Road Trip

Most of my traveling has been what I’d call destination oriented. I travel to get from point A to B and don’t make any stops at point C or D. Recently, my traveling plans included a road trip though. Specifically, a Blues road trip.  

Highway 61 is often called the Blues Highway because many famous musicians traveled the road between New Orleans and Memphis on their way to becoming great. I’d say Memphis is the city of blues and barbeque, and we had both in abundance our two days there. No trip to Memphis would be complete without a trek to Elvis Presley’s Graceland, and it was on our agenda. After our visit though, I couldn’t help but notice that from that moment on, every wall of every place had at least one Elvis photo. Is that what they mean by the king still being alive?

What I really enjoy is a good story, especially if it is told by a good storyteller. After Graceland, we visited Sun Studios, and there I found a storyteller that didn’t require me to wear ear phones. I enjoyed hearing stories that didn’t read like an encyclopedia entry. We also visited the Rock and Soul Museum and the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. We listened to great blues music at Rum Boogie Café and B.B. King’s Blues Club, and we ate great barbeque at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous and Pig on Beale. We even had fried strawberries at Johnny G’s Creole Kitchen (Tastes like beignets filled with a strawberry and drizzled with chocolate and powdered sugar).

Another one of those stories that I enjoyed during our visit was the Peabody hotel. Every day at 11:00 the ducks exit their roof top palace, walk around the roof twice, and enter the second elevator. They then take the elevator down to the lobby where they walk around the fountain twice before entering the water. They swim and play all day until 5:00 where they walk around the fountain twice and then return to their palace via the second elevator. I’d say these are some pretty spoiled (not to mention well-trained) ducks.

Shack Up Inn

Our road trip continued to Clarksdale, Mississippi to the crossroads where blues musician Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil to play the guitar better. We visited the Delta Blues Museum there as well as the small downtown area (including Cat Head Delta Blue and Folk Art) before making our way to Hopson Plantation and the Shack Up Inn. We spent the night in an old sharecropper’s cabin just like the blue’s musicians sing about.

The Corner's Inn

Our trip continued to Vicksburg where we added a little civil war history to the mix along with several blues markers that dot highway 61. We stayed at The Corner’s Inn on the river (Yes, we went from the sharecropper’s cabin to inside the plantation within twenty-four hours. I wonder if there is a song about that?). Vicksburg is a beautiful town, and I highly recommend the great food at Rusty’s restaurant in town as well as The Attic for wonderful art and Lorelei books, because, well, I just can’t help myself.

We made one last stop in Crystal Springs at Louise’s BBQ (Because we hadn’t had enough already) and the Robert Johnson museum before heading home.

Not too bad for my first road trip. For me, it’s all about the story ideas, and I have a whole slew of ideas now as I sit back down and work on that next book.

Book Signing

The much anticipated first book signing took place this weekend. My close friends and family have read and evaluated the book, so it was time to get my book into the hands of people who don’t know me. Because of course, my family can’t really say, “No, I’m not really that interested in reading it.” Just like telling your squeaky voice niece that she can sing, reading your relative’s book is a requirement.

There is something unnerving about sitting and waiting for people to approach you so that you can convince them that your book is worth the purchase and read though. How does a person go about choosing a book?  And for that matter, does everyone you approach actually read books?

The book signing went well even with my nervousness. I went with a goal of how many books I wished to sell, and I left having sold exactly that number. It was a great day to have a book signing at LA Cajun with the singer Tete Deur playing music from his new CD on the inside of the store as well as another author signing books opposite me. The store attracted quite a crowd that day.

One of my students came out to have her book signed.

Many people I know came out to see me and I’m grateful for everyone who has bought my book, but for the first time I had the experience of trying to get strangers to read my book. I actually look forward to talking to more potential readers.

Now it is time to work on Muddy Grave. The sequel is still in the works, and hopefully soon I will be sitting down to sign and convince others to read both books.

Tete Deur playing inside LA Cajun.