That gothic became Image in the Looking Glass, and it recently won Cook second place in the National League of American Pen Women’s competition for adult books.

In fact, prior to the book's publication, she said she received an offer from a New York firm to publish it if she would add in several steamy sex scenes.

Cook refused.

"I couldn't add the scenes New York wanted," she said. "It was not consistent with the character. ... I guess my Bible-belt background comes through in those characters."

And sales of the book have proven there is a market for that type of novel.

Cook's first two novels – River Between and The Wind Along the River – both sold more than 100,000 copies within the first few months of publication.

Image has almost sold out its first printing edition, which consisted of 5,000 bookstore copies and figures are unavailable so far on the Zondervan book club sales.

Although she is a native of Baltimore, Md., Cook’s parents both were from Georgia, and she spent most of her childhood here. She went to high school in Leslie and eventually married a farmer. The two now have two children and three grandchildren with one on the way.

Cook’s interest in writing didn't begin with work on her novel. She has a strong journalistic background. She was a contributing writer to Progressive Farmer magazine and The Peanut Farmer, and she free lanced numerous articles to such publications as Good Housekeeping, Home Life, Georgia Life, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday Supplement, The Savannah Evening Post and The Macon Telegraph and News.

With a background riveted in facts, it's not surprising that Cook s first two books would be factual ones. From Violence in Love: The History of DeSoto, Georgia was published in 1969 and chronicles the story of the small town located near Cordele. A Tabernacle of Living Water, commissioned by the Dooly Campground Trustees and dealing with the history of the campground, was published In 1975.

Her next book, The River Between, wasn’t published until 1985. But she seems to have been on a roll ever since. Most of her creative work is accomplished between 8 a.m. and noon, with most of the research and editing taking place in the later afternoon hours.

But don’t expect to find this writer busily pecking away at a typewriter every morning. Instead, look for her on the family's enclosed porch, stretched out on the lounge and writing her first drafts out in long-hand. The view from this, her favorite spot, helps the characters come to life, she noted. And the view is somehow expected of a Southern romance writer.

To the rear of the house is a rose garden, a special hobby of Cook’s, with pastures stretching beyond the fence. The soft scent of fresh mint wafts through the air, tickling the nose, until it's picked for use in the author’s special mint julep tea. A Japanese garden complete with waterfall and wooden bench is off to the left, inviting the visitor to just "sit for a spell," an invitation Cook often accepts. "When I get stuck for something. I go out in the Japanese garden," she admitted with a soft laugh.

Because of her interest in gothics, Cook said she really didn't plan to make it "an inspirational" novel. "I didn't write it thinking inspiration, but that's what the theme was. The theme is it doesn't matter if you are loved, but that you give your love to other people."

So far, all of Cook's work has been set in the South, with some of the action taking place in Macon or the Middle Georgia area.

Image is set near Andersonville during the Civil War and concerns the adventures of Caroline Hannah, a student at Wesleyan Female College in Macon who had to leave school for the safer areas of south west Georgia.

The River Between takes place along the books of the Chattahoochee River, during the steamboat era of Eufaula, Alabama, and tells the story of Lily Edwards and her struggle to live a life of her own rather then the one her parents had planned for her.

The Wind Along the River is a sequel to The River Between, and also takes place during the Civil War.

The third book of the trilogy, as yet unpublished, will move the characters from Eufaula to Macon and Bolingbroke, among other places. It will be set "after the Civil War, during the rise of the railroad and the end of the steamboat era," Cook explained. "The girl will be searching for her father"

It would seem that writing a novel set so far in the past would be easy. After all, who's going to argue about little details? Cook will, for one. "I'm a real nut on research," she admitted.

"If you write 'they stop to turn on a light’, what kind of light is it A candle? A lantern? And I’m working my way up – clothes they wore, food available, every little detail. I try to even have the language within the context of the day. I wouldn’t let my character say, 'Oh, I can’t cope with this."

One way to find out what really happened during those times, Cook added, "is by reading old things. People have entrusted a lot of diaries to me" And those diaries have provided both insight and a few actual incidents for her novels "The Wind Along the River is real factual," admitted Cook. "I wove the characters into what was actually taking place along the Chattahoochee River." Cook said she also prefers to visit the locations for her books "I let the atmosphere work its magic on me and, hopefully, spill over to the reader."

The research takes a lot of time, she noted, but it's worth it. And it pays of in more ways than one: the author recently received the key to the City of Eufaula.. "I really like writing historical novels more them romance," she explained. "Also, I hope they will have a lasting effect, preserve some of these details of life and the times."

Cook’s writing is a dream for her, and she doesn't plan to give it up now. She already has another novel in the works, with plans for one more in the back of her mind. "I want to keep writing as long as I keep breathing." she said. "It’s something I love."