HELP ME USE LITERARY ARTS TO HELP KIDS.

For two days I have been mulling over how to honor my long-time friend Danny Mitchell who will be laid to rest tomorrow. Danny was such a strong supporter of education and a true community leader who gave of his time and money to many causes. To honor Danny, I have decided to take a leading role in raising money to support two programs that use the literary arts to help both at-risk kids and high school students.

Two programs of the Alabama Writers Forum are making the world a better place by using the literary arts to help kids grow into better adults. Writing Our Stories is a national model program developed for adjudicated youth that takes place year round at the Department of Youth Services in three programs at two campuses where our students are incarcerated. We hire and put writing teachers into positions to teach these young people creative writing, then we publish anthologies each year of their work. The program is being spread to public schools and other states as a model of how to help these young people help themselves by gaining communications skills and learning that their voices matter. This program saves and improves lives, helping these students reenter society and become productive.

Another program that is needs our support is the High School Literary Arts Awards. I am personally funding a scholarship in my mother's name to honor her and recognize excellence in student writing, helping encourage a new generation of writers.

Please join the new Century Club that I am starting to get 100 concerned people to help with these educational ventures. To join is simple and requires only two things, just pledge to raise or donate $100 this year and agree to post your involvement in social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or other social media. Thanks all, and will get us 20% of this year's goal.

Of course, we won't raise the $50,000 needed this year or the $100,000 needed next year with small donations alone, so please pledge larger amounts if you find yourself in a position to do so. But if you have other charities and causes that are your primary interest, even a $35 membership will help enormously and I will be very grateful for any amount donated.

We are running the campaign through Razoo to make it easy. Please join the Century Club of the AWF or just donate what you feel you can:

1. Click on this link to see how to donate quickly and easily and whatever amount makes sense to you. http://www.razoo.com/story/Alabama-Writers-Forum
2. Post on your social media.

That's all it takes to make a tremendous difference and impact real lives.

Thanks so very much for helping me support this great cause and improve or even save lives, while honoring a person who truly made a difference in the world.

Philip

Author appearances for book clubs

Would your book club like an author appearance or Skype talk? Let me know if you might. Here's a recent article where I was interviewed about what books are on my nightstand that tells a bit about what I read in addition to what I write.My nightstand books

Alabama book signing road trip Aug. 16 for The White Lie

I'll make an Alabama road trip to sign The White Lie this weekend in Cullman at Deb's Book Store on Saturday morning, 9-11. Then hurry on to Birmingham area to sign at Little Professor in Homewood 1-3. Hope to see lots of friends.

Soap star Antonio Sabato Jr picks up The White Lie

A friend sent me this picture from a recent party where Antonio Sabato Jr, star of such great soaps as General Hospital and Melrose Place, picked up a copy of The White Lie.  He was in town shooting an episode of his new show on home improvement called "Fix It and Finish It." See this You Tube clip.

Bay St. Louis, Miss. Book Signing on Aug. 9

Hope to see you at the great Second Saturday event in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, on Saturday August 9, 2014, at Bay Books starting at 5 p.m.. I'll be signing The White Lie and perhaps on of the few remaining first editions of Oh Don't You Cry for Me.

On My Nightstand article from al.com

A new series based on interviews with authors about what they are reading has been launched on al.com, created by Jessica Sawyer Rigby. I was fortunate to be selected for the first article:

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/07/on_my_nightstand_with_author_p.html 

TWL makes top sellers listing

The White Lie made it to number three on the "Mississippi Reads" listing in The Clarion-Ledger on Sunday,  July 20, behind Greg Iles' Natchez Burning and Lisa Howorth's Flying Shoes.

Book launch tour started July 10

Stops at Lemuria in Jackson for the official launch, then in Mobile and Dauphin Island last week.

Book launch this week

The first scene of The White Lie was written in 1998. Once outlined and in draft form the book sailed along fairly quickly. It was a learning experience. A regional press wanted the book a couple of years later and I worked with their editor for a long time, but eventually internal company problems caused them to decide not to publish the book. I put the manuscript  in a drawer, moved on and finished three other manuscripts and published two books--a collection of short fiction (Jefferson Prize finalist) and a cultural history of baseball with David Magee (Triumph Books published it). Then Mindbridge Press wanted this book and we edited it once again. Now we're two days from release on July 10 at Lemuria Book Store in Jackson, Mississippi. 5 signing, 5:30 reading. A long journey for a book. I'm ready to see what folks think. A couple of good reviews have surfaced so far.www.philipshirley.com

New book giveaway on Goodreads

The last giveaway had hundreds of entries so I thought I should give away a couple more books, so go register if you want to try to win one.

