PREPARE TO BE DECEIVED...

Gosh, I'm excited about the new John M. Floyd collection of stories, Deception. Talk about a cool cover...

Deception, the latest from the Derringer-Award winning short story master, is loaded with 30 tales of mystery, suspense, intrigue, and...yes...deception. There's police procedural, sci-fi/fantasy, Western, nostalgia, romance, and more...all with a jaw-dropping twist at the end. You know what I mean; you read right down to the very end and there's almost an adrenaline rush because you are CERTAIN something totally unexpected is going to happen. Make a note of the title story, as well as John's story "Redemption." Both are outstanding, but every story in the book is top quality. And what else would you expect from John?

The official kickoff is at Lemuria in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday, May 1. He'll sign books at 5:00, with the reading to follow at 5:30. Put that on your calendar and plan on joining us. If you're in John's stomping grounds of Attala County, Mississippi, put April 24 on your calendar (exactly a week before Lemuria) for a book talk and signing at the Attala County Public Library at noon in Kosciusko. In addition, John's visit to Purvis, Mississippi in January was rescheduled for Thursday, May 23 at 5:30. Many more events involving Deception are to follow. Finally, John will teach at the Gulf Coast Writer's Association event on Saturday, February 23 and sell copies of Rainbow's End, Midnight, and Clockwork.

And now for an observation, as I traveled, spoke, and signed copies of Last Chance Texaco in late 2012:

                PEOPLE WITH DYED BLUE HAIR ARE NOT RELIABLE BOOK BUYERS

Okay, all I have is anecdotal evidence. But based on my random sampling over the past decade, the number of books I've sold to potential customers with hair they've dyed blue is...wait for it...none. Zip, zero, nada. I encountered my most recent addition to this category at Books A Million in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. At least she didn't ask if the books were free!!! (Nor did she hang around long enough for me to document the, uh, colorful hair.)

Speaking of Hattiesburg, one of my favorite events each year is the annual Christmas Extravaganza multi-author event at Main Street Books, which is hosted by proprietors Jerry and Diane Shepherd. It was great to visit with author/publisher Neil White and nationally syndicated cartoonist and good friend Marshall Ramsey. The economy may be struggling overall, but it was roaring like a warm Christmas fire for one chilly afternoon in early December in Hattiesburg.

Ellen Brumfield (author Valerie Winn's mother in law) and me with Marshall at Main Street Books.

Valerie and I signed books together at the Bay/Waveland Yacht Club the last day of November, and we made separate appearances at Bay Books in Bay St. Louis. Jeremy Burke, who owns the store with his wife, Kristen Tusa, is one of the more creative book biz types I've met. He's also a big believer in social media and was very interested when I told him that one of my own Facebook posts brought Christine Cuicchi to the store from nearby Diamondhead...we continue to get results from Facebook!




Ho ho ho!



Christine Cuicchi is the daughter of my high school physics teacher, Paul Cuicchi. It was an honor to sign books for both of them. Just so you'll know, neither Mississippi State University nor Starkville High School have named any buildings or scholarships for me.



That's Michael Hewes with Valerie and me. Next year at this time he'll hoist his own book!


And with Christmas in the air, it was neat to see some of the different book displays at our events. I gave talks at public libraries in Florence and Richland in December and really enjoyed bantering with the folks who asked questions about everything from plotting a story to marketing one's book. As always, I tell them to ask any questions they want...I'm a fiction writer, and if I don't know the answer to something, I'll gladly make it up!



At Persnickety, on Main Street in Madison, Mississippi



At the Richland Public Library in Richland, Mississippi.

2013 is going to be a BUSY year for Dogwood Press! In addition to John Floyd's Deception, we'll release the Michael Hewes thriller, Watermark, in October. Can't wait for that one, too!

Remember, the Dogwood Press authors love giving book talks, and email addresses for John, Valerie, and me are on the author pages on the DP web site, which is www.dogwoodpress.com. Drop any of us a note, and let's talk about getting one (or more) of us in front of your book club, civic organization, to your arts/crafts festival, or into your store!

