News
November 2007
Atlanta Writers Club
I'm looking forward
to speaking before the Atlanta Writers Club November 17 at 1:30
p.m. Will finally get the chance to talk about how all that other
writing I did all those years actually helped when I sat down
to write a novel. AWC meets at the Dunwoody Campus of Georgia
Perimeter College. The mere idea of standing in a room full of
writers gives me a thrill.
MUSIC gets a
plug on Georgia Public Radio
Thanks, Jackie Cooper, for giving MUSIC
a wonderful plug on Georgia Public Radio's "Fridays with
Jackie, November 3. And thanks especially for telling St. John
Flynn to get it off his shelf and give it a look. Best wishes
to you both.
October 2007
Gwinnett Reading Festival
Look for me October
20 at the very first Gwinnett Reading Festival, in Lawrenceville,
Georgia, sponsored by the Gwinnett County Public Library. I'll
be there from one to four p.m. The library folks are still working
out the details. I'll let you know more as soon as I find out.
A lively book
group
Had a great time at the Lettuce Read book
group at Big Canoe, Georgia. A lovely, lively afternoon. Thanks
again for asking me.
August 2007
MUSIC at Elvis Insiders Event
in Memphis!
I'm here to report the Elvis Insiders
Event 2007 was a fantastic experience. The crowd was huge and
international. I signed books for folks from England, Ireland,
Wales, the Isle of Man and Australia, plus all quadrants of the
U.S. Got interviewed by Tom Brow, director of special projects
for Turner Broadcasting System, who hosted the event, and read
to an auditorium full of Elvis fans. The only downer: The Graceland
Store is not actually in Graceland, so have yet to see it. Temperature
that day in Memphis was 106 F., and so Bill and I gratefully went
from air-conditioned store to air-conditioned car and back home
to Jasper. Met numerous folks who knew and worked with Elvis,
including Al Wertheimer, who took just about every Elvis photo
I remember, plus Elvis movie co-stars Mary Ann Mobley and Chris
Noell. And if you haven't seen downtown Memphis, it's charming,
even in the heat. They wisely kept all their old stuff -- buildings,
trolleys. Looked like the 1940s. Lovely.
"North Georgia Now"
loves MUSIC
We owe our favorite poet a good dinner.
When he was taped last month by our local cable channel for their
news-and-personalities show, "North Georgia Now," he
introduced me to their interviewer, Hannah Baker. I gave her a
copy of The Year the Music Changed, she read it, and interviewed
me, too. I appeared on the show August 24. Baker got her TV start
in high school -- back in 2001. How cool is that! I think I'm
getting old.
July 2007
Italian MUSIC is out!
The Italian translation of THE YEAR THE
MUSIC CHANGED came out July 1 and its Italian publisher, Guido
Farneti at Azimut Libri, has high hopes for it. I don't speak
Italian, but from all indications they have done a wonderful job.
The head of Azimut, Guido Farneti, was born the day Elvis died,
and says that from the start he felt a real kinship with the novel.
They have given it a striking pop-art cover. Check it out on their
Web site, www.azimutlibri.com
October 2006
Japanese
MUSIC coming out in November
Heard October 4 from Poplar Press, the
Tokyo publisher that bought the Japanese translation rights to
THE YEAR THE MUSIC CHANGED. The company was looking for a downloadable
author photo and said the book was due out in November. I'm very
excited about this. Elvis's popularity in Japan runs all the way
to the top -- the Prime Minister is such a big fan that when he
came to the U.S. the Bushes arranged for him to visit Graceland.
Here's hoping MUSIC thrives in Japan!
MUSIC's Italian
translation nearly complete
The Italian translation of THE YEAR THE
MUSIC CHANGED is almost finished. Heard today (October 2) from
the translator, Chiara Manfrinato, that she is going over it one
last time and may have a few questions in the next couple of weeks.
My agent describes the Italian publisher as "a lovely small
literary house." It looks like the Italian book should be
out before long, probably, if Italian publishers follow the same
timetables as those in the U. S., within a year. Great news!
