Author and editor Susan Cushman of Memphis Tennesse had a wonderful idea, and made a call out to some of her literary friends to ask if they would contribute to an anthology on the subject of life, death and angels. Susan wanted to read our stories, and assemble them in the book whose cover you see above. The anthology was just released by Madville Publishing, and it’s available where all books are sold.
It was my pleasure to contribute an essay to the anthology, All Night, All Day. My essay is titled, The Power of Three, and in it I tell the story of meeting the author, Anne Patchett, who, along with two of her friends, arranged for the first art exhibit of their friend, Sooki Raphael’s work. The art show was at Santa Monica, California’s Bergamot Station, and its staging was an act of love by Ann Patchett and her two friends, for at the time, Sooki Raphael was battling the pancreatic cancer to which she would ultimately succumb. Sooki Raphael’s art show was extraordinary, but what impressed me most about going to Bergamot Station that day was being in witness of the supportive power of female friendship.
The anthology is an inspirational collection of personal essays, stories, and poems by outstanding women authors who write about the appearance of the divine in their lives. Some of these angels come to save a life or change a flat tire. Some appear to warn people, tell them what to do, suggest more vegetables and maybe better shoes. They appear as a tap of intuition, a whisper, a whoosh of warmth, a rainbow, or an act of kindness. They are the stranger ministering to you in the hospital, the sound of voices singing in the attic, the sudden light at the window, the man by the side of the road. They are nurses and sometimes they are you. In this stunning anthology which explores so many heartwarming brushes with celestial beings, all these angels are messengers come to assure us we are not alone, and we are loved.-Margaret McMullan, author of Where the Angels Lived
… an anthology to be savored. This collection includes powerful first-hand accounts, interwoven with short fiction and poetry, beautifully exploring the themes of life, death, and angels. Jewels include Cassandra King Conroy’s unforgettable tale. It takes courage to write the raw truth of last moments, as Renea Winchester did in her touching story of her mother’s death titled “Waiting for Her Angel.” I loved Mandy Haynes’ heartwarming story, “Rose’s Angel” (plus, she’s a lovely person!). “The End” by Lisa Gornick is an intimate, touching tale. I shed tears over Susan Cushman’s “Hitting the Wall.” Within this collection are remembrances and memorials, which pay homage to a loved one or to a mystical experience. At the end, Claire Fullerton’s beautiful, final words offer the hope of peace. Crafting an anthology is an art. Susan Cushman has done a big topic justice-the sum of the parts is greater for having been compiled together. Savor this book…for its wisdom, humor, and truth.-Carol Van Den Hende, author of Orchid Blooming and Goodbye, Orchid
Stories that evoke a sense of peace, reassurance, and safety, as well as strength and encouragement through reported angelic activities. These stories tell of unexpected humanity and love in the lives of those who needed affirmation of spirituality in the human world. The presence of angels is recounted through brilliant and descriptive imagery and intriguing yet identifiable characterization.-Francine Rodriguez, author of A Woman’s Story
Life, death, and angel stories are usually only shared with those whom we trust and only during the quiet hours of our souls. Susan Cushman is the finder and sharer of these stories…. She has collected a wide spectrum of authors and encouraged them to contribute their personal stories and poems, thereby giving us a glimpse into their souls and the unspoken truths of our universal beliefs.-Donna Keel Armer, author of Solo in Salento: A Memoir
Here is a recent photograph of the tireless Susan Cushman at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi as she moderates a panel of contributors to All Night and All Day before a full house of readers!
All Night and All Day is a heartwarming collection of first person essays written by a collective of authors who have wonderful stories to tell. It’s general tone is sensitive and optimistic, deep-probing and thoughtful, and I know you’ll enjoy reading each and every essay as much as I have!
Launch Pad is a fully realized, three book series published by Red Penguin Books presented in a wonderfully organized manner, and it was my great privilege to contribute a piece on How to Be a Good Literary Citizen to Book Three, which yesterday released, and whose book cover is above.
Your book is written, and published, and headed for the NY Times Best Seller List! Ah, if only that were true. Regardless of the path that got you here, even award-winning bestsellers have to embrace a marketing plan that helps their book soar.
