What will Kentucky Book Festival visitors find on your table?

You will find a copy of my first and only book to date, Exiled- the Climax and Surrender of Jimmy Stokley by Bill Luxon. This first-hand account follows the beginning of the Exiles, a local rock-n-roll band and its decades-long climb to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 charts. Center stage is Jimmy Stokley, whose magnetic personality and wild, charismatic stage persona fueled not only the music, but also the libidos of girls in attendance. The book details the pitfalls of life on the road, where sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll wasn’t just a catchphrase- it was a lifestyle. Exiled details the cast of characters in the band’s rise up the charts, plus Stokley’s heart-wrenching fall from the fame he desperately desired and so richly deserved.

Whom do you invite to stop by? Who will benefit from reading your book?

Everyone who is inspired by the mantra “if you work hard enough and long enough, success will follow”, those who are interested in the history of Kentucky’s iconic band, Exile, and anyone who wants to experience the reality of being in a band on the road.

Could you please tell us something curious about you and/or your book?

This inside account was a five plus year effort researching and reminiscing events that occurred as many as sixty years ago. In writing this dream-to-destiny story, I found a warm place in my heart for these good vibrations. I never realized it would be possible to hold dear my fellow band members as eternal brothers.

Is this your first time participating in Kentucky Book Festival? If yes – what are you looking forward to the most? If you’ve participated before – what was your favorite experience at the Festival?

This is my debut as an author at the Kentucky Book Festival and I am excited about the opportunity to network with the other authors and to meet the attendees who have a mutual appreciation of the written word.

Written by founding member Bill Luxon, Exiled details the cast of characters in the band’s rise up the charts, plus Stokley’s heart-wrenching fall from the fame he desperately desired and so richly deserved.