Welcome to my blog. Here are some true tales about growing up Southern, some stories about how everyday things are sometimes more meaningful than they seem, and some musings about stuff connected some way or other to my books.
It Happened Like This & Other Stuff
The Black and White of It: Southern Newspapers in the 50s
The first line of my novel Found in Pieces identifies Pearl Goodbar as the new owner and editor of a weekly newspaper, the Unionville Times, in 1958. That responsibility alone would have been challenge enough [...]
One of Those Days
If you’re under a certain age, you may not understand or appreciate this. But I assure you. Your time will come.
I should have known better after I opened my eyes this morning, saw that the [...]
When Songs Plus Memories Add Up to More
Isn’t it strange how sometimes a series of small seemingly unrelated and not especially meaningful occurrences suddenly get pulled together by some other minor happening so that they add up to something bigger? A new [...]
Pen, Paper, and Nerve on the Go: More Remarkable Newspaperwomen
There is a scene in my novel Found in Pieces where Pearl Goodbar, the story’s main character, gets to hear two of her journalism role models speak at an event that actually occurred in real [...]
Some Things Ain’t Funny Till They Are: Driving Then and Now
Did you ever have something happen that made you so hopping mad you needed a good long time to put it into perspective? No? Then maybe you don’t drive, because if you do, I don’t [...]
From Human Rights to Muckraking: More Waymaking Newspaperwomen
Pearl Goodbar, the lead character in my novel Found in Pieces, has guts. And she stands on the shoulders of giants. Readers say what they like most about her are her work ethic, her dogged [...]