March 6, 2026 • 22 mins
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
When I was eleven, I almost killed all of the
children in my neighborhood. My flirtation with potential mass murder
began innocently enough. It was the summer of nineteen seventy seven. Long,
sweaty days of playing Red Rover and King of the
Mountain blended into night spent waiting for the ice cream
truck to come jangling down old farm road to the
(00:21):
base of our cul de sac, where we'd shell out
fifty cents of hard earned allowance for orange pushups and
ice cream sandwiches and sit on the curb licking drips
off of our wrists. I loved my friends. I didn't
set out to kill them.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Welcome to the Public Library Podcast. Sorry, here's your host
and podcast librarian, award winning poet, future bestselling author, and
host of one of the most listened to radio shows
in America, Helen Little.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Hello, book lovers, and welcome to another episode of the
Public Library Podcast. I'm excited to have as my guest.
Who's Annwortz, author of Champagne Girl in a bud Wiser Family.
Welcome to the show, Hi.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Helen, I'm so glad to be here. Thank you for
having me.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
So it is very excited to be talking to you
because we have a lot in common, and I found
out even more that we have in common as I
was reading your book. But first tell us a little
bit what the book is about.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah, it's a story of growing up in the South
in the seventies, sixties, and seventies, mostly the seventies, and
then into the eighties as I as I head off
to college. But it's kind of a nostalgic trip down
memorily lane, really and the changes in a life and
a spunky girl who has champagne dreams. I mean, ever
(01:44):
since I was a little kid, clearly I sparkled to
find something bigger and better than what was offered to
me in the place that I was in, and how
I faced all the challenges and obstacles of growing up,
which are just so relatable, I think to most people.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Why did you decide to write this book?
Speaker 1 (02:02):
You know, I've been a storyteller for quite a while.
I've been telling stories on stages in southern California where
I live for many years, and most of the stories,
actually all of the stories in this book were told
on stage at one point in time, and as you know,
over the course of a decade, I'd probably told one
(02:24):
hundred and fifty stories on stage, and at some point
I started noticing a theme and almost a collection started
kind of forming from that. And it had always been
a dream of mine to write a book. And then
when I realized, gosh, you've already got the stories, start
putting them together. And that's where that came from.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, so I could tell from the disclaimer that it
was that I was going to absolutely love this book.
What was it like for you to create it, to
put it together because you already had these stories.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, at least I was the gatherer of the pieces,
and you know, I had probably forty pieces gathered together.
At last April, actually, and I was at my daughter's wedding,
and I didn't have a title for the book that
was starting to take form. I hadn't really thought about
(03:20):
how the collection would come together, but it was still
sitting there in my heart. Is something I really wanted
to do. And when my daughter was getting married, we
gave my husband and I gave her a certain amount
of money, but she wanted a much more ostentatious wedding,
let's say, than what we were providing for her, and
so at the rehearsal dinner, my husband leans into me
(03:42):
and he says, oh, my gosh, Suzanne, have we raised
a champagne girl in a Budweiser family? And I looked
at him and I said, no, no, no, honey, our
daughter is in a Heineken family. We have elevated the
bar a little bit. But when he said that, I realized,
you know, he'd listened to something that I had told
him many times over of our life together, that my
(04:03):
mother always called me a champagne girl in a Budweiser family.
