WHERE TO CAPTURE THE CREATIVE JUICES

Thought I'd cover some familiar territory this time, namely how to create the perfect writing environment and get every last drop when the fountain of creative juices is gushing.

First, don't listen to anyone who says you can't write effectively if you aren't surrounded by shelves of dusty old copies of the classics (I've heard that, and more than once). My office is loaded is loaded with family pictures, photos of me with running group friends, Atlanta Braves memorabilia, a framed Beatles poster, and a bookshelf with all kinds of book business-related trinkets. 

Bottom line: it's COMFORTABLE in here. I do all my creative writing at my desk, on my computer, in my office -- I can tune everything else out, and plug completely in to what's in my head and get those words and images onto the screen. 

Valerie Winn hard at work in her writing laboratory!

Valerie, whose long-awaited follow-up to Forsaking Mimosa will be released in late 2016, has a comfortable place to write that's conducive to getting the juices flowing. So do I, so does Randy Pierce, and so does John Floyd. Did I mention that both those gentlemen also have new books coming in 2016? Watch for The Peter Bay, the new Pierce novel, in March -- at which time we'll also roll out a new printing of Randy's out-of-print debut novel, Pain Unforgiven. That's important because The Peter Bay is the sequel to Pain Unforgiven.

John's new collection of stories is called Dreamland. Great stuff, and about a year away. 2015 has been a really good year for John ... nominated for an Edgar for Best Short Story by the Mystery Writers of America earlier this year, and he's included in the 2015 Best American Mystery Stories, which is edited this year by James Patterson (yes, THAT James Patterson). Mr. Patterson not only mentions John by name in his introduction to the book, but this is what he said about John's story included in the book:

"'Molly's Plan' details the formation and execution of a bank heist so real and intense that I found it impossible to believe the tale took up only a few pages."

Wow. Yes, THAT James Patterson. And John is included among perennial bestsellers like Lee Child, Jeffrey Deaver, Michael Connelly, and Dennis Lehane in this year's collection.

Get yours today, wherever books are sold.

Thought you might be interested to know what we've been reading, lately:

John:

NELSON DEMILLE - Radiant Angel

HARPER LEE - Go Tell A Watchman

JOE R. LANSDALE - The Thicket

LEE CHILD - Make Me

STEPHEN KING - Finders Keepers

Valerie: 

GREG ILES - The Quiet Game

M.O. WALSH - My Sunshine Away

MYLA GOLDBERG - Bee Season

JESSICA HANDLER - Invisible Sisters

Randy: 

STUART STEVENS - The Last Season

DONNA TARTT - The Goldfinch

HARRISON SCOTT KEY - The World's Largest Man

JAMIE KORNEGAY - Soil

Joe:

GILLIAN FLYNN - Dark Places

LEE CHILD - Make Me

PHILIP BAILEY - Shining Star

JOHN SHIVERS - Repossessed

JOE HILL - NOS4A2

Upcoming events: John and I look forward to appearing together at the Christmas Open House at the Choctaw County Library on December 10 at 2:30 p.m., and we both will visit a series of Books A Million stores before year's end. For a complete listing of upcoming book events, visit www.dogwoodpress.com.

You can also order signed copies of any Dogwood Press titles through the site, and if you prefer a digital download (which we can't sign, of course), here are the available titles you can pick up through Amazon Kindle:

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

RANDY PIERCE - Magnolia Mud

JOHN FLOYD - Fifty Mysteries

JOHN FLOYD - Deception

JOHN FLOYD - Clockwork

JOE LEE - Director's Cut

JOE LEE - Last Chance Texaco

JOE LEE - The Long Road Home

JOE LEE - The Magnolia Triangle

JOHN LEE - The Legend of Roger (perfect for the middle schooler in your life!)

Thanks for your time. If you write, don't get caught up in what your surroundings look like; just get comfortable and let it fly! If you're looking for a gift idea, visit our web site. We can personalize any book you purchase. And stop in and say hello at a book signing! 

MISSISSIPPI BOOK FESTIVAL

During a conversation about six months ago with John Evans, owner of Lemuria Books, he handed me a Mississippi Book Festival bookmark and said to make sure Dogwood Press was involved in the event. All publishers of any size, I'm sure, are approached by folks who claim that their forthcoming event will be big and bad and attract everyone east of the Rockies. 

But John was right -- the first annual Mississippi Book Festival attracted over 2,500 book and literature lovers and had standing-room-only crowds for the panel discussions. In addition to John Grisham and Greg Iles and Governor Haley Barbour, there were many authors and an absolute throng of nice folks who made a day of it on the grounds of the Mississippi Capitol.

