C - Pat Conroy/Alex Cavanaugh/ Sandra Cox/Alexandra Christie

Pat Conroy certainly wrote the Great American novel. I've read most of his books. When his mother was dying, she reluctantly let him come to her bedside. She loved him but not the idea her death would be in one of his books.

Pat Conroy - Robert C. Clark photographer
found on Wikimedia Commons

The more I know writers, this is a very real. I casually chatted with a woman at a writer's conference. I bought her book several years later. I creepily saw elements of our conversation in the main character's thoughts. It would not have been so bad if the book was the Great American novel. But it was a grade C
romance/mystery. But the sex in the book was great.

I remember watching the movie "The Great Santini" which was based on Pat Conroy's father and his childhood. Growing up in a military town with a father who was a World War II veteran, I understood the loudness and violence families could experience from their military parents. PTSD was not acknowledged much less treated. I was lucky in having a good father; but, I remember the raw power my dad had.

Another movie titled "Conrack" was based on his novel "The Water Was Wide" which described Pat Conroy's experience teaching on Daufuskie Island.

http://patconroyliterarycenter.org/       http://www.patconroy.com/about.php




Blogging friends can become very real. In reading blogs and comments you learn about people's personalities and beliefs. The following two writers I met through blogging.

Alex Cavanaugh is known by many bloggers through the Insecure Writer's Support Group that he founded. If Alex can personally give you help, he will. I wrote a blog post where I got a warning from Twitter about my churning to gain followers. Alex told me an app that would help.

Alex has a super blog, http://www.alexjcavanaugh.com. He gives updates about new movies, features writers who have recently released a book, blogger news, and a lot of pop culture updates. If you want to be up to date, Alex is your man. His ebook Cassa Star is currently free. This is a link to a blog page where you can find a link to get the book.

Alex is a Sci Fi kind of guy. Pardon the rhyme. The doggeral got to me. Cassa Star is the prequel to the Cassa series. Science fiction with military action combining to create a thrilling adventure.

Cassa Star Link





Sandra Cox is another blogger I have met. I took the bait and bought some of her books. They are a quick escape from the everyday. I was surprised with myself when I spent an afternoon reading about a young woman's love affair with a ghost that was doomed. There was a happily ever after which all romances and fairy tales deliver.


Ghost For Sale




I've met many who feel like close friends at the Southeastern Writer's conference. One of them is Alexandra Christie who writes women's fiction. My mind filed that under romance. But when I came across the book's title and description, I bought the book.

Christie's book is "between nowhere and lost". It is the story of Helen Hodges, a Catholic in the South. Torn between her marital vows and the attraction to a mill owner, Helen's story navigates between the racial and union tensions of the 1960's.



http://www.southeasternwriters.org/swa-workshop