Blake Shelton Happy Anywhere Biography Coming In June

Blake Shelton fans mark your calendars for June 14th, that is the day Backbeat Books will be releasing Blake Shelton: Happy Anywhere by Carol Cash Large, featuring a forward by the man himself.

Here is the synopsis, "Carol Cash Large, longtime friend of Blake Shelton, helped move the award-winning musician to Nashville just two weeks after he graduated high school at the tender age of seventeen and has been with him every step of the way since.

"Large takes you backstage for personal and unique insight into the life of the young singer. From Shelton's work with producer Bobby Braddock, recording his number 1 song 'Austin,' and performing on the Grand Ole Opry to his record-breaking seventeen consecutive number 1 songs and beyond, she has been right there.

"Large shares her favorite stories-from Shelton's time as host/entertainment on Saturday Night Live and his induction into the Grand Ole Opry-but she acknowledges that landing a gig as coach on the NBC hit, The Voice, had the biggest impact on his career.

"She also delves into Shelton's personal life, relating his penchant for entertaining and bringing smiles to his friends and family as well as his joy at finally finding his soul mate in Gwen Stefani.

"With fifty personal photos from the author's collection, anecdotes of a close connection to Blake Shelton, and highlights of a glorious career, Large presents a warm and detailed account of one of country music's biggest stars of all time.

"Holding a master's degree in education and reading specialist certification, Carol Cash Large, 'Ms. Carol,' taught reading for many years in Oklahoma and Tennessee. While Blake Shelton: Happy Anywhere is her first nonfiction book, it has been over thirty years in the making, and she is excited to share it with you."

Fans can preorder the book here (ad) and below is a Q&A with Carol provided by Backbeat Books :

Q: Are you related to Blake Shelton?
Carol: No, I am not related but I have known him since he was a pre-teen.

Q: How did you meet Blake?
Carol: My husband, Larry, was in a band that was auditioning acts for a country music show in Ada, OK. Blake's mom brought him in to audition for the show. Also, my niece and Blake were boyfriend/girlfriend at the time and she had been talking about him a lot.

Q: Do you think Blake knew he would make it big?
Carol: No, but it was all he wanted to do and I think he thought he could make a living at it. We all thought he could. I am an optimist by nature and I thought he would be bigger than others did. I always talked about when he would be on SNL and late-night talk shows. But he surpassed all of our greatest expectations about the time he signed on to the Voice.

Q: What questions are you asked the most? Now, it is "are you related."
Carol: In the early days, it was "is Ricky Van Shelton his dad." And, no he is not; there is no relation between the two.

Q: Did you and Larry offer him advice consistently as he was working?

Carol: Not really. There were things we mentioned often. I was forever telling him he should remember those days as when he got older, they would be the fondest memories. Larry was more concerned with his reputation and that he made smart decisions. I've often said that Blake was the stubbornest young man I'd ever known, Larry being the stubbornest old man. So Blake made his own decisions. I always thought he was wise beyond his years and he always seemed to do or say the right thing.

Q: Why did Blake move back to Oklahoma in the middle of his career?
Carol: Blake always loved, and still does, Oklahoma. When his marriage dissolved, he started looking for places to move back. That's how he found Tishomingo.

Q: Did you and Larry usually accompany Blake on his tours?
Carol: Larry did for a while. He was merchandise manager because he wanted Blake to hold on to that for a while at least. I always went out one weekend each tour and it is something we still do. The pandemic has messed up one year of that so far and I hated it!

Q: Why did you want to write a book?
Carol: I was a reading teacher for many years and always wanted to write a book but I was busy and didn't think I had a subject. I always instructed my students to write about what they knew or loved. On one of those weekend trips with Blake, it hit me....he is my subject and I mentioned the idea to him. It has been such a trip just writing it and reliving the past 30+ years. I hope his fans love reading it as much as I loved writing it.

Q: What is your funniest memory?
Carol: It would probably be different every time I'm asked that because there have been so many. Right now I'm thinking about one Larry told me that isn't in the book. They were in some city on one of those buses with all their luggage when it made a jolt and Larry fell, toppling the guy next to him and creating a domino effect until the entire band and crew were in the floor.

Q: Do you know the other members of Blake's family?
Carol: Yes. I've known them as long as I've known him. I don't see Dorothy (mom) and Endy (sister) much as we live in different towns, but we stay in touch. Until his death, Larry and Dick (dad) were very close and talked every day. He lived in Ada where we do. And, I'm still trying to get names straight in his extended family (cousins) because there are so many of them.

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