Welcome to the Blog.

Copyright © 2011 Bob R Bogle



Hi and welcome to the blog.

I recently finished writing the first draft of a novel called Memphis Blues Again.  As I proceed with the subsequent drafts I'll be publishing selected excerpts on this blog.  I'll probably also post associated materials that inform the story, external links, photographs, and so on ‑‑ anything that strikes my fancy and that is related to the tale and/or its setting.

So what is Memphis Blues Again?

Set in the present, the story recounts a road trip made by a small group of thirty-something former college friends driving through the Southern United States in late March/early April 2010.  The characters are all from the West, primarily Arizona and Washington state, so the novel also provides a distinctly Western perspective on America, past and present.  I've previously told friends, somewhat tongue in cheek, that Memphis Blues Again is something like Gone With the Wind meets On the Road, although to be more complete I suppose I should also include the movie The Big Chill in the mix.  And probably Joyce's Ulysses, too. . . .


Some writers compare the writing process to painting on a canvass, but in my experience it's more like the sweaty work of a sculptor working in stone.  While the most labor-intensive part of the job is getting the first draft written, when you're done with that quite frequently you're left with a partially-shaped, rather thick-limbed blob.  Subsequent drafts require trimming away and discarding much of what was written originally in order to try to find a more elegant structure buried somewhere deeper inside the original rough text.  You'll be able to watch some of that cutting-down process taking place here.

I've started this blog because I'm interested in any opinions and criticism that anyone may wish to express about the work.  In this way anyone now reading these words may quite possibly affect the final shape of the novel.  Please do feel free to make any comments at any time, and share the blog with anyone whom you think might find this material to be of interest.  Post comments about what you like, and about what you don't like, and clarify why you don't like something as best you can.  The comments and criticism of the public is the raison d'être of this blog.

Also, feel free to comment about matters tangential to the tale, even if your observations are not immediately central to the action or storyline.  We're going to be covering a lot of interesting terrain as we drive through Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee.  There are just innumerable tales to be told about rivers and battles and freedom and slavery and racism and heroes and floods and earthquakes and preachers and family secrets and villains and ghosts and gators and bayous and coastlines and jazz and blues and rock-n-roll and Southern writers and low country cuisine.  So post the affiliated stories that I didn't have time or space to cover in the novel.  Or comment about your own experiences that occurred in the places mentioned in the story.  Share corrections of my factual errors, or insights that I've overlooked.

So. . . .We'll be seeing you in the future!