We were proud to be there -- Randy Pierce, John Floyd, Valerie Winn, and I spent nearly all of August 22 visiting with nice folks who bought books and felt great about being part of event that yet again showed off what we in Mississippi have that very few other states do: a WHOLE LOT of really good writers. Next year's event is scheduled for August 20. We can't wait!

John, Randy, Valerie and me ... that's author John Hailman and author Charlie Spillers visiting with us. Nice folks! And I promise Randy isn't yelling at them!

The banner drew quite a bit of attention, especially when the wind gusted and blew it over!

John Floyd has had a really nice year ... sales of Fifty Mysteries have been very good, and his excellent suspense story, "Molly's Plan," will be included in the 2015 Best American Mystery Stories, which will be released in October and is edited by Otto Penzler. "Molly's Plan" has been mentioned in national book reviews by Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus Reviews; both pretty much call it a must-read. Additionally, John has a story in the upcoming Mississippi Noir collection, which will be edited by author Tom Franklin. And his next collection of stories, Dreamland, will be published by Dogwood Press in 2016. I have connections ... I've read it ... and it's really, really good!

I'm also excited about the new Randy Pierce novel, The Peter Bay. It will be released in March 2016, and at that time we'll also roll out a paperback edition of Randy's out-of-print debut novel, Pain Forgiven. Since The Peter Bay is a sequel to Pain Unforgiven, you'll want to pick up both! 

Valerie Winn is also hard at work on her followup novel to Forsaking Mimosa. Watch for it in late 2016 ... it will be worth the wait!

Upcoming appearances: I will visit the Magee Public Library in Simpson County, Mississippi on Saturday, September 19 for Crazy Day, and Randy is all set to speak to the Friends of the Aberdeen Library at noon next Wednesday, September 16. We're busy setting up November/December appearances at Mississippi Books A Million stores and a number of other spots, and we look forward to seeing you!

Most of the Dogwood Press catalog is available for download to your Amazon Kindle:

JOHN M. FLOYD - Fifty Mysteries

JOHN M. FLOYD - Deception

JOHN M. FLOYD - Clockwork

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

RANDY PIERCE - Magnolia Mud

JOE LEE - Director's Cut

JOE LEE - Last Chance Texaco

JOE LEE - The Long Road Home

JOE LEE - The Magnolia Triangle

JOHN LEE - The Legend of Roger (perfect for your middle school student!)

Download a book today (and be reading in about a minute), or order a signed copy or two from the Dogwood Press website, which you'll find at www.dogwoodpress.com. Thanks for your time, and have a great day!

MISSISSIPPI BOOK FESTIVAL

You've read about it in The Clarion Ledger and many other publications. The Mississippi Book Festival takes place August 20-22 at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson and will include workshops, author talks and readings, and an exhibitor's day that will provide the book lover with the opportunity of a lifetime ... as much of a cliche as that is, it might not be an exaggeration.

Saturday, August 22 is the exhibitor's day, and Dogwood Press is one of many publishing houses that will be on site. Randy Pierce, Valerie Winn, John Floyd, and I will be there and look forward to seeing you. For more information, visit www.msbookfestival.com.

The four of us will be at the Mississippi Book Festival, with copies of these books for sale!



 

John Floyd will be on the Mississippi Gulf Coast this Saturday, July 25, for The Magic of Books conference at the Long Beach campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. He'll also attend Bouchercon, the world's largest mystery conference, in Raleigh, North Carolina, from October 8-11.

In addition, look for the following John Floyd stories in these widely-read publications:

"Saving Grace," in the current (July/August) issue of The Saturday Evening Post 

“Ball and Chain,” in the current (July 27) issue of Woman’s World

“A Friend in Need,” in next month's Woman’s World 

“Dentonville,” in the November 2015 issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

“Molly’s Plan,” in The Best American Mystery Stories 2015 (October)

And look for twice-monthly contributions from John on the SleuthSayers mystery blog, which you can find at www.sleuthsayers.org.

John took his family on vacation recently and had a gorgeous place to do some writing !

Upcoming appearances: In addition to the Mississippi Book Festival, John will visit Evans Memorial Library in Aberdeen, Mississippi, on August 19, and Randy Pierce will visit that same nice bunch of Aberdeen folks on September 16. I will sign books at Crazy Day at the Magee Public Library on Saturday, September 19 from 10 a.m. until noon (if I can add a little crazy to a book event, I'm happy to do so). 

Upcoming books: we have THREE new Dogwood Press titles coming in 2016:

The new Randy Pierce novel, The Peter Bay, will be released in March, and we'll also roll out a paperback version of his out-of-print debut novel, Pain Unforgiven. Late in 2016 we'll also launch new books from Valerie Winn and John Floyd. Can't wait!

