“Dreams of Falling,” by Karen White

Reviewed by Donna Meredith Dreams of Falling showcases Karen White’s considerable talents in a moving multi-generational story of complicated friendships, closely-held secrets, a mysterious fire, and suspicious death. A New York Times best-selling author, White has penned over twenty novels beloved by her fans. Set in Georgetown, South Carolina, Dreams of Falling focuses on two […]

“Hints of Impermanence: Ghosts and Orphans in Gail Godwin’s Grief Cottage,” by Kerstin W. Shands

Essay by Kerstin W. Shands Gail Godwin’s new novel Grief Cottage (2017) is set in coastal South Carolina, an area rich in history, legend, and tradition. Evoking a real place and a real environment, Pawleys Island and the Isle of Palms, this novel introduces us to Grief Cottage, a profoundly charged site, a metaphorical rendezvous […]

“Quail Hunting at Little Hobcaw as Inspiration for Robert Ruark’s ‘The Old Man and the Boy,'” by Richard Rankin

Essay by Richard Rankin  Among Robert Ruark’s (1915-1965) complete body of work as a prolific, high-profile newspaper and magazine journalist and bestselling novelist, perhaps his most enduring literary accomplishments are his two sporting classics, The Old Man and the Boy (1957) and The Old Man’s Boy Grows Older (1961). Created from a series of highly […]

Allen Mendenhall Interviews Lorna Hollifield, Author of “Tobacco Sun”

AM:  Thanks, Lorna, for doing this interview.  The title of your debut novel is Tobacco Sun.  I want to ask you about that title, but first I want to quote from some opening lines of the book.  “Tobacco,” you say, “a strangely fragile, yet willful crop, desperate for survivorship, proved it could somehow adapt to […]

Allen Mendenhall Interviews Bren McClain, Author of “One Good Mama Bone”

AM:  Thanks for the interview, Bren.  Before we talk about your new book, One Good Mama Bone, I’d like to mention something we have in common: We both studied English at Furman University.  Who were your professors there? BM:  Dr. Stanley Crowe was my adviser.  Also Dr. Pate, Gil Allen and Ann Sharp.  Loved them. […]

“Long-Legged Rosie – Murder in Myrtle Beach,” by Troy D. Nooe

Reviewed by Betsy Randolph Troy D. Nooe’s mystery novel Long-Legged Rosie – Murder in Myrtle Beach transports us back to a simpler time in crime fiction, when gangsters wore pinstriped suits and had the decency to shoot each other face-to-face, often after a brief exchange of insults or perceived wrongs. It’s the 1940’s.  Nooe’s protagonist, […]