In doing what I do for a quarter century, I've been most fortunate to interview lots of accomplished people and meet many others. I generally don't get starstruck, but I freely admit to turning into "Fanboy" shortly before our Jacktown USA panel at last weekend's Mississippi Book Festival when Benjamin Wright, who had flown from Los Angeles with his wife, was brought into the room.
The man responsible for the arrangements on Grammy-winning singles like Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough", "One Hundred Ways" from James Ingram, and Earth, Wind & Fire's "After The Love Is Gone," Benjamin is now 80 years old and warm, friendly, and entertaining, adding value to the morning panel I hosted and my co-author Kamel King's afternoon session. Getting to meet him in person after interviewing him by phone for the book was a big thrill.
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| All the way from LA ...Benjamin (to my right) and Dexter Allen |
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| Weeks of preparation for an hour that absolutely flew by |
A special treat just ahead of the Christmas season: Monica Walton's third book published by Sunrise Press, Advent Reflections for Our World Today, will arrive in several weeks and in time for this year's season of Advent. This volume, like its predecessor in 2023, is designed with the busyness of the season in mind. You'll really appreciate how the month's worth of spiritual nourishment is captured in four weekly devotional segments, and you'll love the pocket-sized book and can take it anywhere. Interested in this non-denominational book for your study group? Visit dogwoodpress.com for bulk discount rates.
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| What a lovely cover! |
New Dogwood Press books rolling off the shelves in 2024:
Valerie Winn's A Glaring Error ... the long-awaited third volume of the trilogy that began with Forsaking Mimosa brings back the entire Brinkmann family, but it's protagonist Aunt Ida Mayhew, a most quirky art teacher and connossieur, who drives this suspenseful tale set in Mimosa, Mississippi, in the mid 1970s. (COMING IN MARCH)
Scott Lenoir's The Reckoning ... this thriller picks up where The Amendment finished, with protagonist Blake Weaver back in Chatawa County law enforcement and vowing to protect the area from troublemakers, including his sworn enemy readers met in The Amendment. (COMING IN AUGUST)
Joe Lee's Never Let Go ... set in late 1999 and the sequel to my Oakdale series prequel Resting Place, Never Let Go brings back nearly the entire cast from that novel, including Ford Forrester, fresh out of a lengthy prison stretch for the attempted murder of Mark Myrick III. Now the men will be living just several miles from each other ... what could go wrong? (COMING IN AUGUST)
That's all the news that fits. For signed copies of Jacktown USA, as well as everything else in our catalog, visit dogwoodpress.com. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day, and happy reading!