LAUNCH PAD: The Countdown to Marketing Your Book.
From Dan Blank’s marketing mindset guidance to practical tips on leveraging social media, book clubs, reviews, and so much more, this book, the third in a series of three on writing, publishing, and marketing your book, LAUNCH PAD will help you get it done! Each focused chapter engages you in a process that will raise your marketing IQ, build your skill set, and set you on a path for a successful book launch and marketing plan. Replete with countdown tips, ways to connect directly to the authors, and bonus downloadable planning sheets, LAUNCH PAD delivers a marketing book that speaks right to you.
A bit about the Launch Pad series:
“LAUNCH PAD: The Countdown to Marketing Your Book is a friendly and accessible collection of essays from industry experts that will help any writer put their best marketing foot forward. You can flip to a specific chapter to find answers to your burning questions or read it cover to cover for an in-depth overview of useful marketing tips and tricks.”
― James River Writers
I cannot recommend this series highly enough, for in this day and age, an author must be painstakingly prepared to launch their book. With total conviction, I will tell you that the Launch Pad series will help to create a remarkably streamlined and efficient marketing foundation. The series is available where all books are sold!
I take my hat off to the organizers of the Launch Pad series. Mary Helen Sheriff and Grace Sammon are two of the hardest working authors I’ve had the pleasure to come across in my years as a working author. Both writers have penned delightful fiction, and both have devoted their days to helping other authors in their careers.
Grace Sammon is an award-winning podcaster, and one of the best author interviewers out there! You can join Grace Sammon at the LAUNCH PAD for her new, fast-paced, radio show and podcast that celebrates new book releases and the authors that created them. Grace is the founder of Author Talk Network, the author of four books, including her latest novel The Eves, and the host of The Storytellers radio show and podcast.
Mary Helen Sheriff is the author of the award-winning southern women’s fiction, Boop and Eve’s Road Trip. She serves as an Author Marketing Coach, host of the podcast Growing Up Bookish, and the CEO of Bookish Road Trip. She has 14 years of teaching experience in elementary school, middle school, college, and professionals. Currently, she is editing a collaborative anthology entitled Launch Pad: Countdown to Marketing Your Book, which will launch in 2023. She earned an MFA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University.
Welcome to the LAUNCH PAD. Now, let’s see you and your book soar!
Available in print and digital where books are sold!
“‘Annie’s Song’ is an open-hearted memoir about a life spent loving the most vulnerable among us. These are stories full of joy and life that keep loved ones close, even after they’ve passed from this world. This poetic writing of untiring advocacy, compassionate witness, and deep love is a gift to the enormous community of writers-yes, those who have felt seen and uplifted by Annie McDonnell over the years, but also those who might be hearing her voice saying ‘you matter’ for the first time. This book is our chance to see how a life of empathy is born.” -Diane Zinna, author of “The All-Night Sun”
My Interview with Author Annie McDonnell:
I’d like to congratulate Annie McDonnell on Annie’s Song: Dandelions, Dreams and Dogs appearing pre-release at #2 Amazon Hot New Releases in Biographies/Memoirs for People with Disabilities and #21 Amazon Hot New Releases in Poetry/Grief, Death and Loss.
Q: In the book description of Annie’s Song: Dandelions, Dreams , and Dogs, it reads: “Annie’s experiential memoir, for which she’s provided QR codes linking to her favorite songs throughout, allows the reader to get a hint of what it’s like living suspended between this earthly existence and the afterlife.”
Can you tell us what it is that makes your memoir experimental?
