Pine Mountain, Ga., a Getaway for FDR and More

My profile of Pine Mountain, Ga., home to Callaway Gardens, appeared today in The New York Times, the 10th piece I've had in Times since August 2005 and the third about a location in my home state (the others are Lake Oconee and Helen.)

A Glacial Lake in the Poconos

I have a profile in The New York Times today of Lake Harmony, Pa., a landscape in the Poconos that was formed when the last of the great continental glaciers, the Wisconsinian, edged up to the area about 15,000 years ago. Now, Lake Harmony's environs are known for skiing, golf, fishing, hiking, and other winter and warm-weather pursuits.

Living Large in L.A. (Lower Alabama, that is)

I have a profile of the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area of Alabama in The New York Times today. Click here to read the full story, and also check out the slide show by photographer Cary Jobe.

Bill Tilden's Lonesome Grave

I have an essay about the 1920s tennis star Bill Tilden and my search for his Philadelphia grave in the September/U.S. Open preview issue of Tennis magazine. The piece is not yet online, but you can find it on page 110 of the magazine now on newstands and being delivered to subscribers. You can find a short piece I wrote about Tilden's serve on a web site devoted to Philadelphia history put together by Moira Moody, a junior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Kelly Writers House. And for more of my writing about tennis, check out http://www.topspinblog.com/.

John Casey's River Writing Escape

I have a story about novelist John Casey's cabin on the Delaware River today in The New York Times. John is one of my favorite novelists. If you haven't read Spartina, you have missed an excellent book. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel. Click here if you want to see my other work in the Times over the past three years.

Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City

Click here to read my profile of Atlantic City, N.J., in Sunday's Boston Globe.

Topspin Blog on RobbyGinepri.com

My tennis blog, The Topspin Blog, received a promiment mention on American player Robby Ginepri's web site, right alongside The New York Times and ESPN coverage of his run to the fourth round at the French Open.

A Country Music Memoir Hailing From New Hampshire

Read my review of Dana Jenning's new book, Sing Me Back Home: Love, Death and Country Music on the Georgia Jukebox. You can also check out a roundtable discussion with Jennings, Carl Hiaasen and others on Titlepage.tv.

Fishing, Fast Cars and Lake Homes

Click here to see my profile of Logan Martin Lake in the May 23 edition of The New York Times.

Author Bios in The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture

I have biographical sketches of five writers in the recently published Volume 9: Literature edition of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture sponsored by the The Center of the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi and published by the University of North Carolina Press. Authors I've profiled are Richard Bausch, Anthony Grooms, Dave Smith, James Wilcox and Tom Wolfe. Click here to see the publisher's web site, or here to find it on Amazon.

Birmingham: Home of the World's Best Philly Cheesesteak

When I was visiting my brother in Birmingham in early March, he took me to this great little diner he found, the proprietor famous for cheesesteaks. Wayne Salem was such an entertaining character and the food so good that I wrote an article about him that ran in today's Philadelphia Daily News. Click here to read.

A Shank Waiting To Happen: Carl Hiaasen's Golf Game

I have a Q&A with the great Florida novelist and Miami Herald newspaper columnist Carl Hiaasen about his new golf memoir in the March 3 issue of Publishers Weekly . The interview is not available online, but can be found on page 37 of the magazine. He denies the book is a ruse to hustle opponents on the course, saying: "I'm not an excellent golfer, I'm a schizophrenic golfer. I have occasional flashes of confidence between long periods of disintegration." The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to the Ruinous Sport is due out on May 6. Check out more information about it on his website or Amazon.

Up and In With Spin: The Topspin Blog

Please click here to visit The Topspin Blog, my new site devoted to covering tennis, specifically focusing on the U.S. Davis Cup team and the U.S. Open.

A Drive-By in the City of Brotherly Love: DBT in Philly, PA

Click here to read my essay/review about the Drive-By Truckers show in Philly on March 27 on The Georgia Jukebox web site.

Flash Fiction About a Classic Tennis Serve

I have a flash fiction piece (others might call it a prose poem) about 1920s tennis star Bill Tilden's serve appearing on a web site about Philadelphia history hosted by the University of Pennsylvania's Kelly Writers House. The page, a history scrapbook, is being compiled and edited by Moira Moody.

Click here to read my piece, see video of Tilden's serve and read a short bio of him, or click here to learn more about Moira's site.