With 600,000 copies sold of two Sweet Potato Queens titles, author Jill Conner Browne is ready to move into licensing. The property, aimed at women 30 50 and represented by licensing agent The Wildflower Group, will move first into stationery and novelty items and ultimately could encompass anything from entertainment to margarita mixes. "I think it's time," Browne said. "We have the readers and the fans, judging from the response we've had on the Web site." Among the products selling well there: tattoos, SPQ Wanna-Be T-shirts and rhinestone sunglasses.
Fred Paprin, Wildflower Group managing director, points out that Browne's second title, God Save the Sweet Potato Queens, which has sold 150,000 copies since January, boosted sales of the first book, The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love (1999). "That's a tell-tale sign for us that she's a franchise and not a one-hit wonder," he said. The Sweet Potato Queens' Bigass Cookbook and Financial Planner is set for release next year.
