Thank God for Mississippi

A Note on the Humor Style of Thank God for Mississippi

The concept of Thank God for Mississippi was always ninety percent humor. The South is full of legends of comedy, and I came from a family that was always ready to enjoy that. Growing up, I remember my mom flipping to the back of Southern Living to get to the humor piece first. Comedy laced with self-deprecation and Southern-style outrage/annoyance was always in the midst. Family storytelling with an emphasis on humor was and is very much a part of our lives.

Mississippi and Me: Country Music, Inspiration for Past and Present

When I decided to set Thank God for Mississippi in Tennessee, it seemed as natural as breathing to include a passion for the greats of country music in my eponymous character’s repertoire of traits. She loves Dolly Parton and gets affronted when the main male character says something she perceives to be a slight to the Queen of Country Music. She has sung June Carter Cash songs at the annual town fair for years. She has a T-shirt that says: “DOLLY AND LORETTA AND PATSY,” (which is how, the main male character says, he located her at the town fair). You get the picture.

I’ve only just begun to realize the impact country music has had on my life. It’s strange to have grown up in Tennessee, not too far distant from Nashville, and not realize how immersed you are in country music. My childhood home is roughly 65 miles from Nashville, but you could pick up about five of the Nashville country stations and the local ones as well. Dolly Parton, the fairy godmother of Tennessee, is something more than a legend at this point, and we’re basically bottle-fed on her songs. So obviously, there is a natural connection with country music in the area I grew up—and in the area where Thank God for Mississippi is set.

RELEASE DAY! – TGFM

Today is the day! You can purchase your copy of Thank God for Mississippi from Amazon, in paperback or Kindle formats TODAY! The book will also likely soon be available from Barnes and Noble and Books-a-Million online once it goes to expanded distribution. In the meantime, read the first chapter here!

Thank God for Mississippi – Official Playlist

Ahead of the release of TGFM, I am also sharing my Spotify playlist. This includes songs that went into the creative process somehow, songs that were mentioned in the book, and songs that just generally represented the book, all of which I listened to during the drafting stage. Hope you enjoy!

Q&A: Thank God for Mississippi

Hi Readers! I am excited to share the official Q&A for Thank God for Mississippi with you! I always open these to readers and anyone with an interest. We have some great questions, and I categorized them by topic. Starting off, there are questions about the writer (moi!), followed by questions about TGFM itself, which lead into questions about small town and Southern life, Southern literature in general—and then we bring it back to the book. The questions were very wide-ranging this time, but I think they’re all pertinent and related. Enjoy!

Release Date – Thank God for Mississippi

It’s official! The release date for Thank God for Mississippi is set for March 7, 2022. That means it will be in your hands in a little more than a month! You can go ahead and preorder the Kindle version by following the link below. If you do this, the book will appear in your Kindle on March 7. For paperbacks, you will be able to order the book on March 7 (or maybe a couple of days before, if you watch Amazon closely!).

At the start, my books are always just available at Amazon. Once expanded distribution kicks in, you should be able to find it available for online order at a variety of places. And as always, they are available at KU if you are a member.

Follow the link below! (Note: if the link doesn’t work just yet, go to Amazon, and type: “Thank God for Mississippi Tara Cowan,” and it should take you to it!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I haven’t been on in a while, and I thought I would drop in to let you know what I’ve been up to as the year draws to a close.

Accents in TGFM

My next book is set in Middle Tennessee, which is where I’m from. I happened to think that Middle Tennessee is not often depicted in movies or shows, and that readers might like to know what we sound like! Of course, there are many different accents even in the region, so I have to do a bit of generalizing. Check out the audio below for an exploration of the accents you will hear in the book!

Cover Reveal!

I’m so excited to share the cover of my next book, Thank God for Mississippi. It has it all: a porch, a rocking chair, ferns, and oh-so-Southern hydrangeas. It also has a bit of swirly font that reflects the (slight) chaos that ensues within the book. Without further ado, I give you the cover!

Perspective – TGFM

Thank God for Mississippi is written in first person perspective—a totally new experiment for me! Since I have been writing for about twelve years, I have only ever written within the third person realm, sometimes with a bird’s eye view and sometimes within a character’s mind. But Mississippi simply refused to allow me not to allow her to tell her own story. Here is an audio I recorded explaining in a bit more detail the perspective in TGFM.