Finally, if Santa brought you a Kindle for Christmas, here's the list of Dogwood Press titles available for download through Amazon.com:

JOE LEE - The Magnolia Triangle
JOE LEE - The Long Road Home
JOE LEE - Last Chance Texaco
VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa
JOHN M. FLOYD - Clockwork
JOHN LEE - The Legend of Roger

As they say, order now and start reading in less than a minute. Both Deception and Watermark will be released through Kindle, too. Never forget, though, that an author can't sign your download...just a book!!!

TIS THE SEASON!

I made one of my favorite book trips yesterday: to Starkville, Mississippi, for the annual Christmas Open House at The Book Mart. It's my hometown bookstore and managed by my friend Carolyn Abadie, and this year there were over a dozen authors in the store. Merchants all up and down Main Street had their doors open, and Christmas music was playing on loudspeakers and shoppers were darting in and out of the stores hunting for bargains and one-of-a-kind items you just can't find anywhere else!

Among the authors was Michael Kardos, who (along with his wife) heads up the MSU Creative Writing Department these days. He's also the author of THE THREE DAY AFFAIR, a very impressive suspense fiction novel and his major label debut. A nice guy, and it was great to share a signing table with him. In addition, Sid Salter, who penned the excellent Jack Cristal biography a year ago, and television broadcast legend Walt Grayson were also there and visited with lots of folks. I've admired both men for years, and it was great to visit with both of them.

Mississippi newspaper legend Sid Salter and TV broadcast great Walt Grayson were kind enough to let me be photoshopped into their photo!!!

Michael Kardos is a nice guy and a good writer.

Valerie Winn continues to sell lots of copies of FORSAKING MIMOSA, which makes an oustanding Christmas gift if you haven't given her book a try yet. Congratulations to Valerie for being named the Literary Arts Director for the Mary O'Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi! The Mary C. recently hosted a concert for Mississippi music legend Marty Stuart, and one of the folks in attendance was Mississippi publisher and author Neil White, the author of IN THE SANCTUARY OF OUTCASTS. Neil's a real nice guy, and Valerie and I both look forward to seeing him at the annual Main Street Books Christmas Extravaganza in Hattiesburg, which will have at least two dozen authors, and takes place Monday, December 3 from 4pm-7pm.

Two of the hardest-working people in show business!

While running all over the place in the Bookmobile to support the launch of LAST CHANCE TEXACO, I've also been training for a half marathon! I joined a group that runs together to get ready for the Mississippi Blues Marathon (and Half Marathon) in January, and I've made a bunch of nice friends while pounding the pavement the last three months. Brad Brady and Virginia Morris were kind enough to drop in on me at The Bookshelf in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and it's always great to see lots of old friends at libraries all over Mississippi!

I just try to stay in the same zip code when running with these REAL runners!

At the Webster County Library in Eupora, Mississippi, in front of the Friends group.

Lots going on as we near the end of 2012...John Floyd, whose next mystery suspense short story collection, DECEPTION, is coming in April, will sign at Mississippi Books A Million stores in Meridian, Hattiesburg, and Jackson in December. If you haven't read John's stories, take it from a fan as well as his publisher: they are really, really good. All three previous collections (RAINBOW'S END, MIDNIGHT, and CLOCKWORK) are loaded with stories of all kinds (police procedural, Western, sci-fi/fantasy, humor), and all have a classic Hitchcock-type ending that will amaze you...I'm talking about the very last sentence of most stories having a surprise you didn't see coming. So pick one up (or all of them!!!) and be ready for DECEPTION this spring.

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving, and please plan on dropping by and saying hello the day after Thanksgiving at Books A Million of Columbus, Mississippi, where I'll begin signing books on Friday, November 23 at 11am. I'll visit Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on Friday, November 30 and sign books with Valerie at the Bay/Waveland Yacht Club from 12pm-4pm. I'll sign at Bay Books in BSL that afternoon
from 4pm-6pm, and Valerie will sign there the following day (Saturday, December 1) from 11am-1pm.
The full Dogwood Press author schedule can be viewed at www.dogwoodpress.com.

