Murder and Sex in Nashville

I've just wrapped up 2 video trailers to hawk Blood Country; one is a shade over two minutes; the other is a hair past a minute. Pretty soon now, I'll be sticking these red hot vids on Facebook, Amazon, etc. Maybe they'll go viral. Or at least make somebody sick. Hope not.


Maybe I need to hire David Allan Coe to tell some tall tales about them. Take a look at the longer one first and tell me what you think.

And this is the little one, also on YouTube. Could be smaller/shorter is better on the net. Would you lay down some cash for this book after taking a look at one or both of these vids? 

Blood Country Reviews Are In: All 5 Stars!

The First Reviews are in:

Erinwald awards Blood Country 5 stars and says,

The country music scene in Nashville comes brilliantly to life with Dan Jewell's new novel, Blood Country, which will captivate mystery fans and country music lovers alike. Fast paced and cleverly plotted, Jewell draws the reader in by his introduction of memorable characters....

The reviewer at Readers'sFavorite also awards the novel 5 stars and says,

Blood Country is a brilliant mystery.... The complex plot is well paced with just the right amount of action. Jewell included enough twists and turns to keep the reader turning pages. There was more than a tad of humor in the plot. The characters are well-developed and multidimensional. Fans of suspense and mystery will not want to miss Blood Country by Dan Jewell. 

Lynnette Phillips  gives Blood Country 5 stars and says

Dan Jewell has written an entertaining detective mystery with an intricate plot and complex cast of characters....This gripping novel was just released January 31, 2011 and is bound to become one of those rare books you just can't seem to put down!

The new mystery Blood Country is now available for purchase in paperback at amazon.com, barnes and noble, books a million, or in Kindle format.

Read the complete reviews at Amazon.com


Synopsis of the novel:

In Nashville, it’s conventional wisdom that if you’re looking for work in the music business, you’d better have a steady day job. Guitarist Joe Rose’s business card reads: “Sideman Investigations, Put Someone on Your Side.”

Rose is hired by strung out Country Music superstar Vern Hamlin, owner of Great Axe Music and guitarist extraordinaire, to look into his father’s murder which occurred twenty years ago. Hamlin has received an anonymous letter suggesting that the man convicted of the crime, who was killed in an escape attempt, was not the real murderer.

After Rose interviews a Desert Storm Vet with PTSD, the man is found dead. Is it suicide or murder? As he looks for the killer, Rose encounters Hamlin’s sexy ex-wife (Country’s answer to Lady Gaga), a Professor who writes mystery novels, Hamlin’s promiscuous stepmother, and a songwriter with a big gun.

Rose's investigation rips off the rhinestone mask of the Nashville Music scene and exposes an influential family's secrets of sex and murder.

About the author:

Nashville native Dan Jewell knows only three chords on his old Silvertone dreadnought, but he and his wife Joyce once cut a demo of songs in the famous Woodland Studio, where artists from Robert Plant to Roy Acuff have recorded. He grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry, and is also a fan of film noir and mystery novels. Before he began writing, Jewell enjoyed a successful career as a college professor and dean. 

Buy the book: 


Click on one of the links under the buy the book heading to the left--Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Booksamillion, and Outskirts.

Welcome to the Dirt

Country Dirt? What's up with that title?

The "country" part refers to country music. I love country music. I live on the outskirts of Nashville, but be advised, that fact doesn't guarantee my affection for the music. I know lots of people here who don't like it, some who hate it, even a few who are embarrassed by it. 

I just like country music, it's simplicity, it's general reliance on lyrics over volume, and it's themes that connect to real people's lives. Before my parents got a TV, I listened to the Opry on Saturday nights on the radio. After we got a TV, I watched Flatt and Scruggs, Porter Wagoner, the Wilburn Brothers, etc. on TV. Right now, the first preset radio station on my truck radio is WSM, 650 AM. 

I like Rock and Roll and other kinds of music too. But my heart has always been in country.

I've always been fascinated with the people who make this music, not only the stars, but the sidemen as well. Over the years, I've had connections with several people who are involved with music in Nashville, at least on the edges of that scene.

An old friend of mine, Charlie Barnes, was a sideman for Jeannie Seeley and Jack Green for awhile. He cut a single or two back in the day and still can play guitar with the best of them and has a great voice.

Another good friend and former work colleague is the son of a famous Nashville sideman, Howdy Forrester; Bob's a super fiddle player himself. 

In the '70s I met songwriter/singer Guy Golemon. We became friends for awhile and our kids played together. We had quite a few beers over the years and I even helped him move into a new apartment one time. When they grew up, his sons John and Will became a major part of the group, The Cactus Brothers. I lost track of Guy but recently saw this great video from 1988 posted on youtube last year by his son Will.   

Nashville can sometimes be a dirty, mean spirited place for an artist struggling to get noticed. Guy's song nails the frustration that a lot of artists who come here feel, and that leads me to the second word in this blog's title.

"Dirt."

Even as a boy I liked to play in the dirt, making roads and racetracks and battlefields. My grandma used to say, "Let that boy alone, a little dirt never hurt anyone." When I got through playing, I could always take a bath.

My Encarta Dictionary has several meanings for "dirt." 1. unclean substance. 2. earth. 3. hard packed earth. 4. scandalous facts. 5. corrupting influences.

I think all of these meanings are in play here. I will sometimes deal with "unclean" things in country music, scandalous facts, corrupting influences, etc. 

I figure there's plenty of material in this area for lots of posts; I could do a whole month on George Jones' shenanigans, for example. And, in this same context, the travails of Mindy McReady come to mind. That's poor Mindy to the right.

I've got my first post in the hopper now about a drunken Ernest Tubb's attempt to shoot (with a .357) a well known Nashville producer. 

But, I'll always be on the lookout for stories readers might have; if you've got dirt, share it here. (I'll be glad to research your stories/rumors and post them.) 

But I'll also pay attention to meaning number 2, earth, as in the good earth, our home, the source of our sustenance. Country music is sometimes said to be "down to earth," or "earthy." Nothing dirty about that. I'm thinking here about stories of how struggling artists got discovered, what obstacles they had to overcome, etc. Also, Again, any stories or anecdotes along these lines you have that you want to share on this site will be welcomed.

In the interest of full disclosure, there's one other thing I need to tell you. I'm using this blog to promote (sell!) my book, Blood Country. It's a mystery novel set in Nashville and the private detective is also a guitar sideman. The case he's digging into involves him with one of Nashville's most prestigious music families and some scandalous secrets that they've hidden for twenty years. I'll be doing regular posts about the novel and sharing some excerpts from the book here. Right now, you can read more about the book (and buy it) by clicking on the links to the left.

That's all for today, partners. 

It's fun to play in the dirt, but always take a bath when you're done. Until we meet again, stay true to yourself, and when you do anything, give it your best shot.