Southern Rock

The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd helped usher in a new kind of southern music from Jacksonville, Florida. Together, they and fellow bands like Blackfoot, 38 Special, and Molly Hatchet would reset the course of '70s rock. Yet Jacksonville seemed an unlikely hotbed for a new musical movement. Michael FitzGerald blends eyewitness detail with in-depth history to tell the story of how the River City bred this generation of legendary musicians.

In one month, I turn thirty-five with my virginity still intact. Is there anything more embarrassing than knowing most of my French students have gotten more action than me? Je suis triste. When I accidentally reveal this secret to my close friend and co-worker Seamus, South Rock's baseball coach, he offers to help me round the bases. It has to be a joke, because Seamus is one million percent straight. There's no way he'd want to fool around with a chubby language nerd like me, even though I've harbored a secret crush on him since the day he first walked into the teachers' lounge.

I love watching chemicals bond, but I avoid the practice myself. When I'm not teaching, I'm hanging out with my cat and putting together puzzles. I shy away from romantic entanglements because I know firsthand the collateral damage they cause. Until I bump into Anton and Sebastian: best friends, business partners, and former wrestling superstars at South Rock High who could barely pass my class. Catching up turns into drinking, which turns into dancing, which turns into them practicing wrestling moves on me, sans clothing.

Levon is the dazzling, epic biography of Levon Helm - the beloved, legendary drummer and singer of The Band.

"A top-notch mystery from a writer to watch out for." - Bookish Jottings Mourning the death of her police inspector husband, Margot Renard moves to a small seaside town in the south of France. But when the body of a young boy washes up on a beach, Margot is drawn into a dangerous world of drug smugglers and people trafficking, and forced to cross paths with two feuding gangsters. Mystery combines with thrills in the first of an exciting new crime series set in the beautiful scenery of southern France. Ideal for readers of Martin Walker, Donna Leon, M. L. Longworth and Angela Wren. Praise ...

The Allman Brothers Band’s Brothers and Sisters was not only the band’s best-selling album at over seven million copies sold, it was also a powerfully influential release, both musically and culturally, one whose influence continues to be profoundly felt.

In the west, sometimes your hero is your enemy... After her plantation burns to the ground by the hands of her Confederate father, Willow is then forced to escape Georgia aboard a wagon train heading west. When the Apache attack the wagons, capturing and brutalizing her, Willow copes by escaping reality. As her mind slips from the present into the past, confusion sets in. Willow no longer knows her enemies as she is tied and sacrificed for a man they call Yellow Rock. Dutch (Yellow Rock) knows a trap when he sees one. The crazy woman whistling Dixie up on that cliff can mean only one thing;...

When bestselling author Megan Pressfield retreats to Morgan’s Rock to pen the sequel to her hit novel and rebuild her life after a devastating divorce, she expects peace and inspiration. Instead, she finds a mansion steeped in secrets—and a doorway to another time. In an old armoire, Megan discovers an exquisite 1930s gown. Slipping it on, she’s transported to 1932, where the jazz-age glamour of Hollywood collides with something far darker. Morgan’s Rock is haunted by restless spirits and the shadow of a disastrous party that left lives shattered and secrets buried. As Megan delves ...

In the charming little town of Heartsboro— rumored to be the birthplace of Cupid— Valentine’s Day is more than candy hearts and roses; it’s a tradition. Every year, the Valentine’s Ball draws hopeful singles to its twinkling dance floor, all chasing the promise of true love. The town buzzes with excitement as whispers of Cupid’s annual appearance ignite imaginations and stir hearts. But Liz Blackstone isn’t buying it. Back in Heartsboro for her twentieth high school homecoming, Liz has no patience for childhood myths or whimsical beliefs. Her former high school boyfriend feels...

When a local businessman collapses after tasting Harper Lane’s famous Southern Comfort Stew, her beloved Magnolia Café becomes a crime scene—and Harper becomes the prime suspect. To clear her name, she teams up with Ranger, the sheriff’s droopy-eared bloodhound with a nose for trouble. As Harper uncovers blackmail, buried family secrets, and a trail leading straight to her estranged aunt, the quiet town of Sweetgum Ridge turns out to be full of surprises. Warm, witty, and wonderfully Southern, The Magnolia Café Mystery is a cozy whodunit filled with charm, community, and one ...

