Last weekend I was in Winslow, Arkansas, at Oghma Creative Media’s annual retreat. It was great to meet the other authors my publisher has signed. We also heard what the plans are as the company continues to grow. The Sky-Vue lodge in the Boston Mountains is a wonderful setting. We saw a storm roll in, and when the sun is out, you can see a vast majority of the mountain range. Meals were included in the three-day event and we ate well. Looking forward to next year’s retreat.
In two weeks, I’ll be at the Mississippi Book Festival. It’s at the state capitol on Saturday, August 18. Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Rick Bragg and Jon Meacham will be there. Julia Reed, Salman Rushdie, and Jesmyn Ward round out the official panelists. I’ll be in the Author Alley’s tent along with M. M. Le Blanc (Cajun historian), first-time author Pamela E. Lockridge, Michael Piazza, Andrew Plattner, and many more. You can check out the whole list here. I’m looking forward to this romp in the swamp!
Editing continues on my second manuscript. I wasn’t able to get as much done as I wanted last week. This week should be more productive.
A couple of Louisiana anniversaries to note. Yesterday, back in 1901, the Allen Green School opens in Grambling. You know the school as the name it adopted in 1946: Grambling State University. On the same day, Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans. He was a jazz trumpeter and his “Hello, Dolly!” song knocked the Beatles out of the number one spot on the Hot 100 in 1964. He was 62 years, 9 months and 5 days old, the oldest person to ever hold the number one spot on the Hot 100.
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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading book twelve of the Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series, A Raven in the Foregate.
Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.