YOU'RE INVITED!

Are you busy the morning of Saturday, August 19? Plans had already made for the Dogwood Press tent to be set up at the Mississippi Book Festival, and I swiftly said yes when offered an opportunity to serve as moderator for a Dogwood Press panel that will take place at 9:30 that morning in Room 204 inside the AIR-CONDITIONED (yes, that's very important) Mississippi capitol building.

I can't tell you how excited I am!

Joining me will be Dogwood Press authors John Floyd, Valerie Winn, Candace Cox Wheeler, and J. Stephen Beam. If you're already coming to the festival, please stop in and enjoy the discussion. It will be fun, lively, and give you something you won't get anywhere else at the festival: the story of how a home-grown, traditional publishing house has slowly but surely assembled a team of very talented fiction writers. And the four authors you'll meet that morning (as well as Randy Pierce, who'll join us at the Dogwood Press tent following the panel) are truly fine people as well.

Please invite a friend to join you!

The very first J. Stephen Beam book tour gets underway this week with appearances to promote The Death Letter at Except 4 Grace in Sumrall, Mississippi, on Thursday at 5 p.m. and in Hattiesburg at the Author Shoppe on Saturday at 11 a.m. Stephen also visits Lemuria Books in Jackson next Tuesday, August 8 at 5 p.m. and he'll travel to northeast Mississippi on August 17 for an 11 a.m. stop at the Itawamba County-Pratt Memorial Library. And that's only the beginning!

Coming soon to a bookstore, library, or festival near you!

We're also just weeks from the launch of the very first Sunrise Press title. Sunrise Press is a division of Dogwood Press and was created this year to publish select fiction and non-fiction faith-based titles. Our debut is a unique Advent devotional by Brandon, Mississippi-based writer Monica Walton. You know how busy you are during December, and often the best-laid plans to commit to a month of daily readings are derailed by everything from holiday travel and visits from relatives to Christmas parties and shopping trips. Advent Reflections for This Day is a WEEKLY devotional, providing all the spiritual nourishment you're looking for in a format that will work nicely with your busy December schedule. Monica will make a number of appearances in October and November in support of the book, so watch for her!

A wonderful little book to launch Sunrise Press!

I am very grateful to Janice Guido at Bay Life Gifts at Century Hall in beautiful Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, for carrying several Dogwood Press titles and providing such a warm welcome for Candace Cox Wheeler a few weeks ago. What a lovely area to shop!

Introducing new folks to the magic of Cradle in the Oak and Squall in the Gulf!

And a shout-out to my friend Nash Nunnery, the veteran newspaper journalist who has authored a very impressive non-fiction work about vintage high school football stadiums in Mississippi. I had the privilege of editing Magnolia Gridiron Cathedrals, and it's truly a coffee table book you'll return to again and again (as opposed to one that looks pretty and sits gathering dust). Nash will be on a sports panel at the Mississippi Book Festival late in the day on August 19, and as he says, if you're school isn't in his book, it could possibly appear in a second volume.

Just in time for football season!

Website orders for The Death Letter are pouring in right now, and we have plenty of signed copies. For that matter, visit dogwoodpress.com for signed copies of any Dogwood Press titles, and please come enjoy the Dogwood Press panel at the book festival. We promise a fun time, and we promise air-conditioning! What more can you ask?

SUNRISE PRESS

I've received some very good faith-based book proposals over the years, but because Dogwood Press publishes mystery-suspense fiction, I kept saying no and encouraged them to seek publication through faith-based presses.

But one of those proposals, submitted to me by Mississippi writer Monica Walton in January 2023, made an especially strong impression. While I immediately ruled out publication through Dogwood Press, Monica's book, Advent Reflections for This Day, will be the first title published by the all-new Sunrise Press, which is a division of Dogwood Press. The new press will consider, beginning immediately, selected fiction and non-fiction titles for publication. 

Copies of Advent Reflections for This Day will arrive in October 2023. It's an Advent devotional with a twist: instead of a 28-day format, four weekly devotionals nicely cover the Advent season. It's all of the spiritual nourishment a daily Advent devotional provides you, but covered in a time frame that alleviates the risk of getting behind on daily readings while attending Christmas parties, shopping for gifts, catching up with old friends in town, making sure the kids are studying for semester finals, and on and on. Please visit dogwoodpress.com and find the Sunrise Press tab on the website to learn more about the book, and be sure to inquire about the significant bulk discount we're offering.

Coming in October!

 

Meet Monica Walton, the very first Sunrise Press author!

Meanwhile, things certainly aren't slowing down at Dogwood Press. Can't wait for The Death Letter, a spellbinding suspense novel written by first-time Mississippi author J. Stephen Beam of Sumrall, Mississippi. Please plan on joining Stephen at Lemuria Books of Jackson on Tuesday, August 8, and he's one of several authors who'll join me under the Dogwood Press tent at the Mississippi Book Festival on Saturday, August 19.

What's inside that mailbox?

On the horizon are several more Dogwood Press releases:

In early 2024, watch for Sunset in the Sound from Candace Cox Wheeler. This is the sequel to Squall in the Gulf and set in Biloxi, Mississippi, in the 1950s.

Later in 2024, watch for The Amendment, a most suspenseful debut from Mississippi Gulf Coast author Scott Lenoir. It's set in several locations, but most of it takes place in coastal Mississippi.

Also in 2024, the second J. Stephen Beam novel will be ready. Like Stephen's debut, it will take place in northeast Mississippi and pick up right where The Death Letter leaves off.

Valerie Winn's new novel, A Glaring Error, which will update much of the cast from her 2018 novel The Dance Between, is on the way, and so is my sequel to Resting Place, my Oakdale series prequel from last summer. Resting Place was set in the year 1984; the next volume will be set in the year 1999.

That's Valerie with new a pair of new fans, and a great read!

Oh, and John Floyd keeps on keeping on, writing one excellent piece of short mystery fiction after another. His short story, "The Donovan Gang," which was published in the Sep/Oct 2022 edition of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, has been nominated for a 2023 Derringer Award. As I have said before in this space, the Derringer is a BIG deal, sort of the equivalent of a musician winning a Grammy or an actor earning an Oscar. Don't forget to find John's excellent and long-running blog, Sleuth Sayers, on Facebook every Saturday. It's good reading and very entertaining.

Have a look at the website, dogwoodpress.com, and visit the new Sunrise Press page to learn more about the upcoming Monica Walton book. Also consider ordering a signed copy of a Dogwood Press title or two. There are Mother's Day, Father's Day, and graduation gift options at your fingertips, and don't forget that most Dogwood Press titles are also available for download through Amazon Kindle.

Thanks for your time. Have a great day, and happy reading! 

 

COVER STORY

There's lots of news to report as we get 2023 underway, including another new Dogwood Press author, but let's first take a look at what you'll see on the cover of J. Stephen Beam's suspense novel The Death Letter. I absolutely love the colors and rustic setting, and I assure you that the novel will be just as intriguing. The Death Letter is set in rural northeast Mississippi, where a lot of fascinating stories seem to come from!

Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Looks foreboding, too. Coming in August 2023.

I'm proud to announce that Scott Lenoir, a writer based on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Gautier, joins the Dogwood Press team with his debut novel, The Amendment. A retired Episcopal priest, Scott has written professionally for years and will mix a complicated but good-hearted protagonist with crime, suspense, and a unique, Coast-based cast of characters in his first novel. You'll have a chance to ratify The Amendment in 2024. 

What does this writer have up his sleeve?

Also, a glaring error to report . . . that's actually the name of the next Valerie Winn novel! We don't have a release date yet, but I can promise you it's coming, and you'll be glad to know that characters from both of Valerie's previous novels, Forsaking Mimosa and The Dance Between, will populate A Glaring Error. For me as a reader, it's great fun when authors bring characters forward a number of years in new books, such as cute, quirky kids from one novel developing into complicated, well-drawn adults in the next volume. Valerie, like fellow Dogwood Press author Candace Cox Wheeler, does this very well.

