One Oyster's Perspective

You know, it is easy to get selfish. It is especially easy when you consider the “me me me” nature of self-promotion that seems to prevail regarding artistic or literary success. I was recently involved in a conversation with some colleagues who are very good writers and who have had some success. What bothered me was that the conversation was about the promotion and marketing of the work, not the craft.

It was also about the collocation of the artist and the art as a kind of coproduct. I’m not a fan of that. I have always believed that the work is the work and the artist is really something else entirely. In fact, to protect the work, the art, you almost have to subvert the artist. Otherwise, you risk ruining both.

I'll put it in simpler terms. Most people like pearls, but they don’t have to like oysters to appreciate or wear them. An artist can be compared to a lot of things, but in many cases an oyster is appropriate.  They're sessile, don’t make a lot of racket and if you look at a reef you see a bunch of them, most aren’t particularly impressive or distinctive. They also make their pearls because of pain, or at least irritation. A little bit of sand or grit gets inside the shell and irritates the softer tissues. The reaction or defense, if you will, is to coat and coat and create this thing that becomes a pearl.

Sometimes it’s just because of life. Sometimes it is cultivated. Intentional.

On that note I would like to recommend a couple of venues and laud the cultivators of literature that do so quietly and, in my opinion, very well. On a positive note, they tend to stimulate rather than irritate as it so happens with a real oyster. On a personal note, both have had an incredibly important impact on my efforts as a writer and thus, as an oyster of sorts.

Today I’d like to praise one of them, one who created a venue that made huge difference in my career. Clay Stafford  is the creator of Killer Nashville which showcases works of murder, mayhem, and the criminal in us all.

Killer Nashville is the premier forum for all genres incorporating mystery, thriller, suspense, action, or romance elements where participants learn, present, meet agents & editors, sign books, mingle with forensic experts, and network.

Publishers Weekly has named Stafford one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing "an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers" not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending "beyond the city limits and into the nation's book culture. "

The Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference was created in 2006 by author/filmmaker Clay Stafford in an effort to bring together forensic experts, writers, and fans of crime and thriller literature. Since then the festival has grown to included  multi and subgenres that highlight manuscripts in development the Claymore and published work, the Silver Falchion. Winners of both categories have gone on to best seller and additional award recognition.  It took an incredible person to create this venue, and it’s an honor to recognize him.