When life

tosses them lemons, some folks make lemonade.

When

Eleanor Hooks gets thrown a lemon, she coins a new

expression. Hooks, a Fayetteville writer/publisher and

consultant, has a book filled with clever, ironic,

humorous and thoughtful observations entitled "Some

Folks... Somethin' to say about life."

"This

was really a fun project," Hooks said of her

comments about people's reactions in everyday situations.

"I've generated over 500 of these statements. They

just came out."

It all

started in mid-1998 following an unexpected confrontation

with a colleague during a business presentation. Hooks

was accused of "showing off" by her sometime

business partner. Although Hooks and her colleague sorted

things out following the meeting, the incident weighed on

Hooks for weeks afterward.

"I was

working with another client and waiting for an interview.

While I was waiting I started writing... that's where the

saying `some folks think I'm showing off, when I'm just

showing up' came from."

The book, a

small gift-sized paperback, was released in September to

stores nationwide. Hooks has had a positive response to

her first published work from family members, who are

busy jotting down their own "some folks"

interpretations for the next volume, to a minister who

was so taken by the book that he told Hooks he wanted to

use one expression each Sunday for the basis of his

sermon.

The

carefully thought-out cover of the book will serve as the

trademark of "Some folks..." It features a

spider shape, representative of Anansi, the spider of the

African folk tale of the same name. Hooks' spider has

just seven legs, instead of eight, which makes him look

"tricky," much like many of the sayings in her

book, she explained.

The kinte

cloth capital letters give a hint of Hooks' ethnicity as

an African-American woman. "The entire piece will be

my trademark," Hooks said.

"Some

folks know a good opportunity when they make one,"

according to Hooks and the compilation of these

expressions exemplifies her own intentions. She is

currently marketing "Some folks" books, and has

designed a companion "Some folks journal calendar

targeting women." At the bottom of each page is a

space to write a personal commitment of the week.

Also in the

works is a collection of insight cards with a guide book

and audiotape intended for use as a meeting starter or

seminar tool. The second volume of "Some folks"

expressions, plus a book of poetry and book of short

stories also is in the works.

Fortunately,

Hooks is an professional in organization. In addition to

successfully juggling all her projects, she consults with

Fortune 500 executives. She has a master's in counseling

and therapy from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D.

in intercultural studies from Union Graduate School in

Cincinnati, Ohio. Hooks attended and was on the faculty

at Johns Hopkins University. She is certified by the

Gestalt Institute in organization and systems

development.

Hooks is an

avid art collector, decorator and martial arts

enthusiast. Her home in Fayette County serves as her

base. Frequent business trips also find her flying

through Washington, D.C. to pay a visit to her daughter,

Melodie, and grandson, Michael, who live in northern

Virginia.

"Some

Folks" is dedicated to Melodie, who Hooks writes,

"encourages me to share my ideas... and to my

grandson, who is such a light in my world."

"Some

folks know that grandchildren are appropriately

named," she states on page 181, closing with:

"Some folks believe that your life is a gift that

you keep, even if you're not that happy about how it

looks."

"Some

Folks" is from Four Rooms Publishing Company in

Fayetteville.

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