I read Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson well before I "met" her on line. Actually, I listened to it in audio, having noticed the book on the shelf at one of my own signings. I listened to it straight through, and absolutley loved the voice, the narrator, and the mystery.

I haven't yet had the chance to read Between, Georgia , but I absolutely can't wait. Here's a bit more about the book!



Joshilyn Jackson burst onto the scene with her first bestselling novel, gods in Alabama, which was the #1 Book Sense Pick when it was released. Now, to the delight of her growing fans everywhere, she returns with another novel set in the eccentric South of her own invention – her second #1 Book Sense Pick in a row - BETWEEN, GEORGIA (Warner Books Hardcover; July 3, 2006; $22.99).

Nonny Frett understands the meaning of the phrase “in between a rock and a hard place” better than any woman alive. She’s got two mothers, “one deaf-blind and the other four baby steps from flat crazy.” She’s got two men: a husband who’s easing out the back door; and a best friend, who’s laying siege to her heart in the her front yard. And she has two families: the Fretts, who stole her and raised her right; and the Crabtrees, who lost her and won’t forget how they were done wrong.

Now, in BETWEEN, GEORGIA, population 90, a feud is escalating, and random act of violence is about to ignite a stash of family secrets. Ironically, it might be just what the town needs…if only Nonny weren’t stuck in between.

About the Author
Joshilyn Jackson is the bestselling author of gods in Alabama, a native of the Deep South, a former actor and award-winning teacher, and now a mother of two. Her work has previously appeared in TriQuarterly and Calyx, as well as the anothology ChickLit II. Jackson lives with her family outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

The Questions
Here are Joshilyn's answers to my questions for the GCC touring authors:

Step 1) Sit at comp and hose around on the internet for a minute or two, playing in e-mail.

Step 2) Get called by a child with a need. Go fill child’s need.

Step 3) Sit back down at comp and read or write a blog.

Step 4) Get called by a child who wants to be played with. Play with child.

Step 5) Sit down at my comp and revise two sentences I wrote the last time my husband took the kids out of town for a weekend so I had two family free days to BLAST out 10,000 really bad crappy rough drafty words.

Step 6) Get called by a child who needs a food. Provide child with a food.

Repeat 900 times each and every day.

When all 10,000 words have been revised so they are worth reading and I am beginning to understand these characters and see where my plot is going, kick family out for a weekend and write 10,000 more rough ones.


DO YOU RECALL THE KERNEL OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK?

Yes. The actual town of BETWEEN, GEORGIA lies on highway 78 between Athens and Atlanta. I became intrigued by the idea of a town with no identity, named solely for its location in proximity to other, more important and larger places. It took almost 20 years from the time I first saw the road sign for Between (something very like, “Exit here to visit Beautiful Between, Georgia, population 91”) and the time I understood the story I wanted to tell in that town.

Nonny Frett, my narrator, is very much like the town, and the town itself is in many ways a character. I write southern fiction, so of course a sense of place is important to me, but never more so than in this book about nature v/s nurture and how we discover or decide our own identities.


PICK A CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND TELL US WHAT TRAIT YOU SHARE (OR COME CLOSEST TO SHARING) WITH THAT CHARACTER.

There’s a character in the book named Bernese Frett Baxter who is described as a “pragmatist savant.” This is me. I am pragmatic to the point of mental illness.

Here is a SAMPLE CONVERSATION BETWEEN ME AND A FRIEND

Her: I had awful parents. They left a hole in my heart. And at dinner, this guy was saying how he would give so much to have just five minutes of conversation with his parents, and I will never experience that. I don’t miss them. I never had that relationship. It’s like a hole a hole that can never be filled.

Me: Well yes. But. On the other hand, he has a hole where he MISSES them.

Her: I don’t see your point…

Me: Well, good parents, bad parents…either way, you end up with a hole. He just didn’t get his hole until after they died.*shrug*

Her: I am going to get you a coupon for 50% off on SOME THERAPY.

Pragmatic so often comes across as heartless, and I truly am not heartless. I genuinely FELT for her, I was sad that she was sad, but at the same time…well EITHER WAY YOU DO GET A HOLE IN THE END. THAT’S JUST COMMON SENSE.

See? See how I am?


IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A MAGICAL TRUNK THAT GAVE YOU LIMITLESS BOOKS TO READ, OR A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF PAPER ON WHICH TO WRITE?

I hate that question SO much. Just thinking about it gives me hives. I want both. And then I start trying to imagine how it would be with one, or how it would be with the other, and then I realize that when I DO get trapped on an island I probably won’t have EITHER, and also no internet, and then the hives come up.

Books. And then I would use my blood to write in the margins. Because I am a giant cheater and want both. Also, can I have the internet and a monstrously good laptop configured for maximum gaming pleasure on the island?


BEER OR WINE? Wine. Red, Please. Australian Shiraz if you want to be extra pretty to me.

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Dark Bitter Black Chcolate. With the Shiraz please.

WHAT’S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK? Hard one…probably To Kill a Mockingbird.