One of Our Lady's favorite events of the year is the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, coming up October 9th - 11th. Admittedly, October is a busy month with hayrides, apple festivals, football games and so forth, but Our Lady is always surprised when friends here in middle Tennessee who enjoy reading confess they've never attended SFOB. She wants to ask them, "WHAT are your priorities?" She holds up as an example her friend Peter and his twin Laura, who plan their birthday celebration … [Read more...]
Come See Me at the Southern Festival of Books!
October 4, 2009 By 3 Comments
As some of you already know, my poetry chapbook, Heaven Was the Moon, is out! It's a little perfect-bound collection of 28 poems, published by March Street Press, and of course I'm very excited about it. My first public event for the book will be at the Southern Festival of Books on Sunday, October 11th, from 2-3 pm, with a signing to follow. I hope to have a big hometown crowd - but those of you who may be in for the festival from other parts of the state or the Southeast, I'll be glad to … [Read more...]
Daring to Be Different: Bluegrass in My Heart, and the Heart of Bell Buckle
September 25, 2009 By 2 Comments
This Sunday, September 27th, in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, the 3rd Annual Dare to Be Different Showcase is slated to feature 9, count 'em, 9 hours of bluegrass music from bands near and far, including 29 Strings from the Slovak Republic. The event is hosted by Bell Buckle-based Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, who themselves tour internationally. Admission is only $10. As a nerd and a disciple of Ms. Cheap, I have to point out that's only $1.11 per hour, quite the entertainment value. And, … [Read more...]
Yay for Humanities Tennessee
August 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
So, in my inaugural post on August 6th, I said I'd like to promote Tennessee writers on my blog, and on August 10th, this arrives in my inbox: This fall, Humanities Tennessee will launch a new website, to be called Chapter 16: A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers and Passersby. We hope and expect that this site will become a regular stop for readers, a place where you will learn about upcoming Tennessee books and events and discuss those and other topics with one another. We'll cover novels … [Read more...]
Our Lady steps out in faith…into the blogosphere
August 6, 2009 By 1 Comment
I first started writing creatively nine years ago this month. I am sure of this because my youngest child started kindergarten that year. Theoretically, I thought, I should have a little more free time now that he was in school everyday, so I seized the opportunity to take a creative writing class in the continuing education at MTSU (similar classes now offered through The Writer's Loft at MTSU). Now, as that youngest child is a 5' 11", deep-voiced man-child starting high school and our … [Read more...]
