ESCAPE

I'm sure you remember the old Calgon TV ads with that unforgettable tag line: CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY! A good book also provides a wonderful escape from the grim realities of today. For me, nothing beats becoming so immersed in a good story that I'm not even aware of turning the pages.

The delta variant COVID spike wiped out our author appearances for summer and fall, including the  2021 Mississippi Book Festival, but there are in-person events taking place here and there at brick-and-mortar bookstores and other venues. One of them is Dogwood Press Day at Lemuria Books of Jackson on December 20! Candace Cox Wheeler will sign copies of Cradle in the Oak, Randy Pierce will autograph Missy, and John Floyd will sign Lighten up a Little. This is a great opportunity to pick up a trio of outstanding reads you may have missed because of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, our team is taking every opportunity available to safely meet and greet new readers. When the annual Cruisin' the Coast classic car festival took place along the Mississippi Gulf Coast earlier this month, Valerie Winn set up shop at Pink Rooster Art Gallery in Ocean Springs and sold copies of The Dance Between and Forsaking Mimosa to folks who were in town for the festival and soaking up the Coast atmosphere. 

What a great day to be out and meet a Mississippi author!

One of my favorite aspects of working with Candace Cox Wheeler on Cradle in the Oak was the time we spent trying to perfect that just-right mix of suspense and layered-in history in her historical fiction novel. Set in the early twentieth century in Biloxi, Mississippi, Cradle really captures life in that fascinating Coast town, and there has been tremendous local response. We thank the Biloxi Public Library for including Candace's book in a display of local interest reads, and we're hearing that it is almost always checked out!

An education about Biloxi you won't find in a textbook!

Speaking of Biloxi, John Floyd's "Biloxi Bound" was selected for inclusion in The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021, published in September and edited by one of my very favorite authors, the great Lee Child. John continues to write prolifically, and you'll find his story “Friends” in the Sept./Oct. issue of The Saturday Evening Post. He also has a number of stories coming during the fourth quarter of 2021 and early 2022, such as “Escape Claus” in the December issue of Woman’s World, and "Mayhem at the Mini-Mart" (what a cool title!) in the Jan./Feb. issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Also, be sure to watch for Sleuth Sayers, John's weekly blog, on his Facebook page. 

 

For me, this is a must-read each year!

I've had the privilege to serve as editor on a pair of very recent books that are worth your time. Karen Brown's A Year-Long Honeymoon is a brief but fascinating look back at the year she and her husband, Don, spent in Europe in 1968-1969 while he was on active military duty. You talk about being taken away, as a reader, from the everyday--you'll feel like you're right there in Germany and France as the young married couple motors along in their Volkswagen and has all sorts of fascinating adventures.

   

                                                That's Karen at far right with husband Don in the middle.

Likewise, it was great to work with Stuart Kellogg on his brand-new non-fiction book, The Post-COVID Church. Stuart, a former television executive, has a multi-media background and developed a book after launching a successful podcast about what the future of the Church might look like in a post-COVID society. Loaded with comments and insights from a wide variety of theologians and clergy, this brief but powerful read pulls no punches about the need to act now.

Definitely a read that will make you think. 

Yes, supply chain issues are a serious problem right now, and shipping times are unpredictable. A suggestion: shop now, as in ordering signed copies of Cradle in the Oak, Missy, and Lighten Up a Little from the Dogwood Press website, as well as any other titles that strike you. Visit us at dogwoodpress.com with your shopping list in mind, and I bet you'll find a few books that will take the reader on your list away! Also, most Dogwood Press titles are available for download via Amazon Kindle, so if that's your preferred way to read, we've got you covered.

Thanks for your time. Stay safe, and keep reading!

LET'S GO!

Like a lot of us, I suppose, I spent the spring of 2020 thinking the pandemic would last several weeks, maybe a couple of months. I still felt that way even after more than a dozen John Floyd events to support his book Lighten Up A Little were wiped off the board. Then came, in May, a blast email from the good folks at the Mississippi Book Festival announcing that the 2020 event had been cancelled. What felt like a lead weight seemed to drop inside me.

But there's good news: the 2021 MBF is definitely on, as of this writing. It's Saturday, August 21 at the Mississippi State Capitol, and if you're comfortable getting out and about, I sure hope you'll make plans to attend. Candace Cox Wheeler, Randy Pierce, and John Floyd will join me in the Dogwood Press tent for a hot, humid day of visiting with old friends and making new ones. Look up the MBF website and take in the vast array of talent on the many author panels, and please plan on supporting a signature Mississippi event that should make all of us who love the Magnolia state proud. You'll really enjoy it.

