Shakespeare, Witches, Capricious Canines, Unconventional School Teachers, Ruby Earrings, and Crows

The whole town's talking about those "wayward sisters" up on Moonlight Ridge! But our favorite 4th grade school teacher, a young man named Erskine Batson, gets his fair share of adulation and attention.

What's Erskine's secret for capturing the hearts of readers, students, and one mysterious lady on Moonlight Ridge?

Erskine Batson . . . "with one year of college under his belt, the mystifying habit of walking around in the woods cussing and reciting poetry, and every day free to do as he pleased, except Saturdays when he drove the worse-for-wear Eden garbage truck" . . . is a true Renaissance Man.

You can learn all about our unconventional 4th grade teacher, and plenty of other mysteries on the mountain, in The Witches of Moonlight Ridge

And what about that dog? 

Click here for a book review of The Witches of Moonlight Ridge.

The Witches Have Arrived!

I'm so happy and excited to announce the arrival of The Witches of Moonlight Ridge! My book is available right now on Kindle, and the paperback can be purchased from Amazon online. 

In the second book of The Moonlight Ridge Series, Lily Claire and Willie T. are back and as spunky as ever! With seasons changing on the mountain, the two intrepid kids venture into new territories, meet surprising new characters, and learn that the mysteries and magic on Moonlight Ridge continue to lead them into new adventures.

Just in time for the holidays, The Witches of Moonlight Ridge is a terrific gift for all book lovers. 

Hoke and Miss Daisy's Got Nothin' On Us

Over the week-end I attended The Southern Women Writers Conference at Berry College in Georgia, north of Rome, to which "all roads lead." Yeah, sure.

The college was founded in 1902 by Martha Berry. Spanning more than 26,000 acres, Berry College is the largest contiguous college campus in the world. How anyone ever finds it is a mystery to me.

The theme for the 2012 conference was “Beginnings and Endings.” Speakers and presenters explored the concepts of both literal and metaphorical “beginnings” and “endings” in a variety of ways. I read my short story, In a Land That Is Fairer Than Day, published in Ordinary and Sacred as Blood: Alabama Women Speak edited by Mary Carol Moran from River's Edge Publishing.
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If, in the picture at the top of the page where I stand in front of the beautiful architecture of the college, I appear to have bags under my eyes and a somewhat stunned expression, that may be attributed to the hilariously harrowing journey of the day before in which my sister, Susan Cleveland, and I lost our way big time! According to the map and driving instructions, it's a little over two hours from Birmingham to Rome, Georgia. And we both were totally acquainted with the fact that "all roads lead to Rome," so what could possibly go wrong? The two hour trip took us a little over five hours. Maybe more, I honestly don't know.

There are no words adequate to describe what all possibly could, and did, go wrong. Well, actually, it was just my sister and I who went wrong, at every opportunity; sometimes forging our own opportunity, into, out of, and back into The Twilight Zone. If there was a wrong turn within miles of us, we found and took it, at one point making a large backwoods-scenic circle and ending up precisely where we had been one hour before.

Then we honed in on a bucolic boulevard that looked promising enough, which delivered us to, I kid you not, Booger Holler. That's what the road signs said. I believe it was precisely at this point when our ever-constant radio accompaniment was blaring "Take the Long Way Home." We also were serenaded by "Slip Sliding Away," "Going to Carolina in My Mind," "I Wish I Was, Homeward Bound," "Welcome to the Hotel California," and "Still Crazy After All These Years."

But, we did eventually find ourselves on the expansive Berry Campus, met the Berry deer and Berry cows, made it to my session on Friday morning without a hitch, I read my story, and all was well!

I must at this point say "Thank You" to my Hoke of the Day, sister Susan Cleveland, for the rapturous and (seemingly) endless road trip to Rome.

Sweet Possum Home, Alabama

       Winston's home,

 Ruffner Mountain Nature Center

                                     1214 81st Street South Birmingham, AL  (205) 833-8264

Visit Ruffner Mountain Nature Center for an unforgetable, relaxing and educational treat.

Dreams Are All True While They Last

Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?