She had told me this throughout my life, and all
of a sudden, when he said that to me, I'm like, Oh,
that is the arc. That's the story, the girl who
is bubbling to do something bigger and better. And when
I realized that, it kind of gave me a container
for how the story could come together, because this opens
(04:26):
when I'm six years old, and the last story is
when I'm twenty two and I leave North Carolina to
come to California, which is my chance to chase those
quote unquote champagne dreams. And when he gave me that
little gem, it sat there. You know, I watched my
daughter get married and I was just deeply engrossed in
that time. But that's a chapter. That's a closed chapter
(04:47):
in a new book opening right for her, and kind
of at the same time, it was a new book
opening for me. It was an opportunity to find something
new to focus on. So by the when I got home,
I'm like, okay, okay, you've got this little piece. What
stories are missing? Then I started filling in.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
But it was also something that your mother had said
to you.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Correct except yes, it was already in one of the stories,
you know. And I always love that, don't you when
when you're reading a book and you find the chapter
that reveals, oh, that's why they called it this, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
So yeah, So lately I have been enjoying, no, I
have been relishing Southern stories. You know, I'm a transplant
also here in New York City, and these stories transport
me home. What impact, if any, has your location had
on writing this book in terms of your own personal
(05:41):
nostalgia as a transplant.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
I love the South, you know, it is It's baked
into my soul. You know I am. I am birthed
from the the Appalachian soil and the Outer Bank sand
that this is this is the co of me. But
I have lived out west for over thirty years now,
(06:04):
and reflecting back on where I came from has been
such a gift, you know. And it's and it's not
just of the place, but it is of the time.
And I think we're all a little desperate for some
nostalgia right now because things are tough in our world,
and I love looking back at that time, you know.
And we are actually very very fortunate in this time
(06:28):
that we're in how accessible finding the information is, because
I'll get an idea, Gosh, what was that store called,
or what was that thing that we that we aid
as children that I haven't had before, And you can
find that information so easily now, you know. So that's
(06:51):
that's a gift. That's something I'm grateful for right now.
But the simplicity of the time in which I grew up,
I also am very nostalgia for.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Yeah, same here. Your stories reminded me of our shared humanity,
not just you and I, because full disclosure, we both
grew up in North Carolina. We both attended the University
of North Carolina. But your stories took me back and
reminded me of you and c seeking our native roots
via DNA and most of all, growing up we had
(07:22):
tick checks too. Did you ever imagine your stories to
be unifying?
Speaker 1 (07:30):
You know, that's a good question, and yes I did, because,
like I said, I've been doing storytelling on stages and
I also produced storytelling shows, and I've found it is
such an amazing gift to sit and listen to people's
share stories and to take a glimpse into another person's life,
(07:52):
because inevitably there is something that connects us. Regardless of
what the story is, there is something that next people,
and it's needed again now more than ever, I think,
for people just to sit and listen. But the same
thing happens when you're reading a book and you're finding
similarities in a character, or you're taking a trip into
(08:14):
a place you've never been, but you're seeing where there
are points of connection. Right. But the storytelling did tell
me that there would be things that people that resonated
with people unexpectedly, and certainly while I've been part doing
this book tour, the Q and A and the conversations
(08:35):
afterwards have always resulted in surprises too. The things that
popped for one person is different from what resonates for
someone else. But it's always engaging to have those conversations,
and it's always engaging to listen to people share their stories.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
So this generation will never know things like Bruce Jenner
being a sex symbol, Nadia Nelly, and Olga as sports stars.
That kind of stuck with me. How would you like
what you shared in your stories to impact others younger
or older generations?
Speaker 1 (09:11):
That has also been fun while sharing the book with
people in bookstores and at other events. You know, the
folks my age and older significantly older, really, because it
seems like, you know, once we got to maybe the
two thousands, late nineties and technology really started speeding up,
(09:31):
there's kind of a before and after high tech. Right. Yeah,
But people who are in their seventies, eighties, nineties now
that I've had conversations with relate to my stories because
my childhood was fairly similar to theirs in many cases,
right people my children says, My children are in their twenties,
and they love the stories too, because they wish for
(09:55):
childhoods that were more similar to what we grew up with.
That freedom to take off on your bicycle in the
morning and you didn't see your mother until dinner time,
and she just assumed you were fine because you were
with your pack of friends.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
You know, how did we survive?
Speaker 1 (10:10):
I don't know. You know, you ate wherever you were,
and you know you came home with crawdads and a bucket.
I mean, you know, Yeah, it was a different time,
and it's fun I think for them to hear and
to read that kind of thing and to sort of
relate to the character and that they relate to the
(10:32):
childhood quests for finding yourself right, But they came at
it from a different angle, and certainly current children are
coming at it from a different angle because they're holding
phones in their hands in many cases, and that's where
they're doing their exploration.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Well, so many of your stories had me laughing, especially
the driver's license story, but you do take us on
a roller coaster ride through a wide range of feelings laughter, empathy, joy, fear, nostalgia.
