JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS MORNING

I saddled up yesterday and drove to the Memphis home of Susan Cushman, who's the latest addition to the Dogwood Press team, and brought several cases of Cherry Bomb for her to autograph. It was Susan's first time to see actual copies of the book--which she worked on for a full decade--and her reaction was wonderful. For any author, and as a novelist I speak from experience, the feeling of joy at being able to hold your own book in your hands is difficult to express. And it's the first of many happy moments Susan will have with this great read.

A gifted artist as well as a fine writer, Susan has painted many religious icons, including St. Mary of Egypt. That icon is on the back cover of Cherry Bomb and is to the immediate right of Susan along with St. Basil the Great.

We took signed copies over to Burke's Books and visited with Corey and Cheryl Mesler, the owners and a very nice couple. They'll host Susan for a launch event on September 7 at 5:30 p.m.

Corey Mesler (far left) is the author of Robert Walker and Memphis Movie among several books he's written.

Gotta like that! Southern Writers Magazine is well worth your time, especially the July/August issue!

We can't wait for the Mississippi Book Festival! Susan will be on the Literary Fiction panel for Cherry Bomb and is hosting another panel, and John Floyd will be on a panel for his great collection of mystery/suspense short stories, Dreamland! Randy Pierce and Valerie Winn and I will also be at the festival. Look for all five of us in the Dogwood Press tent! And look for the long-awaited follow-up to Valerie's Forsaking Mimosa in the fall of 2018!

Saturday, August 19. Come say hello!

A great review of Dreamland in the July/August edition of Portico Magazine of Jackson, MS!

Okay, see if you've heard this one before: There's nothing more fun for authors than getting out and visiting with other readers and writers. John Floyd shared some tips with a group of middle school youngsters at a creative camp at Northwest Rankin High School in Brandon, Mississippi, not long ago, and Randy Pierce visited the home of a book club president in Ocean Springs--the group had gathered to discuss his novel Pain Unforgiven and jumped at the chance to ask questions of the author himself. Both Randy and John figure they had as much fun as anyone!

This was MUCH more enjoyable than math and science classes!

Mr. Pierce, you didn't put those stories we told you in your book ... did you ???

And congratulations to John for getting another terrific story published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. It's called “Trail’s End", the first in a series featuring Mississippi sheriff Ray Douglas. John describes it as sort of a whodunit and said the second installment has already been purchased by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and should come out in the next few months.

Look for John's story in the July/August issue!

We're asked about digital downloads a lot. Order right now and have any number of our Dogwood Press titles on your Kindle in just minutes!

SUSAN CUSHMAN - Cherry Bomb (***COMING SOON)

JOHN M. FLOYD - Dreamland

JOHN M. FLOYD - Fifty Mysteries

JOHN M. FLOYD - Deception

JOHN M. FLOYD - Clockwork

RANDY PIERCE - The Peter Bay

RANDY PIERCE - Pain Unforgiven

RANDY PIERCE - Magnolia Mud

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

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

JOE LEE - Director's Cut

JOE LEE - Last Chance Texaco

JOE LEE - The Long Road Home

JOE LEE - The Magnolia Triangle

Thanks for your time, and we hope to see you at the Mississippi Book Festival! For all Dogwood Press author appearances, as well as information about ordering our books and contacting our authors, please visit www.dogwoodpress.com. Have a great day!

SHARE THE LOVE

Yes, share the love ... of reading! And share with it young people!

This idea isn't new. I've had so many conversations at bookstores and libraries with fellow writers and avid readers just like this:

I WISH I COULD GET MY KIDS TO READ WITHOUT MAKING THEM DO IT. 

I WISH MY GRANDCHILD WOULD PICK UP A BOOK INSTEAD OF THAT STUPID DEVICE.

WHY DON'T THEY LOVE THE WAY A BOOK FEELS IN THEIR HANDS, LIKE WE DO?

Amen to all of that. All we can do is encourage them to read for pleasure. My wife and I did that with our son, with mixed results so far (he's in college). We recommend books to our friends, just as our kids and grandkids recommend books, movies, video games, etc., to their friends. When I was a college freshman, one of my buddies couldn't stop talking about the Stephen King novel, Cujo, and loaned it to me when I expressed interest. Well, guess what? I loved it. And I cobbled together enough one-dollar bills and some loose change and traipsed over to the local bookstore (The Book Mart & Cafe in Starkville, Mississippi) and bought Christine, I'm pretty sure. My mom jumped for joy. Not because I was reading Stephen King, but because I was READING!

