Upcoming Events
Bob May - Book Signing
 On Saturday, September 14th from 4:30-6:30 Mississippi Author Bob May and his son, Brian, a Down syndrome man, will be at Bay Books for a special reading and signing of Bob’s new book “Have Fun, Dammit!” Thirty-eight million Baby Boomers are care-giving elderly parents and special needs family members, often a thankless and depressing arrangement. For the past eight years Bob and Brian have tended to the needs of Bob’s father, a 97 year-old WWII Veteran. Vaught, the family Yorkshire terrier rounds out the foursome who live together in their old, family home in a small town in Mississippi. The result is a humorous book about looking out for one another, a poignant yet a laugh-out-loud overview of how to survive the age of dementia and Alzheimer’s, phone solicitors, and being snowed in without ketchup. For more information about this event or to reserve your copy of,“Have Fun, Dammit!”, contact Bay Books at 228.463.2688. |
Crooked Snake -- Book Signing
  Lovejoy Botelerent will be at Bay Books signing, Crooked Snake: The Life and Crimes of Albert Lepard, on Saturday, April 13th from 4:30-6:30 In 1968, during Albert Lepard's fifth escape from a life sentence at Parchman Penitentiary, he kidnapped Lovejoy Boteler, then eighteen years old, from his family's farm in Grenada, Mississippi. Three decades later, still beset by half-buried memories of that time, Boteler began researching his kidnapper's nefarious, sordid life to discover how and why this terrifying abduction occurred. Crooked Snake: The Life and Crimes of Albert Lepard is the true story of Lepard, sentenced to life in Parchman for the murder of seventy-four-year-old Mary Young in 1959. During the course of his sentence, Lepard escaped from prison six times in fourteen years. In Crooked Snake, Boteler pieces together the story of this cold-blooded murderer's life using both historical records and personal interviews--over seventy in all--with ex-convicts who gravitated to and ran with Lepard, the family members who fed and sheltered the fugitive during his escapes, the law officers who hunted him, and the regular folks who were victimized in his terrible wake. Throughout Crooked Snake, Boteler reveals his kidnapper's hardscrabble childhood and tracks his whereabouts before his incarceration and during his jailbreaks. Lepard's escapes take him from Florida to Michigan to Kansas, California, and Mexico. Crooked Snake captures a slice of history and a landscape that is fast disappearing. These vignettes describe Mississippi's countryside and spirit, ranging from sharecropper family gatherings in Attala County's Seneasha Valley to the twenty-thousand-acre Parchman farm and its borderlands teeming with alligator, panther, bear, and wild boar. Lovejoy Botelerent his early years on Riverdale Farms in Grenada County. He worked for the Mississippi legislature, as a deck hand on the Mississippi River, and in a rodeo in Colorado. Boteler has also taught construction technology and instrumental music in public schools. He builds custom furniture. For more information about this event or to reserve your copy of, Crooked Snake: The Life and Crimes of Albert Lepard, contact Bay Books at 228.463.2688. |
Will Holcomb Book Signing
  Will Holcomb will be at Bay Books signing, The Infinite Jeff, on Saturday, March 16th from 11:00-12:00 Will Holcomb is a software engineer, writer and playwright, among other things. His four part book The Infinite Jeff, explores questions facing both the individual and society/humanity. It takes a fascinating look at religion and human potential. He is currently editing part 4 of The Infinite Jeff, and working on a new play. His first play,Shakespeare Rocks, was written for a youth troupe as a fun way to get them interested in Shakespeare. His second play, Clinically Un-Depressed, premiered to sold out shows and standing ovations. It was the highest grossing show for Bastrop Opera House's 2017/2018 season. It explores the possibility of how lives could be transformed if we simply reacted differently to others. For more information about this event or to reserve your copy of, The Infinite Jeff, contact Bay Books at 228.463.2688. |
The Tempestuous Trial of Maybelline Meriweather -- Book Signing
 Illustrator Sarah Hewes will be at Bay Books signing, The Tempestuous Trial of Maybelline Meriweather, on Saturday, November 10th from 4:30-6:30 Maybelline Meriweather has been put on trial for the most heinous of crimes—stealing an egg from another bird’s nest. Maybelline, without a doubt one of the most colorful citizens of the town of Avian Mile, finds herself in a difficult spot as the accused and, after consulting with the Mockingbirds, retains the renowned Atticus Peck to take her case. A riveting courtroom drama ensues, rich with revelations, cross-examinations, and flighty admissions. In the end, justice is served, and Maybelline is finally—with much joy and fanfare—able to explain the curious behavior that first marked her as a suspect. Told in alliterative style and referencing more than fifty fascinating and beautifully illustrated bird species, Maybelline’s tale isone to be enjoyed by readers of all ages—feathered or not. For more information about this event or to reserve your copy of, The Tempestuous Trial of Maybelline Meriweather, contact Bay Books at 228.463.2688. |
