Think of some of the people who have won Lifetime Achievement Awards. The words alone catch your attention–whatever such an honor is presented for, it’s a pretty big deal, right? And it’s an especially big deal for my friend and fellow author John Floyd to have just been named The Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer Award winner, presented annually for Lifetime Achievement in the writing of short mystery fiction.
As I tell folks at book talks, the Derringer is to the short story what an Oscar is to acting, or the Grammy is to the music business. John has won several Derringer Awards over the years–a major accomplishment–but the scope of today’s announcement leaves me absolutely awestruck. As well as very, very proud of a man I’m proud to call a friend, as well as an absolutely fantastic writer.
Previous winners include luminaries such as Bill Pronzini, Loren Estleman, Ruth Rendell, John Lutz, and one of my very favorite suspense authors, Lawrence Block. The award will be presented in St. Petersburg in September, at the annual Bouchercon Mystery Conference. John is making plans to attend and accept the award in person.
Which gives me the perfect opportunity to mention The Barrens, John’s great new collection of short mystery/suspense fiction that’s coming in October! Come visit with us at the Mississippi Book Festival on August 18 and hear all about it!
You can also grab an all-new paperback copy of Valerie Winn’s first novel, Forsaking Mimosa, as well as learn about Valerie’s great new sequel, The Dance Between (also launching in October).
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| Six years in the making, and worth every second of the wait! |
And in case you don’t have enough reasons already to come visit the Dogwood Press tent at the book festival, you’ll meet new author Molly May! Her story will be relevant and meaningful to anyone who has someone with cancer in their family, or will benefit from reading about someone who has accomplished much in her short life with the odds very much stacked against her.
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| A powerful, inspirational read! |
And here’s a little marketing fun! Take a look at this flyer for the forthcoming (April 2019) Janet Brown novel Deadly Visits and see if you don’t want to start reading the second the book comes out! Janet will also be at the Mississippi Book Festival and can tell you a whole lot more!
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| Uh, far out, man! |
Meanwhile, I’ve had a blast traveling all over the state (and beyond) to support my new faith-based Oakdale series novel 40 Days. I’ve seen old friends, made new ones, and visited a bunch of Mississippi public libraries–that’s truly where the rubber meets the road in terms of the word spreading about a book. Think about how many folks check out books from libraries, and how many of those people tell their friends. I’m so thankful for the many books clubs and Friends of the Library groups there are around Mississippi, and it’s an honor to speak to so many of them.
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| That’s Starkville librarian Virginia Holtcamp to my right, and Friends President Sue Minchew to my left. Very nice people!
Lastly, big props to author Susan Cushman, who continues to sell copies of her excellent literary novel Cherry Bomb, for serving as editor of the very fine Southern Writers on Writing (published by University Press of Mississippi). The twenty-plus contributors all wrote pieces about writing–or about writing about the South–and one of my favorite entries is the selection from none other than John Floyd. Yes, THAT John Floyd!
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| Great work, Susan and John!
That’s all the news that fits! If you know John, give him a big pat on the back for winning the Golden Derringer Award–what a wonderful feat! For a complete list of Dogwood Press author events, visit www.dogwoodpress.com, and remember that all of us are available to speak to your group! Just send an email, and I bet we can make it happen! Most of the Dogwood Press catalog of titles is available via digital download for your Amazon Kindle, so keep that in mind as you make your reading purchases. And we certainly look forward to seeing you at the Mississippi Book Festival in just a few short weeks!
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