The Accent Of A Southern Writer

By Pamela King Cable

I write stories filled with bits and pieces of my Appalachian childhood and served up with conflicts based in truths and real events. Stories of forgiveness, death, love, racial conflict, faith, tragedy, innocence, destiny, and overcoming insurmountable obstacles.

Having cut my teeth on the back of a church pew, I found myself revisiting the revival tents, tabernacles, and the grand cathedrals of my youth as I wrote Southern Fried Women and then, my new novel, Televenge. Exploring religion, spirituality, and the unexplained where characters hang ripe for the picking, I have experienced a world of both the sublime and the bizarre.

But within my stories it is not just a description of place that plants the reader’s feet firmly in the South. My determination to protect the Southern accent in Southern literature is a result of losing my accent many years ago. Let me explain.

I was a transplanted little hick in a Yankee schoolroom. Like a child of Chinese immigrants who speaks Chinese at home and English at school, I grew up speaking with the accent of my parents, and learned to switch to a Northern accent in my Ohio classrooms.

As a little girl, I had adopted my father’s drawl. He had a nasal, quick, Appalachian accent but my mother’s was more refined. Slow and sugary. Mother felt it was her mission to civilize my father, and especially my sisters and me. She would say, in jest, “We are not hillbillies – we are Hill Williams.” Yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t change her own accent.

To circumvent the ridicule of my classmates, I learned how to change back and forth between, “them fellers ain’t had no pie” to “those boys haven’t had their pie.” My environment determined my accent. Unfortunately, my family’s poor grammar created a barrier, isolating them at times from their community. But I had no barrier. I had to attend school with an inherited diction not used in Northern schools. A diction I rid myself of quickly to survive.

Still, it never occurred to me that some folks didn’t know what the word gaulded meant. “My legs are just gaulded in this heat.” Or why some said, “Put the potatoes in a bag” when my grandmother said, “Put them ‘taters in a poke.” Little did I know, the power of my family’s accent would follow me my whole life, rooting and grounding me—providing a safe bed to fall back on as I struggled to learn which syllables to use and when.

Even through the struggle, I loved the way my mother talked. I felt neither embarrassed nor held back by her accent. It didn’t become apparent until much later how much I treasured the sound of my family’s voices as they gossiped during canning season, whispered in church, and sang their hearts out during revival week. They became a part of me, and part of what flew out of my head and onto the page.

I have learned to appreciate my heritage, to value my Southern accent, even if I can turn it on and off. For me, working and living in both the North and South, it’s given me a broader view of both regions, and a richer impact as a writer. But in truth, it’s who I am and what I came from that influences me most as a writer. Not where I live. I cannot deny the Northern part of me, any more than I can deny the Southern blood that runs through my veins, and the Southern accent that occasionally slides off my tongue. – End –

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Pamela is the author of the highly acclaimed collection of short stories, Southern Fried Women. Born a coal miner’s granddaughter and raised by a tribe of wild Pentecostals and storytellers, Pamela loves to write about religion and spirituality with mystical twists she unearths from her family’s history. She has taught at many writing conferences, and speaks to book clubs, women’s groups, national and local civic organizations, and at churches across the country. More than a decade in the writing, Televenge is her debut novel. She lives in Ohio with her husband, Michael, and is working on her next novel. To learn more about the author, visit www.pamelakingcable.com.

The Element of Surprise

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

"Surprise, surprise, surprise!" isn't just a favorite Gomer Pyle catch phrase, but an essential element in anything we create to attract an audience. It's alive in the punchline of a comedian's joke, in the chord change that makes a song catchy, and in the turn of events that move a storyline along.

"The secret to humor is surprise," said Aristotle, who just might have been the first to laugh at someone slipping on a banana peel. His philosophy could easily and correctly be adapted into "the secret of all entertainment is surprise".

When we didn't see something coming and our anticipation does a 180, we react with emotions that run the gamut from laughter to shock.  In every case, the fact that we weren't expecting this new development makes it interesting. The more surprises we can inject into our creation, the more compelling it becomes.

Robert Frost said, "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader."  May we surprise ourselves with something wonderful every time we sit down to write.

Meanwhile, it comes as no surprise to us that great writers also make great conversationalists.  That was definitely the case when we engaged in delightful dialogue with the authors who appear on our very first Southern Writers Radio Show, which debuted this weekend.  This quarterly webcast delves into the nitty gritty of wordsmithery with the help of awesome authors who also appear in the magazine.

Sandra Balzo tells us how she gives her mystery readers clues to whodunit in books like Triple Shot while still protecting the surprise ending. Pamela King Cable shares with our Editor-in-Chief, Susan Reichert, the surprising behind-the-scenes experience that led her to write her new novel, Televenge. Kala Ambrose explores a city full of spooky surprises in her travel guide to the other side, Spirits of New Orleans.  And, in a lively game, the hilarious Rhonda Rhea has to navigate a wordy challenge we surprise her with.  Can she do it?  You'll be surprised!

With additional segments on self-promotion, social media and book proposals, Danny Iny, Edie Melson and Terry Whalin provide the rest of what you'll find to be an informative — and inspirational — slice of the writing life, from the voices of experience.

Tune into Southern Writers Radio Show online anytime, with the click of a button. It's our newest venue for authors, and one more way to connect you great Southern writers with other great Southern writers.  Happy listening!

Look Who's Talking

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

What started out as a gift to the blind has become an enduring way to enjoy books.  When the Library of Congress first began distributing books for the blind in the 1930s, it wasn't long before the sighted also came to appreciate the appeal of the recorded word on vinyl. 

The Bible and other classics were the early leaders in sales.  By the 1980s, the cassette made motivational tapes especially popular.  Today more than ever, book lovers on the go are finding that audiobooks are a great traveling companion.  On a long drive, a compelling book is just the cure for highway hypnosis. 

Even as we see eBooks leap forward in the marketplace, audiobooks continue to claim a growing piece of the pie that used to be dominated by the printed medium. In both 2011 and 2012, sales of audiobooks have increased more than 30% over the previous year.

Some of Southern Writers' favorite authors know the value of the audiobook, and are making their novels available to an eager new audience.  Sandra Balzo, our current cover story, is about to release her second audiobook.  Tamera Alexander, Robert Whitlow, and Andy Andrews are other front pagers whose works are readily available.  These days, you can find virtually any bestseller on CD.

Clearly, books and audio will remain close friends for some time.  Which is why we want you to know about Take Five, one of our new online venues for authors.  At Take Five, simply click a button to listen to a five-minute excerpt from a variety of new Southern books, often read by the author.  As I write this, Pamela King Cable, Kimberly Rae, and Philip Levin's latest can be previewed in Take Five.

Not every sample you'll hear in Take Five is available as an audiobook, at least not yet.  But an aural appetizer is a quick and fun way to get a taste of these great Southern writers. If you like what you hear, the book itself is just another click away.

Give a listen to Take Five now, and be sure to come back again periodically to see who's waiting to talk to you. And if you're a subscriber with a book to promote, you're invited to be on Take Five.  Details on how to get a good recording, along with an easy means to upload your audio to us, are right there on the website.

Whether you're an author who likes to read, or a reader who likes to listen, we hope you'll take part in Take Five.  A few minutes there will be a sound investment.