Hi all,
Just dropping in to say that my book HER COUNTRY is out there in the wild (i.e. available for purchase at a bookstore near you)! I probably should have notified everyone of that last week, but alas. It can be yours here at various bookstores - if you are in Nashville, you can grab a signed copy at Grimey’s, Parnassus and the Bookshop as well as Barnes & Noble out in Franklin. Folks have been saying very nice and humbling things in the Nashville Scene, Washington Post, the 19th, Nashville Lifestyles, Associated Press, Dallas Observer, Grammy.com and more. SPIN also ran a new excerpt here (one lives at Rolling Stone as well here). I’ve enjoyed doing some radio and podcasts despite hating the sound of my voice, like this one with the awesome Kelleigh Bannen, and done some really fun events at Parnassus, Grimey’s with Kelsey Waldon and Sarah Rodman, a virtual session with Hunter Kelly last night for the 92 Street Y and tonight I will be at BMI with Brandy Clark for Change the Conversation at 6 p.m., I hope to see you there! Register here. I have more events coming up that will take me to LA, NYC and more and you can find that rundown here. I really hope at the end of the day this book helps people look at country music in a different light, understand the deep issues plaguing it and maybe feel welcomed back into a genre they didn’t think was for them and or welcomed them - and most of all, that readers leave with a true appreciation of the women changing the genre and leaving the most brilliant musical imprint, all of which is happening in real time.
On the other writing front, I profiled the great Leyla McCalla for the Guardian and made a case as to why we take Sheryl Crow for granted for Vulture. Now I guess it’s time to find a new book to write and new stories to tell…or just get one decent night’s sleep (does anyone want to watch my kids for me for while?).
I hope you enjoy HER COUNTRY - and these other incredible books about music that came out recently: Shine Bright by Danyel Smith and The Running Kind by David Cantwell. And preorder the heck out of Why Patti Smith Matters by Caryn Rose, Maybe We’ll Make It by Margo Price and Black Country Music by Francesca T. Royster.
Best,
MRM