WONDERFULLY REALISTIC—

My third book is getting prepared for publication as I write this, and I have spent days on end with my publisher to get it just right. For you. For me. I want this to be the best of my books. Mainly because I will likely only write one more before I lay down pen and paper. You know, when you get my age, it is almost time to fold not only the spiral notebook, but also the frail tent.

I have proofed until I'm near blind, and I am told someone will find something I missed, proof positive that I am not perfect and will never be until I see Christ face to face, and then . . . well, then I will be perfect and I won't have to do any more of this proofing, nor will I have to take the abuse that goes along with making mistakes in a book.


I have loved every minute of writing Isaac's House. I've loved the trips to Mississippi, being with family members who are just as interested in our heritage. Visits to Isaac's real house in Slate Springs, to the Court House in Pittsboro, to every cemetery in Calhoun County, The University of Mississippi Library where the Clark War letters are archived. Every little tidbit I could learn about the family and the fascinating era about which I write was joyous to me. Everything from the few words beautifully written in an obituary in the mid-1800s, archived in a book so heavy I could scarcely lift it. I am captivated by it all.


For sure, my books are fiction, historical, steeped in what could have been, what might have been. That's what makes them wonderfully realistic. I knew just enough of the truth of what happened to get lost in it myself. The imagination is a splendid invention, and I've given mine a work-out with these last two books.


Isaac's House is the second in the Faithful Sons Trilogy, and I can hardly wait to begin writing Joab, which I will not write—not one single word will I write—until I have a hardcover copy of Isaac's House in my hands. My goal is to finish Joab in six months and to get it published immediately. And then, I'll be done.


I still have a bit more to finish on Paul's book, and Victor's is completed, just waiting for his word to take it to the publisher. A very busy 2011, indeed.


I'm excited about my first book signing which will be at Panera Bread in Trinity, Florida—the manager has told me, at a time of my choosing. I'll be happy to announce it when I get a little closer to publication.


Until next time—

Jane B. Gaddy

Trinity, FL