September, 2006
Decatur
Book Festival
I'm one of some 130 "world-class
authors" honored to be invited to speak at the inaugural
Decatur Book Festival on Labor Day weekend. I'm speaking Sunday,
September 3, at 3:45 p.m. AND I'VE GOT THE T-SHIRT TO PROVE IT!!
www.decaturbookfestival.com
Georgia Library
Association's 13th annual Authors' Reception
I'll be there, September 21 from 4 to
5:30 p.m. in the Classic Center, Athens, Georgia. The event is
part of COMO (Council of Media Organizations), the annual statewide
meeting of public, academic, special and school librarians. You
have been some of the biggest supporters of THE YEAR THE MUSIC
CHANGED. Many of you have recommended the book to book groups,
and I get messages on my site all the time from readers who found
the book thanks to a local librarian. I look forward to meeting
you!!
July, 2006
MUSIC gets a Hollywood rave review!
A friend of a friend of my wonderful, supportive spouse sent a
copy of MUSIC to his son, who is an up-and-coming producer for
a company connected with Warner Brothers. He sent the book to
a WB script analyst, and he sent back a five-page rave review
peppered with “CONSIDER” recommendations in big capital
letters!! Turns out, “consider” ratings are rare in
themselves – but the best part is nobody can remember when
this particular analyst liked ANYTHING!! The producer, Scott Budnick,
immediately requested several copies of the book to pass out to
“friends in the business who might be interested.”
My wonderful publisher complied immediately, and I think I exercised
remarkable restraint in not asking them to send a whole carton.
A few quotes from MUSIC’s wonderful Hollywood analysis
follow:
• “Poignant and captivating, this novel succeeds on
virtually every level and the wise beyond her years heroine captures
our hearts immediately. CONSIDER.”
• “Elvis’s rise to fame keeps us anchored in
the time period while our heart and real interest lies in what
is taking place with Achsa. Fortunately, the author doesn’t
let us down. This is a CONSIDER for the book.”
• And the fantastic final paragraph: “As mentioned
earlier, the characters’ voices are so strong that it feels
as if we know them inside and out by story’s end. Although
we know so much about Elvis, the author has managed to depict
him in a somewhat softer, more intimate way than we are familiar
with and, despite the fact this is fiction, we feel as though
we know him a bit more intimately. The author shows confidence
and creativity as she blends fact with fiction and tosses in a
few unexpected story twists along the way. Achsa’s parents
are fascinating in a devastating, frustrating way and Annette’s
angst is painfully gripping at times. We’re stunned by the
reveal [near the book’s end] and captivated by the “laws”
of the time. Overall, this is a thoroughly engaging read which
pulls us in from page one. It’s great material for a small
period teen drama a la A BRONX TALE and THAT NIGHT (Juliette Lewis,
C. Thomas Howell, and Eliza Dushku) and should be CONSIDERED as
such.” [Italics mine.]
June, 2006
We’re recording a MUSIC audiobook!!
The Year the Music Changed is well on its way to being an audiobook,
read by the author. Yes, I’m reading Elvis’s part,
as well as Achsa’s. We’re recording at Nate’s
Music Room, in beautiful downtown Jasper. It’s a great,
down-home little studio run by really nice folks. A cardinal in
an adjacent crabapple tree offered to provide sound effects, but
missed his cue in the mocking bird scene. Oh, well, not every
critter is cut out for this sort of thing, I suppose. We’ll
keep you posted on the release date, so check back.
June 2006
Two lovely and lively book groups
If you’re a female reader who lives
in or around Cumming, Georgia, and are looking for a book group,
by all means check out the Louise Jacobs Book Club that meets
monthly at the Cumming First United Methodist Church! They invited
me to come and talk with them about The Year the Music Changed,
and we had such a spirited discussion we ran overtime. They’re
a wonderful, welcoming group of women. One of the many reasons
to keep crackiing on my next novel is the opportunity to return.
That same week, I was invited to hold a “conversation”
about my book in Palmetto, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, at
the beautiful family home of Barbara Knott, one of the stalwarts
of the Midtown Writers Group. We had a fine turnout and a gorgeous
day – not to mention much delicious food brought by the
guests. A lively conversation followed lunch. And it was a chance
to catch up on old friends.
