Dear Friends,
It's hard to believe that another month has gone by and that October's Evening with an Author is almost upon us. We hope you will be able to join us this Thursday from 6:00-7:00pm at Martha's at the Plantation for a special treat -- as always the reading is free and open to the public; if you would like to stay for dinner & music there is a $25 per person charge (please see below). The featured guests will be Robert Hicks and Justin Stelter, co-editors of A Guitar and a Pen: Stories by Country Music's Greatest Songwriters.
We thought we'd co-opt the format Lacey G. used in moderating a panel with Sigourney Cheek and Robert Rummel-Hudson at the Southern Festival of Books because it worked so well. In addition to readings from the book, she will pose some structured questions to Robert and Justin and then open up the discussion to the group. Our goal is to stress the 'smart conversation' part of the series' tag line, "Books, Wine and Smart Conversation".
And if you would like to receive HTML emails with more information on the series, please send an email to eveningwithanauthor@yahoo.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line. A full calendar of events can be found at Swift Book Promotion's website. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon.
-- Ginna F.
Come Enjoy the Sixteenth Event in the
Evening with an Author Series
Featuring Robert Hicks and Justin Stelter
Date and Time: Thursday, October 23rd from 6:00-7:00pm**
Place: Martha's at the Plantation (Belle Meade Plantation, 5025 Harding Road)
Featured Guests: Co-editors Robert Hicks and Justin Stelter on A Guitar and a Pen. Books will be available.
To RSVP in the affirmative for the October 23rd event, please send an email to eveningwithanauthor@yahoo.com
** Note: For those interested, you can stay for dinner and a musical performance. The price for dinner and music is $25. Dinner is at 7:00pm and music starts at 8:00pm. Please call the restaurant directly at (615) 353-2828 to make your reservation. Mention Evening with an Author to be seated at the group table. For more information, please see http://www.marthasattheplantation.com/news.php
From the Publisher
This unique collection presents, for the first time, the literary work of some of the best storytellers in the world: the songwriters who cut and polish tales down to sparkling three minute gems. A blend of fiction and nonfiction, humor and poignancy, these tales cover a wide range of styles and country artists.
Nashville, Music City USA, is a place where entertainment and artistic fortune are built on the bedrock of songwriters. It has been said in Nashville over and over that "It all begins with a song." Country music's wordsmiths have shaped and molded some of the greatest stories ever told into three and a half minutes that fit neatly on the radio. The editors of A Guitar and a Pen set out to answer the question, "If they can put all that into a song, what could and would they do with a blank piece of paper and a pen?" The answer lies in this remarkable collection of creativity and insight.
Co-edited by Robert Hicks, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow of the South, and by John Bohlinger and Justin Stelter, A Guitar and a Pen features a stunning array of talent. This collections features contributions by Charlie Daniels ("The Devil Went Down to Georgia"), Tom T. Hall ("Harper Valley P.T.A."), Bob McDill ("Song of the South"), Tia Sillers ("There's Your Trouble," "I Hope You Dance"), Gary Nicholson ("One More Last Chance," "She Couldn't Change Me"), Mark D. Sanders ("Daddy's Money," "It Matters To Me"), Bob DiPiero ("Cleopatra, Queen of Denial," "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl"), Kris Kristofferson ("For The Good Times," "Sunday Morning Coming Down"), Hal Ketchum ("Hang In There Superman," "Sure Love"), Bobby Braddock ("He Stopped Loving Her Today"), and Janis Ian ("Society's Child") to name a few.
In "A Rock," Kris Kristofferson tells the insightful and humorous story of how an explicit natural rock formation brings chaos to a small farming town out west. Collection editor Robert Hicks presents "Gathering Together," a quirky contemporary story of a Southern family. This is just a handful of the wonderful contributions to this entertaining collection.
Co-editors Bios:
Robert Hicks has lived and worked in Nashville for almost thirty-five years. As a music publisher, he has run his own company, launching the careers of some of Nashville's best-loved singer-songwriters and publishing hits like "Just Call Me Lonesome," "Kisses Don't Lie," "Lipstick Promises," and "Never Say Die." He has worked as an independent publisher and has also been in partnerships with both PolyGram Music and MCA/Universal Music. In 2001, Robert Hicks co-authored Nashville: The Pilgrims of Guitar Town (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York) with French photographer Michel Arnaud. He is the author of the New York Times Best-Selling novel, The Widow of the South published by Warner Books/NY September, 2005.
His regular "guitar pulls" out at his cabin in the hills south of Nashville have attracted everyone from John Hiatt and the late Harlin Howard to Mary Chapin Carpenter and Beth Nielsen Chapman; from Jules Shear and Larry Carlton to Ray Wylie Hubbard and Steppenwolf's John Kay. Keith Richards once remarked, "You just don't stumble upon the guitar pull, you have to persevere in your heart to get there."
Justin Stelter grew up in Eagleville, Tennessee. He writes regularly for regional periodicals and as Head Gardener at Historic Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee, speaks throughout the Mid-South on nineteenth century American gardening. A passionate traveler and student of literature, Justin is planning a career as a fiction and garden writer.
