On Ron’s Amazing Stories the Blog, we spotlight this week’s guest author on the show, J.D.R. Hawkins.

When Julie was asked: “What inspired you to write your first book?” – I went to Gettysburg and saw the battlefield for myself. I had never seen a battlefield of that enormity before, and the experience effected me so profoundly that it inspired me to write a book from a typical Confederate soldier’s perspective.

Julie is an award-winning author who has written for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, e-zines, and blogs. She is one of a few female Civil War authors, uniquely describing the front lines from a Confederate perspective. Her “Renegade Series” includes “A Beautiful Glittering Lie,” winner of the 2013 John Esten Cooke Fiction Award and the 2012 B.R.A.G. Medallion. The sequel, “A Beckoning Hellfire,” is also an award winner. Both books tell the story of a family from north Alabama who experience immeasurable pain when their lives are dramatically changed by the war.

Ms. Hawkins is a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the International Women’s Writing Guild, the Mississippi Writers Guild, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Pikes Peak Writers. She is also an artist and a singer/songwriter. You can hear one of her original songs Gray Is The Rose right here on ITunes. She recently completed a nonfiction book about the War Between the States, as well as two more sequels for her “Renegade Series.”

Julie lives in South Dakota with her husband of 31 years. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law and will soon be grandparents!

On a personal note I have a great time talking with Julie about her books, Civil War history and writing style, but one thing that we did not cover was her music. I found out after the interview that she is a talented musician and song writer. I hope Julie wants to come back to the show so we can talk about her music. I listened to and even bought one of her songs, Grey is the Rose, from iTunes.

-Ron

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week we will have Civil War historian, Author and Musician, J.D.R. Hawkins. We also have an OTR story from American Cavalcade called Robert E. Lee. It is going to be a great show.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (00/00) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

September 17: Detective Drama Week
September 24: Civil War Historian and Novelist, J.D.R. Hawkins.
October 01: The classic retelling of, “The Thing on the Fourble Board”
October 08: The fifth annual Month of Spooky Continues.
October 15: The fifth annual Month of Spooky Continues.