I’ll go way out on a limb and guess that your cell phone is within easy reach. Correct? Okay, indulge me, here … pick up your phone and take a good look at it. Why? Because once you’ve read new Dogwood Press author Janet Brown’s electrifying suspense novel Deadly Visits, you’ll never look at your phone the same way again. Heck, you may not want to get near it.
We’ll have copies of Deadly Visits just in time for Janet to grab a stash on her way to speak to the Friends of the Pontotoc Library on March 14. The big grand-opening, though, takes place at Lemuria Books of Jackson on Thursday, April 4 at 5 p.m., with a reading at 5:30 p.m. I love talking up this book to friends, especially those with IT backgrounds! I think they’ll really enjoy it.
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| Can’t wait! |
My alma mater, Mississippi State University, puts on their second annual New Narrative Festival and Conference on March 22-23 at The Mill in Starkville, adjacent to campus. The NNF is similar to the Mississippi Book Festival in that it promotes unity and diversity through arts, entertainment, and creativity. A new aspect this year is a Pitch Slam, where both MSU students and non-students can bring their Big Ideas and pitch them to one of four publishing representatives. An important caveat: You have no more than 90 seconds, so do some research, determine the publisher that would be the best fit for you, and refine your pitch until it’s the best and most incisive it can be. I’m proud to be part of the event and delighted at the roster of publishing houses represented:
Joe Lee of Dogwood Press (mystery/suspense fiction)
Lisa McMurtray of University Press (coffee table/literary/scholarly)
Sinclair Rishel of Nautilus Press (textbooks)
Mike Frascogna Jr. of The Mississippi Sports Council (sports books/DVDs)
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| Sinclair Rishel and me (far left) at a workshop hosted in 2016 by Neil White of Nautilus Press |
Admission to the pitch slam is FREE. For more information about the New Narrative Festival and Conference, and to register, visit www.newnarrativefestival.msstate.edu. I’ll most likely sign copies of 40 Days at some point during the NNF, too.
The ever-prolific John Floyd has a story in the current (Jan/Feb) Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and another in the current (20th Anniversary Collector’s Issue) Strand Magazine. He also has a Valentine’s Day story in Woman’s World’s February 25 issue and one coming out in the March/April print edition of The Saturday Evening Post. Make it a point to read John’s weekly blog, Sleuthsayers, which is always entertaining and can be found on Facebook.
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| A truly excellent magazine, only made better with contributions from John! |
Know what? We’re six months, give or take, from the 2019 Mississippi Book Festival. Put your cell phone down and think about that. Save the date and start planning now. We certainly are. The date is Saturday, August 17, at the Mississippi State Capitol. We’re ordering up some comfortable weather. I’ll go out on a limb once more and predict hot and steamy with a chance of afternoon storms. I also predict close to 10,000 attendees this year, and I sure hope you’re one of them.
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| If you somehow haven’t been, make this your year to go! |
And how cool is this? Valerie Winn’s junior high English teacher, Mrs. Antira Williamson, stopped by Miss Mattie’s Munch-A-Lunch at the McComb Public Library and bought a signed copy of The Dance Between. She also bought Forsaking Mimosa from Valerie when that book was new. I’m not sure my junior English teachers (or ANY of them, for that matter), were completely sure I could read.
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| Enjoy, and be sure to give Valerie a good grade! |
A quick reminder from our marketing department: Nearly all the Dogwood Press catalog is available to you through Amazon Kindle download, including five titles currently on sale for just $4.99:
VALERIE WINN–Forsaking Mimosa
JOHN FLOYD–Dreamland
JOE LEE–40 Days
SUSAN CUSHMAN–Cherry Bomb
RANDY PIERCE–The Peter Bay
Grab a couple (or all) as soon as you can and start reading within a minute or so! We have lots of author appearances coming up, too, so please visit www.dogwoodpress.com to see where we’ll be and come say hello! You can always pick up a Mother’s Day or graduation gift, or treat yourself to a happy–books make great gifts! And if you have dreams of being published, do your best to get to Mississippi State for the pitch slam. You just never know … it could change your life!
Thanks for your time. Have a great day!