Melinda Rainey Thompson is the author of four books: SWAG: Southern Women Aging Gracefully, The SWAG Life, I Love You—Now Hush, and I’ve Had It Up To Here With Teenagers. SWAG was an 18-week, top-10 Indy bestseller. I Love You–Now Hush was a finalist for the 2010 Ben Franklin award for humor and a 2010 gold medal winner for humor in the American Library Association’s Foreward Reviews. She is a 1985 cum laude graduate of Tulane University where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity. She received a BA in English literature from Tulane and a Master’s degree in English from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. She attended Cumberland School of Law where she met her husband, Bill, and discovered she did not want to grow up to be a lawyer. Melinda happily taught English at Birmingham-Southern College for the next six years. Melinda is married and has 3 children–all named for relatives long dead in the proper Southern tradition. Melinda lives with her family in Homewood, AL.
melindaraineythompson 
Melinda,
I am trying to send an email to invitIngyou to speak to the Linly Heflin Club. What is the best way to reach you? Thanks.
Kathy Miller
Hi, Kathy,
Good to hear from you. Email is easiest: mrtswag@aol.com
Dear Melinda,
I’ve just finished you book SWAG and have been talking to all my Northern friends about it. (I suspect you’ve already guessed that I live above the Mason-Dixon line, so may as well come out with it!) I have filed your book in a place of honor on my bookshelf, right next to Nora Ephron. Her book, “I Feel Bad About My Neck”, once saved me from slicing my wrists. It was right after a bad passport picture, but as you say, “that’s another story”. Even though I clearly do not pass the SWAG test, our lines did frequently cross during the reading of your essays. Thanks so much for reminding us that South or North, we are sisters indeed!
Linda
You made me laugh! I loved that Nora Ephron book, too. Her death is a real loss. So glad you could identify. I’m working on book number 5 now. I hope to finish it this summer. Loved hearing from you!
I just received an e-mail “thank you” from a couple in Southern Az. But I guess that’s not really the “South”, is it? Next time I’ll send them a copy of your book, highlighting that chapter!