A: The experiential element of this book is a vital part of my approach. I’d like the reader to have an experience when reading “Annie’s Song.” At the beginning of the book, I invite the reader to experience the book and give them ideas to engage each of the five senses. The first is the visual, and there are design elements throughout the book meant to make you slow down and absorb the essays and poems. I believe if you close your eyes, you might recall part of your own story or maybe that of a friend of yours. These stories can help you gain more empathy and compassion. The next sense will be touch, which will activate when you’re holding the book or Kindle in your hands. The next is scent, which is the most difficult one for me to offer, but a powerful one because certain scents have been proven to be a important trigger for memory. I typically offer it in all of my swag bags. Light a scented candle or some incense. I suggest choosing a scent that you absolutely adore. The next one is taste. Jennifer, who you’ll learn about, gave me a sticker that said, “She loved me more than chocolate itself, so whenever I’m reading a good book, I like to indulge in a piece of chocolate. Lastly, I invite you to enjoy your sense of hearing. I have included QR codes to add music to each essay and poem. Each song is tied to a particular person, event or time in my life, and the music fits what the memory means to me.
Q: How have you developed your career as a writer?
A: Honestly, I’ve wanted to write since third grade. But since I didn’t know how to become an author, I became a book reviewer. I absolutely love being a book reviewer. I had to learn how to be creative and interesting when I wrote the reviews. And then a few years ago, everything was just birthed from love among friends and teachers like Diane Zinna, Jennifer and Gordon, and Lauri Schoenfeld, Lisa C, Kerry Anne King and more. I started reading my essays and poems to some of my closest friends, and I was hooked. After my grief writing class, I’d call Echo Garrett of Lucid House Publishing and read my essays and poetry to her. She told me she would be honored to publish my book. She truly believed that they were wonderful. And my husband said, ”Annie, Echo believes in your work so much, you should let her publish a book she’d be the perfect person.” It’s been an amazing feat to get this book right. I had a lot of requests and then Lucid House editors and the designer had a lot of wonderful ideas.
Q: What gave you the idea to write this book?
A: The whole premise of this book came from my grappling with trying to understand how the various traumas that I have carried through the years may have contributed to my illnesses. Sometimes I do believe I carry them because of survivor’s guilt. Other times I believe what doctors at Mayo Clinic say. They told me that when I broke my neck in a car accident in1989 that spinal fluid got into my bloodstream, which caused an infection, and that’s why I had all these illnesses. I later found that the root of most of my diseases are the genes that I was born with. However, both the accident and other traumas that I carry could certainly contribute to me not healing properly or not going into remission like some people do. My health just always seems to be declining. I’ve been bullied online by plenty of people claiming I’m not sick. Over the years, I have had some doctors misdiagnose me or doubt that I was that sick. At one point, I started doubting myself and thought maybe I was going nuts and there wasn’t really anything wrong with me. But I did not stop fighting for myself, because I knew what I was feeling was real.
My hope for “Annie’s Song” would be that readers will either see themselves or somebody they know in my story. I want my words to wrap around their heart and foster empathy, compassion, and kindness. The world needs a lot more love and understanding. Often, your struggles stem from traumas that others don’t know we have had. I have been told that I let myself be a pincushion. I have also been told that I should be over my traumas. We have to stop blaming someone who is suffering for being sick or having a hard time with a traumatic event. For those of us with invisible wounds and illnesses, such statements only add to our pain.
Q: The idea of providing QR codes to your favorite songs is unique! Can you tell us three songs that are included in your book?
A: The idea to provide the QR codes was because we couldn’t name the artist, the group, or the song but legally we can use QR codes that connect to the performer’s personal YouTube videos. To understand a moment in time, you need to know the music of that era. Music brings it to life, and music is a healer. When I was caring for my stepmother when she had breast cancer, I would put on music and dance with her to get her to the bathroom. She would laugh, and say, “You make dying fun.“ That was one of the best compliments I’ve ever received in my life, and taking care of her was one of my highest honors. A few of the songs included are: “Easy on Me” – Adele, “World Before You” – Lauren Duski, and “Ain’t No Sunshine “ – Bill Withers
Q: What inspired your book’s title?
A: I’m inspired by writing and songs that have a series of beats—where you feel like you can actually hear the heartbeat of the writer or the musician. Writers and musicians have so much in common. We are all storytellers. It was too perfect to name it “Annie’s Song: Dandelions, Dreams and Dogs.” If you listen to the lyrics of John Denver’s song that’s what my book is about: “You fill up my senses,” “Come Let Me love you,” and “Let me die in your arms.” His song perfectly sums up my life.
