The Stories of Scott D. Southard

February 5, 2015

The new novel Permanent Spring Showers is out! Info, links, sample, first review and a giveaway! Grab a copy!
I’m pleased as punch to announce the release today of my latest novel, Permanent Spring Showers. Published by 5 Prince Books, Permanent Spring Showers is a work of literary fiction. Here is the back cover description of my new book:

Professor Rebecca Stanley-Wilson is having a very bad season. Her husband has just admitted to having an affair. And it was with one of her students.

Blame it on a desire for revenge (or way too much alcohol), she then has had one of her own. Unfortunately for her, her affair was with one of the great upcoming painters of his generation. The ramifications of that one torrid evening will not only be felt across her life but over the entire art world.

Sexy, funny, and very surprising, Permanent Spring Showers is the tale of one very memorable springtime and how it impacts a group of unique artists and dreamers. From the writer who is creating a new literary movement (through outright manipulation), to the hopeful Olympian with the failing marriage, to the romantic wondering what he did wrong to drive his love from him, each tale walks the line between reality and fantasy. And waiting at the end of the line is a very important painting… and possibly the revolver used in the Lincoln Assassination.

Need a sample? You can check out Chapter 1 below.

Permanent Spring Showers can be found on Amazon.com for the Kindle here. It is also available on many other online retailers in print and as an ebook (Barnes and Nobles, Smashwords, etc.), you can find a complete set of links via the page for the book on 5 Prince (here).

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Permanent Spring Showers

by Scott D. Southard

Giveaway ends February 26, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Green Spot Blue posted the first review of the new novel in an article called “The Music of Rain.” Here is an excerpt: “All in all, Permanent Spring Showers is a novel worth reading, one that has an optimism to it but without any Pollyannaism; it is in short something that is hard to find in the world: a good story.” You can read the rest of this wonderful review here.

Tell a friend! Grab a copy! Maybe two! But (most important) enjoy! (more…)
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January 30, 2015

My Time in Richmond: Jane Austen, Writing, and the James Rivers Writers
This was a truly memorable week for me.

On Tuesday, I was flown into Richmond, Virginia, to be part of a panel on writing and Jane Austen. It gave me a nice chance to get some writing in and to explore a very cool town… and visit the Edgar Allen Poe Museum!

One of the things I really enjoy doing is checking out the handwritten manuscripts of authors, and I was able to do that there (and his handwriting was exactly like you would have expected). Poe was a big influence on my novel Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare (here). He even was the quote at the front of the book (well, him and Snoopy).

Besides a statue of a muse in the museum that freaked me out (I was sure it moved, making me jump like you wouldn’t believe), it was a nice detour. Okay though, on a side note, why doesn’t the gift shop sell pens? Writers… books… You think pens would be an obvious thing, as compared to the stuffed toys of a creepy pale guy with a mustache?

Back to the much more important stuff! I was one of four panelists at the event. There was also Dr. Catherine Ingrassia (from VCU), Leighton Powell (from the Jane Austen Society, Central Virginia), and our moderator Mary Chris Escobar (author of How to Be Alive). I have included some pictures from the event. They were taken by Richard Bailey (you can find him online here).

Richmond is really lucky to have a writing organization like James Rivers Writers. It was great to be there and to meet fellow writers, readers, and even followers of this blog!

I want to thank JRW for this opportunity, as well as a big thanks to historical fiction author Karen Chase (who has a website here) who arranged my attendance. She also had the fun task of driving me around. Thanks Karen!

I hope you will check out James Rivers Writers website, and maybe try to attend an event in the future. You can find them online here.
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January 27, 2015

My Time With Austen: Articles, Interviews and Excerpts
Tomorrow (January 28) I’m going to be part of a panel about Jane Austen and writing at The Writing Show, sponsored by James Rivers Writers. If you are in the Richmond area and would like to attend, you can get more info here.

To help prepare for the event, I thought I would share some of the interesting stuff I have done over the last few years around my novel. It’s always fun to write or be interviewed about A Jane Austen Daydream. A lot goes on in that book, and there is soooo much to talk about.

If you are attending, or just interested in my novel or my experiences as a writer (since I talk about inspiration and all of the awkward and difficult steps that come along with this writing gig), why not check out some of the links as well.

I hope to see you this Wednesday!

Articles, Essays, and Inspiration
Excerpts
- Chapter III, Volume I
- Chapter IV, Volume II
Interviews
And a fun bonus interview that I DID with the amazing narrator of the audiobook! Listen along!
- 10 Questions with Louisa Gummer
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January 23, 2015

“Bravo, bravo, bravo!” Booktalk With Eileen reviews the audiobook of A Jane Austen Daydream
Now this is cool!

Booktalk with Eileen recently reviewed the audiobook of A Jane Austen Daydream. I think Louisa Gummer did an amazing job bringing the book to life and I am thrilled that it got such a great review! Here is an excerpt from the review:

Readers who enjoy books that use Jane Austen’s characters in their writing will get much more from this book. We get to meet Jane Austen herself as she is writing her books and experience the moment when she finally becomes published. I applaud Scott D. Southard for this marvelous, delightfully written story which I place in literary fiction genre. I cried for Jane. I cried for another of the characters whom I can’t share his name—no spoilers here. I laughed at how the characters were described, acted and how outlandish some reacted to events. I’m sure this will be one of my better reads/listens this year and will stay long with me. A most laudable book with a laudable production. Bravo, bravo, bravo!

You can read the entire review here (and I hope you will!).

