It was 1977 when Jacquelyn Cook's house was struck by lightening. ``It burned to the ground,'' Cook remembered. ``We saved nothing.''

But from the ashes of that disaster grew a new career direction for Cook, who lives on a 1,000-acre farm not far from Lake Blackshear.

Shortly after the devastating fire she was walking in the backyard with her cat when a mockingbird dove at her pet. When Cook said something to the meanspirited bird, it dove at her, too. What a perfect scene in a Gothic novel, she thought.

Although she had worked as a magazine and newspaper writer for 10 years she wanted to write a Gothic novel. The house fire, which destroyed all of her work files, was part of the reason she decided to branch out into fiction. It gave the woman, who attended Wesleyan in the early 1950s but didn't graduate, the chance at a new beginning.

Her Gothic novel was rejected by a publisher, but Cook was asked if she'd write an inspirational romance novel. She took what she called a ``leap of faith'' and did it.

Today she's received royalties on 500,000 copies of inspirational romance novels she's written. Blending historical facts and figures with fictional fancy, she has squeezed into a highly competitive market.

If you're looking for steamy sex scenes, look elsewhere. Cook's books aren't bodice rippers. In fact, no one even pops a button. Think of her romance novels as being rated G rather than the more wellknown R variety.

``Since the Baby Boomers (are getting older), they're searching for values,'' Cook said. ``What I want to write is something with timeless values. If someone is having a difficult time they might see something in one of my books that will help them.

``These books you can be proud to have written. You're certain of their content. You have mystery, love, adventure; in one you even have murder. (But) it's not a preachy thing.''

Cook receives fan mail from across the country and Canada. She said many of her fans are older women who don't want to read the more racy romance novels.

The five published works of her river series, two of which are set in Macon, are basically about characters dealing with life's hardships and overcoming adversity. She used Libba, the heroine of her book ``Beyond the Searching River,'' as an example.

The main character is Libba. When the Yankees sweep through Middle Georgia, not only is her pet goose killed by Sherman's troops, but she's separated from her family and winds up in a Savannah orphanage.

``We see what she finds in the healing power of forgiveness,'' Cook said. In a press release from her publisher Cook is quoted as saying ``I write inspirational romance because I believe for romance to be true and marriage to be lasting it must be built on a foundation of God's love ... If there is one thing I've learned in life it's Mathew 6:33: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things will be added unto you.'"

And Cook's own faith has been strengthened by her work on romance novels.

``Sometimes I may not know where I'm going (with a storyline) and a Sunday School verse or my pastor may come out with something and I'll whip out a pencil and make a note and go from there,'' she said.

But she takes just as much pride in the historical accuracy of her books and the research she does as in the messages her books impart. For example, she's fascinated by W. M. Wadley, a key player in the development of the South's railroad system, and he and his family are included in some of her most recent books.

``I enjoy the oldest, mustiest, dustiest things I can find,'' she said.

And even though Cook works at home, she takes offense at people who consider her a homemaker who also happens to write.

``It's my job,'' she said. ``Writing is what I do. I don't write because I have nothing to do.''

But if her son's children are sick, she does manage to keep them. She does most of her writing in the morning, when she's at her most creative and also so when her husband and son come in at midday she can make their lunch. Her favorite place to work is in her chaise lounge on the screened porch overlooking her back yard.

She's learned to overcome adversities she's encountered in her writing career. After having a book published in 1986, a flood of similar books on the market reduced interest in her next book, ``River of Fire.'' She waited until 1992 to see it published.

``It was most distressing,'' she said. ``You just really have to want to keep doing it.''

She's now hoping to broaden her writing and is working on a Civil War period novel that's not in the inspirational romance vein. She's just completed the first draft and is unsure what reception it will receive. But that leaves her undaunted.

``I tell people writing is inspiration and perspiration,'' she said. ``But most of all it's determination.''

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