In the footsteps of … Randell Jones, WSW Member and Guest Author.
Author Randell Jones says he is a lucky man.
His first book, In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone, came in 2005 when he was invited by a local publisher to write the manuscript for one of its established series. That book was immediately successful: it won a Willie Parker Peace History Book Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians. Next up was more success: he was invited the next year to write a second book for the series, In the Footsteps of Davy Crockett.
Good fortune indeed.
During the last seven years, Jones has enjoyed public speaking and has given talks on his books. He was invited in 2007 to join the Road Scholars (cute name) Speakers’ Bureau of the North Carolina Humanities Council. He has traveled around the state speaking to non-profit groups as a Road Scholar and three times he has attended the Kentucky Book Fair by invitation.
Last February he was invited as a return speaker for the Annual Lecture Series at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park; and, last October 7, he delivered the keynote address at Kings Mountain National Military Park during the annual commemorative ceremony on the 231st anniversary of the battle. He spoke on his latest release, Before They Were Heroes at King’s Mountain, which received an award in October. That tome, over 600 pages, took four years to research and write. The companion booklet, A Guide to the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, was released at the National Trails Conference last May; it also received an award in October.
“I write history,” Randell says, “but it still takes a little creativity, I guess, to bring the facts together in a way that pulls the reader through the story. When I hear readers tell me ‘I could not stop reading,’ it makes my day. I am honored to be invited to write the first chapter for the current Winston- Salem Writers’ serial novel project. Autobiography is history, for sure, but the challenge here is to create a fictional life. For that I’ve had to reach back into some writing experience from more than a decade ago. I participated in several writing classes taught by Diana Green at Salem College’s continuing education program. I learned a good deal under her tutelage and I continue to learn from my peer review writing group. Back in 2000, I decided to test the waters; so, not knowing any better, I penned a short story and entered it in a writing contest, the Greensboro Award. I thought it was a local competition but soon discovered otherwise. I was honored to be a top-ten finalist and to be invited to deliver my story to an appreciative audience. After that, I was hooked.”
Randell Jones is releasing two non-fiction books in 2012, published by Daniel Boone Footsteps. More information about his books and speaking schedule is available at www.danielboonefootsteps.com.
Randell and his wife have lived in Winston-Salem since 1985. They have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.
