Alan Gratz talks with Chapter 16 about Fantasy Baseball, his latest novel for children
April 26, 2011 A breathtakingly diverse assortment of characters culled from fairy tales, nursery rhymes, mythology, folktales, children’s literature, and even Manga inhabits Fantasy Baseball by Knoxville children’s author Alan Gratz. It’s a fast-paced adventure, a thrilling come-from-behind sports story, an artistic tour de force, and a heck of a fun read.
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Michael Lee West’s latest novel is a mystery of gastronomical proportions
April 19, 2011 Set in and around Charleston’s historic district, Michael Lee West’s Gone with a Handsomer Man mixes candy-colored row houses, crab cakes, and high humidity with betrayal, greed, and long-lost love. The result is a bittersweet confection that’s lighter than a praline and smoother than a peach martini. West will discuss Gone with a Handsomer Man at Books-A-Million in Nashville on April 21 at 7 p.m.
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Jean Auel talks with Chapter 16 about the long-awaited conclusion to her celebrated Earth’s Children® series
April 6, 2011 This month Jean Auel finally brings to a close the series she began thirty-one years ago with The Clan of the Cave Bear. In The Land of Painted Caves, Auel concludes the saga of Ayla, her Ice Age protagonist, and Ayla’s adopted people as they struggle to survive in an often hostile environment while learning to define and maintain bonds of family and community. On April 13 at 6:15 p.m., Auel will read from her new book at a reception hosted by the Nashville Public Library as part of the Salon at 615 series.
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Popular blogger Ree Drummond tells the story of her move from L.A. to Oklahoma
February 24, 2011 Ree Drummond’s new book, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story, is both a memoir and the backstory to The Pioneer Woman, one of the most popular blogs on the web. Today Drummond talks with Chapter 16 about the book, which Columbia Pictures is developing as a star vehicle for Nashville native Reese Witherspoon.
Read moreWhen you come from a family who never heard of the Southern storytelling tradition, your only recourse is literature
February 2, 2011 Unlike most publishing houses, we accepted unsolicited manuscripts, and it was my job to wade through the slush pile and pluck out the undiscovered gems. At least half of them turned out to be memoirs of the authors’ rural childhoods. Although there were times when I thought I would go mad if I had to read one more account of hog-killing time, I wrote scores of rejection letters in which I tried to soften the blow with assurances that their children and grandchildren would treasure these priceless written histories for years to come. I doubt the recipients were much comforted, but I was sincere. In fact, I was envious.
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