SOMETIMES YOU DON'T
GET EVERYTHING YOU WANT....
SOMETIMES YOU GET LAVENDER.

This is the theme of the book Jeannie Ralston, Hill Country Lavender's co-founder, has written. Called The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming, the book is the true story of a magazine writer who after a stimulating former life in Manhattan and Austin moves to the pastoral expanses of the Texas Hill Country with her husband and discovers the joys and rewards of taking a chance on a new way of life.

Jeannie, a writer and editor, once had a flourishing career in New York, but meeting the love of her life, a photographer named Robb, would change all that. Robb longed to settle down in the country. Jeannie was loathe to leave her urban lifestyle, until they struck a bargain: She'd move to rural Texas if Robb would agree to start their family.

The Unlikely Lavender Queen is Jeannie’s memoir of her life as an urban settler in rural Texas. She chronicles the experience of converting a dilapidated barn into a livable home; records with wit and bemusement her nostalgia for everything from lattes to The New York Times; lays bare her loneliness during Robb’s frequent National Geographic photo assignments, and raises doubts that plague so many women of her generation--had she given up too much?

When Robb returns from a trip to Provence with a plan for starting a lavender farm on their land, Jeannie, mother of two, is skeptical. But much to her surprise, in the course of managing the farm she discovers a new side of herself. By selling blooms to local florists, opening the farm to the public and developing 62 lavender-related products, Jeannie turns Hill Country Lavender into a thriving enterprise–and her life into an unexpected adventure, which all of you lavender customers have been part of!

BOOK RELEASE DATE: MAY 28, 2008. STAY TUNED.

Jeannie's book will be published by Doubleday Broadway Books just in time for lavender season at Hill Country Lavender. There will be many events here at our farm and across Texas to celebrate this wonderful book. Please check back. We will post information about events as they are scheduled. Also, you can now pre-order signed copies of the book before its release. Plus, we're sure to be selling the book on this site for a long time. All books sold here will be signed. Can Amazon guarantee you that?

For more information on the book,
including the first chapter,
please visit: www.jeannieralston.com

Book Signing Schedule

June 6 — Greenwood, SC
South Carolina Festival of Flowers
Featured speaker
www.scfestivalofflowers.org

June 7 — Austin, TX
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Presentation and book signing
www.wildflower.org

June 14 and 15 — Blanco, TX
Blanco Lavender Festival
Special readings and book signings at Hill Country Lavender during the Blanco Lavender Festival. She will be making a special appearance on Saturday and Sunday to sign copies and read from her newly released book. 11am and 1pm, Saturday & Sunday. 
Find out more ›››
www.blancolavenderfestival.com

June 14 and 15 — Blanco, TX
Jeannie be at the old county courthouse in Blanco for a reading and signing of her book on Saturday June 14th at 3:30pm. So if you miss her at the event listed above, you can catch her here.

July 12 and 13 — Albuquerque, NM
Los Poblanos Lavender Farm
Lavender in the Village Festival
Readings and book signings
www.lavenderinthevillage.com

Pre-Order your SIGNED copy today at 15% off retail!

Order and pay for your hot-off-the-press copy from the place where it all started and yours will be the first shipment when the book is released in May.

And only during this pre-order period, you'll get it at 15% off the retail price!

The Unlikely Lavender Queen by Jeannie Ralston
Retail: $23.95
Pre-Order: $20.35