Just to mention a few, what kind of ride did
they take you on?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
As a writer, I tend to try to find humor
in most things. That's kind of always been my go to.
But there are some more challenging stories in this book.
For sure. There was a lot to navigate, and I
can say that those stories took longer to craft, for sure,
(11:27):
you know, the eating disorder, the the you know, stories
about coming to terms to some extent with my religious upbringing,
stories about that quest for identity, those were all a
little bit more difficult to write, for sure. But then
in sharing those the conversations were so much more rich
(11:49):
as well. Right. You know, we can all talk about
the things that we reflect on on our childhood that
were happy memories or the trips down memory lane, right,
But the stuff that is, you know, really to the
core of humanity, right, the struggles that we go through.
Those are those really powerful and meaningful conversations that get
(12:10):
opened up once somebody has admitted, right and shared that
they have had this this struggle or this this this
turning point in their lives. That's powerful. That's really powerful.
So I'm really grateful because I, you know, I learned
in the process of putting these stories together that I'm
(12:30):
not alone, right, that you know, and pretty much that
always happens when you share your truth. You do find
that out, you do discover that.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Well. To me, one of the wildest rides was your
first days after college in la and that made the
hair on my arm stand up when you relive this
more challenging part of these stories. I mean, you you
definitely don't just share the sunny side. What was it
about the authenticity of telling those stories?
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You know, I appreciate looking back at my bravery. I
wish that I could harness that a little bit more now,
you know, I think we get a little bit more
set in our ways as we get older, less less
of a risk taker. You know what Helen's referring to.
I came out to California with two hundred dollars and
(13:22):
no job, and the expectation that showing that University of
North Carolina a degree to someone would mean that here's
your first paycheck. You know, you've got a job. I don't.
I was very, very naive, and I don't think I
would have taken a lot of the risks that I
(13:43):
took had I not been naive. And I got very
lucky in many many ways just to have survived some
of the silly choices that I made in my life.
You know, I'm just very grateful as I as I
put those pieces together, I felt very fortunate that I
(14:03):
had the gumption and the grace to make it through
and be able to reflect on Wow, Okay, you know
what you did something daring.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Girl, It's okay, and you're still there. For me, it
was like what I took from that is I kind
of wished that I had done something as bold. I
had a lot of admiration for you taking that step
and doing something so bold.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Granks.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Thank you. So now that you have this book into
the world, are you planning a next book?
Speaker 1 (14:36):
I am. I'm actually working on a piece of fiction now,
which is a little more challenging for me, and I'm
stretching my imagination in that way. But it takes place
in the South, in a fictional town in Tennessee, and
I'm loosely basing it on my father's childhood and some
of the stories that I heard from him. He grew
up in the Appalachian Mountains. And you know, I'm not
(14:58):
that deep into it, but it's really fun, and I
feel like putting one book into the world has given
me a little bit more courage to take more chances
with another one. So that's that's a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
What was the most fun You're talking about this being
fun now on the new project. What was the most
fun about writing Champagne Girl in a Budweiser family.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Well, the best day was the day the book showed
up and you're holding your baby in your hand. Yes,
best selling author, future best selling author, Helen Little. You
will have that feeling.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Will I long for a.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Best selling book? That was the best day, you know,
And the readings have been really fun. You were asking
about the writing, you know, watching the arc kind of
form once I committed to what this was. Writing those
last few stories to kind of fill in the gaps
was a lot of fun because I knew it was
(15:57):
starting to come to fruition. But having the conversation since
it came out has been great. Although I have learned
that I much prefer promoting other people's work and than
doing my own. It's really difficult to put yourself out there.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
It's harder than I anticipated it to be. I thought
that that would be something I loved, but it's really
hard to hustle.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
It's interesting because you get up on stage in front
of people, and and now that it sounds like it's
hard for you to get in front of people when
you're already getting in front of people.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, you know. I think it's fun to tell the
stories when or share what you've written. It's a little
bit harder to talk about yourself like to you know,
not in the crafted story, but just about you. And
that's just a little bit more difficult to me. But
I got into storytelling because a neighbor across the street
(16:55):
from me that I used to take walks with is
a fantastic storyteller started telling me on a walk one
day about this storytelling she does. So she brought me
along to a small storytelling venue here in southern California
called story Salon, and it's a weekly storytelling venue. And
eventually I got the courage to get up on stage.