Speaking with book groups is a special treat, because I can discuss
ALL of the book, including its surprise ending. “We have
one rule,” the hostess at Cumming UMC told me, “We
always discuss the ending.” What a delight, after so many
months of fearing I’ll give it away to people who haven’t
read the book.
May 2006
Year the Music Changed is shortlisted for 2006
Townsend Fiction Prize
Talk about an honor!! The Year the Music Changed has been shortlisted,
with 10 other titles, for the 2006 Townsend Fiction Prize. Founded
to honor former Atlanta Magazine editor Jim Townsend (a friend
and sometime editor of mine), the award goes to the book rated
by three anonymous, independent judges as the best novel published
in the preceding two years.
April 2006
MUSIC long-listed for the SIBA fiction award
The Year the Music Changed has been listed, along with some thirty
other novels published during 2005 throughout the Southeast, for
the Southeast Independent Booksellers Association’s annual
“Best Southern Novel” award.
March 2006
Check out the back cover of the Oxford American!!
If you have access to the Winter Reading Issue of the Oxford American,
the South’s much beloved slick-paper literary magazine,
check out the back cover. My publisher, a prince among men, is
running a full-page ad there for The Year the Music Changed. Hugs
to Dale, of Downtown Books in Apalachicola, for the super display
of OA magazines and MUSIC books!
Late February 2006
Tallahassee Democrat recommends MUSIC
In it inaugural book column, the Sunday Tallahassee Democrat included
MUSIC in a wrap-up of books by Florida authors and recommended
it as a “charming tale.”
Mid-February 2006
My apologies to the Fort Walton Beach Library
For months I had been looking forward to keynoting the Authors
Fair at the Fort Walton Beach Public Library. Then the day before
the event, I awoke with a full-blown case of the flu, part of
an epidemic that was straining local hospitals to capacity and
forcing cancellation of numerous events in the Florida Panhandle.
I croaked my disappointed cancellation over the phone, and retired
to my bed of pain, where I spent the remainder of the week. They
all seemed so gracious and thoughtful – definitely a venue
where I sure hope there’s a next time.
Early February 2006
Music benefits Eastpoint, Florida, library
I was privileged to headline a luncheon to benefit the building
fund for the Friends of Franklin County Library in Eastpoint.
I read passages from The Year the Music Changed before an overflow
crowd (they had to set up three extra tables), sold out of the
two cases of books ordered for the event, and raised money toward
a new library planned for a beautiful bay-view site. Click here
for a report on the event, which was the lead story in the Apalachicola
Times.
December 2005
So happy to meet you!!
What a wonderful celebration! Finally getting to meet my editor,
Deborah Megnaghi, and publisher, Matthew Miller, at the Toby Press
sales event in New York! Deborah’s e-mail photos do not
do her justice. And Matthew was so great he even laughed at my
jokes. The story he told about finding MUSIC in the Toby slush
pile stopped my heart: He had promised himself he would read at
least the first paragraph of every manuscript that came in. He
read the first paragraph of MUSIC, then the second, then the first
page, then the second page, then pages and pages – and then
the WHOLE THING!! “It stood out, pulsed and glowed like
neon. I couldn’t put it down.” All I could think was,
“Wow! All that stuff they tell you in the writing books
about ‘hook ‘em with the first sentence, and never
let them go’ is REAL.” And my heart turned over with
the thought of how close I had probably come – with every
word – at missing out on publication!
November 2005
MUSIC makes AJC gift issue!
Atlanta Journal-Constitution book editor Teresa Weaver listed
The Year the Music Changed among some 30 novels in the newspaper’s
annual “Fall Gift Section.” The novel was in elite
company, along with the likes of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabelle
Allende. Fellow Midtown Writers Group member Joshilyn Jackson’s
gods in Alabama also made the list.
November 2005
Interviewed for Nashville Public Television
On November 4, I traveled to Music City for my first author-interview
TV show, bringing with me a stomach full of butterflies and a
heart full of terror.