So, with all of that in mind ... you want relevancy for your teenage son or daughter (or grandchild) in a work of fiction? The Susan Cushman debut novel we're getting ready to roll out, Cherry Bomb, features sixteen-year-old Mary Catherine Henry -- who goes by Mare -- as the protagonist. She's a runaway, living on the streets. And she's a graffiti artist, throwing up bombs on the walls of abandoned buildings before ducking and running at the first sign (or sound) of a police car.

Not just coming soon ... coming VERY soon!

This is a powerful novel, with Mare meeting up with legendary real-life art legend Elaine de Kooning in what appears to be an especially meaningful mentor/student relationship -- before the women learn of surprising ties that bind them and threaten to tear them apart. There's suspense, forgiveness, redemption, and a fascinating Da Vinci Code aura to Mare's artwork as the plot develops. So give some thought to getting this book into the hands of the teen(s) in your life after you've read it! Susan will launch Cherry Bomb at Lemuria on Tuesday, August 8 at 5 p.m.

Also, we're just over two months from the third Mississippi Book Festival! It's set for Saturday, August 19, and we'll have the Dogwood Press tent on site again this year at the Mississippi State Capitol. Randy Pierce, Valerie Winn, John Floyd, Susan and I look forward to visiting with you and signing a few books. If you haven't been yet, here's one more great reason to attend: at 4 p.m. the "Voices of Home" panel will take place inside the Capitol building and will feature both Susan and John -- it will be moderated by Tracy Carr, director of the Mississippi Center for the Book, and include a discussion on Mississippi writing from four Mississippi authors. Don't miss it!

This is neat: Valerie was featured, along with our friend Jim Fraiser and author Johnnie Bernhard, in the June issue of South Mississippi Living. Written by Susan Ruddiman, the article discusses traditionally-published authors and is a good and informative read. And that same Johnnie Bernhard will be on the aforementioned "Voices of Home" panel at the Mississippi Book Festival! Speaking of Valerie, we're not too far away from the release of her second novel, a very well-written follow-up to Forsaking Mimosa.

Look up South Mississippi Living online and read the story!

And guess who that is with Valerie? Yes, none other than Greg Iles, at Pass Christian Books on the lovely Mississippi Gulf Coast. What a fantastic writer, and very kind to his vast fan base.

Loading up on signed copies of Mississippi Blood!

Randy Pierce and I had a wonderful time at the Winston County Public Library a couple of weeks ago. Nothing better than to be greeted by a roomful of folks who love to read and are interested in the writing process. There were lots of great questions and lots of smiles. If you're part of a book club and are interested in having any of us from Dogwood Press in to speak to your club, or be part of a panel, let us know. We love it!

Librarian Beth Edwards (second from right) is super encouraging of Mississippi writers!

The Mississippi Book Festival is our next big group event, but you can find our individual talks and signings by looking up www.dogwoodpress.com and the calendar pages for all of us. We'd love to see you! And before you go, take a quick look at what's offered via digital download:

RANDY PIERCE ... The Peter Bay

RANDY PIERCE ... Pain Unforgiven

RANDY PIERCE ... Magnolia Mud

JOHN FLOYD ... Dreamland

JOHN FLOYD ... Fifty Mysteries

JOHN FLOYD ... Deception

JOHN FLOYD ... Clockwork

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

JOE LEE ... Director's Cut

JOE LEE ... Last Chance Texaco

JOE LEE ... The Long Road Home

JOE LEE ... The Magnolia Triangle

VALERIE WINN ... Forsaking Mimosa

You can download any (or all) to your Kindle in just minutes and spend the weekend with any number of good reads! Thanks so much for your time, and please don't ever miss a chance to let one of those young people know about your love of reading. Help them find a book to enjoy!

CHERRY (BOMB) ON TOP

Wow! We're suddenly a little more than ninety days from launching the Susan Cushman debut novel, Cherry Bomb. I can't wait, and I know Susan can't. She has already been burning up the roads to promote a pair of books released early this year (Tangles & Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer's, A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant To Be), so she will be no stranger to Mississippi audiences when she returns in August with her great new work of fiction!

The official launch date is Tuesday, August 8 at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi. And we're delighted that Susan will have a role at the Mississippi Books Festival on Saturday, August 19 and will be in our Dogwood Press tent. In case you didn't have enough reasons to plan on visiting the third annual MBF, you have now one more! Come by and say hello!

Author NancyKay Wessman Sullivan, Emma Connolly, author Susan Marquez, and Susan Cushman at Garden District Books in New Orleans. Susan was there to sign A Second Blooming.

Coming very soon!!!

