Mancil Travis - I have always had a fascination with this character from my hometown. When I put pen to paper to recount stories I knew of him, I kept hearing this dream sequence in my head that was Willie Sugarcapps harmonies singing like a Greek chorus, "White carnations."

When I was young, my father told me I was living in a dream world. At the time, he was trying to straighten me up to fly right. Now I treasure the part of my life that is a dream world - the love of my children, my music - these loves can put you in a dreamy place. I embrace it.

I'm an introverted sort of writer.

Mancil Travis - I have always had a fascination with this character from my hometown. When I put pen to paper to recount stories I knew of him, I kept hearing this dream sequence in my head that was Willie Sugarcapps harmonies singing like a Greek chorus, "White carnations."

I've had empathy toward what Carson McCullers calls "the invisible people" all my life and was inherently interested in what redeemed Mancil Travis, what fueled Mancil, what destroyed Mancil, etc. I think everyone wants redemption including Mancil.

I love Nashville, but I miss the Gulf Coast, the wetlands, and the Delta of Lower Alabama every day. Magnolia Springs is a sweet little town in reality, but, in my heart, it is a kind of mythological oasis. I relive the memory every time I cross the Magnolia River. My memory is probably not accurate, but it's a wonderful memory. So Magnolia Springs lives in my heart as a beautiful, cool, watery place.

I think we are all of the same opinion that "wherever you go, there you are," and if you are constantly searching for paradise outside of yourself, you will miss what is in your own backyard.