And actually the first story I ever shared was a
(17:17):
version of that driver's license story that you mentioned earlier,
and I just kind of got the bug. But I've
been listening to the Moth forever and my friend, her
name is Vicky Units. She has told so many stories
and is a Moth Grand Slam multi time winner, and
(17:37):
that just inspired me. I was drawn into the points
of connection and that experience of sitting in a room
and listening to other people's share is so profound, it
really is, and I just wanted a piece of that action.
You know, the more you do it. The more you
want to to engage that way.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I do because I've participate hated with a storytelling company
here called Generation Women, and it's six different women from
different generation Oh you do know it?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
I love. I love working with it and Georgia Clark,
who founded it and runs it. It's also an author.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I've gone to workshop with her.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
So what's the last book that stuck with you that
you read that was like a book hangover?
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Oh gosh, you know you know what it was. It
was the Paris Novel by Ruth Reichel.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Okay, have you read that? Oh?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
My gosh. You know she's a food critic for the
New York Times and she is. It's so delicious. It
was such a quick and delightful read. I absolutely adored
that book. The theme it's based on the deceased mother is
given her daughter this one way ticket in her will
(18:53):
that she has to go to Paris, and it's just
such a quest, you know, inspiring self discovery. And it's
a lot of really juicy sensory writing. And it's got
the fashion details of nineteen eighties Paris and the flavors
and food revelations. I mean, it's just a really yummy read.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
I do.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
I have to put that on my list. So, speaking
of Paris, do you have a favorite champagne? Cheerwine does
not count.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I'm more of a prosecco kind of girl. Actually, I
like kind of the sweet bubbles I like too. But
I did start with Andre Pink, so I have elevated
myself quite a bit.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Oh I remember Andre to ninety nine a bottle?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Oh? Do you ever enjoy an ice cold bud?
Speaker 1 (19:40):
You know what, girl, I graduated way beyond that. That's
one of those keg beers and I don't really do
that anymore.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Oh boy, the memories. What's the one thing you hope
people take away from reading your book?
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Childhood is something that you know, we carry with us always.
There's bits and pieces of who we were that is
always with us. I think perhaps a lot of my
stories take place when I'm around, like between ten and twelve,
and I think who you were then really is who
you are now. You know, when I share those stories,
(20:17):
you know of all of the party planning that I
did as a little kid and the organization of events
in my neighborhood that is exactly who I am right now,
you know, and I think it's fun for people to
reflect back on. I hope that they walk out, you know,
of the bookstore and step into my journey and realize
(20:41):
that they too are little many there were many survivors
within them. You know, we all made it through.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
Yes we did. So if people want to find your
book or find you, where can I find a book?
And then how can they connect with you? What's your
social you have a website or maybe you think if
they're interested in storytelling all of it?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, absolutely well, I love to tell people go to
your small bookstores in your community and order the book.
Your bookstores that if they don't have it, support the
small independent bookstores. That's where most of the readings that
I've done have taken place. However, it's also available on
Barnes Andnoble dot com. It's on Amazon as well, and
(21:22):
you let's see, you can connect with me at Suzannewertz
dot com. It's s u z A N N E
W E E r t s dot com and my
Instagram handle is Suzanne Worts Author. My storytelling information will
be on the website as well. I teach writing classes too,
(21:44):
and yeah, I'm honored to be here.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Thank you for being here. Suzanne Wertz. The book is
Champagne Girl in a Budweiser family, and I have thoroughly
enjoyed having you on the show. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I have loved being with you.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Hilly.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Let's do this again, Yes, another show in the books.
Join us for the next episode of the Public Library Podcast,
a place to check out books.
