In 1963 rural Georgia, with the Vietnam War cranking up, the pregnant seventeen-year-old Adie Jenkins discovers the diary of a pregnant, seventeen-year-old named Tempe Jordan, a slave girl--circa 1863, with the Civil War well under way.

This is the exciting premise of a new book by J.L. Miles (Jackie Lee), a resident of Georgia for thirty years who considers herself “a northern girl with a southern heart.”

Cold Rock River, Miles’ latest novel, is the journey of two young women born a century apart which debuted October 2006 in hardcover. New York Times best-selling 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.”

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.

Ms. Miles resides in Atlanta, Georgia and Cape Canaveral, Florida along with her husband Robert, where she is a featured speaker at book clubs, local schools, and writer’s workshops. Her debut novel Roseflower Creek was Cumberland House Publishing’s lead book when it debuted in hardcover. It’s now available in trade paperback. Earl Hamner, creator of The Waltons calls it “A powerful, extraordinary novel.” The late William Diehl wrote, “The lyric prose will thrill you, the story is unforgettable, and the characters will stay with you forever.” Visit the website at JLMiles.com.

When not writing, Miles tours with The Dixie Divas, four nationally published book-writing belles serving up helpings of down-home humor and warmth.

We interviewed Ms. Miles to find out more about her new book which critics are calling powerful and absolutely wonderful.

Thank you for this interview, J.L.  Can you tell us about your roots and how that influenced your writing?

I came to Georgia in 1975 from Wisconsin. I consider myself “a northern girl with a southern heart.” My great-grandmother christened by grandfather Grant Lee in honor of all of the fallen soldiers on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. When I first started writing I had no idea that it would pour on the paper southern style. When I arrived in Georgia I had never been south of Illinois. It was like a tape recorder turned on in my head. The southern vernacular and way of life was being recorded word for word. Later it spilled onto the page.