Alfred Lord Tennyson

What a coincidence that my last blog post was about dreams! Today I just received word that  my YA novel in progress Lovely, Dark, and Deep has been awarded an Honorable Mention from Alabama Writers' Conclave in their First Chapter of a Novel contest. And this story is all about dreams, but definitely not in the ordinary sense.

None of my dreams are ever in the ordinary sense, so I have plenty of material for Lovely, Dark, and Deep!

Now, I just need to finish my Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge sequel, titled The Witches of Moonlight Ridge, which I'm determined to have finished by the end of summer, then get busy on Lovely, Dark, and Deep, a YA supernatural mystery.

Edgar Allan Poe said:  All that we see or seem , Is but a dream within a dream.

New Book Blog

Take a look at the new Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge blog under construction! Soon we'll have a book trailer video, news of upcoming booksignings, and a picture of Lily Claire's own Drunkard's Path quilt, also under construction.




My sister, Joanne, and I have greased our quilting needles, and are sewing as fast as we can, to get the quilt done in time to display at the next booksigning!

www.sweetmusiconmoonlightridge.blogspot.com

Calling All Quilters !

I need a Drunkard's Path quilt.

In my novel, Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge, the little girl named Lily Claire has a red calico Drunkard's Path quilt, made by her grandmother, Granny Rilla. While writing the book, I always had the intention of making a Drunkard's Path quilt, thinking I would use it as an illustration, maybe on the title page or back of the book.

Well, events went into fast forward mode, my book was published by Chalet Publishers, with the most beautiful cover any book has ever had, and I still want the quilt.

I have wondered if any quilters would be interested in donating one red calico Drunkard's Path block; then I could assemble all the blocks and, at last, have my wonderful representation of Lily Claire's quilt! If, as Mick Jagger says, Time is on my Side, I can do the quilting and binding, or coerce some willing friend or relative to pitch in for an old-fashioned quilting bee.

The quilt would be displayed at booksignings and programs, and might one day be featured in the film version of Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge!

Contact me if you would like to make one Drunkard's Path block, and I'll supply fabric and pattern if needed.

Book Club reads Sweet Music

Friday afternoon our book discussion group, The Bookmarkers Book Club, met at the library to discuss this month's selection, Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge. Everyone enjoyed the lively discussion, not least of all, myself.

I'm so glad all the attendees had remarks pertaining to various parts of the book; it seemed that each bookclub member had a certain subject or passage of the book that grabbed their attention. We all had a lot to say about supernatural occurences, Southern childhood, magic, race relations, and character analysis. I was surprised to hear a few statements that exceeded my own interpretations, especially concerning Clyde Tucker, the Police Chief in the story, and possible criticisms and justifications for his behavior.

One thing for certain, everybody loved Studebaker Freeman!

If you haven't read the book, you need to! Technically a novella, or a short novel, it's a great read for summer.

Moonlight Ridge: it's a delightful place of constant revelation and discovery, with not infrequent mysteries and contradictions.

Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge at Leeds Arts Council

Sunday July 11th was a fun and exciting day at the Leeds Arts Council. Here I am, studiously signing a copy of Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge. So many people attended, listened to me read from my book, and we all had a great time.

I was so glad to see so many good friends and fellow writers! Sweet Music is attracting plenty of attention and getting splendid reviews!

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful day!

MOONLIGHT!

Celebration time has arrived!

Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge is now available on Amazon!

and Barnes & Noble!

Watch for announcements of upcoming booksignings and throw-down parties!

Sweet Music is On It's Way

All my friends, all my fans, all my family, I'm so happy to tell everyone, here is the culmination of several years of arduous writing, rewriting, thinking and rethinking, and just having a good old time writing about a special place filled with special people.


This little book will soon be available in paperback, on Kindle and ebooks, thanks to the good folks at Chalet Publishers LLC. It's the story of two adventurous, funny and indomitable children who embark on an adventure of their imagination that leads them to the solution of a real mystery. Coming from a family of eccentric, self-determined individuals, Lily Claire and her cousin Willie T. have a rollicking, magical and musical good time, and steadfastly face a few scary situations, out on Moonlight Ridge, just outside of a little town named Eden, Alabama.

For information about booksignings and appearances,
please contact me at ramey2001@aol.com.