As things gradually open back up, John Floyd and I look forward to his visit to the Webster County Public Library in Eupora for an author talk on Monday, August 9 at 1:30 p.m. This appearance is noteworthy because it's the first event of any kind in support of Lighten Up A Little. Those who attend will be in for a treat, as the humorous poems in the book are a hoot to begin with, and John really brings them to life with his energetic readings.

Up, up, and away! Can't wait!

Candace Cox Wheeler had a very successful signing at Page and Palette Books in Fairhope, Alabama, and met lots of nice people. You'll really enjoy meeting her at the MBF, and we're getting wonderful feedback about Cradle in the Oak, her excellent work of page-turning historical fiction that's set in Biloxi, Mississippi, in the early twentieth century. 

A book you wouldn't be able to put down!

Cradle in the Oak is one of many Dogwood Press titles available for download via Amazon Kindle. If that's your preferred method of reading, grab a copy and start reading in literally a minute or so. Or visit dogwoodpress.com for signed copies of everything in our catalogue, and remember that when you order directly from us, you'll have your purchase in hand in just 2-3 business days. 

I hope to see you at this year's Mississippi Book Festival. Thanks for your time!

INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY

Wanting to support Lemuria Books in March 2020 as the shutdowns began, I ordered a couple of books through their website and drove to pick them up. Following their instructions, I called the store and said I was in the parking lot, out in front of the bakery one floor down from our beloved independent bookseller in Jackson's beautiful Banner Hall. The bakery was closed, and my car was the only vehicle in sight. Worse, it was a gloomy, overcast day, lending an almost apocalyptic feel to the normally bustling surroundings. 

As I write these words this morning, it's a gorgeous and unseasonably crisp spring day, the brilliant reds and whites of the azaleas a wonderful contrast to the healthy green grass and flowering plants all around. More and more people are venturing out, having been vaccinated, and I think my heart grew three sizes when the announcement was made recently that our Mississippi Book Festival is definitely on for August 21 at the state capitol.

If you're comfortable getting out this Saturday, I sincerely hope you'll support Independent Bookstore Day, wherever you are, whether shopping in person or online. Here in Mississippi, we're blessed to have wonderful stores like Lemuria, Square Books (Oxford), Turn Row Books (Greenwood), The Book Mart and Cafe (Starkville), Main Street Books (Hattiesburg), Pass Christian Books, Southern Bound Books (Biloxi), Bay Books (Bay St. Louis), Friendly City Books (Columbus), Impression Books (Flowood), and Cotton Row Books (Cleveland). All of these stores took a hard hit during 2020, and Independent Bookstore Day is a way to say thanks for keeping our Mississippi literary traditions alive during a truly difficult year.

As you might imagine, I have some shopping suggestions! Try the red-hot Cradle in the Oak from Candace Cox Wheeler. She had two outstanding in-person events on April 17 (in Ocean Springs and Biloxi, Mississippi, respectively), and Coast residents are absolutely enthralled with Candace's riveting historical fiction tale set in early twentieth century Biloxi.

Being interviewed by WLOX TV

Signing Cradle in the Oak at Hillyer House

Also consider Valerie Winn's The Dance Between. She's pictured here and her book is available at many of our state's fine independent stores. The same is true of Randy Pierce's wonderful novel Missy, which you may not have picked up late last year upon release.

Valerie's coming-of-age novel is a great Mother's Day idea!

Then there's John M. Floyd, who was taking part in a Zoom literary conference but may have been dreaming up another riveting short story plot! His fine work continues to grace the pages of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Woman's World, and many other widely-read publications and sites. You can also catch his weekly Sleuth Sayers blog each Saturday on Facebook, and PLEASE grab a copy of his wonderful volume of humorous poetry, Lighten up a Little. This little book is a treasure, and because of COVID restrictions at the precise point the book was released, there's a very good chance you missed it.

Maybe a plot about an abducted Zoom meeting host?

In our immediate future, Candace Wheeler will speak to the Biloxi Lions Club at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum (where we launched her book this past Saturday) at noon on Wednesday, April 28. On Saturday, May 1, she'll appear at the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center's 23rd Birthday Tea Party Under the Oaks from 10am-12pm. A very special event for both young children and their parents/grandparents, Candy will share some essential Biloxi history with attendees and sign books. 

