Tuesday I had lunch with Mary Robinson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Indigo Publishing. Based in Macon, Indigo is a custom publishing house that is beginning to amass an impressive catalog of titles.Over plates of homemade ricotta and spinach ravioli at Osteria del Figo on Howell Mill, we talked about books and authors, and Mary shared with me some of the most recent titles from Indigo. Here are the highlights:
Bill Osinski, Ungodly: A True Story of Unprecedented Evil.
While society turned a blind eye for more than three decades, Dwight York - a.k.a. Dr. Malachi Z. York, Imam Isa - devolved into a sexual predator of unprecedented proportions. Arriving in Putnam County, Georgia, in the 1990s, he established "The Egypt of the West," which served as the base for his empire known as the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors.
He became the target of what prosecutors believe was the largest child molestation prosecution in United States history, in terms of numbers of victims and potential numbers of crimes, ever directed at a single person. When he was finally indicted, state prosecutors literally had to cut back the number of counts listed - from well beyond a thousand to slightly more than 200 - because they feared a jury simply wouldn't believe the magnitude of York's evil."
For sixteen years Bill Osinski was a journalist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Half the author's royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to a fund for the assistance of York's victims.
For more on this revealing book, visit the website, www.ungodlybook.com.
Jaclyn Weldon White, Mockingbird in the Moonlight.
What does a rising young homicide detective do when she inadvertently causes the death of a loved one?
In this unsentimental Southern novel, Jaclyn White tells the story of Dixie McClatchey, who leaves her position with the Atlanta Police Department in an attempt to put her past behind her, and build a new life in a quiet Southern town. She makes some friends, opens a bookstore, and works as a volunteer with Friends of the Library.
When one of the volunteers is killed behind her shop and evidence points to members of the library group, Dixie is reluctantly drawn into the investigation. Complicating the situation is the mutual attraction between Dixie and police lieutenant Steve Ballard, whose team is searching for the murderer. As the story unravels, Dixie must face the consequences of her decisions, while learning that she is not the only one with a past.
Jaclyn Weldon White was my guest on Cover to Cover in August 2004 when we talked and took calls about her debut novel Distant Hearts (Mercer University Press, 2004). To listen to the program, click here.
My friend Jackie K. Cooper says of this book, "Jaclyn Weldon White is recognized as a master of the true crime story. With Mockingbird in the Moonlight she proves her talent and extends just as richly into the area of fictional mysteries."
To find out more about Jaclyn, visit her website, www.jaclynweldonwhite.com.
Richard Jay Hutto, Crowning Glory: American Wives of Princes and Dukes.
Americans have heard of King Edward’s Wallis Simpson, “the woman I love,” for whom he gave up the throne of England. Many recall the beautiful wedding fifty years ago when Grace Kelly became Princess of Monaco. But there are more than one hundred marriages of American women to princes and dukes.
Some were calculated business arrangements designed to secure a title while replenishing the bank accounts of destitute royal and noble families. Others were true love affairs.
With never-published photographs, excerpts from correspondence, and interviews with descendants, author Richard Jay Hutto has painted a fascinating picture of money, beauty, power, and palaces—the lifestyles of the rich and famous—a lifestyle not entirely ended.
Richard Jay Hutto is an attorney, writer, and published authority on America's Gilded Age. He served as White House Appointments Secretary to the Carter Family, and was Chairman of the Georgia Council for the Arts. He lives in Macon with his wife and children and is an elected member of the Macon City Council. His other books include Jordan Massee: Accepted Fables, An Autobiography and Their Gilded Cage: The Jekyll Island Club Members.
Richard is Associate Publisher of Indigo Publishing.
Anne B. Jones & Sidney R. Jones, Brave at Heart: The Life and Lens of Atlanta Braves' Photographer Walter Victor.
Walter Victor, official photographer of the Atlanta Braves, shares memories of the storied franchise through nearly 150 photos from the days of Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro, and Dale Murphy to the record-setting run of fourteen straight National League division championships with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, and manager Bobby Cox.
Indigo Publishing is continuing to expand. It has entered into an arrangement with Macon's Wesleyan College to form Wesleyan College Press which will publish a small number of titles each year; and Mary told me of plans to form an imprint geared specifically toward African American authors.
Indigo Publishing has already made its debut on Cover to Cover. In June 2005, Rick Maier was on the show to talk and take calls about his debut novel, Exit South which was published by Henchard Press, one of Indigo's imprints. Click here to listen to Rick Maier on Cover to Cover.
Indigo Publishing is doing a great job of showcasing Georgia authors and Georgia stories and it's a pleasure to acknowledge its contribution to Georgia letters.
To find out more about Indigo Publishing, visit its website, www.indigopublishing.com.
My thanks to Mary Robinson for being a delightful lunch guest, and for keeping me up-to-date on what's happening publishing-wise in Macon, a city that is fast becoming the powerhouse of Georgia publishing.
(On an ethical note, I paid for lunch. No quid pro quo here!)
If you have comments or questions about this blog entry, email me at covertocover@gpb.org. I look forward to hearing from you.
