Dawn Major discovered Gregory Ariail’s debut novel, The Gospel of Rot, through Mercer University Press, a publisher of Southern authors and/or books on Southern themes. issues, and interests. She was immediately taken in by the description on the back of the book and knew The Gospel of Rot would prove to be complex and challenging […]
“The Gospel of Rot” by Gregory Ariail
March 15, 2023 by 1 Comment
When deciding to review a book I try to avoid blurbs, other reviews, or anything that may influence my review. I’ll read the author’s bio or visit their website, but initially I prefer to select a book based on the author’s synopsis. So, when I read the back of The Gospel of Rot (Mercer University […]
“The Hammerhead Chronicles” by Scott Gould
January 18, 2023 by Leave a Comment
To start, The Hammerhead Chronicles by Scott Gould isn’t about sharks and based on the number of social media posts coming from Gould reiterating this statement, some others went there too. Also, the world is divided into two groups—cyclists and non-cyclists. Cyclists even have their own secret language which includes hammerheads…that are not sharks. Apologies […]
Dawn Major interviews Scott Gould
January 18, 2023 by Leave a Comment
I was introduced to Scott Gould through another South Carolina author, George Singleton. I reviewed Gould’s short story collection Strangers to Temptation and his first novel, Whereabouts on my blog, SouthernRead. He also wrote a memoir recently, Things That Crash, Things That Fly that is still on my “Must Read” stack. I didn’t know what […]
Dawn Major interviews Janisse Ray, author of “The Woods of Fannin County”
December 7, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Associate Editor of Southern Literary Review, Dawn Major originally met Southern author, poet, activist, Janisse Ray while Major was a graduate student attending the Etowah Valley MFA Creative Writing Program. Ray taught a nonfiction workshop then and was the keynote speaker for the graduating class. DM: I know you had some anxiety over publishing fiction […]
December Read of the Month: “The Woods of Fannin County” by Janisse Ray
December 7, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Astounding as it may seem for admirers of Southern author, poet, activist Janisse Ray, The Woods of Fannin County (Janisse Ray, 2022) is her first time publishing fiction. Maybe more surprising is her anxiety over venturing into fiction. The Woods of Fannin County is an unfathomable story, and perhaps, fiction made it easier to tell […]