The Long, Hot Summer of Writing Peaking With ‘Smoking Guns’ and ‘In Tangled Lives’
By TOM WOOD / August 4, 2024
Hey, folks. It’s been a while since I last posted anything here … and now you know why. A busy, busy summer with the recent release of a second anthology Smoking Guns: A Sisters in Crime Anthology. Here’s the cover and a little info on how it came about.
I am a member of the Middle Tennessee chapter of the Sisters in Crime national mystery and thriller writing community. The East Tennessee chapter, which bills itself as “the Smoking Guns,” came up with the idea, the plan, and the execution of the publication with acclaimed and award-winning mystery author Kaye George serving as editor and one of the nine writers.
Her team reached out to area chapters, and I submitted one story and a flash fiction piece — “Takeout” and “The Wrong Guy” — that were accepted. The only requirements for publication (besides the usual length limitations) were that the genre stories be original and that the tale must include a gun. A smoking gun. Challenge accepted.
The new anthology will make its debut at Killer Nashville and Bouchercon mystery writing conventions in the Nashville area later this month. Other Nashville area authors are Robert Mangeot, Carmen Amato, Patrick Connolly, Ronald Demmans. Also featured are Sharon Marchisello, Paula Gail Benson, Jeffery Phillips
And here’s the cover of In Tangled Lives: A Harpeth River Writers Anthology and we’re darn proud of this creation. Here’s a little info about this relationships-themed book. In Tangled Lives: A Harpeth River Writers Anthology features an eclectic collection of stories for every mood—sad and dark, heartwarming and hopeful. Indeed, we all are in tangled lives.
HRW is a collective of acclaimed Nashville-area authors who have individually published short stories, essays, memoirs, novels, poems, and songs. HRW has published two previous anthologies: By Blood or By Marriage (2015)and Words on Water (2019). Contributors are Sandy Ward Bell, John Neely Davis, Micki Fuhrman, Cindy King, Cate Moore, Kathy Rhodes, Michael J. Tucker, Tom Wood, and Bill Woods.
I have two stories in the book. Here’s a synopsis of each to whet your reading appetite:
Maggie’s Hope: After losing her husband in the Gulf War, a woman with newborn twins spirals out of control until she is forced to make a difficult decision about what is best for her girls.
Food Fight: A woman shouts insults across the kitchen table toward a man, screaming “fat, fat, fat,” and other epithets.
Here are some of my other recent stories for the Ledger and other things.
Tanger Outlet Center Boosts SE Nashville
This date marks the grand opening of the Nashville Tanger retail outlet center in Antioch, which will officially end the two-decade-old “shopping and dining desert” in southeast Nashville as Councilwoman Joy Styles calls it.
I write about the rebirth and revitalization of the Antioch area in the Oct. 27-Nov. 3 edition of the Nashville Ledger. The Tanger Center has 60-some retail and food shops and there are more to come as the 300-acre Century Farms mixed-use development off I-24 continues to add tenants.
Four hotels are planned and Tiger Woods will open PopStrokes, a golf entertainment center, in Century Farms in early 2025. I also write about all that’s coming to the former location of Hickory Hollow Mall. It’s an exciting time for the area.
Southern Festival of Books On the Move
A huge success! That’s my take on the prestigious Southern Festival of Books’ 2023 move from its downtown traditional Nashville location to Bicentennial Mall. The green space was much more welcoming as the Festival spread out across the park and author lectures were held inside the Tennessee State Museum and Tennessee State Library and Archives.
I was there in both the Authors Circle – Mid Tenn and Sisters in Crime Middle Tennessee booths with more than a dozen local authors, and met folks visiting Nashville from the East Coast to the Pacific. I sold books to women from North Carolina to Los Angeles and Seattle and spoke with a couple from Hawaii, in town to attend a wedding.
The Authors Circle – Mid Tenn had a great time at the Southern Festival of Books and is looking forward to the 2024 edition on the weekend of October 26-27. It is one of several book festivals in Nashville this summer. Look for my story in the May 17 Nashville Ledger.
As always, thanks for reading.
Mr. Wood: your April 24 Ledger article insinuates that Salemtown Cottages (and other Salemtown developments) were the result of the new ballpark. I moved to Salemtown 11 years ago into a newly built house (among several others). I also participated in the planning discussions about Salemtown Cottages, which occurred months before the new ballpark was proposed. I know that there is a tendency now among realtors and developers to exaggerate the ballpark’s influence, but please make sure that local history is written accurately.
Hi Mike, Thanks for writing, but I would disagree that such an insinuation was made. You read a little more into the article than was intended. Salemtown was indeed a vibrant community long before the Sounds’ arrival, and the point I tried to make was how the team’s arrival will affect future growth. Thanks for reading.
Tom, we worked an episode of Nashville in February that just aired last Wednesday, April 22. It was shot Gaylord Opryland hotel and was a fundraiser scene. You gave me a copy of your book and I enjoyed it. I’d like to suggest it as our book club selection for May and have a discussion about it June 16. Would you be available on that date to come join our group for a book discussion? If so please contact me via email. Best Regards.
Thanks for inviting me to your book club. I’ll be in touch.
You’ve publicized your travels and events well and I found myself sort of following them. I skipped some of the sports stuff here as my husband is the sports fan in our family. Not me. I did enjoy all of the other information. Thank you.
‘Preciate hearing from you, Linda. Sports isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I try to write about local and general interest topics. Glad you enjoyed the rest. The Outer Banks are beautiful this time of year. Not too many tourists, it’s not too hot and the beaches are gorgeous. Plus there’s a lot of historic sites in the area. Wish I’d been able to spend more time there; I know I will in the future.