I’d also like to believe that my book has a beautiful heartbeat, a lot of love between the covers. My hope is that this book will be remembered, the kind of book that you read again and again, just as “Annie’s Song” is still beloved all these decades later.
Q: Can you tell us about your work with dogs?
When we lost our dog Simon, who is on the cover of the book, I had to find a place to put all of his love. His presence was still in the house. I could feel it, so I started what I called #OperationSimon. I started volunteering for One Love Dog Rescue. I started off as a foster. I failed on two of them and wound up adopting them myself. One got adopted. Everything I did, I called #OperationSimon. It made me feel like he was still here. The statement “who rescued who?” is not lost on me. Then I started doing pick-ups in Queens and at JFK airport and then I went to New Jersey. I just had so much fun picking up the dogs as a FREEDOM RIDER. Not many volunteers want to do that job, but I’m in love with picking up these dogs and loving on them. When I got them in my car, I cleaned them up. I would sing to them. I would take them out of their crates. I tried to get them as comfortable as I could before we made the trek out from JFK, Newark or Queens to the eastern end of Long Island. I have some great stories about these pick-ups, and one day I hope to tell them.
I worked every fundraiser for many years. Now, I help with fundraisers when I can. I also love sending thank you cards to donors and adopters. I also help to press releases in all the local papers for events that we’re having, and I hope to God one day I get to be a freedom rider again. That’s the best thing I ever did.
Q: What is the targeted audience for your memoir?
People who have illnesses or are disabled and those who have experienced trauma, grief or loss in the course of their lives. I believe that this book is good for everybody for the simple fact that it promotes compassion and empathy for others and for those of us, who tend to be hardest of all on ourselves.
Q: Where is your book available?
It’s available in print and eBook from independent bookstores, Bookshop.org, all major online retailers, libraries, and has global distribution in major markets around the world. An audiobook will be released at a later date.
You will laugh, cry, and be moved. In this shimmering debut, a cross-genre blend of memoir, auto-fiction, magical realism, and poetry. Annie pours out her dreams, her loves, and her hopes along with grief, medical misdiagnoses, and innumerable losses. Her determination to live a life of love, joy, and meaning despite her great suffering shines throughout her essays and poems.
Meet Annie McDonnell:
A lifelong reader and advocate for writers and books, Annie McDonnell is an Alum of High Point University, Class of 1991.
In 2006, Annie won a contest with Elle and became a book reviewer for the magazine. When Elle stopped running book reviews in print, Annie moved to blogging and The Write Review community was born.
Annie is the author of her debut “Annie’s Song: Dandelions, Dreams & Dogs,” released on 3/14/2023. Writing book reviews, blurbs, articles and beta reading for almost two decades. Annie hosts interviews authors and runs workshops. She enjoys consulting with authors and planning online events. While having fun as a co-admin to the World of the Write Review Book Club, she also runs The Write Review page and blog.
In December 2020, Annie was the recipient of the Doug Marlette Award for a lifetime achievement in book promotion.
Annie lives in Mastic, NY, with her husband, three beautiful dogs and five adorable cats. She also volunteers at One Love Dog Rescue as much as possible. Annie supports both Adult & Children’s Literacy through book drives and Operation Paperback.
Bobbie Jean Bell is an avid reader and stalwart champion of authors. In a conversational forum, she asks questions of her guests that delve down to the very essence of the writing process, and it was my great pleasure to be the guest of Bobbie and Jim Bell on their show, Rendezvous with a writer, which was simulcast on LA Talk Radio. I had a great time answer questions such as what constitutes a Southern Writer, which point of view I prefer to write in, and why, then reading two excerpts from my latest novel, Little Tea, which concerns life long female friendships, Southern culture, and healing the past, in the Deep South.
A little about the show, RENDEZVOUS WITH A WRITER
Hosts OutWest Shop’s Bobbi Jean Bell and Jim Bell chat LIVE with creators of the Written Word. Unscripted. Entertaining. Informative. Tune in to enjoy live conversation with our guest about their latest project and the creative process. The guest may be an author, poet, songwriter, screenwriter or blogger. Those that support the wordsmith are included too like literary agents, publicists, publishers, editors and more!
