First Author Reading

The first author reading from The Graceland Tales occurred this afternoon at the Folly Beach Public Library. A good time was had, and Elvis was in the building!

E-book now available!

The Graceland Tales is now available as an e-book from Barnes and Noble, from Amazon, and from other purveyors of e-books.

Folly Beach reading!

For those who haven't heard yet, I will be reading from The Graceland Tales on Wednesday, April 17, at 4:00 p.m. at the Folly Beach Public Library, complete with ukulele accompaniment. A good time should be had. If you are in the area, stop by.

Preface

The idea for The Graceland Tales first bubbled up in the late 1980’s in the living room of friends in Hammond, Louisiana. I had recently completed doctoral studies in medieval English language and literature, including a dissertation on Chaucer’s use of Old French fabliaux—dirty stories—in The Canterbury Tales. My friends suggested that I combine my love of Elvis with my newly-minted proficiency in Chaucerian studies by writing a modern version of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, except have the modern pilgrims head to Graceland. The pilgrimage of penning this novel has reached its destination—finally.

I intend for the novel to work on two levels. For readers unfamiliar with The Canterbury Tales, I hope that they are able to enjoy or appreciate the group of travelers, the issues which the tales reflect, and the camaraderie or lack thereof among the pilgrims. For readers familiar with The Canterbury Tales, I hope that they are able to appreciate how the issues that touched the lives of Chaucer’s medieval group still touch the lives of people in the 21^st century and how the spirit of Chaucer’s tales can hold true in today’s world. I did not intend to rewrite or completely adapt The Canterbury Tales, but to pull relevant aspects of medieval society forward to today’s world. At the end of the novel, the reader will find a key explaining the correlations between my tales and their medieval antecedents.

The Graceland Tales

In late 14^th Century London, a group of pilgrims meet at the Tabard Inn to embark upon a pilgrimage on horseback to Canterbury Cathedral to visit the shrine of “the holy blissful martyr,” Thomas à Becket. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales details the tales they tell to pass the time along the way. In early 21^st Century Chicago, a group of pilgrims meet at Union Station to embark upon a pilgrimage by train to Memphis to visit Graceland during “the rock and roll blissful martyr” Elvis’s Death Week. In The Graceland Tales, experience the camaraderie or lack thereof among these modern-day pilgrims as they tell their tales of community, of love, of exploits and sexploits, some whimsical, some profound.