Memphis on My Mind by Angela Benson

My cousin and I recently spent a couple of fun days in Memphis.  My first visit to the city was back in the nineties when I spoke at the conference of the local romance writers group.  The publicist from Kensington Books, my publisher at the time, was also there.  I remember her because we went on the Graceland tour together. If you haven’t been to Graceland, the home of Elvis, you have to go.  Not only will you get to see his Grammy awards, you’ll also get to experience his room with the fur-covered walls!

On this last visit I was only in town for one night so I didn’t make it back to Graceland, but I did fall in love with the city all over again.  There’s just something about Memphis that calls to me.  First, Memphis is an old city with lots of charm, the perfect place for love and romance.  Second, Memphis is a clean city with wide streets.  I really like clean cities.

 

My cousin and I stayed at the Sleep Inn at Court Square, which turned out to be the perfect location. I really wasn’t expecting much from the hotel so I was pleasantly surprised.  We had a two-room suite on the second floor.  The suite had upscale furnishings, a living room, a bedroom, two bathrooms, two televisions, a microwave and a refrigerator. The décor was really appealing.  I will definitely be staying there again.  I’ve already told my husband that we have to go back.

The first thing my cousin and I did was take the short walk, about six blocks, from the hotel to the famous Beale Street.  There is a trolley stop right out back of the hotel but we wanted to walk.  Apparently, a lot of other folks like to walk as well because we were not alone in our trek.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from Beale Street but my first thought was that it was short.   That turned out to be a good thing.  Unlike New Orleans where you have Bourbon Street in the midst of all the activity of the French Quarter, Beale Street is just a few blocks long.

Because my cousin wanted BBQ, we had dinner at the Blues City Café.  My cousin was able to get her BBQ, which she enjoyed, and I was able to get my veggies.  The turnips were delicious!

After dinner we explored the rest of Beale Street, which means we listened to some great music.  Our first stop was for a live set of R&B at a quaint little park nestled between the restaurants.  After getting our groove on for a while, we continued our exploration.  Our next stop was for a live jazz set in a larger park-like area a couple of blocks away.  All this free entertainment was a real treat!

Of course, a visit to Beale Street wouldn’t be complete without a stop to pick up some trinkets.  My cousin bought t-shirts and I took the picture of the Beale Street sign.  Even Beale Street sleeps!

Soon after, we made our way back to the hotel.  The next day we took in the Stax Museum of American Soul and the National Civil Rights Museum, two sites I strongly recommend.  I’ll have to tell you about those in another post or maybe you’ll read about them in one of my upcoming books.  I tend to set my stories in southern towns, so Memphis fits in nicely. 

So what do you think of Beale Street and Memphis? What are your favorite books set in Memphis?  

Angela Benson is the award winning and bestselling author of fourteen novels, two novellas and a non-fiction writing book.  Her most recent book is Delilah’s Daughters (Avon, 2014).  Her next book, The Summer of Me, will be released by Avon in early 2015.  While you’re waiting for Angela’s new title, be sure to check out her backlist recently released in eBook format.  Join Angela on the web at http://www.facebook.com/AngelaBensonBooks or http://www.AngelaBenson.com.