My gratitude to Bobbie Jean and Jim Bell for being so wonderful!
This post is in celebration of the surprising connections made from years of being a writer. I have four books and one novella out in the world, and another–fingers crossed- hopefully, making its way through the labyrinthian path from my computer to bookstores, but that’s another subject!
I’m thinking about the countless, sung and unsung heroes with whom I’ve had the pleasure to align over the years. “Book people” are passionate people committed to staying the course of what can only be described as an incremental growth pattern fueled by perseverance and dedication to the love of reading and writing. I’ve found the two arenas are tightly woven. You simply cannot have one without the other. It’s a particular breed of cat who knows this, and they are the breed who derive great satisfaction and personal fulfillment in centering their days on the written word.
Writers, and, readers, and bloggers, and book promoters breathe the very life force into the existence of a writer. They are the stalwart citizens of the literary world who take a writer’s work and magnify it, launching it into a wider sphere by ripple effect, creating attenuation by virtue of the fact that they have an audience of like-minded fellows. My gratitude for these passionate people is endless. They understand the solitary creation of writing as an art, and their support is humbling, sustaining, and imperative.
It’s fair to say that authors spend just as much time promoting their books as they do writing them. On average, each of my books took two years to produce, and that’s about the same amount of time I’ve dedicated to book promotion. It takes time to get the word out that a book exists in the first place, and getting to readers is not something that happens overnight; it’s a process, a build that feels like an uphill climb with countless stops along the way. One cannot do it alone. It takes a village, and much is furthered when an author takes the time to compare notes with those who have gone before them.
Which brings me back to the connections worth celebrating made from being a writer. I will now combine a radio host, an author, and a particular outfit dedicated to championing the literary arts to illustrate a case in point:
Bobbie Jean Bell has enjoyed a long career as the co-host of The Writers Block show on LA Talk Radio, which you can access from their online website. It has been a high honor, over the years, for me to appear on the show three times. Sadly, Jim Christina, Bobbie Jean’s charismatic, one-of a kind co-host of many years, died this past year. With continued commitment and touching sensitivity, Bobbie Jean Bell took the show into her own hands in honor of Jim, and rebranded the show, Rendezvous with a Writer, which airs every Thursday night on LA Talk-Radio. https://www.latalkradio.com/content/rendezvous-writer
Johnnie Berhard is the author of four gorgeous novels. She currently lives in Mississippi, and maintains a strong rapport with her native Texas. Looking back now, I cannot recall how I first crossed paths with this extraordinary writer, but I can report I met her in person at The Pulpwood Queens Girlfriend Weekend in Jefferson, Texas in 2020– or was it 2018? I think it was both, but I digress. Let’s just say the fruits of coming to know Johnnie Bernhard are endless. It has been my pleasure to feature Johnnie’s work here on my blogsite. In a minute, I’ll tell you how Johnnie fits into this, but while I’ve got you, look into Johnnie Here: http://johnniebernhardauthor.com/bio
The Catholic Literary Arts is an outfit that conducts itself in the highest manner. Their mission, as stated on their website ( https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/) is this: “Catholic Literary Arts exists to provide a welcoming home for people of all faiths and goodwill to learn, to improve writing skills, to meet fellow writers and publishers, and to enjoy spiritual and intellectual formation in the great literary traditions of Western civilization.”
How the aforementioned entities collided with yours truly now delighted to be right in the middle is this: I had the pleasure of watching author Johnnie Bernhard teach a virtual class on the mechanics of writing fiction for The Catholic Literary Arts, and in later talking with her about the endless merits of such an important forum, Johnnie introduced me to Sarah Cortez, in the hope she and I would explore common ground. We did. Our common ground is this: Sarah Cortez is the president and founder of The Catholic Literary Arts, and I have much to say about the art of launching a book! Ms. Cortez took me seriously when I told her it would be my honor to teach a class for her noble organization. I am enthusiastic to report I will do just this on Tuesday, September 27th at 7:00 CST. Here is the link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/363439757097
And because Bobbie Jean Bell invited me to be a guest on Rendezvous with a Writer from 6:00PM to 6:50 PST on Thursday, September 15, to talk about books and writing, we will also be talking about my virtual class on Preparing to Launch a Book!
