Meanwhile, here’s a music video, I shot, edited and produced a number of years ago for the incomparable Blue Dogs! Enjoy!

To be frank, 2017 has gotten off to a horrible start for me and those closest to me, so I was happy to have this as a distraction for the past three weeks.  I’m going to miss the updates from the cast and director. I thank them all for giving me the taste of being a produced playwright. I WANT MORE!!!  I have a feeling you spoiled me by giving me such a painless introduction to this world.

To cast and company, take a bow. I can’t adequately express my appreciation for what you did with the pages I gave you. KUDOS FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT!

• Lily – Emma Scott
• Paul – Jason Olsen
• Freddy – Jamie Young
• Rachel – Margaret Nyland
• Tom – Greg Tompkins
• Gayle – Sarah Daniel
• Director – Blair Cadden

And, while I call it “my” play, that is no longer true. It now belongs to the extremely talented cast and crew of 5th Wall Productions, and they are as follows:

Emma Scott – Lily

Jason Olsen – Paul

Freddy – Jamie Young

Rachel – Margaret Nyland

Tom – Greg Tompkins

Gayle – Sarah Daniel

Director – Blair Cadden

Come one. Come all. Buy your tickets early. 5th Wall Productions’ One Bear Lake

What you need to do is learn how to laugh in the face of the dark days ahead, and what better way to do that than to watch a two-act comedy about carrot cake and cancer. My play, One Bear Lake, happens to open on… January 20 at 5th Wall Productions in West Ashley (Charleston, SC). I’m flying in for opening night and Saturday night’s performances.  The cast is stellar. The director is superb. The writing is… Well, it would be in poor taste to tell you how fantastic the writing is since I wrote the play.

Bottom line? Come. Laugh. Enjoy.

Welcome to the South Side of the Moon

The blog has been down for awhile because of technical difficulties. And by that, I mean I am technically challenged. I changed the domain name because pearlofjustice.com no longer makes sense given that Deputy Dani Savage’s last name is no longer Pearl. Given that I write books by many different titles that range from young adult to Souther thrillers, I’ve decided to stay away from naming the blog after any of my books or characters. The new domain name reflects my Southern roots and my decidedly un-Southern belief system. Welcome to Southsideofthemoon.com.

I didn’t think I’d be sad to leave this tiny house, but I am. I’ve spent the best years of my life here. I’ve written about 14 novels, a half-dozen screenplays and a handful of stage plays. It’s my writing den.

More updates to follow, but I have got to get back to packing up. BTW – Anyone want to buy a living room set, bedroom set, and office set?

The “Real” C. Hoyt Caldwell

I loved doing this interview because the questions weren’t the typical “author’ questions. Nobody has ever asked me what is the one book I would require the president to read. The one problem with the interview is that they used an ancient picture of me that I created to disguise my true identity when I first invented C. Hoyt Caldwell. Because C. Hoyt can be excessively vulgar, I wanted to separate my two “author” identities. I gave up on the notion about a year into the experiment and let my freak flag fly. I’m posting my real C. Hoyt photo here to counteract the trauma of seeing that old photo.

Here’s a partial answer to my answer to the question: “What scene in Savage Reckoning was your favorite to write?”

It’s technically two scenes. I initially wrote it as one but broke it up into two parts in rewrites. It features Step and his girlfriend, Bones, in his house. Calling it my favorite makes me sound like a horrible person because it focuses on how tragic their lives are, but as a writer, exploring the destruction of a character’s life can be liberating. It gives you the illusion of knowing how real life works.

You can read the rest of the interview here: Interview with C. Hoyt Caldwell, author of Savage Reckoning

As always, Savage Reckoning is available as an e-book at the following online retailers:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Books A Million
• Google Play Store
• iBooks
• Kobo

Savage Reckoning is available at the following retailers:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Books A Million
• Google Play Store
• iBooks
• Kobo

What reviewers have to say:

“…there were numerous twists and turns along the journey that made it all a highly addictive read from start to finish.” – Carrie G

“Grab your favorite beverage, set back, and enjoy several hours of riveting entertainment.” – Vera’s Book Reviews and Stuff

“Savage Reckoning took me by surprise. I did not think that I would enjoy the book as much as I did. But, I found myself quite taking with both the story and the characters. Dani is a fantastic character and I love her colorful past and I especially hope to read more books with her (and several of the other characters in this book), The book is great, action-filled, amusing, mysterious and heartbreaking.” – Marablaise

“A strange story that grows in intensity and suspense as you read it. The characters are drawn from the hills, but represent people that have much in common with all of us. Dani is a deputy who uncovers a deep problem that involves people at high levels throughout the world. I enjoyed watching the development of the character called Step, who probably is key to the whole plot. This is a keeper!” – Kayak Jay

What I liked: The setting, the characters, the sad plot but most of all the writing. Mr. Caldwell is an artist with words. The pictures he paints make you feel as if you’re right there as he’s writing it. I had never read anything by him before and as I mentioned, the reader will need to be in the mood for Savage Reckoning.

You can read the rest of the review by clicking below: