SHOP (AND READ) LOCAL

You hear a lot about buying locally, and with good reason. It's great to be able to support your friends and neighbors by purchasing local made foods, beverages, and arts and crafts items. The same is true of reading material. I submit to you that your Mississippi bookstores have literary treasures on their shelves penned by authors who may not have a national contract and a huge advertising budget behind them -- but in many cases have written novels and memoirs and works of non-fiction that are every bit as good as what hits the national bestseller lists. Keep that in mind as you do your last-minute holiday shopping!

John Floyd and a new fan, young Brandon Bailey, at Bay Window Books of Brandon, MS

The Dreamland tour rolls into 2017 as our Derringer-award winning short story author visits the Starkville Public Library on January 12 and the Bryan Public Library in West Point on January 26. A whole lot of folks will unwrap signed copies of Dreamland on Christmas morning, and if you want even more Floyd, pick up a copy of The Strand Magazine at your local bookstore and enjoy John's great new short story, "Jackpot Mode." It is, dare I say, right on the money!

John and H.G. Wells in the same magazine? Wow!

In the same way that a good bookseller can get you excited about reading a book (as our Mississippi booksellers do so well), good dust jacket copy does the same thing -- how often have you read the flap cover and said, "Gosh, I've GOT to get this!" With that in mind, here's the dust jacket copy for Susan Cushman's debut novel, Cherry Bomb, which I can't wait for us to roll out next October:

            By the tender age of sixteen, Mary Catherine Henry has lived through enough horror to last a lifetime. Sexual abuse at the hands of her cult-leading father, abandonment by her drug-addicted mother (who nicknamed her Mare), and several spirit-crushing years with a dysfunctional foster family convince her that life on the streets will be easier, somehow, than what she’s always known.

What keeps Mare going is the budding artist inside her, and the sleepy Southern town of Macon, Georgia, doesn’t know what hit them when colorful graffiti “bombs” begin appearing on abandoned buildings—Mare even dares to decorate a Catholic church with a highly provocative message. The young runaway signs her work CHERRY BOMB, attracts the attention of the local media, and is soon caught—but not by police.

            A photographer for Rolling Stone learns of Mare while on assignment, finds her, and befriends her. So does a reporter for The Macon News and, eventually, the priest of the parish whose walls Mare defaced so angrily. Their efforts help earn her a scholarship at prestigious Savannah College of Art & Design, where she studies under legendary Abstract Expressionist painter Elaine de Kooning. It’s a wonderful mentoring relationship … until Mare and Elaine discover they have much more in common than a love of art. And that bond, which forces both women to deal with pain and anger from their repressed pasts, threatens to tear them apart.

With a mix of remarkably visual characters and an intricate, compelling plot rich with intriguing religious imagery, Mississippi author Susan Cushman has penned a powerful debut novel that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. You’ll never forget Mare and Elaine … and you’ll never look at religious icons—and street graffiti—the same way.

Wow! Doesn't that make you want to read the book? And you can support Susan before then by picking up a copy of Tangles and Plaques (A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer's), which will be released in several weeks by eLectio Publishing.

Coming in January ... and Cherry Bomb is coming next October!

My friend Perry Dew and me. Enjoy your trip to Oakdale, Perry!

This is a lovely sight on bookstore shelves ...

...this, well, not so much. Buy a book instead!

We sincerely appreciate your support in 2016! It has been a good year for Dogwood Press, and I hope you've added lots of new titles to your bookshelves -- and maybe even had to add a new shelf or two for all your new reading material! If your material is stored on your Kindle these days, we have you covered there, too! Here's what's available from us, download-wise, through Amazon Kindle:

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

JOHN M. FLOYD - Dreamland (coming January 1, 2017)

JOHN M. FLOYD - Fifty Mysteries

JOHN M. FLOYD - Deception

JOHN M. 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 (great for your middle-schooler!)

RANDY PIERCE - The Peter Bay

RANDY PIERCE - Pain Unforgiven

RANDY PIERCE - Magnolia Mud

Thanks for your time! Visit www.dogwoodpress.com for more information about what we do, and have a great day!