![\"Regina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/reginablackkatiechilds.jpeg\")
Regina Black Credit: Katie Childs<\/p>\nRegina Black Credit: Katie Childs<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re eager to find a surprise bestseller with an underwater creature as its protagonist (\u201cRemarkably Bright Creatures\u201d by Shelby Van Pelt<\/a>), cynical about the integrity of musicmaking in the era of mass streaming (\u201cMood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist\u201d by Liz Pelly<\/a>), curious about the history of racial inequality in American education (\u201cThe Battle for the Black Mind\u201d by Karida Brown<\/a>), or looking for a crime thriller that, according to The Washington Post, \u201cblurs any imaginary line between genre and great literature\u201d (\u201cSaint of the Narrows Street\u201d by William Boyle<\/a>), the Central Arkansas Library System\u2019s Six Bridges Book Festival has a book for you. With nearly 50 visiting writers in tow, it\u2019s likely that any other stray fascination you can imagine will also be represented at the festival, which runs the gamut from fiction to nonfiction to poetry. <\/p>\n Arkansas writers appearing at Six Bridges include Regina Black, Kevin Brockmeier, Viktoria Capek, Eli Cranor, Susie Dumond, Buckley T. Foster, Carolyn Guinzio, Maria Hoskins, Jared Lemus, Linsey Miller, Adolph L. Reed Jr., Kat Robinson, Ginny Myers Sain, Vaughn Scribner, Alex Vernon, Neena Viel and Rhona Weaver.<\/p>\n Getting fully prepared for Six Bridges, which runs from Sept. 28-Oct. 5, might be the world\u2019s longest homework assignment, so we\u2019ve collected a handful of email and phone interviews with Arkansas-connected authors to whet your palate. For a full schedule, head to cals.org\/six-bridges-book-festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n When Little Rock author Regina Black<\/a> isn\u2019t daylighting as a dean at the William H. Bowen School of Law, she writes romance novels. Following \u201cThe Art of Scandal\u201d \u2014 \u201ca steamy and evocative debut,\u201d according to Publishers Weekly<\/a> \u2014 she published \u201cAugust Lane\u201d in 2025, which The New York Times<\/a> referred to as \u201ca powerhouse of the genre.\u201d Anchored in the fictional town of Arcadia, Arkansas, \u201cAugust Lane\u201d mines the lives of Luke Randall, a one-hit-wonder country artist whose relevance is fading; August Lane, Luke\u2019s former lover and the uncredited lyricist behind his biggest song; and JoJo Lane, August\u2019s accomplished mother, whose soon to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Both of your novels are focused on creative people \u2014 musicians in \u201cAugust Lane\u201d and visual artists in \u201cThe Art of Scandal.\u201d What is it about the creative life that captures your imagination?<\/p>\n I\u2019m drawn to creative people because they live in this constant tension between vulnerability and courage. There\u2019s something deeply romantic about someone who creates not because they have to, but because they can\u2019t not create. In both books, my characters are grappling with the gap between their artistic dreams and reality. As someone who writes around the margins of a demanding career, I understand that feeling.<\/p>\n The bulk of your career has been in the legal sphere, first as a litigator and now as a law school administrator. How do those experiences impact your writing? And how do you find the time to do it amongst all of that professional responsibility?<\/p>\n Lawyers are trained writers, researchers, and storytellers, all of which are necessary for writing good fiction. Working at the law school, I encounter so many different types of people every day, and that makes me more empathetic and creative. With romance specifically, a huge part of being effective is presenting evidence that two people should end up together. If the reader roots for their happy ending, you\u2019ve won the argument.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned to write in stolen moments. Twenty minutes at a time before work, a few hours on weekends. Having limited time makes me more focused. I plan and outline everything because I can\u2019t afford to waste hours staring at a blank page. When I sit down to write, I know exactly what needs to happen in that scene.<\/p>\n \u201cAugust Lane\u201d centers on several people with connections to Black country music. Did you take inspiration from any real musicians \u2014 famous or otherwise \u2014 in dreaming up these characters?<\/p>\n Jojo Lane, August\u2019s mother, was inspired by Vanessa Williams and Tina Turner. Both are dynamic singers who waded through trauma and scandal on the road to being legends. I also interviewed Black women country singers while I was writing the book. Their voices are woven through the pages.<\/p>\n Who\u2019s the writer you\u2019re most excited to encounter at Six Bridges and why?\u00a0<\/p>\n![\""August](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/221179148.jpg\")
\u201cAugust Lane\u201d by Regina Black<\/p>\n