection all sparkle with charm, style and wit. No doubt about it, if you grew up reading Judy Blume, you will love this book." - Sarah Mlynowski, best selling author of MILKRUN and BRAS AND BROOMSTICKS

That's me, on the left, in 1976 celebrating the bi-centennial with a few sparklers. This photo was actually the inspiration for my essay in the anthology EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING A GIRL I LEARNED FROM JUDY BLUME.

Last night I had to get together all the author photos for the Judy Blume anthology, and it was so much fun. One of the contributors, Elise Juska, wanted to use a picture of herself as a young girl on a swingset - the very swingset she writes about in her essay. Brilliant, right? It snowballed from there and it was decided that we should all use photos of us as young girls versus the stunning women we grew up to be (or something like that). Well, everyone sent me their photos and they're so fabulous - Stacey Ballis with huge monsterous rollers in her hair and the requisite early 80's thin tie around her neck. Cara Lockwood holding her baby brother, who is the inspiration for Cara's Fudge-like essay. Diana Peterfreund jumping into a pool, which plays on the theme of her essay, inspired by STARRING SALLY J FREEDMAN AS HERSELF. Melissa Senate holding either a very hairy cat or a stuffed animal that's seen better days. And a very cool portrait done by one of Laura Ruby's artistic friends. The photos are chock-full of Esprit sweatshirts, big glasses and frizzy hair. I loved them. And it was amazing how many of the authors used photos that are so completely tied to the themes of their essays. Which just goes to prove that Judy Blume moments don't just happen on the pages of a book - they happen in real life, too.