Happy reading! See you soon!

FILL 'ER UP!

I launched my new Oakdale suspense novel, Last Chance Texaco, at The Book Mart in Starkville, Mississippi, on September 27 and at Lemuria in Jackson on October 6. Had a great time at both and saw lots of old friends. The Lemuria signing was on a Saturday afternoon, and being the football fan that I am, I should have known that many of my friends would be at the games or parked in front of their TV sets. But nearly everyone who couldn't make it has gotten a book since then or pledged to attend another signing down the road. Reviews of the new book have been very kind, and there was a neat question/answer interview conducted by Susan O'Bryan that ran in The Clarion Ledger on September 30.


That's my friend Regina Fowler proudly wearing her Mississippi State colors and even came to Lemuria during the football game! She generously buys books for herself, her mother, and her mother-in law.



My old friend (and college professor) Dr. Bob Anderson. As I remind him often, Mississippi State University has yet to name any academic scholarships or buildings after me. But it's always good to see him.



My friend Dave Berry and me. He, along with Noraine Moree, co-authored the excellent non-fiction book, White Shirts, earlier this year. It was great to see both of them at Lemuria.

The BookMobile is gassed up and ready to go...I'll sign at Books A Million in Meridian, Mississippi, this Saturday at 12pm. I'll be on WTOK-TV in that city the previous day (Friday, October 12) on the morning show. The interview should hit around 6:15, and I'll put my hair on and my teeth in and try to sound halfway coherent. On Saturday, October 20, I'll sign at 1pm at Books A Million in Hattiesburg.

And I'll be on the Cyrus Webb "Conversations" radio program at 12pm on Tuesday, October 16. Look up Cyrus on Facebook for the web site and listen to the streaming audio if you're near a computer then.

One cancellation: I was to speak at the library in Raleigh, Mississippi, tonight (October 11), and that was postponed because it was announced that the Raleigh High School Homecoming Parade was not only scheduled for the same night, it was set to start at the exact same time as my talk. Since approximately 100% of the book club members in Raleigh will be at the parade, the librarian and I figured it would be in our best intereste to reschedule!!!

Valerie Winn is still speaking and traveling and signing books. If you haven't read Forsaking Mimosa, you're missing a real treat! She'll sign at the Peter Anderson Festival in Ocean Springs the weekend of November 3-4 and would love to meet you!

 

Nobody dresses up a signing table like Valerie!



Don't forget that the new John M. Floyd short story collection, Deception, is only six months away! John has already been booked to sign copies at his hometown library in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on April 24, 2013, and we will lock in a signing date at Lemuria around that time before long.

And a reminder to download my son's book, The Legend of Roger. If you're looking for something fun for your middle-schooler to read, this is it...lots of action, adventure, and humor, and it's budget-priced at

only $4.99 for Amazon Kindle users! Visit Amazon today and surprise your child with it tonight!



Perfect for the middle-schooler in your life!







WHAT ARE YOU READING?

I was asked yesterday what I was reading. Well, I just finished an old Lee Child novel called Tripwire. It's an early volume of child's fantastic, long-running Jack Reacher series. What else? The memoir by New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, Wherever I Wind Up, and in the on-deck circle (baseball pun intended) is the latest Sarah Booth Delaney novel by Carolyn Haines, The Bonefire of the Vanities.

Which brings me to a great point: How important is a good title? For this reader, the answer is VERY. Oh, sure, if one of my favorite authors (James Lee Burke, Greg Iles, Lee Child, Dennis Lehane, Harlan Coben) comes out with a new novel entitled My Really Good Story, I'd probably chance it on the author's credibility with me. For the rest of us who aren't superstars, the title needs to be something the prospective buyer/reader will remember.

With that said, here's the cover of my forthcoming Oakdale series novel, Last Chance Texaco!



I sincerely hope this intrigues you!

