Dream Team for Audiobook of Family Law
For a long time, I’ve thought that if I could have anyone read the audio of FAMILY LAW, it would be Joshilyn Jackson. She’s a delightful human being, a great writer, and a voice actor who makes you drive past your exit on the Interstate because you’re so caught up in her storytelling. So–you might…
Read MoreEaster, Riding in Trucks, and other Dangerous Things
Childhood memory #18: Every Easter we went out to a family friend’s house in the country, and everything about those afternoons was dream-like—the spread of the potluck dishes across the picnic tables, the horseback rides through the sprawling yard, the egg hunt with dozens of screaming children—but my favorite part was always the snake hunt. There’d…
Read MoreTwo Things That Brought Me A Lot of Joy
A little over a month until the release of FAMILY LAW on May 4th! We’re getting so close…and in celebration, here are a few more 1980’s memories. 16)I used to climb the magnolia trees in my friend Elizabeth’s yard. We’d climb as far as we could up through the branches, and we spun stories as we…
Read MoreBear Bryant and Tadpoles
Still working my way down a very long list of childhood memories in keeping with the place and the time period–Alabama in the 1980s–of my next novel, Family Law. 14) I was almost eight years old when Bear Bryant died, and I remember standing in the middle of my grandparents’ braided rug, my grandfather leaning forward…
Read MoreMemories of Roly-Polys and Swimming Pools
And a few more memories of childhood in Alabama (I’m past a dozen now)…. 12) My neighbor’s backyard had the feel of a fantasy. He had a swimming pool and a fig tree. In my own backyard, we had muscadines and scuppernongs, and I would sit under the thick ceiling of vines and pluck them one…
Read MoreMore ’80s memories–Dad edition
#9–My father would take us crappie fishing at night, which was as much about the snacks to me as the fishing. We’d ride out to the middle of the lake, wind whipping hair and jackets, and there was always something ecstatic about that rush of wind. When we’d stop and drop our lines, we could…
Read MoreWhy I Loved Gunsmoke
Childhood Memory #8 I watched Gunsmoke reruns with my grandfather most days—he loved everything about it, and I loved Miss Kitty, the beautiful owner of the Long Branch Saloon (and also maybe brothel?) Plenty of afternoons we would act out the episode once we turned off the television, with me playing Kitty and my grandfather…
Read MoreWhy I Sometimes Act Like I Was Born in the Great Depression
Another batch of memories in preparation for FAMILY LAW, which is set in the world of my own childhood. My grandmother turned 105 this week, and so these are all her. She’s at the center of many of my warmest, best memories. 5. My grandparents did not believe in wasting money on snacks during car trips.…
Read MoreA 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 More