A sampling of Valerie's artwork. FYI, art plays an important role in A Glaring Error!

Our resident short story craftsman John Floyd continues to place one great work of short fiction after another in widely-read national magazines and websites. Grab yourself a copy of the Jan/Feb issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and enjoy some fast-paced Floyd with a cool plot reversal at the end, or pick up a paperback copy of Shamus Winners (America's Best Private Eye Stories) Volume III 2010-2021. The Shamus Award is presented annually by the Private Eye Writers of America for best detective fiction, and this 300-page paperback, edited by Robert J. Randisi, represents the editor's favorite dozen P.I. stories from the last twelve years. Congratulations, John, for being included! 

  

This is what being totally engrossed in a magazine story looks like.

John's story, "Mustang Sally" is a wild ride! 

I'm proud to follow in the footsteps of Valerie, Candace, and Randy Pierce, all of whom have spoken to our friends at the Bonfire Book Club in south Mississippi. I'm headed that way next Monday evening, January 23, to read from my novel Resting Place and answer their questions about the book. Thanks again for the invitation, y'all! I can't wait.

That's all the news that fits. I really appreciate your time. Know that signed copies of the entire Dogwood Press catalog can be ordered and shipped right to your door in a few short days, so visit dogwoodpress.com when you can. Also, while we can't sign a download for you, most Dogwood Press titles are available through Amazon Kindle, if that's your preferred way to enjoy a good book. Have a great day!

WELCOME TO THE TEAM!

Greetings! I'm delighted to announce that Stephen Beam of Sumrall, Mississippi, is joining the Dogwood Press family of authors. I can't wait for the release of his first novel, The Death Letter, a who-dunnit set in rural northeast Mississippi that will hook you on the first page with a brief but haunting prologue. Suspense builds as several of the characters, you'll come to realize, are not what they seem. It's a novel absolutely soaked in small town Mississippi life, warts and all. Be sure to tell your friends!

Watch for The Death Letter in August 2023!

Thanks again to our wonderful friends at the Bonfire Book Club in McComb, Mississippi! Candace Cox Wheeler spoke in October, and I look forward to visiting in January and discussing my Oakdale series prequel, Resting Place. As I've said in this space more than once, books clubs are absolutely crucial toward getting the word out about what we do and the Bonfire group, which only began in the last year-plus, has a large membership and really rolls out the red carpet for their authors. 

Speaking of book clubs, Candace was delighted to learn that her fine debut novel, Cradle in the Oak, was selected a few weeks ago by the South Baton Rouge Literary Guild in neighboring Louisiana. That book club has been around for 23 years, and we really appreciate your interest!

Thank y'all!!!

In addition to book clubs, many public libraries are re-opening their doors to in-person author talks. Several weeks ago I thoroughly enjoyed a multi-author presentation in Sumrall that was surprisingly well-attended given the monsoon-like conditions, and librarian Nel Ducomb and her devoted Friends of the Library team in Kiln (known to Coast locals as "The Kill") are putting on terrific luncheons once again. I had a wonderful time there earlier in November, and Candace visits on December 7 at noon. She'll share background about the critical scene in Squall in the Gulf that took place in The Kill! 

Speaking in Louisville, Mississippi. A wonderful experience.

Also, watch for Candace this Saturday, December 3, at the Biloxi Main Street Christmas in the City event from 10-4. You'll be able to purchase autographed copies of both of her terrific novels!

 

Santa Claus is coming to the Coast. You better not pout!

You've heard much about Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday in recent days, and here's a way you can still take part in both: visit the Dogwood Press website at dogwoodpress.com and tackle the rest of your shopping list! All titles you order will be signed, and you'll have them in just several business days, leaving you plenty of time to get them wrapped and under the tree! If you do your reading through a device, we've got you covered, as just about all Dogwood Press titles are available for download through Amazon Kindle.

That's all the news that fits. Thanks so much for your time. Happy reading!

