Allen Johnson Jr.'s Blog
March 17, 2014
Southern Food
My grandfather loved to eat and ate like a European, piling up savory combinations of Southern cooking on the back of his fork which he kept in his left hand. My grandparents had a cook named Maggie Maccadory, a birdlike, tiny black woman who couldn’t have weighed a hundred pounds. Maggie was an artist who up until
about 1940 still cooked on a wood stove. In the tradition of most Southern cooks, most vegetables were overcooked with salt pork (“side meat”), and meats were well-done and seasoned with lots of pepper, but somehow after several home-grown vegetables had appeared, with corn pudding, fried chicken, tomatoes and onions in oil and vinegar, and homemade biscuits with country butter, my plate would resemble a work of art.
Our Southern Food Pinterest Board
about 1940 still cooked on a wood stove. In the tradition of most Southern cooks, most vegetables were overcooked with salt pork (“side meat”), and meats were well-done and seasoned with lots of pepper, but somehow after several home-grown vegetables had appeared, with corn pudding, fried chicken, tomatoes and onions in oil and vinegar, and homemade biscuits with country butter, my plate would resemble a work of art.
Our Southern Food Pinterest Board
February 24, 2014
An Endorsement from Wayne Pacelle
“Allen Johnson Jr. is an engaging writer who goes beyond storytelling for the mere purpose of entertaining. Yes, his novels are certainly entertaining, but he uses his masterful storytelling skills to help teach young readers important life lessons.”
– Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States
– Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States
January 15, 2014
Blackwater Novels Introduces New Line of Adventure Stories for Young Readers
Posted on PR Newswire: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releas...
My Brother’s Story
Written by Allen Johnson Jr.
Illustrated by Kelley McMorris
ISBN 978-1-933725-37-6
220 Pages ~ Hardback ~ Retail $14.99
NASHVILLE, TENN. – My Brother’s Story, by Allen Johnson Jr., is the first of three adventure stories from Blackwater Novels (http://blackwaternovels.com), to be released by Premium Press America beginning January 2014.
Readers of all ages, especially the adventuresome type, are invited to enter the Blackwater Novels and return to an earlier time when children might explore a hidden grave, sleep in a tree-house, listen to the critters in the swamp, catch a fish, go to sleep by the embers of a camp fire, or blow up a toilet with a cherry bomb. Experience the fun of getting into trouble and the magic and mystery of nature, in the Blackwater Novels. You may never want to leave.
The Blackwater Novels are set in the 1930s along the fictional Blackwater River and Blackwater Swamp near the fictional town of Turpentine, Georgia and in the countryside near Birmingham, Alabama. The books follow the lives and the families of identical twins, Will and Johnny Jennison, Raddiker Fox and Abraham Lincoln Fraiser—known as Linc—a black man who lives deep in the Blackwater Swamp.
My Brother’s Story is the first of three novels. It introduces identical twins Johnny and Will who are orphaned and separated as toddlers. Johnny is adopted by an abusive aunt in Tennessee; Will is adopted by a loving, affluent couple who live in the country near Birmingham, Alabama. When he grows into boyhood, Johnny, the abused twin, runs away and is sheltered by a black man who lives deep in the Blackwater Swamp. My Brother’s Story follows the twins’ adventures as they struggle to reunite.
Author Allen Johnson Jr. first published My Brother’s Story a decade ago, but the publisher folded just as the book was schedule for release. Johnson since spent his time expanding the Blackwater Novels adventures with two more novels The Dead House and A Nest of Snakes that will be released later in 2014.
Legendary Storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham said of My Brother’s Story, “Young readers will meet fun characters whose adventures are marked by honesty, loyalty, courage, and love. Older readers will applaud a refreshing story that recalls and fosters those ideals.”
Johnson said, “Will and Johnny hold a special place in my heart. They come from an earlier time when young people played outside as I did as a boy in Alabama. Fun was my goal, and the possibility of getting into trouble added spice. Many of the twins’ adventures come from my own experiences…some good, some not so good but all fun!”