The audiobook of A Jane Austen Daydream is available on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon right now. And on each of the sites you can hear a different sample of the wonderful performance by Louisa Gummer. Check it out and grab your copy today!
- You can find it on Audible.com here. It is free for members, or it can be purchased for $24.95.
- It is available on iTunes (here) for $21.95.
- And on Amazon (here) where it is free to members, or $21.83
And remember…

I’ll be part of a panel speaking about Jane Austen and writing this Wednesday! It will be on The Writing Show hosted by James Rivers Writers in Richmond. You can register to attend the event here. I hope to see you there!
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January 22, 2015

New WKAR Book Review: Driftwood by Elizabeth Dutton
Today on WKAR’s Current State I reviewed Driftwood, a novel by author Elizabeth Dutton.

You can listen to my review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-elizabeth-duttons-driftwood-wkar

You can also read my review below.

If you want to check out Driftwood you can find it on Amazon.com here. You can check out my past reviews via this page on my site.

I hope you enjoy my new book review! (more…)
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January 20, 2015

Reminder: I’ll be at The Writing Show on January 28!
So where will you be on January 28?

Well, I’ll be in Richmond, speaking as part of a panel on Jane Austen and writing! If you are in the area why not come check it out. It should be a lot of fun.

The event is called “Writing Romance Like Jane Austen,” and is sponsored by James Rivers Writers as part of their “The Writing Show” series. You can learn more about the event and register via their site (here).

$12 members | $15 non-members | $5 students
Social: 6pm | Show: 6:45pm
Wednesday, January 28th
At The Broadberry
2729 W. Broad Street

I hope to see you there!
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January 18, 2015

Five Things I Am Into Right Now, January 2015
So I’m going through a thing with a video game.

Do you remember this post? (The reference is only a few paragraphs, it won’t take you long.) There I am praising Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

You can feel the love.

It could be argued that it was the honeymoon stage of my relationship with the game.

See, I’ve had a long relationship with Lightning and her role-playing world, playing both of the installments before starting on the third and final part (I’m sure it could almost equal entire months if the hours were embarrassingly added together). And, as you can guess from the post then, everything was going swimmingly in our relationship. We laughed at the same jokes, enjoyed discussing our past history…. Then this damn monster called Grendel appeared in a desert world and ruined everything for us.

Ruined, ruined, ruined!

Now, I love the literary reference in the monster’s name, so the creators get points for that, but that monster destroyed my infatuation with the game and world and Lightning and sent me away. (Actually, over to Gotham City and a Batman game.) It’s not often I leave a game unfinished, especially a Final Fantasy game, so it was rough. I like to think it felt that way to Lightning too.

So here I am, it’s a new year, and I am looking for new beginnings, new possibilities. And since Lightning and I have such a long past I decided to give it another shot….

Of course, this time I am wisely playing on easy.

I have no video game shame.

Here is my first list for 2015, and speaking of video games… (more…)
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January 13, 2015

Permanent Spring Showers is coming! February 5th!
Greetings my beautiful readers!

I’m happy (and proud) to announce that my new novel is hitting the shelves on February 5th.

Published by 5 Prince Books, Permanent Spring Showers is a work of literary fiction, filled with scandals, surprises, art, humor, romance (i.e., sex), and manipulation. Here is the back cover description of the work:

Professor Rebecca Stanley-Wilson is having a very bad season. Her husband has just admitted to having an affair. And it was with one of her students.

Blame it on a desire for revenge (or way too much alcohol), she then has had one of her own. Unfortunately for her, her affair was with one of the great upcoming painters of his generation. The ramifications of that one torrid evening will not only be felt across her life but over the entire art world.

Sexy, funny, and very surprising, Permanent Spring Showers is the tale of one very memorable springtime and how it impacts a group of unique artists and dreamers. From the writer who is creating a new literary movement (through outright manipulation) to the hopeful Olympian with the failing marriage to the romantic wondering what he did wrong to drive his love from him, each tale walks the line between reality and fantasy. And waiting at the end of the line is a very important painting… and possibly the revolver used in the Lincoln Assassination.

You can already add Permanent Spring Showers to your bookshelf on GoodReads.com (here). It will be available as an eBook for the Kindle and in print via Amazon (link to come soon). Add it to your calendar! Tell all your friends! Add it to your book club! Read, read, read!

I hope you will check it out!
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January 8, 2015

“Writing Romance Like Jane Austen” I’ll be part of The Writing Show on January 28th!
Interested in Jane Austen? Going to be in Richmond, Virginia around January 28^th?

I am excited to announce that I have been asked to be on a panel on Ms. Austen. It is part of the James Rivers Writers series, The Writing Show (JamesRiversWriters.org). The event is called “Writing Romance Like Jane Austen.”

Here is how the event is described in the press release:

What are the romance genres? What makes romance believable? We’ll discuss Jane Austen’s influence on literature and romance, and why men also enjoy reading and writing romantic fiction.

This event will be for both readers and writers and should be pretty fun. If you want to attend (and why wouldn’t you?) here is some info on it:

$12 members | $15 non-members | $5 students
Social: 6pm | Show: 6:45pm
Wednesday, January 28th
At The Broadberry
2729 W. Broad Street

You can get more information (and register now) on their website here- http://www.jamesriverwriters.org/the-writing-show-writing-romance-like-jane-austen.

I hope to see you there!
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January 6, 2015

The Stony Hue of a January Morn
1 of 3

there is
no beauty
in a January snow
and
it conveys
no possibilities-

January cold
does not touch your nose
or tickle your skin-
it begins in your bones
deep in your marrows
then slinks out
like a death
never letting go-

there is a limit
in our cold, cold steps
and each could be the fated last
but we trudge
trudge
trudge forward
never running
forever counting down-

the sun is lost
baked red, hidden away-
the gray clouds will not free it
trapped like an animal
in a dark covered cave
waiting and growling deep-

when the world ends
it will look like a January morn-
quiet-
soulless-
colorless-
void-
and no amount of breath will bring it back- (more…)
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