DeSoto Ga. - Her first two novels are popular, Jacquelyn Cook says, because of their accurate historical detail and "positive themes which give enrichment as well as pleasure."

"The River Between" was published a year ago, and a sequel, "The Wind Along the River", followed several months later. As of July, the combined sale of the two novels had already exceeded 100,000 copies, according to the publisher, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mrs. Cook and her husband live in DeSoto, in a white-columned, soft-red brick structure. It’s tranquil setting is enhanced by a weeping willow tree and a miniature Japanese garden with a waterfall, rippling stream and bridge.

Her newest novel, "Image in the Looking Glass," was published less than a month ago. It’s setting is a Georgia plantation near Andersonville during the final months of the Civil War. This is why one of her first book signings of the new novel will be December 6 at 4 p.m. at Andersonville Antiques, she said. The book is "a romance with suspense," said the author. But it varies from usual "whodonits," because it’s suspense and mystery derive from the heroine’s efforts to identify the person who is determined to kill her.

The novel is dedicated "To Lynne and Baby Dog, who inspired it, and to John Grover Cleveland Pace, whose experience gave it life."

"When our son, John, brought his bride, Lynne, home, the family pet, a poodle named Baby Dog that was several years old, resented a newcomer to the household," she explained about the dedication. Despite her daughter-in-law ‘s expressions of affection, Mrs. Cook said she never could overcome the dog's antagonism. "Baby Dog’s unexplainable hostility to Lynne gave me the basic idea from which I developed the plot for "Image In the Looking Glass," she said.

"Although Mr. Pace is 101 years old, he enjoys an active life and has a sharp memory of events during his lifetime. The information he has generously shared with me has added special color to my novels."

Her husband, J. N. Cook, a farmer and agribusinessman, is chairman of the board of Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus. They have a daughter, Mrs. Jack (Carolyn) Nicholson of Tallahassee, Florida. The family is active in all phases of DeSoto Baptist Church, and Mrs. Cook is a teacher and church secretary.

In addition to her involvement in local civic clubs and state writers groups, she is a charter member of the board of directors of Sumter Historic Preservation Society and a member of the board of trustees of Lake Blackshear Regional Library.

Mrs. Cook was valedictorian at Union High School in Leslie, majored in voice at Wesleyan Conservatory, and is a graduate of the Palmer Institute of Authorship. She was a member of the staff of Progressive Farmer magazine from 1969 to 1980. Her articles have been published in a wide variety of magazines, ranging from Good Housekeeping to Western Horseman, plus several religious publications and the Sunday supplements of Atlanta, Savannah and Columbus newspapers.

The Atlanta Writers Club presented it’s 1970 Writer of the Year Award for first non-fiction work to Mrs. Cook as author of "From Violence To Love: The History of DeSoto, Georgia."

Her other book of non-fiction is "A Tabernacle of Living Water," and she has received awards for her short stories and articles on religion, history and those in a more humorous vein.

In April, 1982, while visiting an Alabama mansion built in 1854, she decided to write her trilogy.

"When I climbed to the belvedere and looked down on Eufaula, as beautiful today as it was in the era of this story (her trilogy of novels), I was transported back in time and could feel the warm breath of my characters," she said.

Although the first two books in the trilogy were published within the past year, she began preparing the novels in 1982.

"I wanted to authentically depict the meaningful events in the locale of my novels from the late 1850's to the turn of the century," Mrs. Cook said. "But I also wanted to accurately describe the everyday life of those years, including the food, fashions, customs, speech and behavioral patterns.

This required long and painstaking research, she said, but the effort was worth it because of the dimension of authenticity it brought to the plots and characters in her novels.

When asked which she creates first, her characters or atmosphere for the novels, Mrs. Cook said it was difficult to answer the question because she had not considered her methods of writing in these terms.

In a telephone conversation the next day, she said, "Now that I’ve had time to think about the question and my experiences in writing my first three novels, I created the atmosphere first and then the characters."

Mrs. Cook, working on her fourth novel, said she starts writing each day at 8 a.m., and writes the first draft in longhand.

The draft then is entered into a computer by Glenda Spradley, who also is secretary for Cook s agribusiness and for their son's computer business.

"At the reunion of Mrs. Spradley's high school graduation class, her classmates selected Glenda for having the most unusual job, which is understandable considering the variety of her responsibilities," Mrs. Cook said.

Readers of her first two novels have written her from throughout the nation, Canada and overseas, and Mrs. Cook personally replies to each letter.

A woman in Texas who had read "The River Between" wrote that she is "no longer restless. I empathize with Lily (the heroine), and I thank you for writing such an excellent novel."

In the novel, Lily expresses Mrs. Cook's firm belief that "marriage is total commitment based on the love of God, with each partner seeking the highest good of the other."

A letter from a Maryland reader said, "I thank you for being such a good writer and Christian that you write good stories for Christians to read."

The Cook family’s present home was built on the site of their first house, which was struck by lightening and completely destroyed in 1977. The only thing that was spared was the weeping willow.

On another occasion, she said, she was seriously injured when a drunk driver struck her car, which is one of the reasons she actively supports the efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.