Alabama! Here’s a Flashback Plus a Little More:

Alright, I was on vacation in South Carolina.  

Spent a day at Columbia, Charleston, and one in Savannah, Georgia because, well we were so close.  

Beautiful country.  

Before we head to Alabama, I wanted to post this picture of the Edisto River.It’s a place I found just because of this blog.  

Edisto River runs through South Carolina and C. Hope Clark https://chopeclark.com/edisto-island/ writes a series about it. In fact, check out the post from just a few weeks ago-C. Hope Clark wrote it.  So, of course, I had to stop and see. Not sure where we were exactly in South Carolina because I wasn't driving but I saw the river access sign and my BF turned around and drove the rental car down a rutted road so we could check it out.   And share with you!  Bless HIM for all my weird-OMG! Stop Here!  Turn Around! Episodes on vacation.   Enjoy.

Now on to Alabama!
Allison Knight’s Alabama Problem-(2013)

I have a problem. I write historical romance and my novels are based in England, Scotland, or the far west. But, you see, I'm from Alabama.

Visitor: You're from Alabama? I know the problem? Isn't that kinda - ah - slow?

Allison: Well, not really. Did you know that in Northern Alabama, Verner Von Braun settled and started working on what became our Space program? There's even a mock-up of a shuttle at the NASA complex in Huntsville. The town is home to all kinds of computer and space companies and organizations--very twenty-first century kind of stuff.

V: Well, Alabama doesn't make anything.  

A: Wrong again! Outside of Birmingham we have the Mercedes plant, makers of fine automobiles, and outside of Montgomery we have the Hyundai Automobile plant. Then of course, in Mobile, we now have the Air Bus aircraft company. So, Alabama does make things, rather large things at that. Again, modern things. Definitely not historical romance material.

V: But, there isn't that much to see in Alabama, is there? Maybe a romance about farmers.

A: On the east side of the state, we have mountains and Little River Canyon, a mini grand canyon, shear walls of stone leading to a little river which runs through the canyon, and over and through a number of waterfalls. You can't farm there.

If you'd rather spend your time shopping, you can get your fill at the beginning of the world's long garage sale, which starts in Alabama. Ever wonder what happens to all that luggage left in the airports around the country? It's for sale in the Northeastern corner of Alabama. Not very historical, I'm afraid. Of course, we have the Gulf, beautiful white sand stretching toward the placid waters of the Gulf of Mexico. And sitting proud along the shore is the Battleship, The Alabama, open for visitors daily.

My problem is—they’re not subjects for a historical romance. I write about medieval times and the 19th century west.  At nearly anytime of the year, you can attend one of our many festivals. The strawberry festival is coming up, and in the fall, we have the Jazz fest, and of course the Shrimp fest. Father's Day sees the sky filled with hot air balloons. There's the granddaddy of them all. Because, truth be known, Mardi Gras started in Mobile, Alabama long before New Orleans adopted the holiday. Mobile still offers one of the best Mardi Gras celebrations available. So I could write something based around a Mardi Gras parade. I'll have to give that a thought.

So, let's take time out to eat. You can choose a lively venue like Lulu's, owned by the sister of Jimmy Buffett, dine on oysters at the original Oyster House, or if you want simple, come on over to the "Road Kill Restaurant" where the menu changes each day and only one entre is available.

 

Believe me, Alabama is the place to be even if you write historical romance. Sunshine and white sand beaches give more then enough time for inspiration as I make my historical characters miserable until the HEA.

I've tried my hand at a Contemporary romance, this one takes place in Georgia. The setting for my next contemporary will definitely be Alabama. Now - who and where?

 Available May 6th from www.ChampagneBooks.com

www.AllisonKnight.com

www.AllisonKnight.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/HistoricalAllie
(pictures provided by author)

Alabama Promo Starts 2020

This year, as a tribute to the people who work hard to support and promote the author community, I’ll highlight companies and individuals who do just that.

I found this website in my search for Alabama Literary Agencies.

Mark Malatesta has many websites to help authors write, publish, and promote their books. It doesn’t matter what genre your book(s) is (fiction, nonfiction, or children’s books), and it doesn’t matter if you’re already established or just getting started. His websites for authors will help them get to the next level. His websites include The Bestselling Author, The Directory of Literary Agents, Literary Agent Undercover, How to Write a Query Letter, The Book Genre Dictionary, and Writing Quotes. Visit his website for more info.

https://thebestsellingauthor.com/

MARK MALATESTA is a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark now helps authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books) get top literary agents, publishers, and book deals through his company Literary Agent Undercover and The Bestselling Author. Mark's authors have gotten six-figure book deals, been on the NYT bestseller list, and published with houses such as Random House, Scholastic, and Thomas Nelson.

