|
Cook opens gates of Trevalyan
By BECKY HOLLAND
becky.holland @ gaflnews.com
americustimesrecorder.com
DESOTO -- “Jenny Mobley clenched her lace-gloved fists, ready to
admit to no one, least of all her-self, that
she was afraid. She dared a glance at the stranger beside her on the
buggy seat and gave an unladylike lick at the salt beading her lip.
Heat, intensified since the afternoon thunderstorm, rose in pine-scented
mists, shimmering over the road of slick, red Georgia clay. They rolled
along it with silence between them as thick as the forest walling the
road. Suddenly the vista opened. A split rail fence set apart a grove of
hardwoods thinned to leave only the select. Towering oaks cajoled the
breeze, their beneficent boughs shading dainty dog woods. Scaly-barked
sycamores gleamed against dark magnolias. And, away on the far side,
prickly burred sweetgums bore a hint of coming crimson.”
Just as the opening paragraphs of the historical novel,
“The Gates of Trevalyan" begin, so does one's ride to the Cook home.
It is as if the story comes to life somewhat, even as
Jacquelyn Cook, author, greets visitors at the door, with her dogs close
by.
Cook, a Georgia author with roots in Sumter and Lee
counties, enjoys telling stories, and said, “My mother said I used to
make up stories when I was four years old and have her write them for
me. I loved books and she read to me.”
According to Cook’s website, “Writers from Margaret
Mitchell to Eugenia Price and John Jakes have shown that the market S is
enormous, dependable and insatiable for authentically researched
historical novels of the ante-bellum Civil War and Reconstruction period
of the American South. For the past 20 years. and more, Jacquelyn Cook
has been publishing successfully into this lucrative and appreciative
market. To date, her historical novels have sold close to 500,000 copies
and counting.”
“The Gates of Trevalyan”, her 12th, and the one which
she will be signing between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday at Clinic
Drugstore in Americus, and on Dec. 13 at Dog Ear Book store in Madison,
has been a treasure for Cook to write.
Again according to a released biography of the author,
“Cook’s credentials to write about this period could not be better.
While she is known and celebrated for the deep and accurate research
that she does for each of her books, another part of the appeal she
brings to her readers is that the story of the American South runs in
her blood. Born into a family that is Georgia bread for generations, she
was raised on stories handed down from her great grandmother, who
experienced Sherman's march, and so many other first-hand experiences
that were passed down to Cook as part of her own family heritage. (www.jacquelynook.com)
She writes to “preserve Southern culture and heritage,
and people should know that each story I tell is carefully researched
and they are exciting stories.”
“I think we learn by history “, said Cook.
In her most recent novel, the characters are
intertwined with several real-life characters from history, and actual
places in Georgia. According to Cook, this type of writing just makes
the story more real.
“People might see some coincidences in the story of
things and people in my own life, but that is all they are,” said Cook,
who added that she is inspired by visiting old homes and places.
A fan of Phyllis Whitney’s writing, Cook would
encourage readers of all ages to pick up “The Gates of Trevalyan."
"It is full of stories for all ages," she said.
|
