My mother and paternal grandma were responsible for my love of TV westerns. Mother’s favorite show was Gunsmoke and she enjoyed it so much that she was going to name me Marshall Dillon if I'd been a boy. True story. And Grandma? I don't think she knew who the actor Lorne Greene was, but she could give you every stat about his Bonanza character Ben Cartwright, along with those of his three sons (Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe) living on the scenic Ponderosa ranch. My Saturdays thi

Being invited to speak as a featured author at the Southern Independent Bookseller Alliance (SIBA) trade show was the dream part. What happened next was the nightmare part. First, let me say that SIBA ’16 (held September 16-18 in Savannah, Georgia) was an awesome experience -- and one of those experiences that I feel might only happen to me. Oh friends, this one is for the books, specifically one called “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up.” This story requires that I preface with

I saw the movie "Bad Moms" with some of the BEST moms I know. (Here we are at AMC.) Now, the language was rough. I truly don’t know one mom who goes about her day dropping the words-of-choice that the moms in this movie did. But it’s still pretty hilarious and recognizes the pressure moms are under to be perfect. Christina Applegate’s character is an exaggeration of the over-the-top PTA president some encounter during their children’s K-12 experience. Actually, she was kind o

“She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.” (Mark Twain) Have you ever tried writing with a parrot on each shoulder? I imagine some of you have. Companion birds are popular pets and often call “shoulder” when it’s time to ride about the house. I truly enjoy it when the Brothers Bob sit and supervise quietly from my shoulders. Sometimes, though, one or both can be quite the di