The Body and the Blood

My friend Michael Lister had a book launch party this evening at the lovely home of John Robert and Kaye Middlemas. I stopped by to support him and see some friends I don't get to see often enough, and it produced wonderful and heart-touching moments.

Michael was gracious and shared the spotlight by thanking me for my support for the arts and for his efforts over the years, and many people came up to thank me for the story and column I wrote about Barbara Clemons' passing recently.

But this was Michael's night, and well deserved. He was introduced by John Robert and by Bettina Mead, and he spoke about his calling as an artist and author, and he read from his new novel (the review for which you can find here.) Congrats, my friend, and keep up the good work.

VIDEO: A Doll's House

Check it out: I spent part of Tuesday evening with the cast and crew of Gulf Coast Community College's new stage production, "A Doll's House." Here is a behind-the-scenes video I shot:



I plan to attend the Saturday night show. Maybe I'll see you there?

SCORE! (Story accepted for anthology)

Just got a contract in the e-mail. A story has been accepted for a horror anthology to be published early 2011. Details to follow when I can say more. (No, this is not the Big Time. It'll only pay for a couple of Coram's burger specials. But it's still a Good Thing and Makes Me Happy.)

To plot and to plod: Writers, zombies share an obsession

(The following was my Sunday column for The News Herald. See photos and video here.)

PANAMA CITY — I was down among my people last weekend: the evil and the good, the destroyers and the creators, the dead walkers and the live writers. The zombies had assured the public that they would not bite; the authors made no such promises.

The morning of Oct. 29, the Bay County Public Library launched its inaugural Local Books Alive with presentations from several full-time authors who make this area their home. The meeting room was packed; I counted 63 folks during the time I was able to attend.

By that afternoon, the inaugural Panama City Zombie Walk participants were packed together in a similar fashion but dripping with considerably more corn syrup and food coloring than the writers had been. I’d estimate more than a hundred walkers shambled from the Marina Civic Center northward on Harrison Avenue as the sun sank low.

“They say it’s dead downtown,” said an event organizer speaking into a bullhorn. “Today it is.”

There were bride and groom zombies, punk and redneck zombies, trumpet player and food service zombies, pregnant zombies and little kid zombies, nurse zombies and superhero zombies. All walks of walkers were represented, and the street was lined with the uninfected shooting photos and video with their cameras and phones. Many of the undead lingered around the McDonald’s downtown, sipping sodas and munching fries.

However, the pale shamblers dragging themselves into the library early the next morning had more on their minds than brains as the second day of Local Books Alive began. Novelists, poets, historians, military buffs, children’s writers and more shared their work with readers and networked with one another.

Throughout the room, authors shared stories, sold books, and talked with browsers. Michael Goldcraft explored the challenges of horror fiction; poet Sharla Shultz caught up with old friend Martha Spiva, who is in turn helping her husband Ernest prepare his memoir, “Growing up on Grace.”

T. Marie Smith launched her literary career that morning, selling the very first copy of her very first book; meanwhile Ken Tucker continued his success story — a memoir about his time as a B-17 tailgunner in World War II is going into its third printing. Both are new writers late in life; across the aisle was “Princess” Yterie Milliona DeValt, 8, who was there to market her self-titled activity book.

Any way you look at it:

Brains.

REVIEW: Michael Lister's 'The Body and the Blood'

WEWAHITCHKA — After exploring other characters and locales in his recent titles, “Thunder Beach” and the critically acclaimed “Double Exposure,” author Michael Lister returns to his original mystery series about prison chaplain John Jordan in his latest novel, “The Body and the Blood.”

Jordan is an ex-cop and a recovering alcoholic who is working to reconcile with his estranged wife. He’s flawed, but trying to fix his problems. He’s a man of faith who struggles to reconcile grace and justice while working with the worst offenders the state can gather into one place — fictional Pottersville Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison situated in the piney woods of rural Northwest Florida.

Lister lives in Wewahitchka, where many residents work at nearby Gulf Correctional Institution, a model for PCI and its environs. In the early 1990s, Lister was the youngest chaplain within the state Department of Corrections, and for almost a decade, he served as a contract, staff or senior chaplain at three prison facilities in the Panhandle.

