M. M. P.
Milam McGraw Propst
Official Website of Best Selling Author, Including the Award-Winning Book
A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street
BOOKS
I wrote “Whatever Became of Ociee Nash?” because I believe she wanted me to do so. Here’s Ociee, a fine Victorian lady, all grown up, stylish and every bit as feisty as she was as a child.
"My Nun and Her Husband" is the love story of Kate and Lou Shilling. They requested that I write it, but insisted on a certain "deadline." Literally. I hope I honored the adoring couple. Most especially, I hope I honored Kate.
An author friend and researcher, Jackie White, and I made twenty-plus rather crazy day trips around Georgia. At times, we were lost, often laughing and befuddled, but amazingly managed to stumble upon a curious array of unique historic spots.
A fictionalized story
I needed to write, yet once published by Mercer University Press, I regretted doing so. Because of me, too many family skeletons escaped our closet.
Writing "Creola's Moonbeam," was so much fun because it allowed me to enjoy Creola decades longer than I actually did! Thank you, Belle Books.
A glimpse at how I came to write my first book, then the second, "Writer, Writer" is the eighth title in my career.
Mothers don't pick favorites, nor should authors. But this could well be mine!
What was intended as one sweet story to honor my grandmother, Ociee Nash Whitman, became a series of five books! Thank you, Dr. Marc Jolley of Mercer University Press for believing in Ociee and in me all those years ago.
I wrote "Ociee on Her Own" at the suggestions of the wonderful author, Terry Kay, and of my high school English teacher. Each believed Ociee should return to Mississippi. They were right.
Belle Books, who published "Creola's Moonbeam," asked me to write a third Ociee story. Of course, I agreed. "The Further Adventures of Ociee Nash" followed the film, "The Adventures of Ociee Nash."
It seemed a given that Ociee should take Ben, her adventuresome older brother, on a train trip to Asheville. What she didn't anticipate was what ensued once they arrived.
"Ociee Nash, the Finale" is set in Memphis, where my grandmother spent her adult years. It is fitting that both young Ociee and I would "retire" from her adventures in the city she so loved.
Biography
Author of ten books, Milam has worked in PR and as a newspaper reporter. A notable triumph for her was the motion picture, “The Adventures of Ociee Nash,” which premiered at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. The movie is based on her award-winning novel, “A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street,” the story about her beloved grandmother, Ociee.
The author is forever grateful to Kristen McGary and Amy McGary, director and writers, for bringing Ociee to life on the big screen.
In addition to the series of Ociee books, Milam’s other titles include: “It May Not Leave a Scar,” “Creola’s Moonbeam,” and “Writer, Writer.” Recently released, “My Nun and Her Husband,” is a tribute to the writer’s high school English teacher, a Catholic nun and her husband. Yes, husband!
In 2016, Milam co-wrote a Georgia travel book, “Sidetracked,” with fellow author, Jaclyn Weldon White. The two friends continue to market their book throughout the state, lunching and laughing, and trying their best NOT to become sidetracked!
Milam attended St. Agnes Academy in her hometown of Memphis and graduated from St. Pius X in Atlanta. A graduate of the University of Alabama, she is married to her college sweetheart, Jamey Propst. They’ve lived in Atlanta for more than three decades. She and Jamey have three adult children, Amanda, William, and Jay plus William's wife, Abigail, and their two charming grandsons, Loftin and Emmett.
Often Milam can be spotted walking around her Westfield Park neighborhood sporting a signature broad-brimmed hat.
The author can be contacted at milamwritesbooks@gmail.com