FUN IN THE SUN

The Mississippi Book Festival made a glorious return in 2022 with 6,200 who enjoyed the wide range of author panels, and that total doesn't include the throng of folks who browsed the beautiful Capitol grounds and met dozens of Mississippi authors. Dogwood Press is proud to have taken part, and we had a wonderful time seeing old friends, making new ones, and selling books along the way. Even the mid-afternoon downpour which effectively ended our day couldn't dampen our joy!

A beautiful day to visit with book lovers!

We're off to a great start with Candace Cox Wheeler's Squall in the Gulf and my own Resting Place. Both of us are delighted to hear kind comments about our new books, but what really does my heart good is seeing so many people attending in-person book events again.

Candace launching her new novel at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum ... 

 

... and with author Valerie Winn at Hillyer House of Ocean Springs.

Joe signing Resting Place at Lemuria Books of Jackson ...

... and discussing the book at the Starkville Public Library

One of the most interesting book signings Candace has is at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Biloxi on Wednesday, September 28. It will start at 4:30 p.m., and in addition to live music to follow, Candace's talk about her new book will be especially relevant because of the land on which the new club was constructed. Let's just say you'll be fascinated! She and I will also do a combo event at Bay Books in Bay St. Louis on September 28 at 11 a.m., she'll visit Page and Palette Books of Fairhope, Alabama, on October 1, and I'm headed to Tupelo, Mississippi, on October 20 to sell copies of Resting Place at the annual Celebration Village.

John Floyd, meanwhile, continues to write quality short fiction at something approaching warp speed these days. He has had stories published in recent issues of Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Woman's World, and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as well as a dozen upcoming anthologies. John also received a fifth Derringer Award several months ago, becoming the ONLY writer to have won five Derringers. As I have said before in this space, the Derringer is to short mystery suspense fiction what the Grammy is to the music industry, and what the Oscar is to the film industry.

Yep, John has a story in there. Just stay away from the guy on the cover!

Order signed copies of all books in the Dogwood Press catalog by visiting dogwoodpress.com, including Resting Place and Squall in the Gulf, and say hello at an upcoming book event soon. Need a speaker for a talk to your book club or civic organization? Just get in touch. Also, we're being asked when the Kindle versions of Resting Place and Squall in the Gulf are coming, and the wait is almost over. However you do your reading, whether on a device or from a physical book, we are grateful for your interest in our work.

Thanks for your time. Have a wonderful day!

  

BOOK CLUBS

I absolutely can't overstate the importance of in-person book clubs. Nearly every Dogwood Press author has been invited to one or more clubs over the years, and there is no better feeling for an author than when a group of 10-20 readers has read your work and invites you to discuss it. In addition to the copies sold, the tremendous word-of-mouth that stems from such events is incalculable. Book club appearances are very similar to well-attended events at public libraries in that way.

The Bonfire Book Club in south Mississippi recently hosted Randy Pierce for a presentation about Missy, which most all of the members had read by the time Randy arrived several weeks ago. The attendees raved, and I'm thrilled that they've since booked Valerie Winn for the month of August and Candace Cox Wheeler for October. What's interesting is that the club selected Valerie's first book, Forsaking Mimosa. That one celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and will be in a third printing by the time Valerie visits in August, and it just goes to show how timeless a good book really is.

Also, Candace Cox Wheeler visits the Langley Point and Friends Book Club on Saturday, August 13 to discuss Squall in the Gulf and Cradle in the Oak.

Many thanks to our new friends at the Bonfire Book Club!

Dogwood Press rolls out two new titles in August, the Candace Cox Wheeler thriller Squall in the Gulf and my new Oakdale series mystery, Resting Place. See if you've heard this before: We are hopeful that we've seen the last of the pandemic and that in-person gatherings later this year -- especially the Mississippi Book Festival on August 20 in Jackson -- will take place as planned. Ever the optimist, I am scheduling events for the Dogwood Press team as if things will unfold just like we hope.

Hmm ... wonder what's down there ...

Featuring an appearance by lovable Al Capone! 

