October 14, 2018

Middle Tennessee – Lots More Than Hee Haw and Honkey Tonks with Linda Thorne

My husband and I chose Tennessee as a new home base without having ever been here. In 2007 we were both out of work and, after some online research, decided to look for jobs in this beautiful state, specifically the Nashville suburb of Hermitage. We started answering ads for jobs in Middle Tennessee. We didn’t use our California address knowing that would be an obstacle when looking for a job on the other side of the country. Instead, we sent resumes with a Nashville post office box and began getting calls. I was the first to be invited to interview for a human resources manager position at a company near Nashville and I packed up and moved here. I didn’t get that job, but my husband joined me in early 2008 and I was gainfully employed a few months later.


Nashville is the capital of Tennessee and often called “Music City” for good reason. Artists flock to downtown Nashville in hopes they’ll strum and sing their way into celebrity status. It’s not just country music the city is known for. We have rock and roll, symphonies, and blues. Nashville is the home of the Nashville Jazz Workshop and B.B. King’s Blues Club. Since I’ve been here I’ve worked in a building that used to be the recording studio for Willie Nelson. I  know the man who found the stolen guitar that Gibson Guitar Company gave B.B. King for his 80th birthday. Eric Dahl found the special guitar and returned it in person to B.B. King, and then wrote a book about it. Here’s the link to that story: https://www.ericdahlpublicity.com/book


You can hang out in downtown Nashville and never be bored. Have some of our great barbecue ribs or hot chicken and take a ride on the Trash Nash tour bus. Visit places like the Country Music Hall of Fame or go down Broadway and stop in at one famous honky-tonk spot after another or visit Printers Alley and the Ryman Auditorium. While in town, you’ve got to see the Parthenon, which is a full-scale, honest-to-Pete, exact replica of the real Parthenon in Greece.


We've got sports galore. Tennessee Titans, Nashville Sounds, Nashville Predators, Nashville Metro’s Pro Soccer and some great college teams like Vanderbilt, Austin Peay, UT, MTSU, and more.

For a writer, I hit pay dirt moving to Nashville and didn’t even know it until I’d settled in. Every year I attend the Killer Nashville International Writers Conference held close by. https://killernashville.com/

The picture below is of one of the two panels I served on this past August at Killer Nashville.


Before I moved here, I didn’t know that Nashville had about the largest writers’ meetup group in the United States. I eagerly joined them and also the Sisters in Crime Middle Tennessee Chapter. Click the SinC Middle Tennesse link below for more information : http://www.sistersincrimemiddletennessee.org/

 
How convenient to have Fall Fest in Hermitage, three miles from my home. I attended last week and sold books with a group of other local authors.

We also have the Southern Festival of Books each October. The 2018 event ended today. Here’s a picture of the most recent past panel I was on at the SF of Books.


And, on the outskirts of downtown Nashville, there’s the Grand Old Opry and another hidden gem outside of downtown called the Loveless Café famous not only for its southern style cooking, but its biscuits made by someone cooking on a television program who was known as “the biscuit lady.”


I’ve stuck primarily with Nashville on this post because I have not spent much time outside of this area, but I’ve seen some other spots and heard of many more. There’s honestly way too much in this state for a post the size of mine. I could talk about Gatlinburg. The famous Dollywood in nearby Pigeon Forge. Or Memphis and its Beale Street and the famous Graceland, the Elvis Presley home.

In my third, yet unwritten, book in the Judy Kenagy mystery series, I plan to relocate Judy to the Nashville area of Tennessee. Once she is here, like me, this will be her home for the remainder of the series.

For more about me visit: http://www.lindathorne.com
                                       
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For those who comment, you will have a chance to win both Soundtrack NOT Included and Just Another Termination along with some mementos from the Nashville area--just leave a form of contact to be entered so I can find you if you're the WINNER!!  Thanks for stopping by and learning all about me! 
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15 comments:

  1. Your post and photos about Tennessee and the area are very interesting and informative. I have never travelled to Tennessee but I look forward to seeing the South and exploring the city of Nashville which sounds unique and memorable. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  2. You DID hit writerly paydirt in Nashville! I've been to Killer Nashville a couple of times and will be back, for sure. You're very luck to have a SinC chapter, too. We're lacking that in Knoxville, but that may change. There are lots of writers here, I just have to find the mystery writers. Thanks for the post!

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    1. You're in the same state, Kaye, and Knoxville is beautiful and only about a 3 hour or less drive from here. Hope to see you at another Killer Nashville writers' conference.

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    2. I'm planning on the next one.

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  3. I've lived in four other states. Tennessee is my 5th state to live in and my favorite. You'd enjoy it here.

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  4. I love Nashville, and happy to read this post. Glad you are showing that there is a literary and artsy world beyond New York.

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    1. Thanks for the giving me some good new words to describe the place. Yes, it's a huge literary and artsy world.

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  5. My son-in-law's company started a branch in Maryville a few years ago and he and my daughter have made a few trips. They've toured Pigeon Forge and gone to Dollywood. Beautiful pictures.

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    1. That's my part of the state, Michele. If you ever get to Maryville, I'd love to get together.

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  6. Tennessee has so much to offer. Nashville sounds appealing and energetic. Love the sound and look of this amazing place. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  7. Nashville is a very classy and cosmopolitan city. It's been years since I've been there and it's time I visited again.

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  8. Thanks, Linda for enlightening us all about Nashville, Tenn. Though, I've visited it a few times, I could never click with the area. Perhaps, next time looking through your eyes I just may enjoy it a bit more. Looking forward to more mysteries by you with Judy.
    Cheers!
    SJ Francis

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  9. One of my editor friends just moved to TN! It’s a beautiful place. Great post.

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  10. Very beautiful post. I would be happy to know if writers from Africa can be legible to be a member of the Nashville writers association. Thanks

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