Andrea Vilemont Moreau -- Book Signing
 Andrea Vilemont Moreau will be at Bay Books signing, I Mustache You to Read with Me , on Saturday, August 11th from 5:00-7:00 In I Mustache You to Read with Me, all little Henry wants to do is read and he loves reading! He especially loves reading with his parents but they are so busy with cooking, laundry, dishes, gardening, and work. How will Henry ever get his parents to slow down and read with him? Henry decides to get creative and crafty. Will Henry's imagination and clever puns help to capture his parents' attention so they will read with him? I Mustache You to Read with Me will capture little readers' attention with fun, captivating illustrations of Henry, his parents, Mavis the cat, and Vincent the dog. This delightful book also provides an introduction to figurative language through Henry's puns. A teacher and parent guide is in the back of the book to help children learn about puns (and even come up with their own), along with a mustachecraft idea. Andrea Vilemont Moreau is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher and Librarian. During her career in elementary, secondary, and adult education, she has taught a variety of subjects across every grade level. In addition to teaching, Andrea has also been a writer for the past 20 years. Her work has appeared in UNO's Ellipsis, Library Sparks, The Sea Coast Echo, SLIS Connecting Journal, and Gulf Coast Parents & Kids Magazine. Her book reviews and articles have also appeared in Mississippi Libraries. |
Discovering Cat Island
 Cat Island, just off the Mississippi Gulf Coast shoreline, has been home to some of the most dramatic events and remarkable stories in the nation’s history. While some of these stories are fact, others are colorful fables passed down through the ages with such conviction they have become true in the hearts and minds of many. Between fact and fiction is the undeniable reality: Cat Island is one of the most historically significant landmarks on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Discovering Cat Island featuring over 160 black-and-white photographs by Jason Taylor and a foreword by Mississippi’s Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, John Cuevas’s Discovering Cat Island guides readers through Cat Island with stories and histories of twenty-nine sites—both real and imagined—of the legendary barrier island. Originally owned by the Cuevas family as part of a Spanish land grant to Juan de Cuevas in 1781, Cat Island boasts a colorful history that includes events related to the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte and the outlaw James Copeland, both of whom were thought to have buried their stolen treasure somewhere on the island; the Battle of New Orleans; and the War of 1812. The island served as one of the staging areas for the Seminole forced to abandon their homes and take part in the Trail of Tears. In the twentieth century, the island was a convenient transfer point for gangsters and local bootleggers shipping booze during Prohibition before becoming a US military training camp site during World War II. In 1988, Cat Island became the location of the first oil drilling ever in the Mississippi Sound and in 2010 was one of the islands devastated by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. For more information about this event or to reserve your copy of, Discovering Cat Island, contact Bay Books at 228.463.2688. Bay Books will have a limited quality of John Cuevas's first book, Cat Island: The History of a Mississippi Gulf Coast Barrier Island available at the book signing. |
Alyssia Kirkhart book signing
 Alyssia Kirkhart will be at Bay Books signing, Three to Shatter, on Saturday, June 30th from 11:30-1:00 Whispers of war threaten to destroy everything Scylla loves in the third book of A.N. Hart’s bestselling Symbolon series. War is coming. When Athen awakens from a months-long coma, Scylla resumes her role as his symbolon, determined not only to commit to her fate but to gather allies from the neighboring Fae realms. To do so, however, she must engage in a political battle with some of the most powerful faeries in the world—and she must juggle the profound affections of a captain and a general. As the danger of insurgent forces heightens, Scylla will find herself forced to discern between friend and foe, identity and allegiance—duty and love. A hit with mature teen and adult readers, the Symbolon series promises romance and adventure in the thrilling lands of fairy tales, dreams and, yes, even nightmares. Long Beach, MS native Alyssia Kirkhart is an award-winning romance writer who loves animals, Junior Mints, Harry Potter, and hanging out with her fabulous hubby. When she's not writing, reading, or watching Friends reruns in her Northern Louisiana home, she enjoys what every other chick in America digs: shopping, chocolate, and a good cup of coffee. |
Malcolm White -- Book Signing
