For previous articles about the contributors to ALL NIGHT, ALL DAY, LIFE, DEATH, & ANGELS, see these posts:
Next up?
Nancy Mardis, the Artist!
This is my ninth published book, and my first book to feature art by an artist who is also a friend! Introducing Memphis artist, Nancy Mardis:
Nancy Anne Mardis works primarily in watercolor and pen and ink, sometimes doing acrylics and 3-D. Her subjects range from weddings to portraits to landscapes/houses, and, of course, angels. Her watercolor, “Rainbow Angel,” is used on the cover of this collection. Associate Professor Emeritus of Business Legal Studies and Finance at the University of Memphis, she retired after 34 years in 2021 to focus on her art. She and her dog Lily live in Midtown Memphis.
I have a print of Nancy’s watercolor, “Rainbow Angel,” hanging in my office at home. I love it. When I was putting together this anthology, her angel kept calling out to me. Even before I had a book deal for the anthology, I began playing with her painting and some text for the cover design. I was so excited when she gave permission for me to use her beautiful artwork, and when my publisher, Kim Davis, agreed that it was the perfect illustration for the book.
But here’s the best part of this story. Nancy and I met many years ago at a Starbucks store on Union Avenue in Memphis. She made the first move, asking me what I was reading. We were both reading classic books (not usually my pick, but I was in a book club that was reading something by Thomas Hardy, I think) and that began the conversation. Pretty quickly we discovered that we both had adopted children (teenagers at the time) from South Korea. It was the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship. Nancy did these wonderful ink and 
watercolor paintings of my readings at Burke’s Books in 2017 for my first book, Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s, and my first novel, Cherry Bomb. Of course I had prints of them framed together and hung them in the stairwell along with images of book festivals and book covers representing my work over the past six years. Nancy’s original watercolor of the event for Cherry Bomb hangs on the wall at Burke’s Books to this day.
Want to meet Nancy in person and hear more about her art?
Join me, Nancy, and several contributors to the book at Novel Memphis on June 20 at 6 p.m. for a fun panel discussion as we launch ALL NIGHT, ALL DAY: LIFE, DEATH, & ANGELS! Pre-order your copy of the book and I’ll sign it at the reading . . . . If you can’t make it, I’ll sign it and Novel will mail it to you!