And it was great fun -- as well as a great honor -- to be invited to my friend Neil White's traveling writing workshop, which stopped in Canton, Mississippi, in mid-June. I was part of an author panel and was delighted to many publishing-related questions. Those events are great fun; it's always a good time when you get to meet folks who enjoy reading and writing just as much as we do. 

A fun and lively group in Canton!

If you can't get to a book event and buy a signed book, please order one through our web site at www.dogwoodpress.com. And we're asked a lot about downloads these days. Here are the Dogwood Press titles that are available through Amazon Kindle:

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

RANDY PIERCE - Magnolia Mud

JOE LEE - Director's Cut

JOE LEE - Last Chance Texaco

JOE LEE - The Long Road Home

JOE LEE - The Magnolia Triangle

JOHN FLOYD - Fifty Mysteries

JOHN FLOYD - Deception

JOHN FLOYD - Clockwork

JOHN LEE - The Legend of Roger (great for your middle-schooler!)

Thanks very much for your time, and we hope to see you at the Mississippi Book Festival!

WHO IS THAT MYSTERIOUS FIGURE IN THE BACKGROUND?

No, John Floyd did not win the Edgar for Best Short Story at last month's Mystery Writers of America awards ceremony in New York City -- that honor went to author Gillian Flynn. But John, who was nominated for his story, "200 Feet," which ran in The Strand Magazine in 2014, said he had a fantastic time visiting with fellow Edgar nominees, editors of publications like The Strand and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and luminaries such as Otto Penzler. Mr. Penzler has edited The Best American Mystery Stories for years, and the 2015 edition (out in October) will include John's story, "Molly's Plan," which also ran in The Strand in 2014.

Take a good look at the man in the background of the picture below. John and fellow author Doug Allyn, who was written for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine for years (and won the Edgar, Derringer, Macavity, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Reader's Choice awards) were having a nice visit while the legend who won the Edgar for Best Novel was but a few feet away. (John had a nice chat with him, too.)

Yep, that's Stephen King back there. Probably trying to figure out the best way to approach Mr. Floyd for his autograph!

John and his wife, Carolyn. She's just as nice as he is.

Valerie Winn has a signing tomorrow (Thursday) at 6 p.m. at the Greenhouse on Porter, a truly unique venue in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, along our beautiful Gulf Coast. Describing the GHOP as a coffee house doesn't begin to do it justice ... there are yummy scratch-made biscuits, great coffee, craft beer, live music, art displays, and much more. Valerie will sign copies of Forsaking Mimosa and read from the book, and she'll be glad to update you on the progress of her next novel, which is on track to be released in 2016!

My friend Neil White, the author and publisher from Oxford, invited Valerie to be part of a panel at a workshop that he is putting in this spring and summer in different parts of the state; Valerie joined him in Ocean Springs last month, and I'll have the honor of participating at the event in Canton, Mississippi, in June. Based on the reaction from Valerie and the other two panelists pictured here, it looks like Neil was in rare form.  

I just flew in from Pittsburgh, and boy, my arms are tired!

We're not too far away from launching the new Randy Pierce novel, The Peter Bay. This is good stuff. If you enjoyed Randy's first book, Pain Unforgiven, you'll be delighted to know that The Peter Bay is the sequel. And because Pain Unforgiven is currently out of print, we'll debut a paperback version of that book at the time we roll out The Peter Bay!

That's Randy signing a copy of Magnolia Mud for a nice lady at the Pontotoc County Library.

Me and Jo Shumake, the president of the Friends of the Columbus Public Library and a very nice lady.

 

Upcoming book events: In addition to Valerie tomorrow night at Greenhouse on Porter in Ocean Springs, John will sign Fifty Mysteries at Books A Million of Hattiesburg on Saturday, May 16. I will sign books at Cajun Fest, the annual fundraiser at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Madison on Sunday, May 17, and I'll also visit BAM in Hattiesburg on Saturday, May 23.

Note: My novel, Director's Cut, has just been added to Good Reads. Nearly all of the Dogwood Press titles are on Good Reads, so let your friends know!

And if you're a Kindle lover and looking for a good read to download, here's what's available from the Dogwood Press catalog:

JOHN FLOYD - Fifty Mysteries

JOHN FLOYD - Deception

JOHN FLOYD - Clockwork

RANDY PIERCE - Magnolia Mud

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

JOE LEE - Director's Cut

JOE LEE - Last Chance Texaco

JOE LEE - The Long Road Home

JOE LEE - The Magnolia Triangle

JOHN LEE - The Legend of Roger (highly recommended for your middle school-age student!)

