I don’t have any idea how many folks out there are reading my new novel Streets of Nashville. While I’m certain that it’s not as high a number as I would like it to be, I’m grateful for everybody who is tackling the story and reaching out to say so via email or texts or social media.

One response that I haven’t expected is how quickly some folks have read it. Here are some words from the reachers out mentioned above:

  • “I am the slowest reader and I read to page 300 [in a single day, I’m guessing — out of 331 pages]. That says a lot.”
  • “Read it all day yesterday and finished up this morning. FABULOUS! It kept me captivated and i couldn’t put the damn thing down! Great work!”
  • “Get yourself a copy for the weekend, I promise you won’t regret.I read it in one day!” [Facebook post]
  • “Got your book . . . (Streets of Nashville) and couldn’t put it down until I finished it.  I enjoyed the story but I also like your writing style.  I’m looking forward to the next book.”

Not everybody’s an Evelyn Wood speed reader (I know I’m not — and who gets that reference anyway?), and that’s more than okay:

  • “I’m a thriller/mystery reader and your book has all the right stuff, Michael.”
  • “This is a solid, well-crafted thriller set in Nashville in 1989. Songwriters, murder, revenge, sexuality: it’s got a lot going on, and it does it all well.”
  • “I’ve been making myself read only 2–3 chapters a week. I’m on chapter 49. I raced through Gabriel’s Songbook in a couple of days and then had nothing to look forward to when I was done. This one is a Hitchcock-like mystery…going slow keeps me in suspense. I’m anxious to find out how it ends but I know I’ll be sorry (in a good way) when I learn how everything unfolds. It’s a great read.”

Then there’s the reader who sent me this:

I’ve been saving Streets of Nashville for when I finished the other books I was reading and could bring to it a clear mind – so I planned to spend this week in the mountains, including taking my time with the book, but then, oh well, I stayed up all night and read the whole thing.

My oh my what a wonderful novel!  There are so many things I loved about it – of course 1980’s Nashville, the gorgeous descriptions of weather and the sky, the mature exploration of whether or not an Appalachian man can go home again, the intelligent and nuanced reintegration of the Self, the grappling with evil and shame and love, and on and on while still being a page turner.

If you’ve read it, I hope you enjoyed it. If you’re reading it, I hope you’re enjoying it. If you have access to Goodreads or Amazon, I hope you’ll consider giving it a rating, maybe even a few words of review.

Thanks for reading!