No need for either. Producer Kathy Conkwright and all the other
folks at NPT put me immediately at my ease. Host John Siegenthaler
was delightful! He’s been doing the show for more than 30
years, and he’s so good at it that all I could think about
when I saw the tape was, “Wow! I look just like a REAL WRITER
fielding questions in that leather chair!” I will recall
the moment always as a seminal epiphany. He’d given MUSIC
a most careful reading, judging from the notes that filled the
back pages of his book and the on-target questions he asked. But
the nicest part – even nicer than me thinking I came off
like the Margaret Atwood of Elvis novelists – was all the
wonderful things he had to say about The Year the Music Changed:
· “Epistolary fiction is out of fashion, but you’ve
taken it on and done it beautifully.”
· "It's a fascinating story, . . . tragic and beautiful, . . .
designed to bring tears to the eyes of the reader."
· "I cold talk to you for three or four hours about this book,
because it's such a powerful story."
· "You've taken me on a journey that I didn't think I wanted to
make. And after I finished the book, I'm so glad I did."
November 2005
Italian MUSIC in the works!
What my agent describes as “a lovely, small literary publisher”
has purchased the Italian rights to The Year the Music Changed.
I received a gracious e-mail from the Italian translator introducing
herself. How exciting to think the book will be available in yet
another language.
October 2005
The Denver Post spotlights MUSIC
The Sunday, October 9, book section of the Denver Post listed
The Year the Music Changed in its “Hitting the Shelves”
section, along with fiction b y Walter Kirn and Joyce Carol Oates.
Of MUSIC, the newspaper said by way of description, “In
this fanciful debut novel, the king of rock and roll exchanges
letters with a 14-year-old girl.”
October 2005
Pat Conroy Loves MUSIC
On Sunday, October 2, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s
“What I’m Reading” quoted best-selling author
Pat Conroy: “I just finished Annie Siddons’ Sweetwater
Creek. It’s her best book in 10 years. And I read Diane
Thomas’ book The Year the Music Changed. I think it’s
terrific.”
September 2005
MUSIC is launched at Margaret Mitchell House
The Year the Music Changed is launched September 8 by the Center
for Southern Literature at the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum
in Atlanta. Visit the BOOKS page to read MUSIC's book-launch speech.
September 2005
The Year the Music Changed is lead review on AJC
book page
The Sunday book section of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for
September 4, 2005, features as its lead article a rave review
of The Year the Music Changed. Visit the REVIEWS page to read
this wonderful review.
August 2005
MUSIC hits Japan!
Poplar Press, a Japanese publisher expanding its list from young
adult books into adult fiction, has bought the Japanese language
rights to The Year the Music Changed. So exciting to realize the
book will exist now in another language.
August 2005
Booksellers choose The Year the Music Changed!!
We are thrilled to announce that members of the American Booksellers
Association have named The Year the Music Changed a “BOOK
SENSE NOTABLE B OOK” for September! The honor is based on
unsolicited reviews from independent booksellers throughout the
nation. We thank you all for your strong vote of confidence and
support!!
July 2005
MUSIC gets raves from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly!
"Warm, lively, and immensely readable," says Publishers Weekly.
"Sweet and gripping. A touching coming-of-age tale, deepened rather
than cheapened b y the heroine's connection to The King," says
Kirkus. Visit the REVIEWS page to read the full reviews.
May 2005
Library Journal gives MUSIC a coveted starred review!!
The May 1, 2005, issue of Library Journal, the professional magazine
for librarians and the library community, awarded one of its coveted
starred reviews to The Year the Music Changed. Reviewer Eleanor
J. Bader termed Diane Thomas’s debut novel “touching,
funny, and tender” and rated it “Highly recommended
for all collections.” Visit the REVIEWS page to read the
complete review.
April 2005
Writers praise MUSIC
A number of well-known writers have contributed fantastic jacket
comments for The Year the Music Changed, including Fred Chappell,
Anne Rivers Siddons, Ron Rash and others. For a sample, see the
revolving quotes, top left of every page, or click "The Year
the Music Changed" on the BOOKS page to read them all.