Valerie Winn recently put on a writing workshop that touched on the many elements of creating good fiction: plot development, character development, sense of time and place, good dialogue, and point of view. I keep up carefully with these events because a name you'll recognize in this blog -- Candace Cox Wheeler -- attended one of Valerie's workshops before submitting the Cradle in the Oak manuscript to me in 2019. Good luck to all of you who just finished Valerie's workshop several weeks ago. I have no doubt you learned a lot!

A future bestseller in this group? Don't rule it out!

A big congratulations to John Floyd for winning a 2022 Derringer Award in the Flash Fiction category for "Tourist Trap", and the hits just keep on coming: he has a story entitled "The Dollhouse" in the May/June issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and a selection in the upcoming 2022 Bouchercon anthology. As I've said before in this space, if you've never read short fiction, John is a true master. And you'll have no trouble finding his work: in addition to eight books of his short fiction published by Dogwood Press, visit any bookstore and consult the magazine section. His short stories are in most of them and add a lot to those publications.

Be sure to read John's Sleuth Sayers blog each Saturday on Facebook!

There are graduation gifts and Father's Day presents to be purchased, and we can take care of you with one quick visit to dogwoodpress.com. You'll receive signed, first edition copies when you order, and you'll have them in just a couple of days. If reading on a device is your preference, most of our catalogue is available for download via Amazon Kindle.

Thanks so much for your time. We hope to see you soon.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Yes, two exciting new Dogwood Press titles are coming soon! The first is Squall in the Gulf, the sequel to Candace Cox Wheeler's critically-acclaimed historical fiction debut, Cradle in the Oak. Squall is set at the height of Prohibition on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and rumrunning, or the transportation of contraband liquor, is making some very powerful people a lot of money (such as Al Capone, who once owned a home in Ocean Springs), as well as causing good folks to make dangerous choices. Cradle heroine Carrie Burns and husband David Tauzin return, but it's the next generation that steals the stage in a thriller you won't be able to put down. Like its predecessor, this book is layered with the unique history of Biloxi that made Cradle such a terrific read. Watch for Squall in the Gulf on August 1.

You can almost hear the wind blow!

My own new novel, Resting Place, is my seventh Oakdale series installment and ninth book overall. It's a prequel to the series and set in 1984, which made it great fun to research. If you've never set foot in my fictional town of Oakdale, it's a seemingly serene little place in northeast Mississippi, but under the surface it's loaded with old money, crime, skeletons in most closets, and everyone up in everyone else's business. Billy Joe Stone, the grizzled Smart County sheriff in my 2014 novel Director's Cut, is a very young sheriff's deputy in Resting Place who must deal head-on with a web of corruption when his mentor, incumbent sheriff Robert Glass, suddenly goes missing. A fast-paced, atmospheric story of power, greed, loss, and redemption, Resting Place also comes out August 1.

 

Welcome back to Oakdale!

We'll hope for the best on things returning to normal as 2022 unfolds, and if all goes well there will be many more in-person book talks and signings than we've seen in the last two years. One event we can't wait for is the return of the Mississippi Book Festival on Saturday, August 20. It had grown by leaps and bounds from 2015-2019, and I would expect a huge turnout if this year's show goes forward as planned. But we were able to get out and do a few events in late 2021, including a fun late-December multi-author signing at Lemuria in Jackson, Mississippi.

Great friends as well as great writers!

I was honored to have been asked by Dr. Mark Lehman, retired professor of Accounting at Mississippi State University and a prolific textbook author, to edit his debut novel, The Anderson Conspiracy. This fast-paced, fun tale follows the lives of a high school friend group into their professional lives, but when police are unable to solve a crime committed against one of the friends, the group is forced to use their collective business and legal skills to unravel the mystery. This one will arrive in April and was supposed to coincide with the new major league baseball season getting underway. Let's hope it does!

It's a home run!

Don't forget that most Dogwood Press titles, including Candace Cox Wheeler's Cradle in the Oak, are available for download via Amazon Kindle. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you soon. For signed copies of all Dogwood Press titles, visit dogwoodpress.com to order a Mother's Day gift, or a neat surprise for the graduate on your shopping list! Thanks for your time, and have a great day!