The first physical copies of She-Rain just arrived. Ten plus years of work distill into those pages. As its creator, I am in awe of my good fortune -- especially to have worked with my wife, Jill, to bring the final book into being.

In The Jerk, Steve Martin's character, Navin Johnson, finds his name published in the phone book as says, "...I'm in print! Things are going to start happening for me now!" Then a wild-eyed maniac sniper started shooting at him off a hill. But Navin more than survived. The naive stooge thrived! May I become so fortunate.

To publish is to ask for the smokin'-hot rounds of critics. I'm braced. Working in television will do that for you. But I'm blessed already with the light of lavish praise on this southern story. Readers have called it beautiful. Poetic. They've said it changed them for the better, and that they're longing for more. To all of you who've embraced pieces of She-Rain even before you could buy it, THANK YOU!! And stay tuned. I'm a writer who believes every reader -- on some level -- becomes family. I want to hear from all of you. How you are. And how you've liked living for a while in the entire world according to -- She-Rain.

National debut coming March 31. Launch parties in the Carolinas before then. As we say in the South, even occasionally on TV, "come on, y'all. Come on in!"