is the nom de plume for Suzanne Williams, a native Floridian who currently lives with her family in North Carolina. In second grade, she wrote her first fiction for fun after the eye of a hurricane passed over her home, and she grew up intrigued by wild weather, stories of suspense and high adventure, Spanish St. Augustine, and the South’s role in the Revolutionary War. She has traveled extensively and lived in England for half a year. After visiting the ruins of colonial-era Ft. Frederica on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, she began writing Paper Woman, the first book in a series set in the American South during the Revolutionary War. It won the prestigious 2006 Patrick D. Smith Award for Literature from the Florida Historical Society. Critics have praised Paper Woman as a “…swashbuckling good mystery yarn” (Wilmington Star-News). The second novel in the series, The Blacksmith’s Daughter, is also garnering critical acclaim. She enjoys participating in living history to commemorate events from the Southern Theater of the Revolutionary War — a hobby that helps her depict colonial life in writing. For more information, visit http://www.suzanneadair.com/.

Born in Canada, Jacob D. Cox rose to the rank of Major General in the Union Army during the Civil War. He distinguished himself while serving in the Army of the Ohio fighting in Tennessee before moving his men to North Carolina after the fall of Fort Fisher. Cox would go on to serve Ohio as Governor. President Ulysses S. Grant recognized Cox’s abilities and made him his Secretary of the Interior. Cox also served Ohio in the United States Senate before his death in 1900. Blue Tide Rising: A memoir of the Union Army in North Carolinaexcerpts the chapters of his memoir recounting his service in North Carolina during the last year of the war.

Authors of Jacob’s Run

John Beshears (pictured on the right) is a writer, an artist, a former newspaperman and a storyteller of the first water. A Vietnam War veteran, he saw combat during the Tet offensive as a lieutenant with the First Infantry Division – the Big Red One. He has also authored Year of the Monkey, an unpublished narrative of his year at war. He worked for the Columbia, Mo. Daily Tribune and the Long Beach, Ca., Press-Telegram during his career as a newspaper artist. He lives with his wife, Christine, in Mexico, Mo.

Bob Zeller (pictured on the left) is a writer who has authored or co-authored eight non-fiction books, all related to NASCAR racing or Civil War photography. His groundbreaking first book, The Civil War in Depth – History in 3-D, (Chronicle Books, 1997) presented for the first time a compilation of Civil War stereo photographs. His most recent book is The Blue and Gray in Black and White: A History of Civil War Photography, (Praeger, 2005). A former newspaper journalist, he is co-founder and president of the non-profit Center for Civil War Photography, Inc. He and his wife, Ann, live in Trinity, N.C.

Alice E. Sink is the published author of three books and numerous short stories, articles, and essays in anthologies and in trade and literary magazines. Her M.F.A. in Creative Writing is from UNC-G. She is Associate Professor of English/Communications at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, where she received the Meredith Clark Slane Distinguished Teaching/Service Award in 2002. The North Carolina Arts Council and the partnering arts councils of the Central Piedmont Regional Artists Hub Program have awarded Mrs. Sink a grant designed to share Boarding House Reach: North Carolina’s Entrepreneurial Women with our state’s men, women, and children.

Nickie Doyal graduated from High Point University at the age of 56. She has been published in the literary magazine Apogee, written articles for the Chronicle, and placed in the short story category of the Phoenix Festival. Nickie began work on Boarding House Reach: North Carolina’s Entrepreneurial Woman during her senior year. She graduated summa cum laude, and received the “Best All Around” award from the university’s English Department. Currently she is a realtor in Greensboro, N.C., where she lives with her family.

Aubrey Jannon Acuna is a native of North Carolina and a graduate of Wilmington’s New Hanover High School. A talented young artist, Aubrey has been accepted at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where she will study art. Her work has been sought by local collectors and by those as far away as Miami, Florida.  The Yellow Death: Wilmington & The Epidemic of 1862 is Aubrey's first professional illustration work.

Maurice Stanley grew up in the mountains of North Carolina. After teaching philosophy for 17 years at UNC-Wilmington, he retired in 2007. Maurice’s other books include the novel, The Legend of Nance Dude, and a logic text, Logic and Controversy. The Legend of Nance Dude has been made into a play, and has also been published in Russian. Dr. Stanley has presented philosophical papers at Oxford University, Boston University, and at other venues. He and his wife, Glana, live at Sunset Beach, N.C.

Blonnie Bunn Wyche is an award-winning Young Adult author living in Wilmington, N.C. She began her writing career after teaching elementary school in Columbus County, N.C. for thirty years. Her critically acclaimed first book was  The Anchor - P. Moore, Proprietor