 We'll roll out Last Chance Texaco in my hometown of Starkville, Mississippi, at The Book Mart on Thursday, September 27 (3pm) and in Jackson at Lemuria Books on Saturday, October 6 (1pm). This is volume IV of a suspense series that began with Judgment Day in 2007 and continued with The Magnolia Triangle and The Long Road Home. This book rolls out a new protagonist (Chris Brantley), although you'll find many familiar Oakdale folks from previous volumes as well as the usual stuff in these books: old money, lots of crime for such a small place, and a high concentration of crazy people!

Dogwood Press just published an e-book by my son, John! It's called The Legend of Roger and is a fantasy and adventure novel with a lot of humor. It's great for the middle schoolers in your life and holds together remarkably well, in my humble opinion, for a work written by a kid who was thirteen at the time!
If you have a Kindle, look up John Lee and The Legend of Roger and download it today!

A true Proud Papa moment!

In addition to Last Chance Texaco, Dogwood Press is proud to publish Deception, the fourth collection of John M. Floyd mystery suspense short stories, in April 2013. The last Floyd collection, Clockwork, was released in fall 2010, and I assure you this one is definitely worth the wait. John is the entire package: a great guy and a fantastic, versatile writer whose stories all have a Hitchcock-like twist at the end, not to mention his capacity to write well in genres ranging from police procedural, nostalgia, Western, romance, and more.

The new addition to the Dogwood Press team is Gulfport, Mississippi resident Michael Hewes. His novel, Watermark, is a legal thriller with the destruction and heartbreak from Hurricane Katrina as a backdrop. As a publisher, I've received a number of queries over the years from folks who've asked me to consider their Katrina-related projects, and while many were fine works in their own right, Watermark, treats the after-effects of The Storm in just the right way. We'll launch the book in fall 2013.

Mark it down: Watermark is just over a year away!

Upcoming events: Valerie Winn will speak to the Friends of the Library in Moss Point, Mississippi, on Saturday, September 29 at 2pm. Valerie just completed a couple of appearances at Gulf South Art Gallery in her hometown of McComb, and there was a really nice write-up on her in the new edition of Pulse, a quarterly magazine published by the Enterprise-Journal newspaper in McComb.

Valerie made her own poster for her signings. I love the creativity!

Valerie, John, and I will all crisscross the region this fall selling our new books and old. Scheduling updates are always on the Dogwood Press website, which you can visit at www.dogwoodpress.com. We look forward to seeing you! And don't forget to download my son's e-book, The Legend of Roger!

THE PERFECT WRITING ENVIRONMENT

At book talks, I'm often asked when I like to write. Well, there's no set schedule. I typically write each morning, although I've gotten plenty of great work done at night and on weekends. And yes, there are times when I wake up in the middle of the night with what I think is a killer idea and go right to the computer.

As to my preferred writing environment, I have a home office. Back in 2004 when my second novel, Dead Air, was brand new, Gary Pettus of The Clarion Ledger interviewed me and described the office as "...bristling with posters and memorabilia linked to Lee's Muses, including the Three B's: the (Mississippi State University) Bulldogs, the (Atlanta) Braves, and the Beatles."



I had the paper football goalposts up in case interviewer Gary Pettus ran out of questions. Photo taken by Joe Ellis.


I was told once that such an environment was NOT conducive to "good" writing, whatever that is. Well, forget that. My advice: write in a place where you're comfortable. I like my office. There are pictures of my family in here, stuff on the walls I enjoy looking at, and my computer is in here. There are folks who write on their laptops and blackberries and iPhones. Not me. I do my best work at my computer, in my office, with my Bulldogs and Braves and Beatles posters and memorabilia on the walls, as well as other trinkets and artifacts that I've collected over a decade of writing and publishing books.

Our latest addition to the Dogwood Press team, Valerie Winn, has crisscrossed Mississippi in recent weeks and has sold oodles of copies of her fantastic debut, Forsaking Mimosa. In addition to being a quality writer, Valerie is a gifted artist and a talented photographer. She asked if I had any preferences when she went to stores to do book signings, and I always tell our authors to be ready to hand out brochures and bookmarks. As to decorating her workspace, I told her to have fun with it, and she does, as you see here.