Again, please support Independent Bookstore Day this Saturday, wherever you are, and be sure to put August 21 on your calendar and join us for the Mississippi Book Festival. You can order signed books from the Dogwood Press website (dogwoodpress.com) anytime and have your purchases in hand in just a couple of business days, and you can download most Dogwood Press titles to your Kindle.

Thanks for your time. Keep smiling, and keep reading!

ROCKIN' THE CRADLE

Happy February! It's so good to leave 2020 behind, and it's great to be just weeks away from the arrival of Cradle in the Oak, the debut novel by new Dogwood Press author Candace Cox Wheeler! 

A work of historical fiction set in early twentieth century Biloxi, Mississippi, Cradle's protagonist, Carrie Burns, is a young homemaker who wakes up one morning to discover that her husband, two young sons, and the family sitter all left in the middle of the night. It isn't like the internet was available back then, so Carrie can't exactly pick up her iPhone and track her wayward husband. Worse, she has no marketable skills and has never held a job before. How on earth will she find her kids?

Carrie begins by talking her way into an entry-level job with a Biloxi seafood company and learns enough to start a lucrative side business. Soon she has saved enough money to launch her own search, which takes her hundreds of miles from home. Not merely a page-turner, Cradle in the Oak is layered with the rich history of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Like Dogwood Press author Valerie Winn, Candy immerses you in the era and makes you feel like you're part of the story as you read.

Saturday, April 17 is the official kickoff. Candy will sign at Hillyer House in Ocean Springs from 10am-12pm before an early afternoon stop that day at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi from 2pm-4pm. The book will also be available at The Epitome (in Fine Cigars and Tobacco) in Biloxi's Edgewater Mall. And that's just for starters; quite a few in-person events are being finalized.

Can't wait!

We had a good fourth quarter launch with Randy Pierce's Missy, all things considered. Because of ongoing pandemic concerns (which continue today, of course), Randy only had several in-person events. But he did his usual excellent job talking up what I believe is his best novel; Missy is a powerful story of forgiveness and redemption that many readers, based on what they're telling Randy and me, are plowing through in one sitting. For a writer, there's nothing quite like being told, "I stayed up half the night reading your novel and just couldn't put it down." First edition, signed copies are available at Lemuria in Jackson, Square Books in Oxford, Main Street Books in Hattiesburg, Lorelei in Vicksburg, and Southern Bound Book Shop in Biloxi. You can also order directly from us at dogwoodpress.com for signed copies, and you'll have your purchase in hand in just a couple of business days.

 

Grab this one if you missed it!

The pandemic sure hasn't stifled the creativity of my man John M. Floyd. He has stories in the current issues of Strand Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and Pulp Modern; he has stories in two anthologies that were published in January (Mardi Gras Mysteries and Winter’s Vindication) and six other recent anthologies; he has upcoming stories in the February 2021 issue of Mystery Weekly, the March/April issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, the March/April issue of The Saturday Evening Post, and more than a dozen other publications in the coming year. 

In case you missed it, John even has a story ("Rhonda and Clyde") in the current (2020) edition of Best American Mystery Stories, edited by Otto Penzler and CJ Box. I've read the 2020 BAMS cover to cover, and there's some tall cotton in there--authors Jeffrey Deaver, Tom Franklin, James Lee Burke, and John Sandford among others--and John more than holds his own. Best of all, "Rhonda and Clyde" is FUN!

If you missed Lighten Up a Little, John's book of lighthearted, clever poetry in early 2020, you're not alone. Released just as the shutdowns began taking place, Lighten has suffered from John not being able to do a single in-person event. Get this one at Lemuria Books of Jackson as well as through our website, dogwoodpress.com.

You're guaranteed to smile a lot!

One of the best announcements I've heard in recent weeks is the 2021 Mississippi Book Festival being a go! Plan on joining us at the Mississippi State Capitol on Saturday, August 21, and meet Candy, Randy, Valerie, John, and me. We'll be glad to see you, and know that if event organizers didn't feel they would be able to put on a safe experience, it wouldn't be on. Bold prediction: it will be hot and humid that day!

Thanks for your time. Be well, stay safe, and think of us when you're in need of a good read!