(all info downloaded from sites)

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg, Alabama Native, Actress, Comedian

I’ve always had a fondness for Fannie Flagg…Grew up with her comedy…didn’t know she wrote Fried Green Tomatoes-a great novel.  And now I’ve got other books to add to my 2019 pile and it’s just the first week of 2019.

Anyway, my only volunteer for Alabama dropped last minute due to family issues and I struggled to decide what to do this year if I didn’t have a person to fill.  Last year I did virtual libraries but this year, I’m going to do authors…starting with Fannie Flagg. 

I found this information at Alabama Living.

Fannie Flagg was born Patricia Neal in Birmingham. She is an actress, comedian and author of nine novels, including Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven, I Still Dream About You and The Whole Town’s Talking.

The book-jacket copy says: “Here is Fannie Flagg's high-spirited and unabashedly sentimental first novel, the precursor to the bestselling Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Taken from the pages of Daisy Fay Harper's journal, this is a coming of age story set in rural Mississippi that is by turns hilarious and touching.”

Downloaded from: Alabama Living

https://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2017/03/the_essentials_25_books_by_ala.html  (Source: Wil Elrick)

Truman Capote was from Alabama

So was non-fiction writer, Rick Bragg

And there’s a good list at the Alabama Living link above. 

That in mind, visit- Alabama Living and come back here to let me know one author’s name from that site.  Leave that name in a comment to be eligible for the end of month drawing.  Remember to leave a contact link so I can find you if you win.

Thanks for joining me today to start off the new year of 50 Authors from 50 States. 

(All Credit to Alabama Living https://www.al.com –Source: Wil Elrick)

About the AVL

Happy New Year!  Welcome my blog and some awesome opportunities for readers to win and writing professionals to get the word out about their work.  Today, in my area of Nebraska, its 17 below zero outside.  I have no idea what the wind chill is because I'm ignoring that!  I have no plans to go anywhere past the shed, which is only 20 yards away, to get a sheet of plywood for my bathroom project.  Yesterday the pipes at my daughters house froze-she did get them thawed and we walked to the local bar for a New Years beverage then home for a movie because it was just too cold to venture farther.  

In the spirit of not leaving the house, I share Alabama and a virtual library-a wealth of information and no one has to leave the house on days like today.  

Like I said before, there's new opportunities this year and one of those is the Monthly Grand Prize for people who comment.  AND-Leave a comment on each post each week for your chance to win not only that grand prize but a prize from each blog participant. At the end of each month, we'll pick the winners and let them know what they've won so leave a form of contact. Readers can also send their contact info via the Contact Me tab at the top of this blog--we'll need to find the winners if they win! 

Good Luck and Enjoy this Alabama Treasure:

The Alabama Virtual Library provides all students, teachers, and citizens of the State of Alabama with online access to essential library and information resources. It is primarily a group of online databases that have magazine, journal, and newspaper articles for research. Through the AVL, an equitable core of information sources is available to every student and citizen in Alabama, raising the level of excellence in schools and communities across the state.

Participating Agencies:

The AVL project is managed by a governing council with representatives from the Alabama Department of Education, the Alabama College System, the Alabama Council on Higher Education, the Alabama Public Library Service and the Alabama Supercomputer Authority. If you have questions about your eligibility to access AVL resources, please contact the following:

Public Libraries

Alabama Public Library Service, 334-213-3900 or 1-800-723-8459

NAAL Colleges and Universities

Alabama Commission on Higher Education NAAL Office, 334-242-2211

Two Year Colleges

Alabama Community College System , 334-242-2900

K-12 Schools & Libraries

Alabama State Department of Education, 334-242-9594

Alabama Supercomputer Authority

Alabama Supercomputer Authority, 256-971-7404

Connect to AVL here: http://www.avl.lib.al.us/

Additionally, Alabama is 200 years old-Check out the link on the homepage.

Leave a comment on this post-make sure to include a form of contact-for a chance to win January's GRAND PRIZE. 

Thanks for stopping by for this first post of 2018 at 50 Authors from 50 States blog!

(all info downloaded from http://www.avl.lib.al.us/)

Alabama Born-Speculative Fiction Author Aidee Ladnier

I’m Alabama born and raised. My favorites places in Alabama vary from the white sand beaches of the Gulf Coast, to the nature trails of the Appalachian foothills, and from the cosmopolitan splendor of Birmingham, to the rural serenity of the forests that dot the state. I wouldn’t wish to be anywhere else.

But one thing I love most about Alabama is the history it’s steeped in. Like a fine tea, you’ll discover its richness and variety the moment you take a sip.

