Historical Novelist Lynn Cullen, Part 1: Mrs. Poe, Frances Osgood, and the Author Herself

July 30, 2014 · by Christina Kaylor | in Author Interviews, The Writing Life | tagged "The Raven", 1845 New York, Edgar Allan Poe, Edgar Allan Poe's smeared reputation, Frances Osgood, historical fiction, historical novel, Lynn Cullen, Mrs. Poe, Poe as literary critic, Public reaction to "The Raven", Rufus Griswold, Samuel Osgood, Townsend Prize | 19 Comments

Received this post as an email? Click on the blue title to read in your browser. I hadn’t seen my friend Lynn Cullen since the launch of her historical novel Reign of Madness in 2011, though we’d been in touch via email. But this morning we were meeting for breakfast at Goldberg’s Deli in Toco […]

Freshly Baked Books: The Hurricane Sisters

July 23, 2014 · by Brenda Lloyd | in Book Reviews | tagged Charleston, domestic violence, Dorothea Benton Frank, Lowcountry, Sullivan's Island, The Hurricane Sisters, women's fiction | 7 Comments

Email: Please click on the blue title to read in your browser. Storms are brewing in The Hurricane Sisters, the latest book by Dorothea Benton Frank, and it’s not just a hurricane heading for Sullivan’s Island. True to Frank’s past fourteen novels, this one, just published by William Morrow, is set in the South Carolina […]

A Quick Peek at a Favorite Author: Anne Lamott

July 16, 2014 · by Susan Diffenderfer | in Profiles, The Writing Life | tagged Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, Challenges of Sobriety, Dreadlocks, Epiphany and Conversion, Finding Out Who You Are, Kenneth Lamott, Operating Instructions, Search for Life's Meaning, The Necessity of Books, The Struggles of Faith, Writing Manuals | 15 Comments

Email: Please click on the blue title to read in your browser. When I started working at a small local independent bookstore 17 years ago (still there!), I soon learned that even though I considered myself fairly well-read, there were many, many authors yet to discover. Part of my job is to suggest books to […]

The Ghost of Mardi Gras

July 9, 2014 · by Stephanie Knapp | in Storytelling | tagged Bacchus Parade, Carnival, Family Gras, Fat Tuesday, History of Mardi Gras, King's Cake, Lent, Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras Krewes, Mardi Gras Parades, New Orleans and Mardi Gras, Storytelling, The French Quarter | 5 Comments

Click on blue title to read this post in your browser. Storytelling runs deep in the Ozarks. I grew up in the kiddie pools of it, but always waded over to the adult tables at picnics and reunions. If you ever get the chance, listen to some Ozark stories. Rest assured you’ll be either laughing […]

‘Just Can’t Wait to Get on the Road Again’: Book Distribution in the Digital Age

July 2, 2014 · by JS Epstein | in Brick & Mortar Bookstores, The Story of Books | tagged Amazon, Amazon and Regional Warehouses, Amazon and Seattle, Amazon as the Everything Store, Amazon Customer Service, Amazon's Profit Margin, Baker & Taylor, book distribution, Book Wholesalers, Brick and Mortar Bookstores vs. Amazon, Digital Catalogs, Ingram, Jeff Bezos, On-line Book Sales, Publishing Company Reps, Sears Catalog | 5 Comments

Previous posts on this topic dealt with U.S. book distribution in its earliest iteration when books were shipped to America from Europe, then carried by itinerant foot- or horse-peddlers. Later the invention of steam-powered travel allowed faster shipment across the nation to all quadrants. This article deals with the modern era, ending a few years […]