Johnson added, “Kelley McMorris has used her remarkable talent to capture the feeling of the times and the look and personalities of Will and Johnny and the other characters. I am very grateful for her amazing illustrations.”
All of the Blackwater Novels are available through the publisher and major wholesale and specialty distributors nationwide.
For more information, or to order your next adventure, go to www.BlackwaterNovels.com; to arrange an interview with the author contact Bette and/or George Schnitzer Jr. by calling 800-891-7323 or email: blackwaternovels@gmail.com.
My Brother’s Story eBook is also available on Amazon.com.
My Brother’s Story
Written by Allen Johnson Jr.
Illustrated by Kelley McMorris
ISBN 978-1-933725-37-6
220 Pages ~ Hardback ~ Retail $14.99
NASHVILLE, TENN. – My Brother’s Story, by Allen Johnson Jr., is the first of three adventure stories from Blackwater Novels (http://blackwaternovels.com), to be released by Premium Press America beginning January 2014.
Readers of all ages, especially the adventuresome type, are invited to enter the Blackwater Novels and return to an earlier time when children might explore a hidden grave, sleep in a tree-house, listen to the critters in the swamp, catch a fish, go to sleep by the embers of a camp fire, or blow up a toilet with a cherry bomb. Experience the fun of getting into trouble and the magic and mystery of nature, in the Blackwater Novels. You may never want to leave.
The Blackwater Novels are set in the 1930s along the fictional Blackwater River and Blackwater Swamp near the fictional town of Turpentine, Georgia and in the countryside near Birmingham, Alabama. The books follow the lives and the families of identical twins, Will and Johnny Jennison, Raddiker Fox and Abraham Lincoln Fraiser—known as Linc—a black man who lives deep in the Blackwater Swamp.
My Brother’s Story is the first of three novels. It introduces identical twins Johnny and Will who are orphaned and separated as toddlers. Johnny is adopted by an abusive aunt in Tennessee; Will is adopted by a loving, affluent couple who live in the country near Birmingham, Alabama. When he grows into boyhood, Johnny, the abused twin, runs away and is sheltered by a black man who lives deep in the Blackwater Swamp. My Brother’s Story follows the twins’ adventures as they struggle to reunite.
Author Allen Johnson Jr. first published My Brother’s Story a decade ago, but the publisher folded just as the book was schedule for release. Johnson since spent his time expanding the Blackwater Novels adventures with two more novels The Dead House and A Nest of Snakes that will be released later in 2014.
Legendary Storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham said of My Brother’s Story, “Young readers will meet fun characters whose adventures are marked by honesty, loyalty, courage, and love. Older readers will applaud a refreshing story that recalls and fosters those ideals.”
Johnson said, “Will and Johnny hold a special place in my heart. They come from an earlier time when young people played outside as I did as a boy in Alabama. Fun was my goal, and the possibility of getting into trouble added spice. Many of the twins’ adventures come from my own experiences…some good, some not so good but all fun!”
Johnson added, “Kelley McMorris has used her remarkable talent to capture the feeling of the times and the look and personalities of Will and Johnny and the other characters. I am very grateful for her amazing illustrations.”
All of the Blackwater Novels are available through the publisher and major wholesale and specialty distributors nationwide.
For more information, or to order your next adventure, go to www.BlackwaterNovels.com; to arrange an interview with the author contact Bette and/or George Schnitzer Jr. by calling 800-891-7323 or email: blackwaternovels@gmail.com.
My Brother’s Story eBook is also available on Amazon.com.
My Brother's Story Review By Kathryn Tucker Windham
Young readers will meet fun characters whose adventures are marked by honesty, loyalty, courage and love. Older readers will applaud a refreshing story that recalls and fosters those ideals. (Kathryn Tucker Windham was a legendary NPR storyteller.)
-- Kathryn Tucker Windham
-- Kathryn Tucker Windham
September 26, 2013
A GIRL’S VIEW OF MY BROTHER'S STORY
By Hastings Crockard
My Brother’s Story gives “getting lost in a book,” a whole new meaning.
