"Do your best, Johnny!"
Killer Nashville
A Very Short Seventy Years
Introducing Ruthie
Easer of Stress
Odie the Wonder Dog, our Certified Therapy Dog, is an equal opportunity therapist. When my wife Lisa takes him to the inner city after-school program for elementary kids, taking him for a short walk (and a licked face if wanted) as a reward for finishing a chapter or a book works well as an academic motivator. When we take him to the Rescue Mission for homeless men, his wagging tail and face licking bring smiles and laughter to those needful of such things, and a link to beginning conversations with the men living there. And when we drop by Furman University, he becomes an easer of stress at the end of the semester. There, he is hugged and petted and allowed to lick faces. Odie, a 90-pound pit mix rescue, truly loves to provide happiness to a wide variety of people. And an additional blessing is that we have him every day.
Vincent the Vanquisher
Just as I began to lace up my work shoes I keep on the back porch, a dead mouse fell out of the left shoe. The cat who lives outside provided a trophy. I am happy to report that my startle reflex is intact. Our younger daughter named him “Vinnie the Vagrant” because he just showed up around the time of Covid. And stayed. His other name is Vincent the Vanquisher because he kills rodents, birds, and small snakes. While he prefers to live outside, he does come in for the occasional cuddle with Lisa or to steal the food of Odie the Wonder Dog. He also makes a point of greeting visitors with purrs and requests to be picked up. Is there any creature quite as smug as a cat?
A Thank You and an Invitation
I am proud of my most recent novel, Keeping to Himself. And I was pleasantly surprised when the prestigious PenCraft Book Awards Program awarded Keeping to Himself First Prize for literary excellence in the "Southern Fiction" category. (I love the irony of an Iowa guy winning this prize for Southern Fiction)
I am grateful for the support from so many of you, some even buying multiple copies to take to libraries and/or encourage libraries to order it. Further, many of you were kind enough to go on Amazon and write reviews of the novel, which is important for its promotion. So, if you wrote a review, many thanks. Now, if you do not yet have a copy of Keeping to Himself, or you do have a copy but have not written a review, I would appreciate it if you would kindly review the book. Reviews make a big difference and just a sentence or two will suffice.
Finally, we continue to make appearances at various writer/reader gatherings in the area. A big one will be a Father-Daughter presentation at M. Judson Booksellers in downtown Greenville on March 15th from 5:30 - 7 PM. It will be great to present with Rowe, my best-seller poet daughter next to me, the novelist. The M. Judson Booksellers venue is beautiful, from the imposing front steps to the bright and comfortable insides. If you're anywhere near downtown Greenville on the Ides of March, please come. (They also have a coffee shop.)You will be welcome and entertained. And there will be signed books to buy!
