River Jordan || Author, Speaker, Radio Personality

I've taken up my winter position which means I've plunked down in front of the fireplace. I may not move until Spring green appears on the branches. One reason being that mountain man husband thinks that the thermostat is an evil thing and that all houses can be heated in primitive manner. Okay - this little circle right around where I am sitting can be heated but should I dare to venture into - oh say - those exotic places like the kitchen or the bathroom they are a tad chilly. I like it warm. I like it blue jean, flip flop, t-shirt warm. The kind of warm where I can skip merrily from room to room singing falala just as if it's summer time outside. Now, the only problem with me hitting the thermostat and turning it up to a warm 68 degrees is husband starts gasping and grabbing his throat. I'm not lying. He acts just like that Gollum creature on The Lord of The Rings yelling, It hurts us, it hurts us. I can't help it if he has some weird metabolism of a Raptor and I freeze at 70 degrees in a breeze. The only time I was warm last winter was when he came down with a high fever, had chills so bad our heat was all the way up to 72 degrees and he was still freezing. I was just saying Bless Your Heart honey, the whole time I was skipping through the house in a t-shirt. Fa, la, la.

But - as I sit writing in this little warm square - Thank God for laptops - I really am relishing the pleasure of getting together with known friends and new friends yesterday in Nashville. I am delighted to learn of all the great things happening through Humanities Tennessee with the new Chapter 16 project, and with all the great news of new projects from writers JT Ellison, Susan Greg Gilmore, Darnell Arnoult, agent Greg Daniel, and the creative spirit of Megan Byrd. There will never, ever be a substitute for gathering around a table, breaking bread and sharing stories together.

Nashville, Tennessee has turned into this incredible mecca of writing talent. The longer I live here (7 years now) it's no less amazing to realize how many novelists and non-fiction writers of caliber have found their way to the Athens of the South. The schedule of events happening around the clock in the city for writer/reader things to do that are free and open to the public are mind-boggling. If you are reading this from another city and plan to visit anytime in the next year I suggest that you check out all the local sites and calendars for reader events. The Humanities Tennessee Chapter 16 site is featuring an ongoing calendar of events as well so that would be a great place to start.

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