This is what I meant when I said I celebrate the surprising connections made from years of being a writer. The magical alchemy that results from staying the course is the gift that keeps on giving!
I hope you’ll join me on Rendezvous with a Writer on Thursday, September 15th ( link above) and that you’ll register for the class and tell your friends about my virtual class with The Catholic Literary Arts where I share all I know about preparing to launch a book!~
A collection of Essays by one of The South’s favorite Writers!
My Review :
You’ll savor every essay in Susan Cushman’s Pilgrim Interrupted. The essays are wise, beautiful, soulful, insightful, as opposed to confessional. They strike the perfect pitch that hooks the reader’s attention, lures them in, and keeps them authentically engaged. What strikes me most about Pilgrim Interrupted is its lack of pomposity. These are thoughts spun to gold in a manner so artfully subtle as to make the reader care about the writer, even as they are prompted to reflect on their own interpretations of existential concerns such as commitment, perseverance, spiritual meaning, and the beauty to be found in life’s seeming little things. This is a collection of essays to read slowly– many you’ll want to return to again. Author Susan Cushman shares a piece of her intelligent, soft-spoken heart in Pilgrim Interrupted, and you’ll be grateful that she has done so, for all the impactful resonance of what adds up to a series of deeply moving experiences.
Book Description:
The title essay in this collection, “Pilgrim Interrupted,” is set on the island of Patmos, Greece, during one of Susan’s pilgrimages with her husband, Father Basil Cushman, an Orthodox priest. Pilgrimages. Orthodoxy. Icons. Monasteries. It’s all in here. But so are stories about mental health, caregiving, death, family, and writing, including a section on “place,” a key element in Southern literature. And how is Susan’s pilgrimage “interrupted”?
By life itself.
Pilgrim Interrupted is a collection of 35 essays, 3 poems, and 5 excerpts from Susan’s novels and short stories. Coming of age during the turbulent 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi; marrying young and adopting three children; leaving the Presbyterian Church of her childhood for the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith in 1987; Susan finally began to chronicle her journey in the early 2000s. Pilgrim Interrupted is her eighth book.
Susan was born in Jackson, Mississippi and went to school at the University of Mississippi. She moved to Memphis in 1988 where she and her husband continued to raise their three children.
Her published books include five she has written: Pilgrim Interrupted (essay collection), John and Mary Margaret (novel), Friends of the Library (short stories), Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s (a memoir), and Cherry Bomb (a novel). She has edited three collections of essays: A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be, Southern Writers Writing, and The Pulpwood Queens Celebrate 20 Years! In addition she has over a dozen essays published in five anthologies and various journals and magazines.
Much of Susan’s writing is infused with elements of her own life, including the very mystical spirituality of her Orthodox Christian faith and the personal demons she has been chasing since childhood. Her essays, short stories, memoir, and novels all reflect what she has learned through many dark nights of the soul, but also contain elements of hope and healing and honor her Southern roots.
Even though eleven-year old Olivia is raised in a southern Baptist church she likes to cover all her bases when asking for a favor. Unlike her brother Oliver, she struggles with keeping her temper and staying out of trouble. But Oliver is special in more ways than one, and in the summer of ’72 he shows Olivia that there’s magic all around us. It’s up to us to see it.
On author, Mandy Haynes:
Author Mandy Haynes has a wide reputation for being one of the most authentic voices of modern-day America’s Deep South. Set in the complex rural South, her stories are alive with spot-on vernacular, her character’s are self-assured and quirky, and the predicaments they find themselves in are quintessentially Southern experiences. Reading Mandy Haynes work is an education in all that goes into the cultural hotbed of the romantic South. Her work takes you down long country roads where anything can and does happen.
My Endorsement of the delightful novella, Oliver !
“A small-town story of childhood innocence, sibling admiration, blind optimism, and plenty of shenanigans, author Mandy Haynes has penned an incomparable narrator in Sissy, who tells a multifaceted story highlighting the altruistic plans of her remarkable brother, Oliver. The Southern jargon in this charming novella is character defining, the precocious mood insightful. Oliver is about bringing out the goodness in people, even if it takes a bit of magic.”
