I have a few book events coming up: on Thursday at 7 p.m., I’ll be speaking at Head House Books in Philadelphia, Pa. On Dec. 14, I’ll be signing books at the Barnes & Noble at Southpointe Mall in Durham, N.C., from 1-3 pm. And on Dec. 20, I’ll be signing books at the Barnes & Noble at Friendly Center in Greensboro, N.C., from 1-3 pm. Hope to see you there.

Yonat Shimron at the News & Observer in Raleigh reports today: “In a rare joint appearance on the steps of the General Assembly, North Carolina’s two Roman Catholic bishops announced an initiative to create a unified voice on public policy issues affecting the state.

“The move represents an effort to flex a political muscle that has strengthened in recent years. For generations, Catholics represented less than 1 percent of the state’s population and North Carolina was considered by church leaders as “mission territory” ripe for evangelism. But with an influx of newcomers from Northern states as well as Mexico and Latin America, Catholics — numbering about 800,000 across the state — now want to be heard.”

Interesting fact: 30 years ago, the state’s Catholic population was about one-tenth what it is today. The vast increase is the result of Northeastern and Midwestern residents moving South (count me in that group), and of course, the state’s growing Hispanic population.

Shimron also writes: “As part of that initiative, (Raleigh diocese Bishop Michael) Burbidge (right) said the dioceses will send a questionnaire to gubernatorial candidates as well as to North Carolina’s U.S. House and Senate delegation asking their views on a host of issues. The results of that questionnaire will be posted on the Web site in October.”

My mother-in-law flew to North Carolina from Texas yesterday for a visit. I was thrilled that she was on Delta because this month, my book is featured in Sky magazine, Delta’s in-flight. Getting that kind of exposure for a new author and a new book is priceless. When she called from Atlanta, though, to tell me her flight was being delayed, she also shared that there were no magazines on the flight — in what appeared to be an attempt to save on fuel costs by trimming the weight of several hundred magazines. Perhaps that was the case on that one flight. But magazines were on the flight from Atlanta to Greensboro, and they are on flights internationally today. Yes, airlines are carrying less water, fewer bottled drinks, and even swapping out seats to save weight. But the magazines, especially Delta Sky, are still in the seatback pockets.

Yonat Shimron, the News & Observer of Raleigh’s stellar religion writer, reports on the growth of the Catholic faith in North Carolina’s rural outreaches and the challenge the Raleigh diocese faces in supporting this growth.