Rich Widows of Savannah Valley by Mitzi Perdue
In a simple Q&A with Mitzi Perdue, it’s so easy to feel her energy and her passion for life and her work. And, by the way, she has countless anecdotes that are sure to entertain.
Earlier this year, she published what she calls “a highlight of my life” – Relentless, the biography of Mark Victor Hansen, founder and co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. More recently, she just came out with Rich Widows of Savannah Valley, a whimsical novel of a retirement community for the uber-rich which she says is loosely based on her sisters and herself.
From a life surrounded by Fortune 500 leaders and plenty of chicken to biographies, businesses and fun tales of delight, Mitzi Perdue has a lot to talk about. So, well, let’s let her talk….
Q&A WITH MITZI PERDUE
Q: As the widow of Frank Perdue and the daughter of the founder of Sheraton Hotels, how did your association with these two iconic men shape the person you are today?
A: People talk a lot about privilege these days, and I sure know that I had it in great, free-flowing abundance! But for me, the privilege that means the most to me isn’t wealth, although that was certainly a big part of it. No, for me the extraordinary privilege that came my way was getting to see up close and personal what it took for my father and my late husband to build Fortune 500-size companies, starting almost from scratch.
I got to see how factors such as being over-the-top brilliant at creating lifelong loyalty or being able to inspire people to go the extra mile played a role in each man’s success. If you had asked either man — something I regularly did — both would say it was the people who worked with them who were responsible for their success.
Father used to say, “A leader’s job is to give people a better vision of themselves,” and Frank throughout his life acted on the principle of the great psychologist from the 1900s, William James, “The deepest principle of human nature is the craving for appreciation.” These attitudes helped both men inspire people.
They were honest, far-sighted, inspirational, energetic and indefatigable, and they were always going way, way, way out of their way to get new ideas. And they were superb at putting ideas into action.
I can’t say that I’m like them, although I’d like to be. They were amazing role models. I hope some rubbed off on me.
Q: Your latest book, Rich Widows of Savannah Valley, represents a new genre and a total change from all your previous work. Tell us about the storyline and how this book came about.
A: Actually, I started out as a fiction writer. I wrote a book called Dear Angel that never got published. It was probably not good enough to get published, but I had the weirdest, strangest coincidence happen with it, one that made me not ever try to get it published.
Dear Angel was about a struggling writer who meets a powerful man who founded a global company, and how she gets seduced by wealth and power and loses herself. I finished my attempt at a novel in 1988. Immediately after I had finished writing Dear Angel, I met the real love of my life. I couldn’t have it published because I was afraid people would think I was describing my husband… who was the polar opposite of the guy I had created in my unpublished novel. I worried that if the book were published, people would never believe it wasn’t based on Frank.
Still, I always wanted to write fiction again. The storyline for Rich Widows was going to be fiction based on the personalities of myself and my sisters. One of my sisters is ambitious, one is spiritual, and one is the most congenial, popular person you’ll ever come across. (Er, I was and am the ambitious one.)
But then a funny thing happened. The plot I had in mind and even the personalities I had in mind didn’t happen. I’ve heard that other writers of fiction create the characters and then let them run. I relate to that! Actually, in pretty much all my writing, I feel as if I’m watching from the sidelines, describing things that I “see” but didn’t plan! When I am writing, I’m usually wondering how it’s going to turn out because as I’m writing, I don’t know.
Q: Now, Rich Widows is just one book in the Savannah Valley series. Tell us about the unique way the rest of the books in this series are being written.
A: As far as I can tell, the approach of the Savannah series is different from most series. The plots are related, and I expect in the future, characters will weave in and out of the different books. For my part, if there’s a sequel, I want my characters to get involved in something more serious than in the first book. In the first book, the characters show they can work together. In the next one, I want them to take on consequential subjects, like human trafficking.
You might be amused by where the name Savannah comes from. It’s based on a sex worker! That’s her name! We became friends when I met her at a convention. We got to talking about my life as a high society debutante and hers as a top-of-the-line, super high-class lady of the night. Both of us were trained in ways to please men, including practicing graceful posture, making sure we focused all our attention on whoever we were talking with, bringing them out and making them feel special, reading newspapers and current events to be good conversationalists… and so on. We agreed that we each had our price. She doesn’t like to broadcast her price for an evening, but it’s expensive. My price was marriage.
Q: The Savannah Valley series is being published by Mark Victor Hansen, founder and co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Now, you know a thing or two about Mark, having recently written his biography, Mark Victor Hansen: Relentless. What was the experience of writing that book like, and what did you learn from your relationship with Mark?
Q: Writing Relentless was a highlight of my life. I felt I was drawing on all the knowledge and experiences from my own life to show who he really is. I wrote it in roughly three months, and often I was spending 18-hour days on it. I wrote it with the hope of inspiring people with his story and ended up feeling super inspired myself.
Something extraordinary about Mark, I showed him the complete book when it was finished. I expected that he’d take a red pen and bleed all over it. Instead, Mark Victor Hansen didn’t change even a comma! I talked about failures and regrets and even people with whom he had had fallings out, and yet he didn’t change anything. I think it takes a giant of a man to be willing to have his life story told without covering up the person’s shortcomings.
Q: Which kind of writing — biographies, business books, whimsical fiction — do you enjoy most and why?
A: Oh dear, I can’t choose. I adore all three categories. I’m fascinated by life, and each of those categories is a window into life. There’s so much to learn from each kind of book.
Q: Of all the various projects and initiatives you have pursued over the years, which one are you most proud of?
A: Being a mother is hands down what I’m most proud of.
Q: What is up next for Mitzi Perdue?
A: You’re not going to believe this.
I’ve become a war correspondent. At age 81! General Nebytov from the Ukraine Region Police saw some of my writing for Psychology Today on human trafficking, and in a Zoom call, he invited me to come and see for myself.
I spent five days in Ukraine at the end of August and got to experience air raids and sheltering in a bomb shelter. I saw Chernobyl up close and personal. I was within 10 miles of the Russian border, and most of all, I got to see the horror that Russia has inflicted on what was once the peaceful lives of the Ukrainians.
Since returning a week ago, I’ve written seven articles, published in places like Psychology Today and the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents. I have at least 10 more I want to write, including about how the Russians have abducted 200,000 Ukrainian children from orphanages and are bringing them up to be Russians and teaching them to hate their former country.
If there are publications looking for 700-word stories, I’ve got dozens about war-torn Ukraine.
About Mitzi Perdue:
Mitzi Perdue is a businesswoman and author passionate about sharing fascinating information to support people everywhere on their journey to self-actualization. As the widow of the poultry guy, Frank Perdue, Mitzi likes to say, “The chicken man’s wife is writing about the chicken soup man” in Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless, which is the winner of the Literary Titan Award for Nonfiction, 2022.
She has degrees from both Harvard University and George Washington University. Additionally, she is past president of the 40,000-member American Agri-Women coalition, as well as a former U.S. delegate to the United Nations Conference on Women in Nairobi.
She writes for Psychology Today and serves as a member of the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents. Before writing Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless, she authored Tough Man, Tender Chicken: Business and Life Lessons from Frank Perdue. This book reached #5 on Amazon’s list of business biographies. She is also the author of I Didn’t Bargain for This, her story of growing up as a hotel heiress; her father was president and co-founder of the Sheraton Hotel Chain. Visit MitziPerdue.com.
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