Southern Storytelling

“So often people ask me if there’s a book on story I can recommend. This is the one. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”––Alexa Junge, writer/producer, Friends, Sex and the City, The West Wing A master class of 27 lessons, drawn from 27 diverse narratives, for novelists...

From the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast comes a sweeping multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family in the tradition of Homegoing and The Love Songs of W.E...

"I loved it." —Ann Patchett The bestselling author of American Housewife ("Dark, deadpan and truly inventive." --The New York Times Book Review) is back with a fiercely funny collection of essays on marriage and manners, thank-you notes and three-ways, ghosts, gunshots, gynecology, and the...

LOVE HUNTIN’ AND OTHER CRAZY HILLBILLY STORIES Volume 4 of MUSING APPALACHIA Hillbillies are peculiar critters, found only in the Appalachian Mountains…where real life often seems stranger than fiction. These stories weave mountain customs and folklore into the lives of whimsical characters who were mostly sane (give or take a little). I write about the more eccentric, humorous, and fun-loving folks I’ve run across…sprinkled with a few embellishments here and there. . The book features forty-two uproariously funny tales: The Jay Bird Boys Talk Trash The Snuggle Inn Half-Star Hotel ...

From the New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke comes another brilliant Dave Robicheaux novel—now available in ebook—featuring the Louisiana detective in a race to solve a murder before more blood is shed. The Fontenot family has lived as sharecroppers on Bertrand land for as long...

David Sedaris returns with his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious book. If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast...

From two-time Edgar Award–winner and New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke comes a thrilling novel—now available in ebook—that pits Dave Robicheaux against the worst opponent he’s encountered yet. It’s out there, under the salt of the Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana...

A Backwards Glance is a collection of stories from the extraordinary life of an exceptional man. Follow Sid Mickle from his small-town Alabama childhood to a 40-year professional career that allowed him to travel far from home without ever forgetting its lessons. This book is more than a collection of stories. It is a nostalgic journey through time with family, friends, work associates and a collection of real life memories. There is success and failure, joy and tragedy, setbacks and triumphs. These stories include vivid recollections of childhood struggles to understand his polar-opposite ...

If you were raised in the backhills of Appalachia, you already know the region has a high ratio of screwballs and everyday garden-variety nutjobs…the kind you sometimes find at church potlucks and family reunions. I was blessed with more than a few eccentric kinfolks who made growing up in Appalachia an adventure. While some might beat you with a crowbar and quote scripture while doing it, others were just run-of- the-mill granny women, moonshiners, preachers, healers, or strong-willed women. Most, though, were laid back, quiet and…funny. This book is a collection of often-outrageous ...

USA Today bestselling author Susannah B. Lewis (creator of Whoa! Susannah) is back with another hilarious take on what so many people are thinking but are afraid to say aloud. Millions of online fans have flocked to Susannah B. Lewis's hysterical, take-no-prisoners rants about her pet peeves in...

Social media comedian Heather Land uses her trademark sassy, laugh-out-loud humor to remind us of the many ways that real life can be really funny. Heather Land has something to say about almost everything in life—the unbelievable, inconceivable, and downright frustrating—and why she...

Southerners have long been known for spinning humorous "stories" about real life…often laced with adventure and intrigue. What makes Appalachian humor entertaining is the cast of kooky characters and their wacky sense of place. These folks are larger than life and, at times, stranger than fiction. If you were raised in the backhills of Appalachia, you already know the region boasts a high ratio of screwballs and everyday garden variety nutjobs. Eccentric, fun loving (and decidedly offbeat) people come alive on these pages…and every one of them will entertain. This volume of Musing ...

In this unique collection, Literary Witches co-creator Katy Horan unearths the true and fictional stories behind twenty traditional murder ballads, exploring the beauty and horror of the art form through stories, lyrics, and original interpretations. The audiobook includes covers of various folk...

Welcome to the front porch of Possum Neck, Arkansas—where the tea is sweet, the air is thick with crickets and mischief, and Grandpa Charlie’s rocking chair creaks with more secrets than a preacher at a pie auction. In That Reminds Me of a Story, you’re about to experience twenty outrageous, side-splitting, and possibly-not-entirely-true tales straight from the mouth of the South’s most animated storyteller. From possessed hams and time-warping lawnmowers to ghost-filled outhouses and championship possum pageants, these stories walk the fine line between “that never happened” ...

From two-time Edgar Award–winner and New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke comes a thrilling novel—now available in ebook—that pits Dave Robicheaux against the worst opponent he’s encountered yet. It’s out there, under the salt of the Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana...

From debut author Ronlyn Domingue comes a stunning, imaginative novel that beautifully captures the nature of love and how it transcends all barriers -- even death. In 1920s New Orleans, smart and fearless Raziela Nolan is in the throes of a magnificent love affair when she suddenly dies in a...

In the small town of Revival Cove, faith is tested and family ties are stretched to their limits in this stirring sequel to the beloved Mayer family saga. After a devastating loss, siblings Huck, Johnny, and Corinth Mayer each find themselves at a crossroads. Huck returns to the dangerous world of moonshining, pulled by desperation and haunted by regret. Every decision seems to bring him closer to ruin—and further from redemption. Johnny faces yet another heartbreak and career setback, but amidst his lowest moments, something unexpected stirs: a spiritual awakening that could reshape his ...

Southern Patchwork Stories that don’t just whisper the past—they sing it. Tucked away in the bottom corner of McNairy County, Tennessee, Sweetgum Ridge is a town that time didn’t quite forget it just paused a little longer here. The porch swings creak with memory. The graveyard hums after midnight. And the stories… well, they ain’t always written down, but they’re always remembered. In this collection of Southern short stories, Nathan Harrison brings to life the grit and grace of small-town living. You’ll meet the troublemakers and the tender hearts, the quiet heroes and the ...

Welcome to Sweetgum Hollow—where stories grow wilder than blackberry vines and one red-haired girl can stir up more truth than a Southern storm. Meet Jennymae “Jingles” Tibbins: a feisty, 13-year-old sparkplug with a jangle in her pocket, a rebel spirit, and a sweet tea wit that cuts through nonsense like a butter knife through biscuits. In these pages, you’ll ride shotgun through the Deep South—on dirt roads, church pews, and secrets buried beneath front porch chatter. Jingles doesn’t aim to cause trouble, but truth has a funny way of finding her—and when it does, it sure ...

From the New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke comes another brilliant Dave Robicheaux novel—now available in ebook—featuring the Louisiana detective in a race to solve a murder before more blood is shed. The Fontenot family has lived as sharecroppers on Bertrand land for as long...