Lister further identifies himself with the small towns, deep woods and river swamps of North Florida. It is one reason he is proud to be considered a “regional writer,” a topic he covered in an inspirational address at last weekend’s Local Books Alive event at the Bay County Public Library.

This unique combination of spiritual calling and life experiences led to Lister’s first novel, “Power in the Blood” (1997), which introduced Jordan, his sealed-off world and sense of personal isolation. Jordan seeks to save the lives, if not necessarily the souls, of some of the state’s hardest hearts. And Lister realistically takes us with Jordan through the gates and looping razor wire into the claustrophobic and dangerous depths of a massive prison.

As the new story unfolds, inmate Justin Menge is found dead; he was a key witness against an accused rapist. The suspect list fills fast, but the mystery is great: The dead man’s cell was locked, and the body is found across the room from the pool of blood, lying on unstained sheets.

It’s a compelling locked-room whodunit, with personal issues connecting Jordan emotionally to the crime. There also is an exploration of identity that takes many forms as the various characters move through the storyline, not the least of which is Jordan’s own struggle with who he is and who he wants to be.

Jordan is tough but not mean; he has a strong moral compass, but often fails to live up to his own standards. He knows the dangers of his chosen path, but braves them for the sake of the humanity he wants to believe is still inside even those who have fallen the farthest — because, if they can be saved, then maybe he can too.
___
This review appeared in today's Entertainer insert in The News Herald and online here.

Full disclosure: Michael is a friend of mine, and his imprint published my novel, 'Welcome to the Dawning of a New Century.' He has been an inspiration to me and many, many writers in this region. You may want to take that into account when digesting this review, or you could take my word for it: If you enjoy mysteries and crime novels, and you appreciate tales of believers struggling in a harsh world, you'll like this book.

Photo Blog: Images from the Local Books Alive

Saturday was spent in the company of my peers at the Local Books Alive! event held at the Bay County Public Library. Here's the story in photos:

Cate ("Kathy") Nobel arranges her books in the early a.m. Behind her to the left is Ed Offley, a former News Herald colleague who now writes about military history.

Dean "Deano" Minton displays his debut novel, "Universal Essence."

Jack Saunders catches up on his reading.

Ken Tucker poses with me. Ken is a local who served as a B-17 bomber tailgunner in WWII and wrote his memoir of the war with the help of his daughter, Wanda, who took this photo. I interviewed him for the paper several years ago.

Marlene Womack, who writes a local history column for the News Herald, has several books of local history in print.

I took Marie Smith's photo right after she sold and signed her first book. She was ecstatic. I remember how that felt when it happened to me.

Michael Brim (Goldcraft) talks to browsers. The woman in green had just bought my collection of short stories, which she chose after hearing me describe the final tale as "Jack Kerouac versus the Zombies." She had a poem in the Postcards from Pottersville (volume 1).

Author Sharla Shults and old friend Martha Spiva catch up with each other. Sharla has just published a collection of poetry; Martha is helping her husband, Ernest (former Rutherford High School principal) publish his memoir, "Growing up on Grace," for which I'm writing a blurb.

Nathan brought me a copy of the latest "Meow" 'zine (Samhain Edition), which has a poem by him and flash fiction by me on facing pages. It also contains an ad for his band's new CD.

 

The lovely Bettina Mead, spokeswoman for the library and organizer of Local Books Alive!, poses with Ken Tucker's other daughter, Barbara.

Be sure to keep an eye open for the February 2011 main event for Books Alive!, which will feature author Carl Haissen.

Peace.

Photo/Video Blog: At the Zombie Walk

I braved the chance that something terrible would happen and went downtown to record the inaugural Zombie Walk in Panama City on Friday. Here's the video:



It was a fun time. My kids got into the effort, as seen in this picture of the three of us taken by News Herald photographer Andrew Wardlow:

Andrew also caught me in the process of being "attacked" during the video shoot:

For more on the event, check out this report and this photo gallery. I'll add some more photos I shot later in an edit.