As you have probably guessed from the excerpt of The Sweetest Hallelujah, music plays a huge role in the novel. Both gospel and blues thread throughout the story. Of all the music I hear – or play – I love blues best. I composed the blues lyrics that are attributed to Li’l Rosie. Gospel and… Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
Book Talk: Setting
The Sweetest Hallelujah is set in 1955 when the Deep South was in upheaval. This time frame is not merely the background of the story but an integral part of it. The characters and the outcome of the story are directly impacted by the horrific, historical events that unfolded that summer. The story I’m currently… Continue Reading
What Makes a Book a Keeper?
What makes you want to keep a book on your shelves? Do you go back and read it again and again? If so, why? The books I keep fall into three categories: (a) they are written by a favorite author, (b) the writing is so stunningly lyrical it reminds me of poetry, and (c) I… Continue Reading
Favorite Books
What are your favorite books? Why are they memorable? Do you read in more than one genre? I’d be hard pressed to name a favorite, but when I think of books that stay on my mind and in my heart long after I’ve turned the last page, two immediately come to mind: Elizabeth Berg’s Talk… Continue Reading
ON BEING ORDINARY
First, I want to thank you for stopping by and leaving comments. It’s always a pleasure to open my website and discover I’ve had visits from readers who keep coming back. I’m going to call you my Beloved Faithfuls. I hope the list will grow because we’re going to have a lot of fun on… Continue Reading
Confessions of a Southern Writer
I love Delta blues, grits and fried green tomatoes, and sitting on my front porch swing sipping a big glass of iced sweet tea while mocking birds fight in my magnolia tree. I have a deep Southern drawl and love excess. I have a gazillion first cousins and hear every one of their secrets at… Continue Reading
What Makes Characters Memorable
Some time ago I watched an old Clint Eastwood movie with my family – Every Which Way But Loose. Eastwood is such a gifted artist that watching his movies is always a pleasure. He was good as the complex Philo, a guy who hangs out with a baboon. But it was Ruth Gordon who stole… Continue Reading
The Magic of Story
Ink has been spilled, teeth gnashed and hair pulled out by the roots in pursuit of the perfect way to promote books. Blogging and websites and contests and book-signings have all been touted then trashed, embraced or discarded altogether. It’s a worthy pursuit, this race to see if we, the writers, can latch onto the… Continue Reading
The Journey
Long Journey to The Sweetest Hallelujah The Sweetest Hallelujah was more than ten years in the making. The book germinated after I saw an article in the local newspaper about a mother who was bedridden and needed someone to become a substitute mom for her teenaged daughter. She described her heartbreak at not being… Continue Reading