Valerie's signing table at Miner's in Ocean Springs, MS, on May 26

We're still getting great mileage from Valerie's interview with Marshall Ramsey on Super Talk 97.3 FM in Jackson on April 3, the day she was in Jackson for her Lemuria event. Super Talk is statewide, and Marshall, in addition to being a fantastic talent himself (he's the award-winning editorial cartoonist for The Clarion Ledger and his work is syndicated in newspapers all over the country), is a really nice guy. That was one of Valerie's very first interviews, and he made her feel at home and did his usual great job.



Testing...one, two, three...is this on?

And we had our usual fun time at Cajun Fest, which takes place each spring at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Madison, MS. I have the Dogwood Press tent out there each year and always enjoy visiting with folks and selling a few books. The challenge for me is to keep from spilling any of the delicious food on my books!



Of course I'll sign that for you. And if you buy all the books, you get the table free!

 The next Dogwood Press title is my new novel, the suspense thriller Last Chance Texaco. It's Volume IV of my Oakdale series and will be released at the beginning of October. I'm very excited about this one, and we also can't wait for the next John Floyd collection of mystery stories, Deception. Watch for that one in spring 2013.

Finally, I want to recommend a book I edited for a couple of friends of mine. Noraine Moree and Dave Berry have teamed up to write White Shirts, which is a non-fiction account of the tragic Kenneth Tornes workplace shootings which took place at Central Fire Station in Jackson, MS, in April 1996. This book will be available in mid-June and is a very powerful story of tragedy and forgiveness. For signed copies and/or a way to contact the authors about speaking appearances, visit http://www.cannon-ridge-publishing.com/. 




VALERIE'S LAUNCH AT LEMURIA

Valerie Winn had a very successful night at Lemuria in Jackson on April 3, selling over three dozen copies of her debut novel, Forsaking Mimosa. What was amazing to this observer, though, was the outporing of support from family members in McComb (a three-hour round trip) and the Gulf Coast (a six-hour round trip). A whole bunch of folks came up for the day and shopped in Jackson, putting a little boost into the economy, and rented hotel rooms and ate out after buying books at Lemuria. As Valerie's publisher and head cheerleader (GO, TEAM, GO!!!) I couldn't be more grateful.

Nothing like signing your first book for old friends!

A lot of folks drove a lot of miles to Lemuria that night!

Plenty of people stayed for the reading...

...which was as much fun as sitting in the legendary Lemuria signing booth!

I've talked often about how great it is to get to visit with old friends while selling books on the road. My friend Perry Dew and his wife, Betty, are old friends who live near Meridian, and they were kind enough to stop by when I signed at the area Books A Million in early March.

Not only does Perry read my books and give me through feedback, he's kind enough to even brag on them in front of total strangers who walk by for a look. What a guy!

Next up on the signing calendar: My buddy John Floyd and I will visit the Quitman Public Library in Clarke County on Thursday, April 12 at 1:30 p.m. for an informal talk and q/a session that we think will be a lot of fun. We thoroughly enjoy getting to both take shots at questions from audience members.

Late 2009, back when Quitman librarian Sue Sexton managed the library in nearby Pachuta.

John Floyd and me at Lemuria in early 2007 when I signed Judgment Day

There's a story that goes with the trailer sign: Back in 2003, I got a call from Sue Sexton, who said a handful of folks in their Friends of the Library group were familiar with my debut novel, the legal thriller On The Record, and wanted to know if I'd come to town to do a program. Are you kidding me? Absolutely, I said, and we agreed on a date of July 10. The meeting room in this tiny little library was full, with 16-18 people taking up all the chairs, and I learned that I was the opening act for...a local Baptist minister who was auctioning off cakes! I took a picture of the trailer sign, and to this day it hangs in my office: AUTHOR JOE LEE REVIEWING ON THE RECORD AND FUNDRAISING CAKE AUCTION. I even mentioned it to Gary Pettus of The Clarion Ledger a year later when he interviewed me just before my second novel, Dead Air, was launched. And when I signed Dead Air a few months later in Pachuta, I made sure the Friends folks knew they'd been bragged on in the statewide Mississippi paper.

