Cobalt Blue Arrives at Quail Ridge
Goodness, gracious, it wasn't supposed to be out until the end of this month, which is almost 30 days away. But then mid-week I started to hear rumors: your book is on the shelf at Quail Ridge Books & Music.
Official publication dates never do mean a whole lot; books drift out in the neighborhood of the assigned day. This is the first time, though, that I've had a book show up a month early.
But then the story of Cobalt Blue has been gestating for decades, so maybe it just got impatient.
I, however, am not quite ready. My website still needs a make-over. I don't have new cards. What have I been doing?
And then a larger question: am I ready to deal with reactions to this shocking-to-some book?
It's a story about ecstatic religion and sex, the two wound all around each other. Not an idea new to me: you may be familiar with the Bernini sculpture "The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa." This pretty well expresses the mood of the book.
The story in the novel, though, is about a more contemporary woman, a painter living in Pinehurst, who is taken by surprise by a religious experience she doesn't recognize or understand. Her initial reaction is to run completely amok, or one could say, to "act out" sexually.
The New York Times called my previous novel Sister India "a spooky excursion into the lost territory of the soul." Cobalt Blue travels deeper into that territory, but the light does finally gloriously rise.
Should you read it, and I hope you will, I'd like to hear what you think.
To get it:
Quail Ridge is the one place I know to have it already on the shelf. Should be arriving at other stores soon:
Categories: 2013
Tags: Bernini, Cobalt Blue, ecstasy of st. Theresa, ecstatic religion, Peggy Payne, Quail Ridge, sex and religion
Comments
This is exciting, Peggy, and I'm even more intrigued after reading your comments on the book — this sounds really compelling. I'd rather buy books at Quail Ridge than anywhere else, so I'll be making a beeline to the store as soon as I can get more than a couple of waking hours in Raleigh!
Thank you, Mary, and I’m pleased that you’re intrigued.
Congrats, my dear Peggy! Can't wait for your first reading! Forget all the small stuff. We're never prepared for significant change. Hopefully Cobalt Blue will create all kinds of conversation about how we think about religion, sex, health, and God. Enjoy the ride! -Jodi
Thank you, dear Jodi! I’m very excited about the ride, which seems to be off to an auspicious start.
Also, Jodi, first reading will most likely be the one at Quail Ridge on Sunday, April 28, at 3 pm. That also kicks off the Crazy Ladies Book Tour, with Carrie Knowles, who also has a new novel about a woman who goes off the rails.
ecstasy looking forward
I’m in a fairly ecstatic mood myself, Bob.
Dearest Peggy, I am so incredibly excited for you!!! I first read Sister India when I met you down at Rancho La Puerta and as you know, I absolutely loved it!!! It made my trip down to Mexico even more meaningful as I sat outside on my own veranda reading it at a very luxurious pace:) Pure decadence! I have been looking forward to reading this novel since you mentioned it to me after reading one of my posts about cobalt sea glass, several years ago! I am going to order it right now:) Best of luck with your newest baby! I cannot wait to watch as you soar once more:)
Love and big hugs,
Deb
You are so generous, dear Deb. And your comment brings back good memories of that time at Rancho. Well, I hope you like this one….