July 2010 What I Don’t Know by Niles Reddick When I was younger, I thought I knew everything. I was confident about what I knew, I was much more assertive about what I know than now, and I liked myself a lot more. My dear grandmother, who died three years ago, once told me on her front porch, “I wish I loved myself as much as you do.” Of course,…
Q&A with Niles Reddick from A Good Blog is Hard to Find
Monday, April 26, 2010 Q and A With Niles Reddick, author of Lead Me Home What’s the backstory behind Lead Me Home? Lead Me Home was inspired by a moment of anger I had at work when I lived in Tennessee. I was mad because someone had been hired when I thought the money needed to be spent elsewhere. So, I thought this would be a good story—that a…
Hoarding Pays
March 22, 2010 Hoarding Pays by Niles Reddick Instead of writing, I’ve lately been watching old movies and television shows. One reality show (and I have to question how realistic these reality shows are) was about hoarders, and I found myself fascinated with their compulsion to collect and save. They remind me of squirrels gathering nuts for the winter and of some of my family members on my dad’s side….
Moving on up!
January 21, 2010 Moving On Up by Niles Reddick When I was in high school at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, I worked on the yearbook staff and I worked for the newspaper staff. Well, I call it work, but it was more like doing whatever I had to do to get by with a passing grade. I continued to do that a bit when I was in…
Forgetting Rejections
November 18, 2009 Niles Reddick on Forgetting Rejections Man, do I feel honored to follow Sharyn and Joshilyn, and while I won’t write about my old dog Harper Lee who I keep thinking has got to die this year since she’s 16 (and if she don’t maybe I’ll get into the Guinness Book of World Records), and I don’t remember that I’ve ever been on a writing retreat…
Dreams of Jimmy Carter and Jack Daniel
April 18, 2011 Dreams of Jimmy Carter and Jack Daniel by Niles Reddick I have good days and I have bad days, as we all do, and I do have tendencies toward misanthropic or hermit-like behaviors. There are days when I love surrounding myself with people, talking, sharing stories. I recently went to a fundraiser dinner in Atlanta, met a Georgia Senator and the Governor, and almost met…
Lady Gaga, Eduardo Cruz, and My New Novel
February 17, 2011 “Lady Gaga, Eduardo Cruz, and My New Novel” by Niles Reddick Lady Gaga arrived in an egg at the Grammy’s, and another headline I read speculated whether Eduardo Cruz got a tattoo of Eva Longoria or not. Interestingly, we don’t often see much about books, or authors, at all in the media. It may be that the writing craft has evolved out of what is…
The Writing Influence
October 2010 The Writing Influence by Niles Reddick As a child, I recall reading for fun—The Hardy Boys, Trixie Beldon, and other early mysteries, and I enjoyed investigating. In my elementary school days, me and my friends fancied ourselves uncovering all sorts of evils in our small town of Hahira, Georgia—child molesters, robbers, murderers. The problem was that we didn’t have those crimes back then. Today, sadly, there…
Sticking to the Cemetery
September 11th, 2011 Sticking to the Cemetery by Niles Reddick Most of my writing experiences have been pleasant ones. Places where I’ve spoke or read and did book-signings, like the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, Tennessee, or the Cherokee Arts Festival outside Atlanta in Canton, were surprisingly fun. I enjoyed meeting folks, talking to people, answering their questions, and I always learn something. I don’t know that…
Times Change, but People Don’t
Thursday, September 16, 2010 Times Change, but People Don’t My picture there above is three years old now and was when I lived in Tennessee. I don’t need that coat now that I live in South Georgia and my hair has turned gray. I need to get a new picture, but I like that one better and have thought about coloring my hair, but I probably won’t. There’s not…
What Happened to the Yard Boy
Saturday, October 22, 2011 What happened to the Yard Boy by Niles Reddick That twelve-year-old yard boy is alive and well, except I’ve got about thirty five more years on me than when I pushed that red rusted mower around town cutting grass for elderly people. I hated mowing grass, the work, but I enjoyed seeing the result and loved the smell of freshly cut grass. I did a…
Sweet Music Man
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Sweet Music Man by Niles Reddick My father-in-law died after a short battle with cancer last month. Not only was he a great dad to my wife and her siblings, he was a great father-in-law and a great grandfather. He was truly a good man, even a great husband, four different times! He was a reader, appreciated a good book, and was a great storyteller….
The Best Job
Monday, December 27, 2010 The Best Job by Niles Reddick For whatever reason, I remember people asking me what I’d like to be when I grew up. At some point, I think I wanted to be a policeman or fireman because I loved accidents, especially car accidents at the racetrack or on TV shows. Later, I wanted to be a preacher or a doctor. As the years passed, I…
Living with Me
Saturday, June 18, 2011 Living with Me by Niles Reddick When I read the topic this month, I thought it would be an easy one to write about. Certainly, I thought, living with me has been a cakewalk for my wife Michelle, especially after having been married to me for almost twenty years, but then I had to back pedal. I wondered. Was it? What did she really think…
A Great Schedule
Sunday, July 24, 2011 A Great Schedule: If you ask anyone who knows me well, he or she will know with certainty what my schedule is like. I’m a creature of habit, after all, a little bit OCD, as relatives and co-workers might add. The point is, however, that I am quite happy in my dysfunctionality. My writing schedule, except right now, begins about 4:00 am any day of…