Anthony Todd Carlisle, Ph.D.

Professor to Publish First Novel

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Apr 22, 2021
'The Souls of Clayhatchee: A Southern Tale,' by Dr. Anthony Todd Carlisle, is due out May 4.

anthony carlisle
Dr. Anthony Todd Carlisle

“You write about what you know,” Dr. Anthony Todd Carlisle tells his students at Cal U.

In his first novel, The Souls of Clayhatchee: A Southern Tale, Carlisle has done just that, drawing on his experiences as a Black journalist with family ties in the South.

His book is due out May 4.

The Souls of Clayhatchee is scheduled to be released May 4. To order, visit https://hiddenshelfpublishinghouse.com/coming-soon/ or any online bookseller.
The mystery is set in a small town in Alabama, where James Kingsman, a Pennsylvania native, goes to bury his mother. His notions about his Southern relatives are turned upside down as he makes long-hidden discoveries about his parents.

“I think the book deals with a lot of issues at the forefront today that we have never really stopped dealing with,” said Carlisle, an associate professor of in the Department of Culture, Media and Performance.

“Divisions along racial lines, brutality, systemic racism — these are issues that we must continue to address.

“It also deals with family dynamics and conflicts within families, particularly family members who have differences in economic standing. What does family mean? I am very interested in the black migration experience: What prompted the move, the tension between those born in the North and those born in the South.”

And yet, the book is fiction — “the main character is better reporter than I was,” Carlisle deadpanned — which gives the journalism expert another area of credibility with students.

“If you’re a writer, you’re a writer. This is just a form,” he said. “I was always interested in fictional writing, but I’m also a practical guy, and journalism gave me the best chance to make a living. All writers must be accurate and make sure they’re doing the research so their work is authentic.

“My experience as a journalist came to bear in this book. I was able to talk about a preliminary hearing because I’ve covered them. It helps to draw on what you know in order for the work to be authentic.”

Becoming a published novelist fulfills a career goal for Carlisle, who began writing it shortly after being deployed to the Middle East with the U.S. Army Reserve in 2003.

“I had to put it down when I came back home to finish my dissertation,” he said. “The hard part was trying to find a publisher. I thought it was good enough to be published, and that’s why I kept trying. How it will be received, I don’t know, but I thought it was good enough to be published. All I needed was one person to believe in my work.”

The process comes full circle as Carlisle applies his new experiences in writing, publishing and marketing his book to his primary job, as an English professor.

“When you see someone who’s done something, that’s inspiring,” Carlisle said. “We encourage students to publish and to put their stuff out there in a variety of ways. It is attainable for them. This process has added something else to what I do, and it makes me fuller as a professor.”

Coming Soon | Hidden Shelf Publishing House Coming Soon Download Media Kit Pre-Order Now Releasing Spring 2021 The Souls of Clayhatchee A Southern Tale By Anthony Todd Carlisle With his mother recently deceased, James, a New York City newspaper reporter, finds himself journeying south to Clayhatchee, Alabama to fulfill a deathbed promise he m...

The Souls of Clayhatchee release date May 4th: IngramSpark, Amazon (preorder), and OverDrive (coming soon).

Here is some info on Teddy Hayes, he is based out of the UK but I believe originally from Ohio, if I am remembering correctly. https://www.teddyhayesproductions.com

Review from novelist Teddy Hayes:

The Souls of Clayhatchee
I think this book is an interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly it connects the urban present of the African American experience with its rural present as well as its past from the perspective of an outsider. Secondly it shows both the deep and lasting imprint of institutional and historical racism as well as the realization that new generations of African Americans will no longer accept wrongdoing and turn the other cheek. When they are victimized by the systemic bigotry sanctioned by a hypocritical and callous society that specializes in sanitizing and recasting malicious crimes as innocent unfortunate signs of past times, they must continue to use whatever means at their disposal to right the wrongs.
This applies for those racists forces against the community from outside or as well as those who perpetuate unworthy deeds from within. It feels like the overriding theme here is that humanity must look truth in the face with an uncompromising eye. And it must do so in the overwhelming interest of survival and progress for both the vanquished as well as the conquerors. And most importantly like it or not it shows that America is slowly coming to realize that the many peoples that make up its core are like fingers of the same hand, wherein if one digit is badly damaged and made dysfunctional then the debilitation of the other digits can and might well eventually follow.

Teddy Hayes Productions Teddy Hayes: producer, director, playwright, scripwriter, filmmaker, novelist, and media consultant

Releases May 4, 2021
The Souls of Clayhatchee by Anthony Todd Carlisle
A must-read novel about family ties, generational racism, and a mysterious murder that casts its shadow across a man fulfilling his mother's dying wish.

This title is available through IngramSpark, Amazon(preorder), and OverDrive (coming soon).
Learn More About The Souls of Clayhatchee

HOME | Hidden Shelf Publishing House Serious Literature. Unique History. Beautifully Crafted. The goal of Hidden Shelf is simple – connect serious readers to great writers.

February 2021 marks the first Black History Month since the murder of George Floyd, and the uprising of Black Lives Matter protests across the nation.⁣⁣⁣
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At such a pointed time, Anthony Todd Carlisle brings us 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦. Influenced by Eric Jerome Dickey, Carlisle tackles difficult subjects in a real and intimate way; with a perfect mix of humor.
⁣⁣⁣
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦 will be 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝟓/𝟒/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
𝐍𝐎𝗪 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐄-𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑!⁣⁣⁣
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/173381938X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=173381938X&linkCode=as2&tag=hiddenshelf-20&linkId=d23e1404b75fd6a6a21f00a6b2f26e55

Dr. Anthony Todd Carlisle on Family Legacy | Hidden Shelf Publishing House I remember how my grandfather, Perry, often lamented that his good name had been run into the ground by his three oldest children, which included my mother. As I sat and listened to his repeated railings, I told myself that I would never bring shame to the family name. The irony is that Carlisle was...

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