Evergreen, the Beautiful Witch of Moonlight Ridge

The first printing of The Witches of Moonlight Ridge is all sold out. Second printing is here, just in time for holiday gifting. An added feature: a beautiful photo of our mysterious Evergreen, AKA Bessie Penny, thanks to the Hugh Mangum Collection and the generosity of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University.

Meet Me at the Music Room!

 

Join me at The Music Room
Saturday, May 30th 
 2:00 - 4:00

 for a book signing! 

I'll be reading from 
Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge 

and signing copies, 
and celebrating the newly issued

 2nd edition. 

Come join the fun! 

The Music Room 

1501 9th St.
Leeds, AL 35094

CBC Bookclub Reads "The Shining, Shining Path"

Today was BOOK CLUB DAY for my reading group which technically has no name. But some of us refer to it as the CBC Book Club. Today our group of enthusiastic readers met at my sister Susan's house for a lively discussion of Carroll Dale Short's fascinating novel, The Shining, Shining Path. The discussion was intense, filled with comments, questions, applause, and exclamations of wonderment. Individual responses went from speechless with awe, to gleeful, to respectful, to horrified, to delighted. Everyone gave this book a thumbs up and five stars.

"I once interviewed an elderly blues musician who told me, "Some people play the blues for love. Some play for money. I play because I can't help myself." Same goes for me and writing." - Carroll Dale Short

Carroll Dale Short is one of our own, an Alabama writer of truly startling talent. And a really nice guy! Take my word for it, and the word of all the CBC book clubbers, you need to read this book!

In Dale Short's amazing book, The Shining, Shining Path, the main character, Turner, a rock promoter and Vietnam vet, is improbably chosen by a sect of Buddhist monks as a spiritual warrior, picked to battle the forces of darkness and evil. In Alabama. Dale's writing is impressive, humorous, spiritual, metaphysical, mathematical, endearing, sad, scary, thought-provoking, and filled with joy.

Dale has written numerous other books, and you can learn more about him at  www.carrolldaleshort.com 

Here are a few snapshots of some of our book club ladies, cats, and dogs, today at Susan's house. We drank mimosas, ate chicken salad, pasta salad, and sweet potato pie!

Blog Tag Party

A special thanks to KC Sprayberry for hosting a Blog Tag Party. This is such a great way to meet other writers and new friends. KC's blog, Out of Control Characters,  can be found at  http://outofcontrolcharacters.blogspot.com/

KC asked us to let others know what we are currently working on. I'm currently working on two exciting projects.

First, I'm writing the second book of the four volume Moonlight Ridge Series.

The four books in the series follow the seasons of the year, and this second one I'm currently working on is set in the beautiful backwoods of Alabama in autumn. You'll want to read the first book first, which tells the story of two children and their summer adventures in a magical world called Moonlight Ridge.

My Moonlight Ridge Series is very definitely Southern fiction. It's published as adult Southern genre, but crosses over as YA fiction as well. Young people of all ages love Lily Claire, Willie T., and all their peculiar relatives and neighbors. Magic wands, friendly animals, singing possums and mysteries on the mountain are just a few of the unusual attractions.
Which actors would I choose to play my characters in a movie rendition? I've thought about this a lot! Because the main two characters are 8 year-old children, I believe there would have to be a talent search across the South to find two talented youngsters for those parts. And just maybe, now that we've seen his stellar performance in the Hatfields and McCoys saga, we could get Kevin Costner to play Granddaddy W.T. Greenberry. That's for the already published Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge. For the "work in progress," we'll need a beautiful dark haired young lady to play the mysterious apparition that Lily Claire and Willie T. discover haunting the ruins of a 19th century landmark near their home.

My second Work In Progress is a YA supernatural mystery, with the working title Lovely, Dark and Deep. The first chapter won an award from Alabama Writers Conclave. The main character is a teen age girl who lives in a rural setting where mysterious events and night-time intrigue lure her into the woods at night.  It's about dreams, a young girls attempts to figure out the meaning of her dreams, and a cute boy named Buddy who may not be as simple as he seems.

 If you're visiting from the Blog Tag Party, please leave a comment. Happy blogging!