Davis Kidd Presents Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Celebration

On Sunday, July 11th, join Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Nashville’s community bookstore, for our To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary reading!

To celebrate, Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville will host six local authors from 1:00 to 4:00 pm to read their favorite passage from To Kill a Mockingbird. Authors include: Marshall Chapman, Goodbye Little Rock & Roller, Susan Gregg Gilmore, Looking for Salvation at the Diary Queen, Craig Havinghurst, Air Castle of the South, Beth Pattillo, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, Lisa Patton, Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’Easter and Clay Travis, On Rocky Top.

Additionally, 20 percent of all purchases made during the anniversary reading will be donated to Nashville’s local chapter of Room to Read.

Room to Read works in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for To Kill a Mockingbird. The book became an international bestseller and was adapted to film in 1962. It has remained her only novel.

“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." -Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird

It’s easy to get lost in a book. Why not lose yourself in a bookstore? Offering books on all subjects, a DVD and music department specializing in bestsellers and local interest, cards and gifts, a children’s section
complete with story time and kids’ events, and around 250 author events a year, Davis-Kidd Booksellers is proud to serve as the premier independent bookstore in Nashville.
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Davis-Kidd Booksellers|Green Hills Mall|615.385.2645|daviskidd.com

I so wanted to join the fun, but had a scheduling conflict. Y'all go and show my peeps at Davis Kidd some love!

Do you consider yourself a success?

This question, among others, was posed to me a few weeks ago by social activist and researcher Haegwan Kim, who interviewed me as part of the ongoing project for his blog, The Law of Success 2.0.

Here is a transcript of the interview. Feel free to add your own feelings in the comments. Such a subjective topic, this could be interesting...

Do you consider yourself successful and why?

I absolutely do, but it has nothing to do with how many books I sell. I’ve been married for fifteen years, which is my greatest accomplishment by far. We’re happy, both pursuing our dreams, both self-employed and finding out what’s really important in our lives. It’s not money, it’s not success, it’s not fame. It’s love, and joy, and laughter every day. With that as a base, everything seems to fall into place for me. Plus my husband supports my career 100%, always has, and that makes my life easier. He understands when I need to hermit, or when I blurt out unimaginable scenarios in the middle of dinner, or that moment in conversations when I drift away because I’ve just had a great idea…

I’m also rather disciplined, which is helpful. I have an innate sense of guilt when I’m not working, so I tend to just go ahead and get the work done so I can play. And I’ve been careful to check my ego at the door, not get bogged down in things outside of my control. I have a great team around me, my publishers and editors and agent, plus my close friends, and they all keep me very grounded.

What is the most important element to be a good author?

Being a dutiful observer, first and foremost. I tend to see things that other people gloss over. Truth be told, I look at people and situations in a completely different way from most people. One of the things I hear in conversation over and over is “I didn’t notice that.” So paying special attention to your surroundings, to the faces, the eyes, the lips of people, is a great start. Stare. You’ll see so much. Actually make eye contact. Smile. It’s amazing what you can read off people when they respond to a smile.

Second to that is being a reader. I don’t know any successful authors who aren’t voracious readers.

How and where do you find your creativity for your masterpieces?

Everywhere, but dreams most of all. The entire plot of my debut novel came from a dream. I wish that would happen more often. But creativity, writing, is a job. I don’t wait for inspiration to strike me, I harness it and ride it to the ground. You can’t wait for the Muse to delight you, you’ll never make your deadlines!

What is your goal as a best-seller author?

To entertain as many people as I can, to write books that are fun, can touch people, scare people and make them think. It’s such a capricious industry, I focus on what I can control, which is writing the best book I possibly can every time around, and hope for the best with the rest.

Could you please give us your advice for being successful, not as an author but as general life?

Be true to yourself. You can’t be in life what your parents want you to be, or your spouse, or your friends. You must follow your heart, your gut and your soul to your rightful place. I know that sounds a big touchy feely, but it is so true. Happiness creates success. Contentment allows the creative process to bloom. Be happy with yourself and your success will follow. People think they need so much – new cars, bigger houses, better clothes, thinner thighs. If you stop and focus on what really matters, your true self will emerge, and you’ll be shocked at what you don’t need, and how creative and successful you’ll be as a result.

Midwest Book Review on THE COLD ROOM

Reviewed by Christy Tiller French

Due to restructuring of the Nashville Metro Police Department, homicide detective Taylor Jackson's been demoted from her prior position of lieutenant. If that isn't bad enough, she's being pursued by a serial killer called the Pretender. Now another serial killer's in Nashville, one who abducts young black women, starves them to death and, after performing necrophilia, poses them per scenes from famous paintings. It isn't long before Jackson's fiance, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, connects Jackson's serial killer to one he's been investigating in Europe named the Conductor. Jackson and Baldwin team up with Scotland Yard detective James "Memphis" Highsmythe, and the chase is on as the three try to determine if they're dealing with only one killer or perhaps two. As the investigation proceeds, Jackson's trying not to be distracted by the chemistry between her and Highsmythe, which is unexpected and confusing, and her superior's strange actions, which are hampering her efforts to investigate her case.

This fourth installment of the Taylor Jackson series is as suspenseful and intriguing as the first. This psychological thriller is gritty and realistic and filled with intense action. The chemistry between Jackson and Highsmythe, although not expected, is nicely delivered. Jackson's a great character, a woman who's tough mentally and physically but a real softy on the inside. The colorful backdrop of Nashville is a bonus to readers, as is Ellison's intelligent writing.

PW Review of THE COLD ROOM Audio Book

"Ellison's fourth Taylor Jackson thriller finds a serial killer murdering young women in both the United States and Europe. Such an international crime brings New Scotland Yard Detective/profiler James Memphis Highsmythe into the investigation, causing an unexpected hitch in homicide detective Jackson's romantic involvement with fiance FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin. But personal feelings or no, the trio must pool their resources to find the serial killer known as the Conductor in the United States and Il Macellaio across the Atlantic, before he can strike again. Joyce Bean is perfectly cast; her narration keeps the book moving at a steady pace and infuses the prose with just the right amount of menace and suspense. Her reading of the killer's chance encounter with a young woman destined to become his next victim is chilling. Even when the writing may be a little over the top at times, Bean's performance is down to the ground solid. A Mira paperback."

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

I'm so happy to see Joyce Bean getting the recognition she so richly deserves - I have been blown away by her reading of the first four Taylor books! She turns the words on the page into a rich, detailed story, with the perfect inflection. Thanks, Joyce, and thanks, Brilliance!!! (And PW, obviously...)

If you're interested in purchasing the audio books, click here.

Happy Birthday, Yeats

In honor of Yeat's birthday today, I thought I'd share a favorite poem, one that was instrumental in pulling together the plot of ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS. I remember reading this as a young girl and loving it, though I couldn't comprehend its meaning at the time. I still love it - the powerful imagery, the horror, the seductive voice... I happened across the sculpture in Rome, at an exhibit on Eros at the Coliseum. Seeing it live was a true highlight of that trip, especially since I had just finished writing ATPG and I'd used the poem as a clue. Stunning, powerful, evocative - that's my Yeats. LEDA AND THE SWAN A sudden blow: the great wings beating still Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill, He holds her helpless breast upon his breast. How can those terrified vague fingers push The feathered glory from her loosening thighs? And how can body, laid in that white rush, But feel the strange heart beating where it lies? A shudder in the loins engenders there The broken wall, the burning roof and tower And Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up, So mastered by the brute blood of the air, Did she put on his knowledge with his power Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?