Read a Good Book: Pat Conroy's Beach Music

A friend of mine recommended this book which she offered as a book-on-tape and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Beach Music centers around the suicide of Shiloh McCall and the effects it has on her family and friends. Shiloh has committed suicide as a result of the voices in her head finally overwhelming her and is instantly forgiven by her loved ones, though it does create turmoil that creates ripple effects throughout the book. Her husband, Jack McCall, is the main character who takes their daughter, Leah, to Rome until he is called back by his mother’s illness.

What ensues is a love story to the South that encompasses the beautiful descriptions of the landscapes and wildlife accompanied by the varied characters of Jack McCall’s family and friends who all grew up in the small town located in South Carolina. Jack’s brothers provide comic relief, especially John Hardin whose schizophrenic episodes turn all of life’s daily events on their ear, and the other brothers’ reactions to John Hardin.

Jack’s friends begin to reconcile the events that caused them to split apart in their college years once they are reunited in South Carolina. Mike Hess, now a movie producer, sets the stage for reconciliation between a friend who went missing and the father who believes and hopes is still dead and also kindles a new love interest for Jack as he begins working on a writing project with their beautiful and kind childhood friend.
There is something for everyone in this novel; it is witty, humorous, dark, poignant, and breathtaking. It is the kind of summer reading that endures long after it is finished and perfect for anyone who has felt love and loss.

You may be able to find this novel in your local library and you may also purchase a copy for yourself through Pat Conroy’s website by going here:
http://www.patconroy.com/beach-music.php

Pat Conroy has written many novels including: The Prince of Tides, The Water is Wide, and My Losing Season and more. To go to his main page, go to:
http://www.patconroy.com/about.php

Thanks always for reading, please drop by again next week…

Konundrum Engine Literary Review Open Submissions

Copy-and-pasted details below:
Poetry
Manners are important: before submitting, please have a gander at the site and the poetry in the archives. If you’d like to submit your work, please send your name, contact and biographical information, and two to three poems, pasted into the body of an email, for consideration. Do not send attachments. our Poetry Editors get too attached to things as it is. We will respond to submissions within two months. Courier is not a pretty font. That’s for the record.
poetry[-at-]konundrum.com

Features
Read our Features sections. Get the idea. Got something good to share with all the world? Send it in.
prose[-at-]konundrum.com

We'd like to get back to you as soon as possible, but you know how it is, what with the casino debt, the narcotics anonymous meetings, the nice, welcoming embrace of our mattresses. So wait, OK, Mr. or Ms. Ants-in-your-Pants? Simultaneous submissions are ok, as long as you let us know ASAP that the piece is being published somewhere else.

We get "First Serial and Electronic Rights." Publication rights revert back to the author, of course. We also hold the right to keep the work in our archives for the duration of the site. If the piece is first published here on the Konundrum Engine Literary Review, acknowledge us if it is subsequently re-published. Giving props is good. And yes, all work is subject to editing.

Note: We do not accept submissions between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It's summer. Go outside.

Be sure to submit before May 28th! For more details, go to:
http://lit.konundrum.com/pages/litsubmissions.php

Good luck to all who submit, please drop by tomorrow for a Read a Good Book Review…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.redfez.net/poetry/1478
“Quarantine” by Jay Passer

http://bombsite.com/issues/116/articles/5125
“The Weaver” (scroll down) by Sarah V. Schweig

Thanks for clicking in, please stop by tomorrow for more Open Submissions…

Posts to Follow

I have posts the rest of the week, including a Read a Good Book review for this Friday so please click in again…

Flying Guillotine Press

This press produces handmade chapbooks, beautiful, and I can’t wait to get my hands on them someday. Check out the craftsmanship of both the poet and the press at:
http://flyingguillotinepress.blogspot.com/
Thanks for dropping in, please click in tomorrow…