Meeting the Cracker Queen

After reading the book The Cracker Queen, written by Lauretta Hannon, I’d discovered that she lived on the main street in Powder Springs. Lauretta Hannon moved to Powder Springs and began a business of teaching others to write.

I saw in the local newspaper her business is named and is located in the upper floor of the . I signed up for one of her discussion sessions. This session was a discussion of her book, The Cracker Queen.

The cost was extremely low, but I felt it would be an introductory to her and her book and more writing sessions with Ms. Hannon. Ms. Hannon served cute little sandwiches from a nearby luncheonette. There was soda, wine and chips and dips.

It was a very nice display and tasted great. There was a limited number of attendees, around 20 southern women. Only one other Yankee woman besides myself. As Lauretta began her discussion, I began to really like this woman for her humor and her great upbeat outlook on life.

The stories in the book The Cracker Queen are about a little southern girl who grew up surrounded by some interesting characters. She embraces her past and grew to be a writer and an inspiration to others.

I felt a bond from her stories about growing up whether it be south, the north, east or the wild, wild west; we all have character in our life, some good and some not so good, but we learn from everyone of them something about life. 

Before I knew it the 2-hour session with these humorous women was about to end, but not before a great question and answer session. There were so many interesting stories among the woman with memories of their families, friends, neighbors from their own small towns in the south that I found myself laughing throughout the session and beyond.

I definitely recommend this book, The Cracker Queen, to all my friends, especially those who can relate to her life story. I bought one of The Cracker Queen books from the display for my sweet daughter in law, which Lauretta autographed for me.

Note you can’t autograph a Nook or a Kindle. I also had bought a copy at a local bookstore a few months ago and Lauretta wrote a special message in the book for my daughter.

The Hive is located above the Powder Springs Florist. Up a creaky stairway and down the hallway and into The Hive. It’s a writer’s loft with a very old time feel. I fully expected my long gone Nana and Poppy to come down the hall and sit on that big red couch looking like they were right at home in the comfortable setting.

A gentle scattering of a few antiques were selectively placed in the room. The big beautiful red couch with many antiqued chairs scattered about the room. Antiques such as a hunt and peck typewriter sat on a wood stained table with some very old very used books.

The Hive is a perfect retreat to a writer looking for inspiration in the past. Ms. Hannon collects inspirational quotes. She seemed spread the inspirations of the quotations in her book, each chapter has a notable quote, on a wall were some framed words of wisdom hanging next to each other and in her talk were tips of famous men and women throughout history quoted from writers, old presidents and their wives, creative people who are known for saying just the perfect phrase to suit a situation.

Lauretta can come up with the perfect quote for any problem that parks on your front porch. Lauretta Hannon had some unique Wonder Cards, she created for sale. These cards had inspirational messages on them. I bought a set to have for my very own.

There were other unique items: a redneck wine glass made me laugh. On one wall she has a schedule of future sessions. These sessions are price worthy for a writer seeking guidance from a pro. For more information about The Cracker Queen, Lauretta Hannon, and The Hive, go here