Goodreads Giveaway of THE WHITE LIE

Book Trailer for The White Lie

Here is the first book trailer for my novel The White Lie that will be released at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi on July 10. Will also be signing the next day at LoDa ArtWalk in Mobile on Dauphin STreet 6-9. And on Dauphin Island 25- on that Saturday, July 12, at Mac'n'DD's Emporium. Please stop by....http://bit.ly/1tTyDps

Book giveaway on Goodreads

 Goodreads Book Giveaway

       
  The White Lie  by Philip Shirley.  Giveaway ends June 20, 2014. See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
  Enter to win

The twin tugs of marketing a new book and writing one

The White Lie is now in the hands of the publisher Mindbridge Press. The Advance Reading Copies have been sent to numerous reviewers at places like Library Journal and Kirkus with the hope and wish they will find the book worthy. If you are publishing with a small publisher, make sure they schedule time to get gallies off 12-15 weeks ahead of release date. A few writers have agreed to read the book and provide blurbs if they like the work. Early news is that they seem to like it. It's a waiting game for reviews and blurbs, but mostly for the July 10 release when I can start making the circuit of bookstore signings, conference talks, and readings. As I sit here on a Saturday afternoon overlooking the reservoir, I'd love to be one of those boaters I see. I'd also love to be editing the other novel I recently finished and looking for an agent or publisher. And the other voice in my head insists that I do something to help make sure The White Lie finds readers.

So let's recount the day and see what I did:
Start with a couple of beers and hamburger at the Cherokee Drive-in with my wife & another friend. Check.
Ride around with the top down to put off working. Check.
Stop by Lemuria Bookstore to talk to Johnny about the book launch July 10. (confirmed.) Check.
Ask Johnny to see if Ingram has the book listed for sale yet to bookstores. (It does!) Check.
Walk the dog for the second time, to put off working. Check.
Spray the poison ivy in the garden to put off working. Check.
Update my Philip Shirley personal web site to list the two signings that were confirmed this week. Check.
Edit copy on the website. Check.
Open the file on a short story draft and write a paragraph or two. Check.
Reread a piece of flash fiction to see if it got better sitting idle in the file. (Nope.) Check.
Look up a couple of bookstore addresses to ask Mindbridge to contact for signings. Check.
Look up bloggers who might be interested in reviewing the book. Check.
Read the tutorial on Contribute 2 so figure out how to change leading in the website. (No luck). Check.
Send my publisher an email about the timing of the digital version release. Check.
Open another file to see if any of the half-started, dead-end short stories speaks to me today. (Nope) Check.
Get another beer and imagine selling thousands of copies of The White Lie. Check
Consider editing The Graceland Conspiracy manuscript. (considered, dismissed) Check.
Look up my blogs to see how long it has been since I blogged. Oops, too long. Check.
Write this blog about what book publishing feels like. Check.

THE WHITE LIE scheduled for release July 2014

My novel The White Lie is scheduled for release from Mindbridge Press July 2014. Galleys are now being set for Advance Reader Copies. If you are a reviewer who is interested please contact Mindbridge at the email on their website www.mindbridgepress.com. 

Here's a brief description: Dejected advertising executive Peter Brantley is carjacked when a drug bust goes bad. Facing death as a witness who knows of the fleeing dealer, Peter crashes his car and leaves the unconscious criminal on the side of a rural road. Peter keeps the gym bag of cocaine left in his car to get even with the drug dealers by ransoming the drugs back—with no intention to deliver. With a marriage on the rocks and depressed over his brother’s death from a drug overdose, Peter and his wife Mary Beth go against the odds to face a ruthless drug kingpin and a drug task force leader who are both closing in. Mary Beth, who is fighting temptations of infidelity, uses this zany plan and her support of Peter to salvage her marriage. When Peter and his cousin are seriously injured during an ill-fated attempt to con the drug dealers, Mary Beth emerges as the unlikely hero to make sure the drug dealers can never harm the couple again.