For a complete schedule of all Dogwood Press author appearances, please visit www.dogwoodpress.com, and come by and say hello at an author event. Thanks for your time!

THE HUMOR OF JOHN FLOYD

John has a great sense of humor. As his friend, as well as his publisher, I can attest to that. And so can the good folks at Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, who've included his short story, "Dreamland," in their annual humor issue (the just-released May 2015 issue). In addition, the Feb-May issue of The Strand Magazine, includes "Driver," a suspenseful Floyd tale you'll really enjoy.

And gosh, are we excited about this ... John will be in New York City late this month at the annual Edgar Awards ceremony, put on each year by the Mystery Writers of America. His story, "200 Feet," ran in The Strand Magazine last year and has been nominated for an Edgar for Best Short Story.

Grab 'em both ... and enjoy!

Valerie Winn is hard at work on her next novel. We'll give you a firm publication date when it's completely finished, but I can tell you from the chapters I've read that if you enjoyed Forsaking Mimosa, you'll really enjoy this one ... will definitely be worth the wait!

Valerie reading to her nieces not long ago. Before too much longer, she'll be reading from her new novel!

Randy Pierce is also putting the finishing touches on The Peter Bay, which will be released in spring 2016. It's the highly-anticipated sequel to his debut novel, Pain Unforgiven, and Randy will tell you that the launch can't get here fast enough!

Randy signing Magnolia Mud at the Pontotoc County Library. Nobody looks more dapper while autographing a book!

Me and my friend Carl Sanders, who was kind enough while visiting at Christmas to stop and get a copy of Director's Cut!

Several author appearances ahead this month: John will sign copies of Fifty Mysteries at Books A Million of Meridian this Saturday, April 11, and two days later (April 13) he'll speak and sign books at the Webster County Library in Eupora, in northeast Mississippi. Also on April 13, Randy will sign at the annual Taster's Luncheon in Winona at the Winona-Montgomery County Library -- come early for a seat! And I look forward to visiting Columbus on April 22 to sign copies of Director's Cut at the Columbus-Lowndes County Library.

Don't forget that most of the Dogwood Press catalog is available for download via Amazon Kindle:

JOHN M. FLOYD - Fifty Mysteries

JOHN M. FLOYD - Deception

JOHN M. FLOYD - Clockwork

RANDY PIERCE - Magnolia Mud

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

JOE LEE - Director's Cut

JOE LEE - Last Chance Texaco

JOE LEE - The Magnolia Triangle

JOE LEE - The Long Road Home

JOHN LEE - The Legend of Roger

Thanks, as always, for your time! For a complete list of author appearances, visit www.dogwoodpress.com, and come say hello at a book event! Have a great day!

EDGAR

Yes, that Edgar, as in Edgar Allan Poe ... John Floyd has been nominated for an Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America in the Best Short Fiction category for "200 Feet," a story that appeared in The Strand Magazine in 2014. Who's he up against for this most prestigious of literary awards? Try Gillian Flynn, author of the novel Gone Girl, not to mention Dennis Lehane and Michael Connolly, among others. We'll let you know when the winners will be announced. Fingers are crossed!

John signing Fifty Mysteries at Lemuria back in October. Response to this book has been very good!

Randy Pierce has been hard at work to promote Magnolia Mud since its release last April, and we have good news: Randy's next novel, The Peter Bay, will be published by Dogwood Press in early 2016. If you enjoyed Randy's first book, Pain Unforgiven, you'll be glad to know that The Peter Bay is a sequel!

It won't be too long before Magnolia Mud shares space with The Peter Bay on Randy's signing tables!

One of my favorite road trips when I have a new book is the Floyd Robinson Memorial Library in Raleigh, Mississippi ... but I wasn't so sure anyone would show because of the horrendous weather at what's always an evening event. So I was delighted at the nice group we had the other night. We're counting on good weather when I speak to the Yarn Spinners Book Club at the Choctaw County Public Library in Ackerman on Tuesday, February 3 at 10 a.m. That should be great fun: the members have read Director's Cut and have prepared questions for the author. I hope I remember who wrote the book!

A nice group in Raleigh that braved the rain. Not pictured: our umbrellas

If you didn't catch the very nice feature on John Floyd in the Clarion Ledger earlier this month, find it in the newspaper's archives from the Sunday book page on January 4. And meet John in person this Saturday (January 31) at The Magic of Books Conference, which will take place at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson.

Visit www.dogwoodpress.com for information about all Dogwood Press titles, most of which are available for download via Amazon Kindle. If you don't have Fifty Mysteries, Director's Cut, Magnolia Mud, or Valerie Winn's Forsaking Mimosa, power up your Kindle, hit the download button, and start reading in a minute or less! Thanks for your time, and have a great day!