Claire Fullerton, Author.
Other Praise for Oliver:
“Mandy Haynes takes me on a memory journey to the last great childhood of the South, a time when bicycles were a magic carpet that could take a child wherever she wanted to go. The joy of this novella is how easily I slip between the pages and live the adventures with Oliver and Olivia. Sibling love. Kindness. Good intentions gone awry and good deeds fraught with danger. This story echos with my past, and the past of many now homeless Southerners. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to put it down.”
Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestseller, is the author of over 80 books in multiple genres
“Mandy Haynes effortlessly and brilliantly writes children, a feat at which many writers struggle and fail. In Oliver, her uniquely, lyrical voice sings the reader smack dab into this heartwarming story inhabited by Oliver and Olivia, a brother and sister whose special bond is symbiotically balanced upon the other’s abilities and perspectives. I dare you to not fall immediately in love with these characters, and fret over them as I did as they make their journey through this poignant summer from long ago.”
I decided to self-publish mainly because I am too impatient to do all the things you need to do to sell yourself to an agent, and three different indie publishers I’d corresponded with weren’t the right fit. Then it hit me – I could publish them myself. I’d already spent the money on editors. I’d had the book critiqued by one of my heroes, Suzanne Hudson, and I had a group of readers asking, “When can I get your book?” So, I started a publishing company, titled, Three Dogs Write Press and got busy. It’s been a great learning experience.
I have two collections of short stories published now, one novel in the first draft stages, and a second novel in its rough draft stage.
I do write about some heavy subjects. But to me, those stories are important. I hope that I give the reader a satisfying ending and if they’ve struggled with some of the issues my characters face, I hope I give them closure. At least a feeling of hope and the knowledge that they aren’t alone.
A former teacher and journalist, Johnnie Bernhard’s passion is reading and writing. Her work(s) have appeared in national and international publications, including: University of Michigan Graduate Studies Publications, Southern Literary Review, Houston Style Magazine, The Mississippi Press, the international Word Among Us, and the Cowbird-NPR production on small town America. Her entry, “The Last Mayberry,” received over 7,500 views, nationally and internationally. Her first novel, A Good Girl, is a 2017 finalist in the national Kindle Book Awards, a Pen/Bingham nominee, and shortlisted for the 2015 Wisdom-Faulkner international Writing Competition. It was chosen for panel discussion at both the 2017 Louisiana and Mississippi Book Festivals. In 2018, A Good Girl was nominated by the Institute of Mississippi Arts and Letters for Fiction of the Year and accepted into the Texas Center for the Book permanent collection. Her second novel, How We Came to Be, was released in 2018. It is a finalist in the 2017 Wisdom-Faulkner international Writing Competition. Chosen for panel discussion by the 2018 Louisiana Book Festival and the Mississippi Book Festival, it has received stellar reviews, including being named a “Must Read” by Southern Writers Magazine and listed as a 2018 Summer Reading List choice by Deep South Magazine. It was awarded the Summerall Book Prize by Lamar University in 2019. Johnnie’s third novel, Sister of the Undertow was named a book of the month by the international book club, The Pulpwood Queens. It was a featured novel for panel discussion at the 2020 AWP and chosen as Best of the University Presses, 100 Books by Literary Hub and the Association of University Presses. Johnnie was selected to be a speaker for the TEDWomen 2020: Fearless series.
“Johnnie Bernhard pierces the soul of sisterhood, revealing the poignant paradox that familial love does not always come naturally, but it always comes. Sisters is a heart-wrenching yet triumphant story about conquering your fate and learning to play the cards you were dealt.” –Galveston Monthly
“Johnnie Bernhard has become one of the South’s finest writers. Sisters of the Undertow is a book you can’t and won’t put down, a story of sisterhood, love, and loss.” –Allen Mendenhall, Southern Literary Review
HOW WE CAME TO BE
“In How We Came to Be, Bernhard delivers a poignant exploration of life as a modern American woman. This complex story examines the many emotional layers of relationships, mothering, sisterhood, and the eternal search for self-worth in a society obsessed with the superficial. Within these pages, readers will experience love and loss, grace and redemption, forgiveness and faith. A heartwarming read that proves family comes in many forms.”
–Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of Perennials
A GOOD GIRL
“One of the great pleasures of reviewing books is that of discovering rare jewels, especially those written by up-and-coming Mississippi writers. One of 2017’s best will surely be A Good Girl by author Johnnie Bernhard, who as much as any writer since Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy, offers a breathtaking tour of the human heart in conflict with itself, desperately searching for grace and redemption in the face of unremitting loss.”
–Jim Frazier, The Sun Herald
“A Good Girl is a raw, real and relatable gift to the soul on every level. Ms. Bernhard’s writing is so descriptive, reading this book is truly a visceral experience. One can not help but reflect on their own family legacy and life journey. Prepare to be rivetted by this heart- breaking, yet healing story about family, self discovery and learning how to love.”
–Eva Steortz, Vita Creative and The Walt Disney Company
Smith’s debut collection consists of 80 poems and several short stories. It is a meditation on miscommunication, childhood, Northeastern vs. Southern American culture, family, nature vs. technology, and the imagination of the introvert.
“From sonnets to somnambulance, from algae to oxytocin, from manatees to Manhattan, Smith rides the riptides of memory’s fictions and frictions in this prolific debut. The Butterfly Bruises is a gem mine of poems and stories that write through grief and growing up, personal and planetary survival, with words rugged and glistening like seashell shards.”
-Poetry Critic and Scholar, Professor Robert Dewhurst
An assembly of deep probing, masterfully crafted prose and poetry for the discerning reader. The tone is insightful, the use of language impressively beyond the pale. Thought provoking and at times seemingly personal and confessional, the contents of Palmer Smith’s The Butterfly Bruises is breathtaking as her subjects range from a mirror reflection to the death of the family dog to musings on how butterflies survive in winter. This is a book to savor; extraordinary, creative writing that reads as a series of vignettes written from a fresh perspective. A list of eleven discussion questions at the book’s end for book clubs and readers will prompt your powers of reflection, and there is much to reflect upon in this resonant, meditative book! I thoroughly enjoyed it and will certainly revisit its pages.
Meet Palmer Smith
Passionate about writing and poetry, Palmer
is a current English MA student.
Her poetry and short stories have appeared in:
Refresh Magazine
The Crime Yard
Newark Library Literary Journal
The Online Journal for Person-Centered Dermatology
Claire Fullerton is the multiple award winning author of 4 traditionally published novels and one novella. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines, including Celtic Life International, and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. Website: https://www.clairefullerton.com/
Me: Tell us about Little Tea.
Claire: Little Tea concerns Southern culture, female friendships, family tragedy, and healing the past. Little Tea is actually the nickname of a character because Southerners are fond of nicknames! The story is a celebration of those deep friendships that last a lifetime–their shared history, loyalty, unconditional acceptance, and the importance of a sense of humor.
Me: Which scene was the most difficult to write and why?
Claire: There’s a particular scene in Little Tea that is pivotal in the story. I’d never had such an experience, so I used my imagination and employed all senses. The scene came together for me when I incorporated how the atmosphere sounded.
Me: How does the Southern setting influence your story?
Claire: Southern culture is part and parcel to Little Tea. I’ll go as far to say had the story been set anywhere else, the events couldn’t have happened as they did.
Me: Describe your journey to becoming an author.
Claire: It began for me with keeping a daily journal from a very young age. I kept a journal when I lived on the west coast of Ireland. When I returned to America, I wrote the book that became Dancing to an Irish Reel from what was in my journal. It’s been a steady build from there that includes 4 novels, one novella, and a recently completed manuscript.
Me: Who has been your greatest influence in becoming a writer?
Claire: All the fearless writers who dare to write in the first person! Beyond that, I admire Donna Tartt, Pat Conroy, Ron Rash, Anne Rivers Siddons, Billy O’Callaghan, and many of the Irish authors.
Claire Fullerton Author 