It was fun to hang out with my mega-talented friend Valerie Winn at the Mississippi Book Festival and help hand out brochures for her great new novel The Dance Between. We also debuted paperback copies of Forsaking Mimosa, with the hardback now out of print. But there’s loads of difference between talking about a forthcoming novel and actually having it on hand to sell. And the wait is just about over! Valerie launches The Dance Between at Lemuria in Jackson, Mississippi, on October 16 and will debut the new book on the Mississippi Gulf Coast at Pink Rooster Art Gallery in Ocean Springs two evenings later. It’s a timeless story and a really neat book, picking up twenty-five years after the conclusion of Forsaking Mimosa and taking place in the same small town!
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| Just several weeks away! Can’t wait! |
The book festival was great fun, as always. I spent the whole day–as did everyone, probably–waiting for the bottom to fall out of the sky with torrential downpours in the Jackson area all weekend. But we didn’t get but a pair of quick, light showers, much to my relief. Believe me, when you’re selling merchandise from a tent, there’s nothing quite like half a dozen people rushing around throwing towels and tarps over books and marketing materials.
A big festival highlight was being on the Mississippi Publishers Roundtable, where I shared the stage with Larry Wells of Yoknapatawpha Press, Craig Gill of University Press, Jim Dickerson of Sartoris Literary, and moderator Jim Ewing. There were lots of questions from audience members, and it was really nice when we were all asked to answer the same questions (such as the different marketing services we offer to our authors, or how the editing process works before publication). Even with the ominous weather, a reported 7,600 attended the festival. That’s up nearly 1,000 from 2017, and well over twice the 3,200 in the inaugural year of 2015. Already looking forward to next year’s event, which will be held on August 17, 2019! Meantime, here are some cool pix from this year!
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| Susan Cushman, moderator of the Southern Writers on Writing panel, with contributor John Floyd |
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| Valerie with literary legend Rick Bragg! |
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| That’s me in the visor, during the Mississippi Publishers Roundtable panel. As I told the audience, nobody was there to see my hair! |
We’re just a few weeks away from launching the new John Floyd short story collection, The Barrens. This book is LOADED with great stuff–highlights include “Gun Work”, which is included in this year’s Best American Mystery Stories. John also has new stories in new/current issues of the Saturday Evening Post, The Strand Magazine, and Black Cat Mystery Magazine. He’s even featured in a great new story collection called Pop The Clutch. It’s edited by Eric Guignard and will hit stores on November 1. A couple of John’s writing heroes, including Joe Lansdale, are also in the book!
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| Awesome! Plan on getting one! |
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| And this, too! Real authors! Real cool! Real reading material! |
We launched Molly May’s My Crowning Achievement (Beating Cancer) at the book festival, and it was special to watch Molly interact with folks who wanted to meet her. This is a powerful book and getting a very good response–remember that a portion of proceeds from all sales goes to Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson and Le Bonheur in Memphis.
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| Fun at the Mississippi Book Festival … |
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| … and at Mississippi State University’s Barnes and Noble! |
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| Susan with my friend and fellow author Mary Abraham at the Mississippi Writer’s Guild’s annual conference in August. |
And we can’t wait to roll out Janet Brown’s novel, Deadly Visits. Janet joined us at the book festival and handed out brochures. As she told folks in our tent, what happens when out-of-control scientists go too far with their mind and behavior control experiments? You’ll have to read to find out, and trust me–you won’t be able to put it down! Coming in April 2019 …
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| What a neat book cover! |
That, as they say, is all the news that fits! But wait–a quick note from the marketing department–you can still pick up these great Dogwood Press titles for your Kindle at the low, low price of just $4.99!
JOHN M. FLOYD – Dreamland
SUSAN CUSHMAN – Cherry Bomb
JOE LEE – 40 Days
RANDY PIERCE – The Peter Bay
VALERIE WINN – Forsaking Mimosa
We’re all gearing up for a busy fourth quarter! In addition to the launches of the new John Floyd and Valerie Winn books, Molly May will sign her book at a slew of spots before year’s end. For a complete list of author stops, please visit www.dogwoodpress.com, and let us know if you’d like any of us to come speak to your club or organization! We’d love to do so! Thanks, as always, for your time. Have a wonderful day!