Beth Howard The Pie Evangelist

I am super excited to introduce you (if you aren't already familiar with her) to Beth Howard.

(Unless noted, all pix belong to Beth)

We met two years ago when she wandered into my Retro Revival booth at the Great American Pie Festival.  I learned that she is a pie baker, blogger of The World Needs More Pie, and was in town as a pie judge.

Because my booth was teeming with apron buyers we didn't have much time to speak but after our brief encounter I kept thinking about Beth and her story, at least what I knew of it.  She was so sweet and charming that I wondered if we'd ever cross paths again.

After the Festival I rushed home to check out her blog and realized, well, it's much more than a blog!  Beth has such an interesting story...

She's a small town gal from Iowa.  She moved west, became a mega public relations executive, outdoor adventurer and journalist, and pie baker to Hollywood stars (Barbra Streisand, Robert Downy, Jr., etc.).  And now she travels the country (and world at times) working as a pie evangelist, teaching pie baking classes, making appearances on TV and most recently, is a published book author.  She also has a TV series in the works.

(Beth's wearing her Retro Revival "What's Cookin'?" apron)

It wasn't until I read all the way back through her blog (I rarely do this when I discover a new blog but her writing is riveting and I just couldn't stop!) that I really began to understand her fascinating journey.  Some of it is very sad but she writes with wit, humor and a sass that's had me both laughing out loud and on more than one occasion, trying to work a big ole' lump out of my throat.

Oh, and get this!  She lives in the historic, famous American Gothic House!  You know, the one famous for the farm couple out front posing with a pitchfork?  Yep, that one.  During the warm months (it's in Iowa) she sells pie from her "Pitchfork Pie Stand."

So now that I'm a regular follower of Beth's blog and the goings-on of her website, I was thrilled when I saw her again at this year's Great American Pie Festival.  When she bopped into my booth this time she had really big news ~ she'd written a book!  Of course I bought an autographed copy.  And snapped her picture in front of my "aprons in mason jars with pie recipes attached" display:

For my August blog giveaway, I'm gifting a copy of Beth's book to one lucky follower of this blog.  I absolutely loved this book and tore through it faster than I can devour my strawberry pie (made another one yesterday ~ that's it in the background).

It's a love story, a story of hope, chronicling the love of her life, his unexpected death, and pie.  Beautifully written, with juicy bits of hilarity and brutal honesty, it really is like a homemade pie ~ sweet and never perfect but always wonderful!

Here's how I'm doing this giveaway...

• For one chance, go to Beth's Facebook page and become a fan.
• For a second entry, go to Beth's blog and become a follower.
• Be sure to leave a comment on one of my August blog posts telling me you're now a fan of her Facebook page and/or a follower of her blog.

I'll draw a winner on August 31st ~ good luck!

If you want to buy Beth's book now, here's a link.  By the way, her book includes her famous pie crust recipe and a few yummy good pie recipes!

(I just spell checked this post before posting and I misspelled recipe every time.  Spelled it recipie.  Pie on the brain!)

Now...I'm off to eat a piece of my strawberry pie for breakfast.  Don't judge me.  In my mind it's almost as healthy as yogurt!  But tastes a lot better.