Posts by Gin Phillips
A Few Bits of an Alabama Childhood
My upcoming novel, Family Law, is set in the time and place of my own childhood—the ’70s and ’80s in Montgomery, Al. I haven’t written a distinctly Southern novel since my first book, The Well and the Mine, came out in 2008. As I get ready for this book’s release, I wanted to spend some…
Read MoreNew Novel in May
I submitted Family Law to my publishers nearly two years ago, but–thanks to the pandemic–it’s taken a while to become an actual hold-it-in-your-hands book. Not that I’m complaining: I didn’t want my book to come out in this past year. It was worth waiting. Set in Alabama in the early ’80s, Family Law follows a young lawyer,…
Read MoreHalloween
Of all the things I love about October, the costumes at our Halloween party might top the list. This year’s theme was THREE, and we had some logistical issues. Ten minutes before the party started, I realized the two heads I planned to attach to my son’s Three Musketeer costume–so he would be all three…
Read MoreThis Is What We Do On Our Last Day Before School Starts
Fanta of the Opera
Read MorePaperbacks Out Now
Paperbacks everywhere…a different cover in Canada, the U.K., and the US!
Read MoreOff to See the Wizard
Sometimes I think I’m wasted as a novelist: I could maybe do theme meals full-time. For small children. It’s sort of a niche market. But below is our dinner before going to see The Wizard of Oz at our local theater. We’ve got Tin Manwiches, Emerald veggies, potato tornados, Over the Rainbow Sherbet, Toto-Toast with…
Read MoreFierce Kingdom Around the World
I find that when I’m trying to finish up a manuscript–more on that later–blogging and social media in general seem to fall by the wayside. (Also on the fall-by-the-wayside list: Haircuts, dentist appointments, lunch dates with friends, all forms of house maintenance, including lightbulb replacement.) Well, I’ve finished up a draft and sent it off…
Read MoreCool Things From Amsterdam
So there are a lot of cool things that come from seeing your book published in different countries–different titles, different covers, different marketing–but these little guys from The Netherlands are at the top of the list. They’re called flip books, and they’re a low-tech alternative for reading while traveling. (Standard hardcover also shown for comparison.)…
Read MoreThe Perfect Book Club
Let me start with this: I’ve been burned by book clubs. This goes back more than a decade–alright, nearly two decades–when I tried my first (and only) book club and recommended Roddy Doyle’s The Snapper to a group of a dozen or so women. When we met back a month later, no one had thought…
Read MoreTell Me How It Ends: SPOILER WARNING
Let me tell you the two most common questions I’ve heard in the three weeks since Fierce Kingdom was released: 1) What’s the deal with the movie? 2) What happens at the end of the story? So here goes: First of all, as for the movie, it is not an actual thing yet. There have…
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