2024: Of Marsh Wizards and A Solid Man

(plus faves and raves from ‘23)

That quote by one of my favorite American writers sums up my hopes for this year in the creative arts.

Here’s a look at what I have on the horizon cued up for you good folks seeking new adventures and some of my recommendations from my favorite reads and listens in 2023.

First, here is the latest news on my works. 

A Solid Man: My most recent novel, “A Solid Man,” is on track to be published late this year or early 2025. I am on my fourth or fifth rewrite since finishing the first draft in November 2022 and have a start-stop tempestuous love affair with it. I’ve never had such an on-again, off-again relationship with a book in my eight years of writing fiction. I now just need to be squirreled away in a cabin in middle Georgia with no wifi or TV for two days and force myself to finish it. One of my least favorite words is, ‘time,’ and all I need is a sizable chunk of it sans interruptions. Early beta reviews have compared it to John le Carre, Graham Greene, and Mick Herron. It is definitely a slow burn, a morality tale and a thriller. More details, teasers, and such to follow.

New band, new album: I’m also happy to announce that I have a new album scheduled to drop this year with a new line up of guest musicians on board. I’ve named the band, “The Marsh Wizards,” and the album will be released through MWM Productions with a tentative date of April 2024. This new album is the first of a three-part series tentatively called, “Confessions of a Pale Sinner.”

I’ve also had the privilege to have some fantastic individuals featured on this album including drummer Jeff Thal pictured above, left. My last album relied on drum programming, so playing with a ‘real’ human again was a treat. The bonus? Jeff has mad skills. His playing adds a whole new dimension. You can check out his work here.

I also have a trumpet player from Ukraine on board and two spoken word artists from the public domain. While the other albums of this musical trilogy will be folk and blues based and then rock and funk, this one is in the experimental/ambient realm with a few touches of blues and snippets of poetry including W.B. Yeats and Shakespeare.

There will be a few multimedia films in this project as well. 

Film: Speaking of, I also have a short film I have been shooting on, “Ecclesiastes.” Stay tuned on that. It’s all been shot and recorded; just awaiting reshoots and some scoring and trying to stay out of my own way.

Dads Who Care Events: For those of you who are acquainted with my work in the special needs community, it was fulfilling to have another event for fathers who have children with special needs in September. The “Dads Who Care” event was sponsored by Southside Support and hosted by Line Creek Brewery. The outpouring of sponsorships and the 30 or so dads who attended really provided a super base for this oft-neglected slice of the populous. These events are for support, strategies, and, most of all, to let SN Dads know we aren’t alone on the journey. The January 25 event will focus on ‘Self Care and Avoiding Burnout.’ The event is free and begins at 6 p.m. south of the ATL at the Line Creek Brewery Bus Barn in Fayetteville. Please share with all those you know on this strange and lonesome journey so we can support one another. You can check out the link here. on an article by The Citizen. We plan to start having these support groups on a quarterly basis.

^{I had the opportunity to visit the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in March. The Monet Gallery was breathtaking and I found a new favorite painting of his, ‘Morning on the Seine near Giverny}.’

Publishing eight books in six years was rewarding, but took a toll on the creative drive circuit. What began as a slow break from book writing (I’ve still been penning poetry and short stories) a little more than a year ago evolved into a conscious decision to let my field grow fallow for a while and concentrate my creative efforts into painting.

It was still an enriching year, though, with some great events, however, and there are lots of people to thank. 

I really enjoyed reading to The Monarch House in the Spring. Thanks to T.M. Brown for the invite. (Speaking of, Brown’s new book is getting quite the accolades. You can get more info via the link above)

My online art gallery debuted last spring. You can check it out here. These are high resolution reproductions, but I have the originals on sale as well.

I also enjoyed teaching a class on “Writing as a Spiritual Practice” with Central Presbyterian Church at Montreat, N.C. in September. That was not only an honor, but a blessing.

Connecting with the Friends of Historic Woolsey has been awesome. I love that part of Fayette County, the connection of Ferrol Sams to that church, and the dynamic work being done on that property to develop it into a community center. We’re in preliminary talks to shoot a short doc there this year to tell their story. You can discover more via this link. 

Might I recommend? 

Without further ado, here are some of my artistic recommendations from my latest explorations: 

Crapalachia by Scott McClanahan:  This chap really captures that sweet spot in Southern culture where you can tell it like it is, but lyrically, and without ‘punching down.’ His writing is very unique, but in the spirit of Pat Conroy’s lighter moments, John Kennedy Toole, and Flannery O’Conner. Scott does an amazing job with this book, and has a distinct narrative voice which makes this a delicious tragicomedy. 

St. Paul and The Broken Bones: Okay, I’m late to this party, (much like McClanahan’s book above). When it comes to music, I’ve been dialing backwards over the last ten years. By that, I mean everything from forgotten folk songs to 18th century organ music to barely remembered Hip Hop. All said, my friend, Bryan, turned me onto this group and they are worth a good blast.

Slow Horses: I mentioned how fine and amazing the writing and acting was on this show when it came out a few years ago and it looks like it is finally getting the buzz it deserves. Third season out now. On Apple TV. 

I hope you have a fruitful year and I see you on the journey. Stay in touch. Feel free to give me a ping at markwallacemaguire@gmail.com 

Safe travels.