John Floyd's winning streak continues: He just learned that his short story, "Molly's Plan," will be translated into Russian and reprinted in January 2018 in the Inostrannaya Literatura in Moscow. "Molly's Plan" was featured in the 2015 volume of Best American Mystery Stories. Not only that, John will have a story, "Life is Good," in Passport to Murder, the forthcoming 2017 Bouchercon anthology! He also has stories coming up in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand Magazine, and Woman’s World.

John signs Dreamland for a fan at Books A Million in Monroe, Louisiana

John will also be part of an all-new event in Jackson: the Mystery Writers of America Southeast Chapter is offering a one-day writers conference at Jackson Country Club. The date is Friday, May 19. The keynote presenter is beloved author Carolyn Haines. She'll be joined by John, Maggie Toussaint, Michael Kardos, Dr. Darden North, Martin Hegwood, Phil Hardwick, and me. There's limited space, so register ASAP at http://skillbuildms.wordpress.com/.

A cool watercolor including Valerie Winn's Forsaking Mimosa. Valerie's sequel is just about finished!

Be part of the all-new Southeast Chapter's conference on Friday, May 19 at Jackson Country Club! Can't wait!




Joe signs Director's Cut at the Rotary Club of South Rankin in Florence, Mississippi

Upcoming author events: John signs Dreamland at Books A Million of Southaven, Mississippi, this Saturday, April 29. Joe signs Director's Cut at Books A Million of Columbus that same day, and in Hattiesburg at Books A Million on Saturday, May 6. On Monday, May 22, Joe and Randy Pierce team up for a combo talk and signing at the Winston County Public Library in Louisville, Mississippi, from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

And here's what's available via download from Dogwood Press:

JOHN M. FLOYD - Dreamland

JOHN M. FLOYD - Fifty Mysteries

JOHN M. FLOYD - Deception

JOHN M. FLOYD - Clockwork

RANDY PIERCE - The Peter Bay

RANDY PIERCE - Pain Unforgiven

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-schooler!)

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

Order through our website, www.dogwoodpress.com, and have a look at the site for cool pictures, signing dates, purchasing signed copies of our books, and information about submitting your work for publication.

Thanks very much for your time! Have a great day!

COVER STORY

Drum roll, please ... here's your very first look at the cover of Cherry Bomb, the forthcoming novel by new Dogwood Press author Susan Cushman!

Coming in October 2017!

We can't wait! It's a dynamite debut, and Susan, a very talented and versatile writer, is already on the road in support of her book Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer's. Big crowds have already met her at Lemuria Books in Jackson, MS, Square Books in Oxford, MS, and Burke's Books, in Memphis, TN. And Susan has another book coming out this spring: A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be. Watch for both!

Joe, Susan, and John at Lemuria on March 3.

John Floyd keeps on trucking. In addition to making spring stops to support Dreamland, a new story of his called "Flag Day" appears in the new (Feb/May) edition of The Strand Magazine. And he is closing in on a whopping 100 of his short, humorous mysteries gracing the pages of Woman's World, too. 

Look for it wherever you buy magazines!

Valerie Winn is making good progress on her follow-up novel to Forsaking Mimosa. I'm working on a new novel as well and am making good use of the creative juices--there's nothing quite like getting a phone call in the middle of being deep into writing a scene and suddenly having to speak coherently with a real person about a real matter. Hey, we writers wouldn't have it any other way!

John and I will both hit several Books A Million stores this spring, and all of us are really looking forward to the third annual Mississippi Books Festival in Jackson on August 19. We've already ordered some great weather: hot, of course, but a minimal chance of a late-day storm. Put the date on your calendar and plan to stop by the Dogwood Press tent!

And have you downloaded John's Dreamland yet? You can do so right now, along with quite a number of other Dogwood Press titles, and be reading on your Kindle in about a minute! Here's what's available:

JOHN M. FLOYD -- Dreamland

JOHN M. FLOYD -- Fifty Mysteries

JOHN M. FLOYD -- Deception

JOHN M. FLOYD -- Clockwork

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 (PERFECT for the middle-schooler in your life!)

RANDY PIERCE -- The Peter Bay

RANDY PIERCE -- Pain Unforgiven

RANDY PIERCE -- Magnolia Mud

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day! Visit us online at www.dogwoodpress.com and like our Dogwood Press Facebook page!

 

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!

NEW AUTHOR

I'm very excited to announce that Memphis-based author Susan Cushman joins the Dogwood Press team with her forthcoming novel, Cherry Bomb. Watch for it in October 2017 and get ready for a highly-atmospheric Southern novel set in Georgia in the early 1980s that will remind you in some ways of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, with its religious imagery that plays a big part in the plot. You talk about characters that will get under your skin and stay there -- make a note of this one and be watching for it!

