Fiction | Chapter 16

A Taste for Murder

Michael Lee West’s latest novel is a mystery of gastronomical proportions

By Tina LoTufo | April 19, 2011

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.

A Killer's Tale

Novelist Madison Smartt Bell explores the nature of violence in The Color of Night

By Maria Browning | April 18, 2011

April 18, 2011 In The Color of Night, acclaimed novelist Madison Smartt Bell offers a glimpse into the mind of a woman who revels in bloodshed. The story begins with a murderous 60s cult modeled on the Manson Family and ends with the horrors of 9/11, as Bell explores the nature of human violence. He will read from The Color of Night on April 18 at 8 p.m. in the Bluff Room on the University of Memphis campus.

The End

Jean Auel talks with Chapter 16 about the long-awaited conclusion to her celebrated Earth’s Children® series

By Tina LoTufo | April 6, 2011

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.

Anguish and Anticipation

Bestselling novelist Amy Greene describes the torture of waiting for a book to be published

By Amy Greene | March 28, 2011

March 28, 2011 Waiting for my first novel to be released was a little bit like torture, and I could almost believe that getting a book deal had been a dream. In the three years between the day my agent sold the book and the day it was officially published, there were two rounds of edits, followed by copyediting, then proofreading, and, finally, months of behind-the-scenes production and marketing that had nothing to do with me. After years of blood, sweat, and tears, my novel was out of my hands. Bloodroot would have a life of its own, and all I could do was watch.

Victoria's Other Secret

Michael Sims peeks beneath the petticoats of nineteenth-century detective fiction

By Faye Jones | March 16, 2011

March 16, 2011 The Victorians were a resourceful group: once they realized how absolutely engrossing readers found crime stories, they invented lady detectives, though the actual gumshoes of the age were uniformly male. In The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime, Michael Sims has collected a fascinating group of Victorian stories featuring female detectives and offers an intriguing analysis of these ancestors of Miss Marple. Sims will discuss The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime on March 19 at 1 p.m. at BookMan/BookWoman in Nashville.

Making the Words Disappear

Richard Bausch talks with Chapter 16 about the art of fiction

By Maria Browning | March 15, 2011

March 15, 2011 Richard Bausch has won wide acclaim for his eleven novels and is regarded as a master of the contemporary short story. He talks with Chapter 16 about his newest collection of stories, Something is Out There (out next month in paperback), and about his own approach to the art of fiction. Bausch, who holds the Moss Chair of Excellence at the University of Memphis, will appear at the sixteenth Biennial Conference on Southern Literature in Chattanooga April 14-16.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker