Wiley Cash's Blog, page 3

Elvis and Faulkner Slept Here, A Lot.

What do Elvis Presley and William Faulkner have in common? Me, apparently.

As Advertised: Fairhope, Alabama

The first time I ever heard of Fairhope, Alabama, I was the at the South Carolina Book Festival, where author Sonny Brewer was discussing his recently published first novel The Poet of Tolstoy Park. Sonny described Fairhope as an edenic paradise set on the banks of Mobile Bay, replete with old oaks, Spanish moss, and a thoughtful, progressive community of foodies, artists, and outdoor enthusiasts. People tend to speak in hyperbole about places they love, so I assumed Sonny was doing the same. Well, I arrived in Fairhope last night, and I can tell you I will believe every word I hear Sonny Brewer say for the rest of my life. This place is incredible.

The Best Day Ever?

Was today the best day ever? I don't know. Maybe. Let's see.

This afternoon, I arrived in Jackson, Mississippi and headed straight for WMPN 91.3, the local NPR affiliate, where I was interviewed by Ezra Wall, host of Mississippi Edition and quite possibly the nicest guy I've ever met. On the way into the studio, we bumped into Aunjanue Ellis, an actress you may recognize from The Help and the television show The Mentalist.

On the Road Again in Wheeling, West Virginia

About a year and a half ago, I took several of my creative writing students to the Ohio County Public Library for a reading by Jaimy Gordon, author of Lord of Misrule, a novel that had recently won the 2010 National Book Award. It was a rare opportunity for us to meet such an esteemed author, and I think my students got a kick out of it. I know I did.

Where This Thing Began

A Land More Kind Than Home is set in North Carolina, but that's not where the idea behind the novel came from, and that's not where I wrote it. Both the idea for the novel and the desk that I wrote it at came from Lafayette, Louisiana.

Celebrating with Sinners in the Holy City

Charleston, South Carolina is a city that's been memorialized in some of this country's finest literature, so I won't even attempt to explain its beauty here. But I will say that its residents include some incredibly nice, good-looking, kind-hearted people. At last night's event at Blue Bicycle Books, I met up with some old friends, some friends of friends, and some new readers, and it was a pleasure seeing everyone of them.

Working for the Weekend in Pawley's Island

I'm rarely late to anything in my life, but this morning I was late. The worst thing about my lateness was that it cut into the time that I got to have lunch with some very fun and interesting people at Kimbel's at Wachesaw Plantation in Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina. The group was meeting for the weekly event known as the Moveable Feast, a lunch that features authors, historians, and entertainers. But I was happy to learn that Linda, the event's organizer, was kind enough to step in and read the opening scene of A Land More Kind Than Home to the audience. I arrived and apologized for being late, and I also apologized for breaking every speed limit between Charleston and Murrell's Inlet on my way there.