James - Memories of my Brother

by Chrystine Gaffney (Editor), John Giordani (Illustrator), Frazer Hart

Overview

For as long as he could remember, Frank Hart always looked up to his older brother. Their father, killed in a drunken gun duel and their erratic mother having long-since abandoned them, they had nothing but each other to rely on growing up in the dusty town of Union Springs, Alabama.

These are tales of rising adventure. These are tales of two discarded boys as they find their way out of their sometimes-sinister hometown in the Deep South, and surface thousands of miles away in the stunning city of New York as two well-educated young men in the midst of the Great Depression.

But what exactly happens when they finally have a chance to rise up above their humble beginnings and take the world by storm?

These are tales of my grandfather�s early life with his brother, James. He recounted these tales for his nephew who would never hear these stories told from his father�s lips.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940148196716
Publisher:	Chrystine Gaffney
Publication date:	07/08/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	99
File size:	188 KB

About the Author

My grandfather wrote all my life. When he retired, he turned his backyard of trees into a massive garden and the dining room table into his writing desk. A big bucket of soft-lead pencils. Stacks of yellow legal pads. Folders of notes. Streaming afternoon sun.

He split his time between writing his books with gardening in the summer and reading on
his patio or in his easy chair in the winter.

He had all his hand-written stories typed up by a professional typist. He had many copies made. He sent them out to various places. But nothing came of them.

While I was in college, he spoke to me directly several times about his books; how he did not want an Agent. He did not want a big, fancy Editor who would insist he change things around and take a cut of the proceeds, etc. He wanted me to read them and get them published. I agreed. I didn�t know how I would do it. I knew little about how hard it was to get books published. I don�t even think I said �try�, I just had to do it�somehow.

I never knew how serious he really was.

When Grandfrank died on July 8th, 1992, I had just graduated from college. It was an incredible loss for me. He had always been my biggest supporter, always made everything better. His presence alone brought solace. The funeral was horrible: a too-small turnout for someone so exceptional. But he had already been to everyone else�s funeral.

Then there was his Last Will & Testament. While his financial treasure went to other family members, he left all his unpublished books solely to me. It was a huge honor, but also a gigantic undertaking, and of course, possibly fruitless. I was only 21. I had no idea what to do with such a significant task.

So a few years later, I pulled out my copy of James at work and started putting his work into the computer, careful not to edit him.

Since then, I have attempted to develop a cover letter for this book. But nothing got done to any completion. Life kept happening. I went to Graduate School, my mother died, I got married, had two kids. So here we are. With self-publishing at its zenith, there is no time like the present.

So here you go, Grandfrank. You gave me so much in my life � truly the best memories of my youth. The very least I can do in return is bring the memories of your youth to the readers of this book, as you asked. I hope this is what you had in mind.