In the summer of 1964 Jacksonville, Florida teenager Ronnie Van Zant and some of his friends hatched the idea of forming a band to play covers of the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Yardbirds, and the country and blues-rock music they had grown to love. Naming their band after Leonard Skinner, the gym teacher at Robert E. Lee Senior High School who constantly badgered the long-haired aspiring musicians to get haircuts, they were soon playing gigs at parties, and bars throughout the South.

The tragic and inspiring story of the leaders of Outlaw country and their influence on today’s Alt-County and Americana superstars, tracing a path from Waylon Jennings’ survival on the Day the Music Died through to the Highwaymen and on to the current creative and commercial explosion of...

The Best and the Worst Concert Ever: Why The Warning is Awesome, is an essay about a concert that was, as the title says, the best, and yet the worst concert ever. From writer James J. Caterino. the author of Cool Stuff, Reviews and Essays, True Stories, True Stories 2, Escape to Nowhere, and much more.

A long time ago, in a suburban high school not so far away, a closeted nerd (me) and a closeted soccer star (Hutch) fell in love and planned to make their public debut at prom. Until Hutch bailed at the last minute, leaving me with a broken heart and unworn tuxedo. Tale as old as time, right? I spent the past ten years working to forget Hutch, returning to our old high school to teach and make new memories that could erase ones of him. I thought Hutch was ancient history, off living his professional athlete life.

The Heroes History Forgot: Southern Officers Who Kept Their Oath to the Constitution When Virginia seceded in April 1861, Colonel Robert E. Lee faced an agonizing choice: accept command of the Union army or follow his state into rebellion. He chose Virginia and broke his oath to the Constitution. On the same day, another Virginian made a different choice. Winfield Scott, the 74-year-old commanding general of the Army, remained loyal to the oath he had taken 50 years earlier. "I have served my country under the flag of the Union for more than fifty years," Scott said, "and so long as God ...

The first and most complete narrative biography of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, by acclaimed music journalist and Rolling Stone senior writer David Browne "Riveting." -People Magazine "This is one of the great rock and roll stories." -New York Times Book Review Even in the larger-than-life...

Reverend Castle Marlowe is a famed chalkboard illustrator who has everything—a beautiful family, a lovely home and a ministry that he loves. Just as he begins to think he’s invincible, like leaves in a windstorm, his perfect life is suddenly swept up, blown away and turned upside down. Cass has always prided himself on his ability to counsel others and yet he now finds himself in a position of needing his own counselor. His family is treating him as if he’s an invalid. Christmas has always been his favorite time of year, but if things don’t improve, he may not stick around long ...

I should be a glitter bomb of excitement about my college friends getting married. But all I can think about is running into my uber-successful ex and his new boyfriend at the wedding . . . while I'm flying painfully solo. I need a plus one, stat. Enter Raleigh Marshall. As luck (or misfortune) would have it, a picture of me and South Rock High's too-blessed-to-be-stressed football coach accidentally finds its way on social media, making people believe we're an item. Raleigh is hot, charming, and one of South Rock's most popular teachers. The problem is that he knows it.

Explore the untamed spirit of the Natural State, from its rugged origins to modern times. The definitive chronicle of Arkansas: Where heritage meets resilience in the American South. A richly-woven tale of Native lands, civil wars, and the indomitable character of Arkansans. In this comprehensive and engaging historical account, author Daniel Hardy takes readers on a fascinating journey through the rich heritage of the state of Arkansas. From the Native American societies that first inhabited the region, through the turbulent years of the Civil War and the complex 20th century era of civil ...

The Powell brothers - Muir and Moody - are as different as Cain and Abel. Muir is an innocent, a shy young man with big dreams. Moody, the older and wilder brother - embittered by the death of his father, by years of fighting his mother, and by his jealousy of Muir's place in the family - takes to moonshine and gambling and turns his anger on his brother. Muir escapes by wandering, making his way around the country in attempts to find something - an occupation, a calling - to match his ambition.