When I was eleven, I almost killed all of the
children in my neighborhood. My flirtation with potential mass murder
began innocently enough. It was the summer of nineteen seventy seven. Long,
sweaty days of playing Red Rover and King of the
Mountain blended into night spent waiting for the ice cream
truck to come jangling down old farm road to the
(00:21):
base of our cul de sac, where we'd shell out
fifty cents of hard earned allowance for orange pushups and
ice cream sandwiches and sit on the curb licking drips
off of our wrists. I loved my friends. I didn't
set out to kill them.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Welcome to the Public Library Podcast. Sorry, here's your host
and podcast librarian, award winning poet, future bestselling author, and
host of one of the most listened to radio shows
in America, Helen Little.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Hello, book lovers, and welcome to another episode of the
Public Library Podcast. I'm excited to have as my guest.
Who's Annwortz, author of Champagne Girl in a bud Wiser Family.
Welcome to the show, Hi.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Helen, I'm so glad to be here. Thank you for
having me.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
So it is very excited to be talking to you
because we have a lot in common, and I found
out even more that we have in common as I
was reading your book. But first tell us a little
bit what the book is about.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah, it's a story of growing up in the South
in the seventies, sixties, and seventies, mostly the seventies, and
then into the eighties as I as I head off
to college. But it's kind of a nostalgic trip down
memorily lane, really and the changes in a life and
a spunky girl who has champagne dreams. I mean, ever
(01:44):
since I was a little kid, clearly I sparkled to
find something bigger and better than what was offered to
me in the place that I was in, and how
I faced all the challenges and obstacles of growing up,
which are just so relatable, I think to most people.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Why did you decide to write this book?
Speaker 1 (02:02):
You know, I've been a storyteller for quite a while.
I've been telling stories on stages in southern California where
I live for many years, and most of the stories,
actually all of the stories in this book were told
on stage at one point in time, and as you know,
over the course of a decade, I'd probably told one
(02:24):
hundred and fifty stories on stage, and at some point
I started noticing a theme and almost a collection started
kind of forming from that. And it had always been
a dream of mine to write a book. And then
when I realized, gosh, you've already got the stories, start
putting them together. And that's where that came from.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, so I could tell from the disclaimer that it
was that I was going to absolutely love this book.
What was it like for you to create it, to
put it together because you already had these stories.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, at least I was the gatherer of the pieces,
and you know, I had probably forty pieces gathered together.
At last April, actually, and I was at my daughter's wedding,
and I didn't have a title for the book that
was starting to take form. I hadn't really thought about
(03:20):
how the collection would come together, but it was still
sitting there in my heart. Is something I really wanted
to do. And when my daughter was getting married, we
gave my husband and I gave her a certain amount
of money, but she wanted a much more ostentatious wedding,
let's say, than what we were providing for her, and
so at the rehearsal dinner, my husband leans into me
(03:42):
and he says, oh, my gosh, Suzanne, have we raised
a champagne girl in a Budweiser family? And I looked
at him and I said, no, no, no, honey, our
daughter is in a Heineken family. We have elevated the
bar a little bit. But when he said that, I realized,
you know, he'd listened to something that I had told
him many times over of our life together, that my
(04:03):
mother always called me a champagne girl in a Budweiser family.
