Dunaway's Crossing (32 page)

“I’m so glad Thaddeus and Eliza met us at the depot,” Bea Dot said, exhaling with relief. “I’ve been so worried about them.”

“Why’s that?” Will asked.

“Oh, you know. I told you how Ben mailed them a letter telling them all about . . . well . . . my past.” Bea Dot still hated to think about that dreadful night. “I’ll never be sure of what he wrote, but knowing him, he told all. I was so afraid they would turn their backs on me.”

“They’re not the kind of folks to draw conclusions about a friend based on the words of someone they’ve never met,” Will said. He turned into Ralph’s driveway, and the truck bumped along the gravel. “Besides, I’m sure they never read that letter.” He pulled the truck beside Thaddeus’s and engaged the brake.

“What makes you think that?” Bea Dot asked.

Will got out of the truck and walked around it to open Bea Dot’s door. He took her hand as she got out, and placed it under his elbow. Then he smiled mischievously.

“Have you forgotten, my love, that I’m the mailman?”

A
cknowledgments

In 2005, I had the honor of meeting and conversing with physician and award-winning author Richard Selzer. As he encouraged my work, he told me that he started writing when he was forty years old. At the time, I was thirty-nine, and I told myself that I’d better get busy.

Ten years later, my first novel has far exceeded my expectations, and it would never have succeeded had it not been for the love, support, and guidance of many people in my life.

I must thank my team at Lake Union Publishing, who not only believed in this book, but also taught me how to work through the editorial process. My editor, Jodi Warshaw, knows how nervous I was about signing on with Lake Union, but she and the rest of the team—Clete Smith, Matthew Patin, Karen Parkin, Patrick Hurley, Nicole Pomeroy, Jessica Poore, Thom Kephart, and Gabriella Van den Heuvel—showed me how smoothly the process can work.

Two beloved writing groups helped me draft, revise, and re-revise this book until it was finally ready to publish. To my Pen and Ink group—Lois Lavrisa, Patricia Mason, and Donna Shea—I extend my deepest thanks as they gave me loving friendship and constructive feedback from the moment Bea Dot first appeared on the page. To my Savannah Scribes writing group—Amy Condon, Judy Fogarty, Lyn Gregory, Katherine Oxnard, and Tina Kelly—I extend sincerest gratitude. They showed up at book signings, cheered me on, and encouraged me to start another novel. Their influence makes me a better writer, and I am blessed to work with such a smart group of women.

A big salute goes to Tammy Ray and Lori Mallard, who taught me the hard but rewarding work of walking into stores and convincing their owners to schedule book signings. From them I learned the business of being an author.

For their love and support as I wrote, published, and marketed this book, I thank all my extended family, especially my in-laws JoAnne and Bruce Remler and my father and stepmother, Hugh and Barbara Lawson, who attended many of my speaking engagements and encouraged their friends to read
Dunaway’s Crossing
. I thank my children, Davis and Lawson, for their patience as I took time away from home to attend writers’ workshops and book signings. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to my brother, Harley Lawson, and my sister, Sabra Lawson, for reading my draft when it was still in the three-ring binder. Much appreciation goes to the writer who has been most present in my life: my mother, Skippy Davis. Showing her my manuscript was a difficult but important step because handing it off to her somehow made it real. So when she phoned me one day and said, “This is good,” I knew the book was ready.

But most importantly I must thank my most enthusiastic supporter: my husband, Stephen Remler. His love and patience enabled me to juggle the various commitments in my life so that I could always have time for writing. I could not have written a word of this book without him, and no words could express how much that means to me.

A
bout the Novel

Pineview is an actual Georgia town, situated in Wilcox County, just below the Pulaski County line. Although some names of Pineview locations are authentic in this novel, the characterization of the town is an amalgam of details of the Wilcox County and Pulaski County areas. Some names of well-known real people or places have been included in the book to lend the story some historic authenticity. However, characters are fictional and any resemblance to actual people is coincidental.

A
bout the Author

Photo © 2014 Bunny Ware

Nancy Brandon grew up in middle Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia. She has taught college English for the past twenty-three years in Savannah, where she lives with her husband and two children. This is her first novel.

Follow Nancy Brandon online at
http://nancybrandon.com
.