 Malcom White will be at Bay Books signing, The Artful Evolution of Hal & Mal's, on Saturday, June 9th from 5:00-7:00 The Artful Evolution of Hal & Mal's is a collaboration between artist Ginger Williams Cook and author Malcolm White about the people, the place, and the history of Hal & Mal's, an iconic institution in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. Featuring beautiful watercolor paintings, the book brings together thirty years of family history, live music performances, and cafe society through graphic designs of old photographs, original illustrations, Hal's legendary recipe cards, and the written word. Opening with a foreword by the renowned author and chef Robert St. John and featuring Ginger's bold and vibrant look at a place she grew up patronizing, The Artful Evolution of Hal & Mal's captures the reflective, quirky voice of one half of the dynamic team known to millions as Hal & Mal. Hal & Mal's was conceived by brothers Hal and Malcolm White. The dream was rooted in a childhood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, reinforced by years of living and working in New Orleans, and ultimately launched in Jackson in 1985. This gathering place has always been owned and operated by family--now the second and third generations. The multifunctional, southern-soul-soaked rooms are adorned with memorabilia and chock-full of local character; each one also features a stage for live music. The kitchen serves a steady offering of hearty regional staples with a nod toward the Gulf of Mexico. Hal & Mal's is the most-talked-about upscale honky-tonk in all of Mississippi, where art is made, music plays, and folks gather to share community and celebrate the very best of Mississippi's creative spirit. Malcolm White, Jackson, Mississippi, is a public servant and entrepreneur who has worked in the fields of food, music, art, and culture for more than forty years. With their extended family, he and his late brother Hal created and lovingly nurtured the evolution of one of Mississippi's most renowned public gathering places. Ginger Williams Cook, Jackson, Mississippi, is an artist, mother, and arts educator. Her illustrations have appeared on national publications and products. |
Stennis Space Center -- Book Signing
 Cindy Donze Manto will be at Bay Books signing his memoir, Stennis Space Center: Images of America, on Saturday, May 12th from 4:00-6:00 Originally known simply as Mississippi Field Operations, Stennis Space Center arose from the dissolution of two towns and several surrounding communities that had served the lumber industry since the 1800s. Its sole purpose was to static test the free world's most powerful rockets after they arrived by barge via the Pearl River. Spurred on by an intense Cold War race to the moon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) battled mud, mosquitoes, and snakes as it cleared the way for its colossal test stands for the Apollo program. When completed, the A & B Test Complexes towered between 200 and 400 feet high, the tallest structures in the state of Mississippi in 1965. Dr. Wernher von Braun, the first director of Marshall Space Flight Center, was fond of saying that "to get to the moon, we will have to go through Mississippi to get there!" Today, Stennis Space Center is NASA's largest propulsion test complex and also home to a diverse collection of resident agencies: federal, military, private, local, national, and international. Cindy Donze Manto, a historian, urban planner, and the author of Michoud Assembly Facility, has assembled a compilation of photographic images and maps culled from an array of libraries, museums, private collections, and NASA. |
George Malvaney -- Book Signing
  George Malvaney will be at Bay Books signing his memoir, Cups Up: How I Organized a Klavern, Plotted a Coup, Survived Prison, Graduated College, Fought Polluters, and Started a Business, on Saturday, May 12th from 12:00-2:00 George T. Malvaney's life epitomizes the old maxim that "You cannot make this stuff up." Combine a young Klansman from Mississippi, an armed coup attempt in the Caribbean, a stay in prison, and a life-changing epiphany, and you have but half of this swashbuckling tale. Throw in the worst man-made ecological disaster in the history of the United States, and you have unleashed Malvaney's full life story. The Klansman, the soldier of fortune, the wild-eyed prisoner transforms into a renowned leader of the Mississippi Gulf Coast cleanup effort in the wake of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In his too-crazy-not-to-be-true memoir, Malvaney chronicles what easily should be several lifetimes of adventure--and misadventure. Growing up in a close-knit family in Jackson, Mississippi, the young Malvaney preferred woods and swamps to the drudgery of high school. He dropped out, enlisted in the Navy, and shortly afterwards joined the Ku Klux Klan. While onboard, he organized a branch of the Klan, corrupting and endangering his crewmen. After his discharge, he answered a mercenary call to take part in an invasion of Dominica, a Caribbean fiasco known as the "Bayou of Pigs." That madness landed him in a federal penitentiary. And there, somehow, he vowed to turn his life around. Cups Up, a title drawn from the wake-up call shouted at prisoners, is a story of perseverance, cleansing, and redemption. It chronicles the roller coaster life of a high school dropout, ex-Klansman, ex-mercenary, ex-felon, and ex-con, who went on to become a college graduate, a hardnosed environmental regulator, and a widely respected top executive in a company with more than a thousand employees. |
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