For example, last summer my husband Curt and I spent the weekend at the Kate Shepard House bed and breakfast. We were treated to gourmet food, luxury accommodations, and predictably, a history lesson.  

In late afternoon we climbed the tall steps to the wraparound porch of the Queen Anne style mansion in the little neighborhood of Monterey Place in Mobile, Alabama.  Our host, Wendy James, greeted us at one of the two doors gracing the front of the house.  She later explained that the extra door was a relic from World War II.  The Shepard family converted the mansion into a boarding house to lodge workers employed during the war effort.  Mobile’s contribution of airplanes and ships helped win the war in the Pacific.

Inside the Kate Shepard House, the décor was warm, ornate woodwork, antique light fixtures (many original to the house), stained glass windows, and built-in bookcases. A grand piano sat enthroned in the parlor. We followed our host up the winding staircase to the second floor where Wendy settled us in the Barber Room, named for the architect George Franklin Barber on whose designs the house was built.  She told us that Charles Martin Shepard and his wife might have chosen the plans from Barber’s mail order catalog after seeing an advertisement in a women’s magazine.  It is rumored that more than a dozen railroad cars of building supplies arrived in Mobile from Knoxville, Tennessee to create the Kate Shepard House.

The Barber room was furnished with a tall, comfortable carved oak bed, a fireplace, and a wonderful view of the magnolia trees and garden. A few steps led to the bathing area housing a huge two-person soaker tub (TMI—I know this from experience).  A water closet, hid behind tiny French doors, enclosed the commode. 

While dining the next morning on pecan praline French toast, Wendy informed us that when she began preparing the house for visitors, the attic yielded a treasure trove of Civil War correspondence and letters. Kate Shepard, the daughter of Charles Martin Shepard, was the great niece of Colin J. McRae, the Confederacy’s Chief Financial Agent to Europe.  The papers Wendy and her husband found changed recorded history, proving that Great Britain aided the Confederate States during the Civil War.  In addition to the correspondence and financial documents from the Civil War, there were dozens and dozens of personal letters lovingly preserved. The correspondence revealed intimate details of the McRae family life and included receipts for items bought or sold, recipes, school records, medical records, property deeds, and court settlements. She explained that one letter detailed the anguish experienced as family members succumbed to Yellow Fever, quarantined and nursed by mothers and daughters also stricken with the dread disease.  Overall, the McRae’s saved more than 2500 documents that spanned a hundred years.  The collection is one of the most complete histories of that era in the South.

And here’s the best part:  Wendy and Bill James have donated all these papers to a museum with the caveat they be available to anyone who asks to examine them.  The papers are now housed at the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum.  You can view a listing of the collection at https://www.crr.sc.gov/exhibits/mcrae and request to see them for yourself.  

So have you ever thought of visiting Alabama? One lucky commenter will win a $10 Amazon gift card! Remember to leave a contact link. 

About the Author

Aidee Ladnier, an award-winning author of speculative fiction, began writing at twelve years old but took a hiatus to be a magician’s assistant, ride in hot air balloons, produce independent movies, collect interesting shoes, fold origami, send ping pong balls into space, and amass a secret file with the CIA. A lover of genre fiction, it has been a lifelong dream of Aidee's to write both romance and erotica with a little science fiction, fantasy, mystery, or the paranormal thrown in to add a zing.

She loves to hear from readers. Visit her at her blog:

http://www.aideeladnier.com

or her favorite social media sites:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/aideelad
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AideeLadnier
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/aideelad/

Alabamian, Mahala Church Help Writers and Businesses

Mahala Church of Mobile, Alabama is my opening post for 2016.  She’s a writer, editor and writing teacher from that state.  Currently, she’s dealing with something but has agreed that I post from her site.  Please jump over to her website and check it out.
There’s a couple of informational blogs at http://editwriteteach.com  It looks like a great avenue for people who have that story inside waiting to get out or for writers who need the  option of affordable editing services. Check out the site and see if it’s a match for the reader or writer in you. In the meantime, here’s a little from that site. 

Edit – Write – Teach! That is exactly what I do! Edit. Write. Teach. I edit for authors and other businesses. I write for both as well as for myself. I teach the art of writing through Barefoot Writing Academy – online and in person- classes as well as workshops.
I created Written Word fifteen years ago to give writers and small businesses owners the competitive edge. With degrees in nursing and fine arts, I am a published editor, writer, freelancer, and instructor with a love of tea and the ocean and intrigued by the hum and flow of words. I hope you find what you need to assist you within these pages and encourage you to join our newsletter and blogging community.

