Joseph "Jody" Lane lives in Marion, NC and is a gay author.  Lane has a knack for telling funny tales and stories about his family and small town in Georgia where he grew up.  After non-stop encouragement from friends saying, "You should write a book," Lane has done just that. 

In July, OutSkirts Press published Lane's first collection of 12 tales into one volume.  Swamp Gossip - Whispers from Undeneath the Mayhaw Tree: Ten Reasons to Elope revolves around the gossip and one-upmanship storytelling at a tea party in honor of bride-to-be Savannah Mosley in the home of Anastasia Dillard Sinclair (no relation to OIA's own Stephanie Sinclair, that we know of) in the town of Mayhaw Crossings.

All the town's leading ladies have gathered to toast the bride with punch, tea, and an array of baked goodies.  As it is a celebration of the bride's impending nuptials, the conversation naturally turns to weddings of the past.  In this case, however, the talk is not about the gaiety, gorgeous dresses, beautiful flowers, and sumptuous meals but of planning pitfalls and wedding day disasters.  Each of the guests takes a turn at telling a tale of wit and warning to the bride-to-be, Savannah.

Maybelle Dinkins tells her frightening tale of being spun around like a top when her son her off then sped off while her dress was caught in the car door. The tea hostess, Anastasia Dillard Sinclair relays the story of her daughter's wedding when some bad decorating and a strong breeze set her dining room on fire. Another woman makes the suggestion to taste everything you plan to serve the wedding guests because she once served bath soaps mistaken for shell shaped crackers.

All of the short tales are of the cautionary variety: what to do and what not to do on the day of the wedding or while planning it.  The tales included in Swamp Gossip - Whispers from Underneath the Mayhaw Tree: Ten Reasons to Elope are short, sweet, and will bring on a good bout of the giggles.  And in the spirit of the Jack Tales of Appalachia, they would be very entertaining to read out loud to a group.

This little volume will make a good gift for anyone in your family, betrothed or not, especially as we enter the holiday gift-giving season.  Of course, though the humor in it might distract your family from talking about politics may cause them to turn to you and ask that ever-dreaded question, "So, when are you going to get married?"  Then again, maybe some of the little disasters discussed will put them off the idea of you and your main squeeze having a big fancy formal wedding and they will instead suggest y'all just run off to California, Connecticut, or Massachusetts and elope.

Swamp Gossip - Whispers from Underneath the Mayhaw Tree: Ten Reasons to Elope is an enjoyable volume and I look forward to Jody Lane's next literary offering.

Swamp Gossip - Whispers from Underneath the Mayhaw Tree: Ten Reasons to Elope by Jody Lane is a $7.95 paperback available in local bookstores or from Amazon.com.