I don’t live in your typical small, Southern town. In fact, this small town is quite extraordinary. With a population of some 24,000 persons, it has one of the highest concentrations of residents who are nationally known authors, including Hal Crother, Annie Dillard, Jaki Shelton Green, Allan Gurganus, Randall Kenan, Zelda Lockhart, Michael Malone, Frances Mayes, the late Doug Marlette, Anna Jean Mayhew, Jill McCorkle, David Payne, and Lee Smith, to name a few.
On any given day you might find renowned politicians catching a ball game down at the local pub while throwing back a few brews, and I won’t even begin to list the award-winning, nationally celebrated musicians and artists who have hailed from this town and walk the downtown area on a daily basis. The area has been a political and cultural center since forever and it remains so today, with many activities celebrating the arts and history being held almost daily. This town challenges my creativity and I love everything about it.
I’ve yet to meet Randall Kenan or Jill McCorkle, but I’ve frequently been told that we just “missed” each other as I’ve navigated the downtown area.
Zelda and I have participated at one or two book events together and if we’re not catching up over a great vegetarian lunch, we inevitably run into each other at the post office, inquiring about each other’s children and our latest ventures.
Author Lee Smith was one of the first persons to read the original manuscript of my latest release before it became a real, live book. Her critique, as we shared a cup of coffee and an apple Danish at one of our local art galleries, resulted in some major rewrites, as she admonished me to make the reader “feel” the words. And that was a few years back.
I ran into Allan Gurganus today and we talked “shop”. I asked about his writing and he shared that he is making the rounds, reading from his work-in-progress. “It’s the truest way to know if it’s any good,” he shared, with an endearing smile. Then he wished me much success with Rested Waters, extolling how good a new book feels in one’s hands as he slid his fingers across the cover.
It’s exciting to be able to share Rested Waters with the literary family that makes up my small town. It’s like presenting my new baby to a gathering of favorite aunts and uncles and cousins. I look forward to the reviews that I know will come. I look forward to yours as well, so please, get your copy of Rested Waters today and let me know what you think.
On any given day you might find renowned politicians catching a ball game down at the local pub while throwing back a few brews, and I won’t even begin to list the award-winning, nationally celebrated musicians and artists who have hailed from this town and walk the downtown area on a daily basis. The area has been a political and cultural center since forever and it remains so today, with many activities celebrating the arts and history being held almost daily. This town challenges my creativity and I love everything about it.
I’ve yet to meet Randall Kenan or Jill McCorkle, but I’ve frequently been told that we just “missed” each other as I’ve navigated the downtown area.
Zelda and I have participated at one or two book events together and if we’re not catching up over a great vegetarian lunch, we inevitably run into each other at the post office, inquiring about each other’s children and our latest ventures.
Author Lee Smith was one of the first persons to read the original manuscript of my latest release before it became a real, live book. Her critique, as we shared a cup of coffee and an apple Danish at one of our local art galleries, resulted in some major rewrites, as she admonished me to make the reader “feel” the words. And that was a few years back.
I ran into Allan Gurganus today and we talked “shop”. I asked about his writing and he shared that he is making the rounds, reading from his work-in-progress. “It’s the truest way to know if it’s any good,” he shared, with an endearing smile. Then he wished me much success with Rested Waters, extolling how good a new book feels in one’s hands as he slid his fingers across the cover.
It’s exciting to be able to share Rested Waters with the literary family that makes up my small town. It’s like presenting my new baby to a gathering of favorite aunts and uncles and cousins. I look forward to the reviews that I know will come. I look forward to yours as well, so please, get your copy of Rested Waters today and let me know what you think.
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