Whenever my father took me to a sporting goods store as a young girl, I always found myself begging for a BB gun instead of a University of Alabama cheerleading uniform. In the hot summer months in Alabama, my little sister and I rarely chose playing “dress-up,” over scrambling through creeks searching for crawfish and tadpoles. While I did some of the stereotypical “girly” activities, playing outside with the neighborhood boys was more fun. Setting things on fire, starting “wars” with kids from other neighborhoods, climbing trees and getting into trouble was always more interesting.
I discovered My Brother’s Story at the age of ten at my elementary school’s book fair. I was quick to grow a strong connection with the characters, especially the two boys. I went on adventures with Johnny and Will. I hurt with them, laughed with them, and I loved with them. Looking through my original copy, I found sticky notes clinging to the pages of the book with commentaries on how I felt about certain parts of the story . . . anything from my curiosity about the price of country ham and eggs “back then,” to my being heartbroken by Johnny being mistreated. It is clear that I loved the book very much.
My Brother’s Story illustrates Southern culture beautifully. For those who aren’t from the South, the mysteries of the Southern way of life are revealed. This is a wonderful story that is entertaining and moving. Allen Johnson Jr. has perfected communicating with his readers, young and old.
(Hastings Crockard, now 24, works in a commercial real estate firm in Washington D.C.)
My Brother’s Story gives “getting lost in a book,” a whole new meaning.
Whenever my father took me to a sporting goods store as a young girl, I always found myself begging for a BB gun instead of a University of Alabama cheerleading uniform. In the hot summer months in Alabama, my little sister and I rarely chose playing “dress-up,” over scrambling through creeks searching for crawfish and tadpoles. While I did some of the stereotypical “girly” activities, playing outside with the neighborhood boys was more fun. Setting things on fire, starting “wars” with kids from other neighborhoods, climbing trees and getting into trouble was always more interesting.
I discovered My Brother’s Story at the age of ten at my elementary school’s book fair. I was quick to grow a strong connection with the characters, especially the two boys. I went on adventures with Johnny and Will. I hurt with them, laughed with them, and I loved with them. Looking through my original copy, I found sticky notes clinging to the pages of the book with commentaries on how I felt about certain parts of the story . . . anything from my curiosity about the price of country ham and eggs “back then,” to my being heartbroken by Johnny being mistreated. It is clear that I loved the book very much.
My Brother’s Story illustrates Southern culture beautifully. For those who aren’t from the South, the mysteries of the Southern way of life are revealed. This is a wonderful story that is entertaining and moving. Allen Johnson Jr. has perfected communicating with his readers, young and old.
(Hastings Crockard, now 24, works in a commercial real estate firm in Washington D.C.)
REVIEW OF THE DEAD HOUSE BY NOVELIST, CHARLES GAINES
REVIEW OF THE DEAD HOUSE BY NOVELIST, CHARLES GAINES:
Dear Allen:
What an absolutely magical little book you've written! It is a fine mystery story on one level and a truly lovely and evocative rendition of boyhood on another. The writing is graceful, the characters are ALL vivid and convincing, and your evocation of that time is just flat wonderful. The tree house, the swamp, the Pullman ride to Birmingham, all the marvelous meal scenes, the dead house, the dogs... all of that (and virtually everything else in the book) just comes totally alive on the page.
I can’t tell you how much I loved reading it. I think it's exceptionally fine, in fact, a kind of classic of children’s literature.
Many, many congratulations on it, pal, and thanks for letting me read it.
All Best,
C.
Dear Allen:
What an absolutely magical little book you've written! It is a fine mystery story on one level and a truly lovely and evocative rendition of boyhood on another. The writing is graceful, the characters are ALL vivid and convincing, and your evocation of that time is just flat wonderful. The tree house, the swamp, the Pullman ride to Birmingham, all the marvelous meal scenes, the dead house, the dogs... all of that (and virtually everything else in the book) just comes totally alive on the page.
I can’t tell you how much I loved reading it. I think it's exceptionally fine, in fact, a kind of classic of children’s literature.
Many, many congratulations on it, pal, and thanks for letting me read it.
All Best,
C.
