Kerouac House - I am Alternate!

I am pleased to say I am the alternate choice to live in Jack Kerouac's old house for 3 months! The Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida, is the house Kerouac lived in with his mother when On The Road was published, made him famous, and where he subsequently wrote The Dharma Bums!

If Brian Turner, the soldier-poet known for his 2005 poetry volume Here, Bullet decides not to live in the house (from June-August 2009), I am first alternate choice! Voila the house!

The Kerouac House is now run by the Kerouac Project of Orlando at http://www.kerouacproject.org/ Plus you can tour the Kerouac House here.

Voila the house!

Novel's first review - thanks Geoff!

Geoff Cush, a member of the judging panel, had this to say about THE PRIDE AND THE SORROW : "What made Matt Fullerty's writing stand out, from the very first sentence, was an unusually strong and individual way with words. Taking us into the vanished world of old America and Europe he uses a highly textured language to give an almost physical experience of being in that place and time. Drawing subtle lines between a society top-heavy with leisure and the profligate genius it produced in Morphy, he holds back the historical and personal reckoning while letting it gather and brood like the storm that finally washes away New Orleans. In my view this makes THE PRIDE AND THE SORROW a stand-out all rounder in the craft of literary fiction."

This smart-looking chap is Paul Morphy. You can follow this link to find out more about his New Orleans family. And to learn more about his formidable chess opponents with slideshows of the players click here!

Charlottsville Courthouse, temporary capital of the South!

Me in Charlottsville at the county courthouse, which boasts an impressive history here.

After Jefferson retired from the Presidency to Monticello in 1809, he visited this courthouse many times, as did his neighbors and presidential successors Madison and Monroe. As the only large public building in the village, it served not only for court b ut also for meetings of the University's first Board of Visitors, for associations such as the Albemarle Agricultural Society, and for religious services. Today's front was built just before the Civil War.

Charlotsville is home to the University of Virginia (founded by Thomas Jefferson) which boasts a good English department!

Charlie at Natural Bridge, TN (name of a town)

Voila Natural Bridge, Tennessee, a small town hosting a magnificant natural geological formation - an arch to you and me. The rock formation is 215 feet tall and 90 feet wide. As you continue on the trail, you'll pass through the small Monacan Indian Village, where they have reenactments and you can ask them questions. Farther along the trail you'll follow Cedar Creek and pass Saltpeter Cave, where they mined for nitrates to make gunpowder during the Civil War.

Charlie kicking back with Natural Bridge - much larger than it looks! - in the background.

There is also The Lost River, visible through a low arch in the side of the mountain, its sparkling waters flowing from an unseen cavern above to one below the creek.

And at the end of the hike is Lace Falls, with small cascades along the 50-foot drop.

Grand Ol' Opry, Nashville

Dear England, here's the original site of the famous Grand Ol' Opry, home of country music! Today the Opry is a weekly country music radio program and concert broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee, every Friday and Saturday night