So I'll be interested to see if Sue has some sort of trailer sign in Quitman to promote the Floyd/Lee event in Quitman this Thursday!

WITH APOLOGIES TO CARLY SIMON...

Remember Anticipation, the classic song from Carly Simon long ago? I remember hearing it in ketchup advertisements somewhere along the way. And it's in my head right now because we're so close to launching my new author, Valerie Winn of Gautier, Mississippi, and her fantastic debut novel, Forsaking Mimosa. Valerie will sign copies of her book at Lemuria in Jackson on Tuesday, April 3 at 5:00 p.m. (reading to follow at 5:30), and she'll do her first Coast-area signing on Thursday, April 12 at 6:00 p.m. at the Pink Rooster Art Gallery. We can't wait!

Valerie and Linda Rosetti, Owner of Pink Rooster Art Gallery

My next venture is tomorrow at Books A Million in Meridian, Mississippi. We'll tee it up around noon and hopefully find a few folks shopping for Mother's Day or Father's Day gifts. Heck, just make up your own special occasion and pick up a copy of The Long Road Home, like these nice folks did when I spoke at the Tunica Public Library in January...and at the Pearl Public Library, also in January.

The guy on the left is my old buddy James Duke Denton. Always good to see him.

There's nothing an author likes more than folks standing around with their checkbooks open!


John Floyd and I will visit the Quitman Public Library for a dual book talk on Thursday, April 19 during National Library Week. We're really looking forward to seeing Librarian Sue Sexton and her patrons. It's great fun to do a talk with John and answer questions that are put to both of us. And one event I always look forward to is Cajun Fest at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Madison. This year's event is Sunday, May 20. We'll again have the Dogwood Press book booth wide open.

I'm always grateful to the festival organizers for not putting me next to the Space Jump! Sure don't need any wet books! 

COMING SOON...TO A BOOKSTORE NEAR YOU

Now that it's 2012, we're in the very last days and weeks before the new Dogwood Press author, Valerie Winn of Gautier, Mississippi, bursts onto the scene with a wonderful novel called Forsaking Mimosa. It's mainstream fiction with a hint of literary flavor, a coming-of-age tale that's set in South Mississippi just before World War II. There are life lessons, humor, tragedy, compelling characters, and a storyline you won't be able to walk away from in Forsaking Mimosa, and we're gearing up for Valerie's launch on April 3 at Lemuria in Jackson. Here's the book cover:

Valerie will sign copies of her debut novel at Lemuria at 5pm on April 3, with a reading at 5:30.

One of the highlights of my Christmas season was signing books on December 17 at a gift shop in Madison, Mississippi called Persnickety. Owner Ben Rogers, his wife, Randy, and manager Flo Bryan carry a variety of upscale decorative items and also host author signings--Ben didn't have to ask me twice if I was interested in an event with him, and he and his staff were wonderful hosts.

Joe and Ben. That's the first time my books have ever been displayed on a roll-top desk before.

We start 2012 with my latest Oakdale novel, The Long Road Home, officially available for download through Amazon.com. If you own a Kindle, grab it any time--as they say, you'll be able to begin reading in a minute or less.

Upcoming speaking events: I look forward to meeting folks at the Robert C. Irwin Public Library in Tunica, Mississippi on Wednesday, January 18 at noon. On Friday, January 27, I'll visit the Pearl Public Library at noon for their monthly Brown Bag luncheon. I was actually at the Pearl library last night to speak to the Chapter One Book Club, which was a lot of fun. I fielded some questions, and we all shared stories about writing and books and the business--great stuff. My thanks to Cecilia Sandifer, who invited me, and Kimberly Coley, who was kind enough to bring me in to speak to the Brown Bag group.

That's Cecilia to my right. We all agreed that the most important part of writing is enjoying it.