She had told me this throughout my life, and all
of a sudden, when he said that to me, I'm like, Oh,
that is the arc. That's the story, the girl who
is bubbling to do something bigger and better. And when
I realized that, it kind of gave me a container
for how the story could come together, because this opens
(04:26):
when I'm six years old, and the last story is
when I'm twenty two and I leave North Carolina to
come to California, which is my chance to chase those
quote unquote champagne dreams. And when he gave me that
little gem, it sat there. You know, I watched my
daughter get married and I was just deeply engrossed in
that time. But that's a chapter. That's a closed chapter
(04:47):
in a new book opening right for her, and kind
of at the same time, it was a new book
opening for me. It was an opportunity to find something
new to focus on. So by the when I got home,
I'm like, okay, okay, you've got this little piece. What
stories are missing? Then I started filling in.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
But it was also something that your mother had said
to you.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Correct except yes, it was already in one of the stories,
you know. And I always love that, don't you when
when you're reading a book and you find the chapter
that reveals, oh, that's why they called it this, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
So yeah, So lately I have been enjoying, no, I
have been relishing Southern stories. You know, I'm a transplant
also here in New York City, and these stories transport
me home. What impact, if any, has your location had
on writing this book in terms of your own personal
(05:41):
nostalgia as a transplant.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
I love the South, you know, it is It's baked
into my soul. You know I am. I am birthed
from the the Appalachian soil and the Outer Bank sand
that this is this is the co of me. But
I have lived out west for over thirty years now,
(06:04):
and reflecting back on where I came from has been
such a gift, you know. And it's and it's not
just of the place, but it is of the time.
And I think we're all a little desperate for some
nostalgia right now because things are tough in our world,
and I love looking back at that time, you know.
And we are actually very very fortunate in this time
(06:28):
that we're in how accessible finding the information is, because
I'll get an idea, Gosh, what was that store called,
or what was that thing that we that we aid
as children that I haven't had before, And you can
find that information so easily now, you know. So that's
(06:51):
that's a gift. That's something I'm grateful for right now.
But the simplicity of the time in which I grew up,
I also am very nostalgia for.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Yeah, same here. Your stories reminded me of our shared humanity,
not just you and I, because full disclosure, we both
grew up in North Carolina. We both attended the University
of North Carolina. But your stories took me back and
reminded me of you and c seeking our native roots
via DNA and most of all, growing up we had
(07:22):
tick checks too. Did you ever imagine your stories to
be unifying?
Speaker 1 (07:30):
You know, that's a good question, and yes I did, because,
like I said, I've been doing storytelling on stages and
I also produced storytelling shows, and I've found it is
such an amazing gift to sit and listen to people's
share stories and to take a glimpse into another person's life,
(07:52):
because inevitably there is something that connects us. Regardless of
what the story is, there is something that next people,
and it's needed again now more than ever, I think,
for people just to sit and listen. But the same
thing happens when you're reading a book and you're finding
similarities in a character, or you're taking a trip into
(08:14):
a place you've never been, but you're seeing where there
are points of connection. Right. But the storytelling did tell
me that there would be things that people that resonated
with people unexpectedly, and certainly while I've been part doing
this book tour, the Q and A and the conversations
(08:35):
afterwards have always resulted in surprises too. The things that
popped for one person is different from what resonates for
someone else. But it's always engaging to have those conversations,
and it's always engaging to listen to people share their stories.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
So this generation will never know things like Bruce Jenner
being a sex symbol, Nadia Nelly, and Olga as sports stars.
That kind of stuck with me. How would you like
what you shared in your stories to impact others younger
or older generations?
Speaker 1 (09:11):
That has also been fun while sharing the book with
people in bookstores and at other events. You know, the
folks my age and older significantly older, really, because it
seems like, you know, once we got to maybe the
two thousands, late nineties and technology really started speeding up,
(09:31):
there's kind of a before and after high tech. Right. Yeah,
But people who are in their seventies, eighties, nineties now
that I've had conversations with relate to my stories because
my childhood was fairly similar to theirs in many cases,
right people my children says, My children are in their twenties,
and they love the stories too, because they wish for
(09:55):
childhoods that were more similar to what we grew up with.
That freedom to take off on your bicycle in the
morning and you didn't see your mother until dinner time,
and she just assumed you were fine because you were
with your pack of friends.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
You know, how did we survive?
Speaker 1 (10:10):
I don't know. You know, you ate wherever you were,
and you know you came home with crawdads and a bucket.
I mean, you know, Yeah, it was a different time,
and it's fun I think for them to hear and
to read that kind of thing and to sort of
relate to the character and that they relate to the
(10:32):
childhood quests for finding yourself right, But they came at
it from a different angle, and certainly current children are
coming at it from a different angle because they're holding
phones in their hands in many cases, and that's where
they're doing their exploration.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Well, so many of your stories had me laughing, especially
the driver's license story, but you do take us on
a roller coaster ride through a wide range of feelings laughter, empathy, joy, fear, nostalgia.
