Ms. Lane believed in this book project, and, over my numerous trips to Knoxville, she and I worked out a number of dollar-saving deals. Many of my interviews were conducted in its comfortable suites. I give Knoxville’s classy downtown Hampton Inn five stars.
Clint Cargile - Editor of Similar Transactions. I first met Clint when he was an English major at the University of Alabama. He wrote features for a regional publication my husband and I were involved with at the time. His writing was outstandingly clever and entertaining. We had no doubt this guy would find his way.
After graduating from UA, Clint earned an MFA in creative writing from Southern Illinois University and an MA in history from Northern Illinois University, where he directs a creative writing camp each summer with his wife, Gillian, also a writer. In addition to teaching, Clint is a busy freelance writer and editor.
When he agreed to take on Similar Transactions, my husband and I shared a collective sigh of relief. We knew his work; we trusted his judgment; we needed his mastery. We needed an interested yet objective professional eye with a ready and willing red pen. Clint understood the story and its genre. Like a sculptor with a carving tool, he expertly trimmed and gently reshaped parts of the long narrative to which I’d become far too close to know where it had grown too fat and where it was too lean.
The result, we believe, is a compelling and entertaining read that contains more than a few meaningful messages within.
“Bert” in the book is my husband, my partner, and my collaborator in all ways on this book project. Although I put most of the words on paper and conducted the research, Bert accompanied me to other states, sat in on interviews, listened to each written word read aloud over and over, made edits, assisted in making decisions and became as committed to and entranced by this saga as did I. And, aside from its front cover, he designed and laid out the entire book, the look of which reflects his clean, precise style.
As the manuscript of this book grew on my laptop, ideas for art, including the cover and an online presence, began to percolate in our minds—and in the minds of a few fellow creatives. We are indebted to Tramayne Wright of Studio 5 Agency, Andrew Higdon of BR&HQ, Michael Palmer of Palmer’s Almanac, and Charles Lange of Lange Media.
One more thing - In the book I don’t write in the first person, although in the many early drafts of the manuscript, I did. But as the story grew, it seemed that my part would be better told told from the same third-person perspective as the others. It made for a smoother read, we decided.
If you’ve reached these latter pages, I surmise that you’ve read what came before. Thank you. And many thanks again to the dedicated and brave souls who shared their stories, who pursued justice, who cared enough to come forward.
Gratefully,
S. R. Reynolds
Similar Transactions: A True Story Page 34