Recently I attended the Pee Dee Fiction and Poetry Festival  held  on the beautiful campus of Francis Marion University in Florence, SC with Kim Blum-Hyclak and Betty Wilson Beamguard. Amy Bloom, novelist; Patricia Smith, poet; Michael Chitwood, poet; and Daniel Woodrell, novelist fielded questions from faculty and students. One of the first questions was where did the inspiration for the story/poem/novel come from?

For Patricia Smith, author of the award winning poetry collection, Blood Dazzler, poems about Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the aftermath, news reports were essential. Her husband worked with Associated Press and read news reports and saw astonishing photos that did not appear on the evening news. The inspiration for one of the poems in the collection was her own experiences visiting an aunt who was in a nursing home.

Amy Bloom, author of several novels and a collection of short stories entitled Where the God of Love Hangs Out, said news articles also inspire her. She read about a prep school where a swatzika was carved into a locker. A 13-year-old girl was discovered to be the culprit. Amy’s daughter also attended the same school.

Michael Chitwood, award winning poet of The Weave Room, said his father worked in a textile mill. He talked about the how loud it was inside the mill. Listening to people’s colorful language also inspired his work. He heard someone say, “Boy, I’ll smack a fart out of you that’ll make you hum like a jar fly.”

Daniel Woodrell, author of several novels, including Winter’s Bone, which was made into a movie and won at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010, told how he saw a teenager in the grocery store with two younger siblings. It was obvious the teenager was acting as a mother-figure to the children. This observation led Woodrell to create the main character Ree Dolly in Winter’s Bone.

As the writers fielded the questions, I considered how I would answer. Here’s my personal list of things that inspire me:

1. Walking through an art gallery or museum, or viewing art work online. A picture entitled The Singing Butler sparked an idea for a short story.

2. Looking at photographs or family albums and listening to family stories can spark the imagination. My friend Kim Blum-Hyclak writes poems about people in photographs she finds in flea markets.

3. A road trip down country lanes exploring new territory or traveling old roads to forgotten places can spark the imagination as well. My friend Betty Wilson Beamguard wrote a novel entitled Weej and Johnnie Hit Florida about a fictional road trip.

4. Walking through a cemetery, just glancing at headstones, led the three of us to conjure up stories about the deceased. None of us have come up with a suitable story yet, but the ideas are percolating.

How about you? What inspires you to write?

This summer I decided to participate in the Adult Summer Reading Program at our local library. How many books could I read in 8 weeks? I discovered my reading rate has seriously slowed down, but I did manage to read 9 books during the alloted time. I did start several other books that I didn’t finish. And I read sections of several books on the craft of writing that are not included in the count.   

When I reviewed the list of completed books, I realized several had a war theme. A Good Son by Michael Gruber is not a book I would normally pick up, but I read an excerpt at dearreader.com and became intrigued enough to check the book out of the library. An American soldier, a mother who is a psychoanalyist, and the war in Pakistan all were threads in this amazing novel. I highly recommend it!

Miss Dimple Disappears, by Mignon Ballard, is set in the time period of World War II. The reader is right there with the citizens trying to do their part as civilians to support the war effort and, of course, there is a mystery to solve. Every word is absolutely perfect. I highly recommend this book as well.

Brave Enemies, by Robert Morgan, is a novel about the American Revolutionary War and the Battle at Cowpens, in particular. I heard Professor Morgan speak a few weeks ago, and I just had to read the book. What a compelling read! I had to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen to Josie/Joseph and John.

A Duty to the Dead, by Charles Todd, is set during World War I. The main character, Bess Crawford, is a nurse to British soldiers. What a compellingly strong character she is! This book is also a wonderfully crafted mystery, the first in a new series by the Charles Todd writing team.

While Prayers for Sale, by Sandra Dallas, is not a book about war, it was definitely set in a different time period. Hennie Comfort tells stories to her young friend of the early days of mining for gold and silver in Colorado. The reader catches a glimpse of a hard way of life and learns about quilts as well.

Okay. How many books have you read this summer? Are there any you would recommend?

The Petigru Review is an annual publication of South Carolina Writers Workshop and is available for sale at Amazon.com.

C. J.  Box told of his writing journey from his days as a young reader to becoming a bestselling author of the Joe Pickett series, beginning with Open Season and continuing to his latest Cold Wind, his thirteenth novel.

Cathy Pickens, (author of Can’t Never Tell), Lisa Patton  (author of Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter), and Celia Rivenbark (author of   You Can’t Drink All Day if You Don’t Start in the Mornin’ and Bless Your Heart, Tramp)told hilarious stories about their writing journeys as Southern women writing mysteries, contemporary women’s fiction and newspaper columns. The room was packed for the panel discussion which was laugh-out-loud side-splitting funny!  

Mignon Ballard, Katheryn Wall, and Carla Damron told of their latest mysteries. Miss Dimple Disappears, Ballard’s latest, is a delightful Southern mystery set in World War II. Every character, every mannerism, every word is perfect! Jericho Kay, Wall’s latest, was well-written and explosive at times. I loved the setting. Death in Zooville, Damron’s latest, is the next book I plan to read.

Beth Webb Hart, author of Love, Charleston, and River Jordan, author of Praying for Strangers, talked about writing for the inspirational market. Two more books found their way into my shopping bag.

Faith Hunter, author of Mercy Blade,  and Mario Acevedo , author of The Nymphos at Rocky Flats, told of the fun of writing urban fantasy. While I do not normally knowingly read vampire stories, Hunter’s books are always fast-passed and suspenseful. Acevedo’s book proved to be a little too bloody for my taste, but it was entertaining and funny.  

Several panels described and discussed “Great Summer Reads”. Among them were: Nicole Seitz, author of The Inheritance of Beauty, and Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters. Two more titles were added to my list of books to read this summer.

At the end of the second day of the Festival, I had purchased nine books, and had started a list of authors to look for on my next trip to the library and/or bookstore. And I won a door prize, a beach towel, the perfect accessory for reading in a chaise lounge beside the pool.

If you have read any of these titles, let me know what you think.

Weej and Johnnie Hit Florida, by Betty Wilson Beamguard. A whacky story of a road trip, the first novel of a delightfully funny author.

Meet Me in Venice, by Elizabeth Adler. Travel to Paris, Venice, and China, or read any other novel by this author–you’re sure to be pleased.

Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie. Read the classic mystery, watch the movie, or play the game–you’re sure to enjoy the intellectual exercise of this detective’s deductions.

Hit the Road, by Caroline B. Cooney. A funny young adult novel, with the narrator just learning to drive and a grandmother with  plans to bust a friend out of a nursing home.

Miss Julia Hits the Road, by Ann B. Ross. I haven’t actually read this one, but the book cover looks intriguing and funny. Could Miss Julia be riding a Harley for her travel adventures?

Blue Water, by A. Manette Ansay. For the boating enthusiast, a Caribbean Islands setting, a novel to pull on your heart strings.

 What novels would you suggest?