“I THINK THE KEY TO MAKING A STORY COME ALIVE IS BEING WILLING TO RIP A PAGE FROM YOUR OWN LIFE, TO DRAW UPON YOUR DEEPEST PAIN WITHOUT FLINCHING~JULIE CANNON Everyone who ever met Julie C...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/10/eulogy-for-southern-writer-julie-cannon.html
BY MAN MARTIN KATHY PATRICK KARIN GILLESPIE When I was seven years old, my mother told me that my dog Skipper had “gone home to Jesus.” Although no one explained this ...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/05/going-home-to-jesus.html
by Jennie Bentley So we're talking about music on the blog this month. Since I live in Music City - Nashville, Tennessee - I guess that's something I should probably be able to talk about, but...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/05/say-it-with-music.html
By: Mary Alice Monroe Every morning I gaze out at the sea with anticipation. My back pack is filled with supplies, my probe stick stands at the ready, and my team T-shirts and cap lay patiently ...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/04/turtle-summer.html
Angry Birds by Rovio Entertainment Ltd I'm not sure what it is about my brain that makes me need to finish things. Not important things that keep the household running smoothly like doing t...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/04/angry-bird-brain.html
My father-in-law died after a short battle with cancer last month. Not only was he a great dad to my wife and her siblings, he was a great father-in-law and a great grandfather. He was truly a g...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/04/sweet-music-man-by-niles-reddick.html
Every spring I’m thrilled to see plants that have lain dormant during the winter burst into leaf and bloom. Bulbs I had forgotten suddenly send up shoots, and I can hardly wait to grab shears...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/04/rebirth-books-and-gardens-by-peggy-webb.html
by Zachary Steele A little more than seven years ago I created a world. It happened without a bang, came without a word, and anchored itself into my mind with nary a concern for what it would ...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/03/flight-of-dreams.html
WHAT'S IN YOUR IPOD? MAN MARTIN Walter Isaacson looked into Steve Jobs’ iPod while writing a biography on him, and what he found was Dylan, Beatles, and some selected Rolling Stones. I do not...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/03/whats-in-your-ipod.html
by Susan Cushman The best piece of writing advice (the theme for this round of posts) I’ve ever received actually has two parts: 1. Nothing is wasted, and 2. Be patient...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/03/circling-faith-southern-women-on.html
BY KAREN HARRINGTON “In all the major genres, vivid detail is the life blood.” John Gardener, The Art of Fiction “Specific, concrete, particular details—these are the life of fict...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/03/do-you-write-with-vivid-detail.html
by Cathy Pickens What's the best writing advice I've ever gotten? In many cases, it's the same as the worst advice I've ever gotten. For starters: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW. Now, that's good a...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/02/best-advice.html
BY ELIZABETH S. CRAIG, @ELIZABETHSCRAIG I was reading a parenting blog the other day for someone who’s highly-regarded in that field. This blogger had an offer for a free PDF if you signed u...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/02/keeping-in-touch-with-readers.html
I'm delighted my friend and writing mentor, Leslie Guccione has agreed to be a Guest Blogger today. Here's a bit about her amazing career. Leslie Davis Guccione has published thirty-one...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/02/augusta-scattergood-welcomes-celebrity.html
Good morning, ladies and gents. As you read this, I'm winging my way to New York City and from there to Europe, so I'm not around to deal with this blog personally today. Instead, I give you Jade...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/02/best-writing-advice.html
Back when I was struggling to make it as a young author, I launched two books under two names---Mary Alice Monroe and Mary Alice Kruesi. The premise behind this poor advice from my agent---that...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/01/is-it-blood-or-fire.html
by Nicole Seitz Some of the most unexpected blessings of my entire writing journey have been the people I've met and friendships formed along the way. Not something you'd expect to hear from a...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-ran-off-with-circus.html
THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT WRITING ADVICE IS THAT THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WILLING TO GIVE YOU SOME AND OFTEN IT'S THE SAME OLD ADVICE---BE PERSISTENT, DON'T GIVE UP, WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW, KEEP...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-wish-id-written-that-by-niles-reddick.html
My writing has taken odd turns since the economy took its downward spiral. A novel I loved, as did my former agent at one of New York’s biggest firms, thought it would go to auction – that ...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-writing-is-taking-new-turns-and-im.html
The Importance of Goals In preparation for the 2012, I clean house and set goals for the new year. This week, I found a Polaroid of my daughter taken when she was in kindergarten. It was fir...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2011/12/importance-of-goals.html
Have you ever read the work of a young, uncorrupted writer? It’s like venturing into a jungle: Fresh. Green. Wild. Monkeys beating their furry chests. Parrots shrieking. Anacondas curling a...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2011/12/all-work-and-no-play-makes-dull-writer.html
BY MAN MARTIN “Experience is a dear teacher, but a fool will learn by no other,” Benjamin Franklin I am a school teacher, and one thing life has taught me is that you have to be very ca...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-advice-i-ever-got.html
by Shari Smith For a good bit, I had a stalker. He read a piece I wrote about the boys who hang out at the Claremont Café and liked it well enough to repeatedly call the Café and leave mess...
by Karen Harrington, author Janeology Last Friday, I had the privilege of hearing Stephen King speak to a 1,000 member audience in a Dallas suburb. Now I know this month's blog series is abo...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2011/11/stephen-king-on-writing-his-fears-and.html
by Susan Cushman I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. The first money-making opportunity I remember was in fourth grade. My sixth-grade brother talked me into climbing on the roof of th...
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-will-not-climb-on-roof.html