GO TELL IT ON THE (THACKER) MOUNTAIN

One of the highlights of Randy Pierce's tour to promote The Peter Bay was taking the stage at The Lyric Theatre in Oxford, Mississippi, to read from his new novel during a live performance of Thacker Mountain Radio on March 31. The show was broadcast locally on the public radio station serving the Oxford area that night, and re-broadcast statewide on Mississippi Public Radio on April 9. In case you missed it, find it online by visiting www.thackermountain.com and looking up the March 31 program in the archived shows.

Randy reads from his new novel just before performing "Stairway to Heaven."

Randy was also featured on The Clarion Ledger's book page on Sunday, April 17. Jana Hoops put together a wonderful Q&A that touched on a variety of topics, including the real place from Randy's childhood that inspired the title of his new book! Great stuff ... and in case you missed the Q&A, it can be found online at www.clarionledger.com. And we thank book buyers all over the Magnolia state who kept The Peter Bay in The Clarion Ledger's Mississippi Reads Top 10 for several weeks!

Just before showtime at the Bryan Public Library in West Point, Mississippi

Randy will be on the Mystery Writers panel at the 2016 Mississippi Book Festival!

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking toward our fall 2016 release of John Floyd's fantastic new collection of mystery/suspense short stories, Dreamland. Included are John's Edgar-nominated mystery “200 Feet”; two Derringer Award winners, “Dentonville” and “Driver”; “High Places” from the Bram Stoker Award-winning anthology After Death; and “Molly’s Plan,” which was selected by Otto Penzler and guest editor James Patterson for inclusion in The Best American Mystery Stories 2015.

In addition, John's "Pit Stop" is included in Mississippi Noir, the forthcoming collection of short stories edited by New York Times bestseller Tom Franklin. Expected in August, this book features original stories by Franklin, Ace Atkins, Michael Kardos, Chris Offutt, Michael Farris Smith, and more. What a great way to showcase a whole slew of talented Mississippi writers, and the stories all take place in Mississippi!

Can't wait for this one to come out!

John and I had great fun at An Afternoon with Mississippi Authors at the public library in Mendenhall on April 13. Sixteen authors answered questions from attendees and signed books, and as several of us pointed out, while media coverage is essential to the successful launch (and long shelf-life) of any book, it's crucial that librarians and patrons talk that book up, too. Whether it's The Peter Bay, my novel Director's Cut, or John's recent collection, Fifty Mysteries, a book being on the shelves of lots of public libraries means that over time, many readers will discover it long after all the interviews have been completed and feature stories have been printed.

Look for our books at your local public library, and ask your librarian to order them if you don't see them.

Joe speaking to the ladies of Delta Kappa Gamma at Madison Central High School

                                             

Valerie Winn is making good progress on her next novel, which is a sequel to Forsaking Mimosa. She'll join Randy, John, and me at this year's Mississippi Book Festival, which is set for Saturday, August 20 at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson. We have book signings at a number of places before then: John visits Books A Million of Meridian on April 23. Randy will be there the following Saturday (April 30), and he speaks at the public library in Bay St. Louis on May 3 and returns to be part of Second Saturday at Bay Books on May 14. I'll sign books once again at Cajun Fest, the annual festival at St. Francis of Assisi Church, on Sunday, May 15.

If you read from your Kindle these days, well, you're not alone ... I'm asked about e-books at just about every book talk I give. Here's what's available from the Dogwood Press catalog. All titles can be downloaded through Amazon to your Kindle almost instantly:

VALERIE WINN -- Forsaking Mimosa

RANDY PIERCE -- The Peter Bay

RANDY PIERCE -- Pain Unforgiven

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!)

JOHN M. FLOYD -- Fifty Mysteries

JOHN M. FLOYD -- Deception

JOHN M. FLOYD -- Clockwork

As always, thanks for the visit, and come say hello at a book signing. All of our author signings, as well as neat photos and information, are online at www.dogwoodpress.com. Have a great day!