VBT# Twang - Julie Cannon

 

 

Today readers we have author Julie Cannon and her country western read "Twang" here on The Phantom Paragrapher with a thanks to Pump Up Your Books.

Synopsis : Twang - Julie Cannon -October 2012

Twenty-three-year-old Jennifer Clodfelter believes she is destined to be a country music star. When her passion, determination and homemade demo tape were rejected by every music label in Nashville, she refused to give up. In just three years, a combination of guts and raw talent have propelled her on a journey of fame beyond her best dream. Now Jennifer has all she ever wanted, only to discover that there is a dark side to the glitz and number one hits. She will have to decide whether to sing her pain to a loving audience or find the courage to face the music in the private studio of her heart.

YOU CAN’T BE HAPPY AND WRITE A GOOD STORY  by Julie L. Cannon, author of Twang

The human brain craves stories. We read in order to understand life. We read to find out how others wrestled, struggled, and survived, how they found hope in the valleys. If we can read how someone clung to their dreams when they were met with adversity, it gives us courage to cling to ours.

A writer’s most powerful voice comes from their deepest wounds. Writing teacher Donald Maass said something I keep by my keyboard, “These novels change us because their authors are willing to draw upon their deepest selves without flinching. They hold nothing back.”

When I was a junior in college, the bicycle I was riding was struck by a car. While visiting various neurologists because of a traumatic brain injury, I saw folks sitting in wheelchairs, staring vacantly with drool running out of their mouths, and I knew, “There but for the grace of God go I.” Time passed, and after much therapy, I started asking a lot of questions about life. It was a brand new, earth-shaking experience that blew the door wide open to my soul. I’m sure you’ve heard people say it was their suffering that made them see things differently. That in the depths of despair, the valley, they discovered that what they’d once lived for, what they’d put their hope in, was no longer enough. This was true for me, and now I’m out to share this through my books. My characters find grace, even beauty in the ugliest memories and events.

I love telling stories and I love country music. Conway Twitty says, “A good country song takes a page out of somebody’s life and puts it to music.” As I began writing Twang, I devoured the stories of country music stars. One comment I came across constantly is  - “You can’t be happy and write good songs.” Every article by a musician had some comment about how their great songs sprung from those tortured times in their past. Brad Paisley said, “As a songwriter, heartbreak is important.” I thought about that old axiom I learned in writing classes - stories about happy people are boring. I had the formula for a successful country song and a good story. 

I brought Nashville hopeful Jennifer Clodfelter to the page. A 22-year-old woman from Blue Ridge, Georgia, she’s running to Music City and away from her past. One thing that amazed me when I went to Nashville for research is that there are many so-called ‘gentleman’s clubs’ there. I was told this is because a lot of wanna-be female singers work there to pay their rent, buy food while waiting for their big break.  I included this in Twang, and I added a lecherous father, a beautician with a tattooed past, and a manager who’s hungry for blockbuster hits at the expense of his client. Jennifer is determined to leave her ugly past in the past. She terrified to use those hurtful things to write songs.   

 I wrote Twang to show how cathartic it is when we finally do look those painful memories in the eye. How God can redeem the seemingly unredeemable. This novel shows how a wounded country music diva uses her pain to create powerful hit songs that touch others’ lives. 

About the Author:

Julie L. Cannon is a bestselling author, speaker and teacher. She believes that using your memories to write autobiographical fiction is both cathartic and powerful, and when Julie isn’t busy writing, she can be found leading memoir workshops, encouraging others to encourage others on this journey called Life. Julie has captured many awards in the ABA as well as the CBA. She loves growing flowers and listening to country music at her home off Hog Mountain Road in Watkinsville, Georgia.

Her latest book is the Christian fiction novel, Twang.

You can learn more about Julie L. Cannon at www.julielcannon.com.

Friend Julie L. Cannon on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JulieLCannon.

Become a fan of Julie L. Cannon at Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JulieLCannon

Purchase your copy of Julie L. Cannon’s Twang at Abingdon Books:  http://www.abingdonpress.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=7213

Pick up your paperback copy of Julie L. Cannon’s Twang at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Twang-Julie-L-Cannon/dp/142671470X

Pick up your copy of Julie L. Cannon’s Twang at B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/twang-julie-l-cannon/1108857096