Month: September 2017

  • A Dwelling Place

    A Dwelling Place

      Readers often ask me how I come up with the names for my characters. Some of them, come from some deep cave within me, a place so unfamiliar to even me that I cannot possibly identify the reasons why I chose that particular name[..]
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  • The Spirit of a Place

    The Spirit of a Place

    But the spirit of place in a novel is not just an inert backdrop or a straightforward illustrator of emotions; it is part of the humanity at the centre of the endeavour. - Philip Henscher    Some writers claim that their writing is just a[..]
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  • Lord God, Have Mercy.

    Lord God, Have Mercy.

      It had been a difficult week. Not a week from hell, but hard enough. First came the call from someone house sitting in a panic because the washing machine was flooding the upstairs. "Uh, I'm like 3,000 miles away. Call somebody local," I wisely[..]
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  • Begging for Tampons

    Begging for Tampons

      I was digging through the trash can outside the CVS store when a tiny voice called out, "Can I help you with that?" Looking over my shoulder I eyed a young woman pushing a bike. Her reddish hair was swept back in a ponytail.[..]
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  • That One Shining Quiet Moment

    That One Shining Quiet Moment

      Two things happened during the award presentation for the Emmys that I simply cannot ignore. The first was the appearance of Sean Spicer. While working out today, I listened as various folks discussed whether Sean Spicer's appearance at the Emmys was a riot in[..]
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  • Friendship Recovered

    Friendship Recovered

    For I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will continue to perfect it   There are some friendships that a person can invest years into only to have them fall by the wayside in a ,matter of weeks[..]
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  • The Stories that Bind Us

    The Stories that Bind Us

      We are holed up here at the house on the lake awaiting Irma.  The patio furniture has been tied down. The boat tied up. The cars have been moved to an open clearing. Water has been put into zip-lock bags and bathtubs. And here[..]
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  • White People’s stories

    White People’s stories

      When the white people tell the stories of black folk, they tell it from their point of view, in the same way victors tell the stories of war. When victors tell the stories of war, they tell stories of bravery and brotherhood; stories of[..]
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  • Where Artists Gather

    Where Artists Gather

    So this is happening Thursday. Returning to my hometown of Columbus, Georgia, where I'll join with Paul Pierce, artistic director of The Springer, & the renowned Garry Pound, artist, to talk about what inspires us and how creativity takes form. This will be my primary[..]
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  • Living Rightly

    Living Rightly

    As you may have heard by now, I'm on book tour. Tonight I'm at HUB CITY Bookstore in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Hub City was named by Southern Living magazine as one of the South's finest bookstores and I always try to get up this way[..]
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