Welcome, Susan! Can't wait to launch your novel!

The John M. Floyd Dreamland tour is off to a great start after a fantastic launch at Lemuria Books in Jackson last month. This afternoon (November 4) John will be at The Bookshelf in Ridgeland, MS, from 3-5 p.m., at Books A Million of Meridian tomorrow (beginning at noon) and on hometown turf on Sunday afternoon in Kosciusko, MS at Amanda's for the annual Christmas Open House. You absolutely don't want to miss out on Dreamland.

Fran Gatewood with John at Lemuria ...

... and fellow author Jim Ritchie with John, also at Lemuria.

Great crowd for a Floyd event at Lemuria, as always!

John and I will be part of the Mystery Writers of America University workshop in Jackson on Friday, December 2, along with authors Carolyn Haines, Michael Kardos, Darden North, and more. Organized by John and fellow author Phil Hardwick, MWA University will be limited to 50 attendees and take place at River Hills Club of Jackson. Can't wait!

Valerie Winn at the Reading Between the Wines book club. It's five o'clock somewhere!

Come see us at book signings and talks, which you can find on the Dogwood Press web site (below). We're always happy to visit (and sign books, of course), and you already know this, but we can't sign a digital download. That said, we're delighted if you're preferred way of reading is on your Kindle -- here's what's available from our catalog:

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

JOHN M. FLOYD - Dreamland (COMING SOON)

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 (perfect for the middle-schooler in your life!)

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!

AIR BRAKES

Yes, air brakes, as in the huge delivery truck announcing its presence yesterday, and with its arrival the shipment of Dreamland, the fantastic new short story collection from John Floyd. On a personal note, it's so stressful to watch a palette of books be removed from a truck. My nightmare, as I've said before, is that one of those shrink-wrapped groups of cartons -- which literally weigh almost a ton -- is going to tip over and crash. Then I would crash. But I digress ...

The good news is that Dreamland is here safe and sound, and I can promise you that it will be worth the wait, whether you join us at the official launch at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi, on Monday, October 10, or purchase your signed copy elsewhere. 

The opposite of all dressed up with no place to go. This man's signing calendar gets busier every day, seems like!

John just attended Bouchercon, the annual world mystery convention. It was held in New Orleans, so it wasn't a lengthy drive. But it was a memorable one, as he was presented with the pair of Derringer Awards he earned in 2015. Pictured here is John receiving the first of those awards (for Best Long Story, "Dentonville," from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine). The second was for Best Novelette ("Driver" from The Strand Magazine). Both stories are in ... wait for it ... Dreamland.

Congratulations, John! Photo taken by Hank Phillippi Ryan 

We had a really nice time at the second annual Mississippi Book Festival, which was held in Jackson on Saturday, August 20. John and Randy Pierce were both on author panels inside the state capitol building, which they thoroughly enjoyed, and we again met a whole lot of nice people and even braved a thunderstorm right after lunch before the weather cleared off again. Estimates by those in charge of the event put the attendance at over 6,000, which means the Mississippi Book Festival almost doubled in size based on the sheer numbers of folks who stopped by. There were many more authors and vendors this year, too! We already look forward to MBF 2017.

Putting the finishing touches on preparations just before the gates opened

Randy autographing a book right after his author panel

Author Michael Kardos and John

Let me brag on Valerie Winn. Forsaking Mimosa is five years old now, and Valerie talks up her book and is just as eager to visit book clubs and take part in events like the Mississippi Book Festival as she was in 2012 and Mimosa was brand new. If you're dreaming of the big time with your own book, pay special attention to what Valerie's doing -- she never stops trying to open new doors and reach new readers, and it's something that I, as her publisher, deeply appreciate. And with all of that said, her sequel to Mimosa is almost finished!

        Valerie and members of  the Trinity Bookworms book club on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

MANAGER'S SPECIAL (which sounds like we're at the grocery store and slashing prices on fresh produce): During the month of September, three of John Floyd's books (Fifty Mysteries, Deception, and Clockwork) are priced for download from Amazon Kindle for only $3.99! That's a very nice savings, if I say so myself! Here's the entire Dogwood Press catalog, as available through digital download:

VALERIE WINN - Forsaking Mimosa

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 (perfect for the middle-schooler in your life!)

RANDY PIERCE - The Peter Bay

RANDY PIERCE - Pain Unforgiven

RANDY PIERCE - Magnolia Mud

As always, thanks for your time! Visit www.dogwoodpress.com for more information about what we do, and come say hello soon at a book signing!