‘A cool drink of cherry pie’ and other takes on parenting

When Mississippi humorist and author Jill Conner Browne decided to enter the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Jackson, Miss. with four friends back in 1982, she had no idea she was launching something that’s now a worldwide phenomenon. But that marked the introduction to the world of the entertaining, jovial and optimistic figure know as the Sweet Potato Queen.

Since 1999, when her first book The Sweet Potato Queen’s Book of Love sold more than 250,000 copies and went to press 14 times, Browne’s series of themed books have not only landed her on top of the New York Times best-seller list but also spurred some 5,300 fan clubs around the world.

Browne will be reading and signing copies of her newest volume The Sweet Potato Queens’ Guide To Raising Children For Fun and Profit (Simon & Schuster) at 7 p.m. Monday at Borders in Brentwood. The latest work blends witty advice and commentaries on parenting with recipes families can make together.

“Parenting is a job that’s 24/7 for your entire life and the pay isn’t exactly great,” Browne said, laughing. “But it’s also a job that if you approach it with humor and love, it will be the most rewarding one you ever have. Like all my books, the approach is to mix in humor with some prayer and encourage people at all times to remember that there are very few situations in life that you can’t change, and those that you can’t, you’ve got to know how to approach them and find something in them that’s fun and that helps you cope.”

Some of the subjects in Browne’s latest book include the right way to throw a birthday party for your child; how to handle those parents who are not just tardy but horribly late picking up their children from a party; and the best way to have a conversation with a pregnant woman.

The recipes range from “Mom’s Fabulous Beanie Sandwiches” to “Carrots A Kid Could Love” and “Tammy Georgia’s 80-Proof Cherry Pie,” which Browne describes by saying “it tastes like a nice cool drink of cherry pie, but feels like any martini you have ever had.”

While describing the success of the Sweet Potato Queen books as “a blessing from God for which I’m eternally grateful,” Browne feels their inspirational and witty messages speak to an optimism and faith within people that crosses all societal and cultural lines.

“I’ve gotten e-mails, letters and responses from all kinds of people and it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about black or white, old or young, Southern or Northern, rich or poor,” she said. “These aren’t male-bashing books, because I poke just as much fun at women as men. I’m a white Southern heterosexual Christian woman, but there are universal themes about coping, finding ways to laugh at yourself, and being willing to face whatever troubles you have and look to the future that resonate with everyone. That’s what I think makes the Sweet Potato Queen books and philosophy so popular.”

What: Author Jill Connor Browne signs copies of her book The Sweet Potato Queens’ Guide to Raising Children For Fun and Profit

When: 7 p.m. Monday

Where: Borders Bookstore in Brentwood, 330 Franklin Road

Cost: Free and open to the public

Info: 221-8804