J.L. Miles (Jackie Lee), a resident of Georgia for over thirty years, hails from Wisconsin via South Dakota. She considers herself “a northern girl with a southern heart.” Her paternal grandfather was christened Grant Lee by her great-grandmother in honor of the many fallen soldiers on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Ms. Miles is a former D.I.A.L. Systems Engineer for Baker/Audio Telecom, one of the premier forerunners of voice mail. In addition to systems application, she provided voice tracks for several major companies, including Delta Airlines and Frito-Lay Corporation. A former Miss Racine, Wisconsin, Ms. Miles made television, print, and fashion appearances, and participated in various stage productions, including Joan of Lorraine, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, and The Miracle Worker.
She resides in a suburb of Atlanta with her husband, Robert. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed Roseflower Creek, was Cumberland House Publishing’s lead book when it debuted in hardcover. It is also available in Trade paperback. Earl Hamner, creator of The Waltons, called it “a powerful, extraordinary novel.”
NY Times bestselling author William Diehl wrote: “The lyric prose will thrill you, the story is unforgettable, and the characters will stay with you forever.”
Cold Rock River, the journey of two young women born a century apart, debuted September 2006 in hardcover. NY Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank writes: “Cold Rock River by J. L. Miles is a powerful story of family, love, and loss that will keep you up into the wee hours. Absolutely wonderful! Beautifully told and straight from the heart of an exquisitely talented writer.”
Miles’ latest project is the Dwayne Series, a three-book southern anthology featuring Francine Harper, who is under felony assault charges for shooting at her husband Dwayne and his stripper/lover Carla from the Peel ‘n Squeal. Francine finds her strengths and reclaims her dignity via a trial and many errors. Divorcing Dwayne debuted April 2008. Dear Dwayne releases April 2009. Dating Dwayne to follow.
When not writing, Miles tours with The Dixie Darlin’s, four nationally published book-writing belles—with a passion for promotion—serving up helpings of down-home humor and warmth.
Q. Thank you for this interview, Jackie. Can you tell us why you chose this book to write?
A. Divorcing Dwayne is the first in a three-book southern trilogy featuring Francine Harper, who is under felony assault charges for shooting at her husband Dwayne and his stripper/lover Carla from the Peel ‘n Squeal. Francine discovers her strengths and regains her dignity via a trial and many errors. The series is a genre removed from what I normally write but provided a nice respite and a lot of laughs.
Q. Did you follow an outline or go with the flow?
A. I consider myself an organic writer from the start, in that I hear my characters’ voices when a story first begins and follow it from there without an outline. When I get to a certain point where I know where the novel is headed, I usually follow an outline at that point forward. I understand there is no tried-and-true method, but following an outline does help to insure that you know where you’re going. It makes for less rewrites.
Q. Who is your favorite character in the book and why?
A. It’s a tie between Francine and her grandmother, Nanny Lou. Francine is easy to love and full of so much hope for her future and her life with Dwayne. Your heart goes out to her when everything starts to go wrong. Plus, she has a great sense of humor and is enjoyable to “listen” to. As for Nanny Lou, she is plumb crazy and very funny. She begins most of her sentences with something like “Well, chop my cabbage,” or “Burn my grits,” etc. Nanny Lou refuses to believe that her beloved husband Pops died choking on a chicken bone and insists he’s run off with a sexy neighbor, Virginia Spivey. At one point, Francine asks why she cashed his life insurance check if she doesn’t believe he’s dead. Nanny Lou says, “Peal my ’taters! If the darn fool wants to hand out money, he found the right purse.”
