Settlers living in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of 1827 were beginning to see changes they weren’t comfortable with. Men of questionable motives had been seen wandering the trails in search of gold. Paying no mind to the needs of the local folks they were invading.
Jeb Collins, a twelve-year-old settler boy of Irish decent, was growing to manhood in these mountains. He and his best friend and blood brother, Wolf, a full-blood Cherokee boy of the same age, cared deeply about what was happening.
With the coming of U.S. Soldiers to the mountains, death will follow. The boys soon realize their mountain peace is ending. A time of war is approaching. A war they must prepare for. A war they sense will not end well for the Cherokee. This fear makes them decide to fight the madness that is threatening their way of life before it grows. The dangers of their decision will force the boys to risk their lives doing what they feel is right. If death was the Will of the Great Creator, then all was just fine with them. They were ready to do what had to be done. After all, it is their home that will be lost if the evil is allowed to spread.
JR. Collins was raised in the valley he so passionately writes about. An ancestor of the first settlers to the area, he proudly claims heritage and roots through the people of the Appalachian Mountains that settled in the Choestoe Valley sometime in the latter part of the 1700’s. Collins grew up hunting and running the ridges of Choestoe from which the stories roots originated.
As of 2013, Collins has been Director of Advertising for The North Georgia News, after having worked as the editor for sports stories and special events. He is a graduate of Young Harris College. The Boy Who Danced with Rabbits was the first in the Choestoe series. Collins is currently working on the third.
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/jr-collins/ Published by Argus Publishing (Release 2017)