Just to mention a few, what kind of ride did
they take you on?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
As a writer, I tend to try to find humor
in most things. That's kind of always been my go to.
But there are some more challenging stories in this book.
For sure. There was a lot to navigate, and I
can say that those stories took longer to craft, for sure,
(11:27):
you know, the eating disorder, the the you know, stories
about coming to terms to some extent with my religious upbringing,
stories about that quest for identity, those were all a
little bit more difficult to write, for sure. But then
in sharing those the conversations were so much more rich
(11:49):
as well. Right. You know, we can all talk about
the things that we reflect on on our childhood that
were happy memories or the trips down memory lane, right,
But the stuff that is, you know, really to the
core of humanity, right, the struggles that we go through.
Those are those really powerful and meaningful conversations that get
(12:10):
opened up once somebody has admitted, right and shared that
they have had this this struggle or this this this
turning point in their lives. That's powerful. That's really powerful.
So I'm really grateful because I, you know, I learned
in the process of putting these stories together that I'm
(12:30):
not alone, right, that you know, and pretty much that
always happens when you share your truth. You do find
that out, you do discover that.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Well. To me, one of the wildest rides was your
first days after college in la and that made the
hair on my arm stand up when you relive this
more challenging part of these stories. I mean, you you
definitely don't just share the sunny side. What was it
about the authenticity of telling those stories?
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You know, I appreciate looking back at my bravery. I
wish that I could harness that a little bit more now,
you know, I think we get a little bit more
set in our ways as we get older, less less
of a risk taker. You know what Helen's referring to.
I came out to California with two hundred dollars and
(13:22):
no job, and the expectation that showing that University of
North Carolina a degree to someone would mean that here's
your first paycheck. You know, you've got a job. I don't.
I was very, very naive, and I don't think I
would have taken a lot of the risks that I
(13:43):
took had I not been naive. And I got very
lucky in many many ways just to have survived some
of the silly choices that I made in my life.
You know, I'm just very grateful as I as I
put those pieces together, I felt very fortunate that I
(14:03):
had the gumption and the grace to make it through
and be able to reflect on Wow, Okay, you know
what you did something daring.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Girl, It's okay, and you're still there. For me, it
was like what I took from that is I kind
of wished that I had done something as bold. I
had a lot of admiration for you taking that step
and doing something so bold.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Granks.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Thank you. So now that you have this book into
the world, are you planning a next book?
Speaker 1 (14:36):
I am. I'm actually working on a piece of fiction now,
which is a little more challenging for me, and I'm
stretching my imagination in that way. But it takes place
in the South, in a fictional town in Tennessee, and
I'm loosely basing it on my father's childhood and some
of the stories that I heard from him. He grew
up in the Appalachian Mountains. And you know, I'm not
(14:58):
that deep into it, but it's really fun, and I
feel like putting one book into the world has given
me a little bit more courage to take more chances
with another one. So that's that's a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
What was the most fun You're talking about this being
fun now on the new project. What was the most
fun about writing Champagne Girl in a Budweiser family.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Well, the best day was the day the book showed
up and you're holding your baby in your hand. Yes,
best selling author, future best selling author, Helen Little. You
will have that feeling.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Will I long for a.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Best selling book? That was the best day, you know,
And the readings have been really fun. You were asking
about the writing, you know, watching the arc kind of
form once I committed to what this was. Writing those
last few stories to kind of fill in the gaps
was a lot of fun because I knew it was
(15:57):
starting to come to fruition. But having the conversation since
it came out has been great. Although I have learned
that I much prefer promoting other people's work and than
doing my own. It's really difficult to put yourself out there.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
It's harder than I anticipated it to be. I thought
that that would be something I loved, but it's really
hard to hustle.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
It's interesting because you get up on stage in front
of people, and and now that it sounds like it's
hard for you to get in front of people when
you're already getting in front of people.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, you know. I think it's fun to tell the
stories when or share what you've written. It's a little
bit harder to talk about yourself like to you know,
not in the crafted story, but just about you. And
that's just a little bit more difficult to me. But
I got into storytelling because a neighbor across the street
(16:55):
from me that I used to take walks with is
a fantastic storyteller started telling me on a walk one
day about this storytelling she does. So she brought me
along to a small storytelling venue here in southern California
called story Salon, and it's a weekly storytelling venue. And
eventually I got the courage to get up on stage.