Barefoot Writing Academy is a division of Written Word and offers creative writing classes for beginning and intermediate authors and entrepreneurs. My primary goal is to motivate authors to infuse their work with excellence, creating words on the page that have value and invite readers to experience the work. Writing with value lets your readers experience the work in a meaningful way.
Today’s heightened social networking bombards writers with sensory overload and a push to get work published regardless of the quality of the material. Writers must decide what they want the reader to see, know, and learn and why those things matter, and then share information clearly. BWA stresses the fundamentals of clear, succinct writing as the quality touchstones to produce successful fiction, non-fiction, technical, and business writing. BWA also teaches the effective writing for blogs and websites that necessitate brevity and clarity.
The second goal in BWA’s classes is to stimulate the imagination and ignite a passion for telling a good story. Writers learn to write with substance, get to know their characters, envision settings, and take readers on a trek across the pages.

For Writers: I offer developmental coaching, substantive editing, copyediting, and general proofreading. I ghostwrite and edit non-fiction and fiction books, short stories, personal essays, digital media posts, bios, ad copy, query letters and synopses, letters, flyers, and brochures. See Written Word Services for a more detailed list.

For Businesses: I work with clients to plan, organize, and produce the documents needed to meet their goals and regulatory requirements, marketing materials, and social media. 

Mahala Church gives writers and businesses the competitive edge. With degrees in nursing and fine arts, she is a published editor, writer, and manager. Church uses her writing skills to pen healthcare articles for websites, blogs, and magazines. She writes and edits for an international group of clients, creating web and blog posts, book reviews, marketing tools, manuals, newsletters, and handbooks. Editing and ghostwriting novels, short stories, and business documents through her company, Written Word, she successfully works with authors and small businesses.

Owner and resident instructor for the Barefoot Writing Academy, Church teaches writing and editing classes, provides private mentoring for authors, and conducts workshops for writers of all ages.

A founding board member of the Emerald Coast Writers, she co-founded the Mobile Writers Guild with Tracy Hurley. Inspired by her love for Southern literature, Church writes from life experience. Sharing her life are family, five spoiled dogs, and a turtle who loves grits.

Due to circumstances, Mahala Church can’t offer a prize.  Please visit her site to send her well wishes.  http://editwriteteach.com

(All info taken from author site and author face book page with permission from Mahala Church)

Beginning the New Year with an Awesome Repost from Years Gone By with Allison Knight

 

We were so tired of snow and ice, a move south was desired. We began to investigate the southern states. We were boaters and access to a recreational lake had to be the determiner. Low and behold that meant considering Alabama. But Alabama? Surely not. Even our children and friends raised eyebrows. Still, we decided to take a look at this southern state.

All of our preconceived ideas about Alabama were smashed when we crossed over the state line. There with its nose cone pointing toward a blue sky was a mock up of a Saturn rocket. Huntsville, Alabama was home to NASA. In fact we were told that the city of Huntsville had more PhD's that any other city of its size in the US. The facility housed part of the training areas for our astronauts. And this is where it all began.  It seems that Von Braun, who built our first rockets, wanted a place much like his home in Germany and he thought that corner of Alabama fit the bill.

To the east you'll find "Little River Canyon". I've visited the Grand Canyon, flew over the Canyon in Kauai, and gazed at the Royal Gorge, but I never expected to see an awesome canyon in Alabama. Yet there it was, it's deep cliffs making me happy I didn't have a bunch of youngens' to watch. The whole area is also full of spectacular water falls that feed the Canyon.

Further to the south you'll find one of auto racing's major tracks. The famous Talladega raceway is in Alabama. On race day roads all over the state lead to the track and are bumper to bumper with racing fans heading toward the big race.

The south west a corner of Alabama meets the Gulf. The beaches are white crystalline sand and high rise buildings dot the landscape. November through March the condos are filled with senior citizens, referred to here as snow birds, because they come to escape the snow. In the summer vacationers with children arrive to enjoy our beaches and the warm Gulf waters. 

Did you know that Mobile was the site of the first Mardi Gras parades? One of these days I'll include Mobile in a historical romance with one of those parades as part of the story.

Of course, there's football.  Here is Alabama we have two seasons, football season and the rest of the year. If you don't follow college football, you wouldn't know that Auburn was last's year's champion, while Alabama held the title before that. 

Alabama is also where the longest yard sale begins and the state is loaded with wonderful places to shop. 

There's so much about the state, I could write a book, the seafood, the restaurants, the little towns, the wonderful southern biscuits.  So, come on down, y'all. Three of our children moved and now call this state home. Alabama's not what you think.

Visit Allison Knight here:

www.AllisonKnight.com

www.AllisonKnight.blogspot.com

www.Twitter.com/historicalAllie

‘Heartwarming Romance with a Sensual Touch’