Readings and Events

Romance in New Orleans, Pt. 2

I enjoyed meeting with members of the Southern Louisiana Romance Writers of America chapter here in New Orleans last weekend. Thanks especially to Chris Smith, super librarian, for arranging the space and etc.

I was surprised to learn that not all the writers there were romance writers; there were also writers of thrillers, horrors, paranormals, detective stories, and young adult fiction.

Here’s a view of them at work:

SOLA Romance 1

And here’s me talking about something:

SOLA Romance 2

And signing a book for author Pamela Kopfler:

SOLA Romance 3

Book Signing at the Jackson Assembly Antiques and Art Show 2

Here are some pictures from my book signing today in Jackson, La.

This is Dan, the Jackson policeman, directing traffic for the Antiques Show:

Cop

Here’s the hall where the show was held:

Jackson Assembly

And what do you know! It’s my first grade school teacher, Ms. Shirley Legget:

Shirley Legget

Ms. Legget and I haven’t seen each other since I was in the first grade. The weird thing is that neither of us has changed in forty years.

And look who else! The barber who used to cut my hair when I was a boy:

Barber

He hasn’t changed, either.

The old Jackson bank:

Bank

What’s left of Centenary College. The guide told me it was the largest college in the South before the Civil War. I know, I didn’t believe it, either.

Centenary

Bobbie’s Drive-In. They were working on the ice cream machine when I was there. Yes, that’s right: the very same ice cream machine as when I was a boy.

Bobbie's

Au revoir, Jackson!

Jackson

Book Signing at the Jackson Assembly Antiques and Art Show

I’m looking forward to revisiting Jackson, LA, my boyhood home, for a book signing this Saturday at the annual Jackson Assembly Antiques and Art Show.

Jackson is a town of about 4,000 in East Feliciana Parish. It takes its name from General Andrew Jackson, who’s said to have stopped there at Thompson’s Creek on his way home after his victory over the British at the 1815 Battle of New Orleans.

Here, oddly, is the photo that Google spits up when you type in Jackson, Louisiana. I’d have to say it seems about right, though.

Jackson

Jackson is also known as being the home of East Louisiana State Hospital, a large, plantation-style mental hospital that opened in 1848 as the State Insane Asylum. It continues to operate there today, although on a much smaller scale.

elahospital

At City Lit Books, Chicago

Here I am at City Lit Books in Chicago, after a duo-reading with Christine Sneed (“Little Known Facts”). I forgot to take a photo during the event so I rushed back after dinner but the bookstore had closed.

I did do a reading there, though. Really I did.

City Lit Books

Thanks to City Lit owner Teresa Kirschbraun, super book-master Javier Ramirez, and author Christine Sneed for arranging the event.