And actually the first story I ever shared was a
(17:17):
version of that driver's license story that you mentioned earlier,
and I just kind of got the bug. But I've
been listening to the Moth forever and my friend, her
name is Vicky Units. She has told so many stories
and is a Moth Grand Slam multi time winner, and
(17:37):
that just inspired me. I was drawn into the points
of connection and that experience of sitting in a room
and listening to other people's share is so profound, it
really is, and I just wanted a piece of that action.
You know, the more you do it. The more you
want to to engage that way.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I do because I've participate hated with a storytelling company
here called Generation Women, and it's six different women from
different generation Oh you do know it?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
I love. I love working with it and Georgia Clark,
who founded it and runs it. It's also an author.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I've gone to workshop with her.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
So what's the last book that stuck with you that
you read that was like a book hangover?
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Oh gosh, you know you know what it was. It
was the Paris Novel by Ruth Reichel.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Okay, have you read that? Oh?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
My gosh. You know she's a food critic for the
New York Times and she is. It's so delicious. It
was such a quick and delightful read. I absolutely adored
that book. The theme it's based on the deceased mother is
given her daughter this one way ticket in her will
(18:53):
that she has to go to Paris, and it's just
such a quest, you know, inspiring self discovery. And it's
a lot of really juicy sensory writing. And it's got
the fashion details of nineteen eighties Paris and the flavors
and food revelations. I mean, it's just a really yummy read.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
I do.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
I have to put that on my list. So, speaking
of Paris, do you have a favorite champagne? Cheerwine does
not count.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I'm more of a prosecco kind of girl. Actually, I
like kind of the sweet bubbles I like too. But
I did start with Andre Pink, so I have elevated
myself quite a bit.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Oh I remember Andre to ninety nine a bottle?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Oh? Do you ever enjoy an ice cold bud?
Speaker 1 (19:40):
You know what, girl, I graduated way beyond that. That's
one of those keg beers and I don't really do
that anymore.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Oh boy, the memories. What's the one thing you hope
people take away from reading your book?
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Childhood is something that you know, we carry with us always.
There's bits and pieces of who we were that is
always with us. I think perhaps a lot of my
stories take place when I'm around, like between ten and twelve,
and I think who you were then really is who
you are now. You know, when I share those stories,
(20:17):
you know of all of the party planning that I
did as a little kid and the organization of events
in my neighborhood that is exactly who I am right now,
you know, and I think it's fun for people to
reflect back on. I hope that they walk out, you know,
of the bookstore and step into my journey and realize
(20:41):
that they too are little many there were many survivors
within them. You know, we all made it through.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
Yes we did. So if people want to find your
book or find you, where can I find a book?
And then how can they connect with you? What's your
social you have a website or maybe you think if
they're interested in storytelling all of it?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, absolutely well, I love to tell people go to
your small bookstores in your community and order the book.
Your bookstores that if they don't have it, support the
small independent bookstores. That's where most of the readings that
I've done have taken place. However, it's also available on
Barnes Andnoble dot com. It's on Amazon as well, and
(21:22):
you let's see, you can connect with me at Suzannewertz
dot com. It's s u z A N N E
W E E r t s dot com and my
Instagram handle is Suzanne Worts Author. My storytelling information will
be on the website as well. I teach writing classes too,
(21:44):
and yeah, I'm honored to be here.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Thank you for being here. Suzanne Wertz. The book is
Champagne Girl in a Budweiser family, and I have thoroughly
enjoyed having you on the show. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I have loved being with you.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Hilly.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Let's do this again, Yes, another show in the books.
Join us for the next episode of the Public Library Podcast,
a place to check out books.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.