When writing my first book, Home Again, the idea of writing a trilogy never entered my mind. The story was about two young boys who quickly became men. Both from Tennessee, each signed up to join the war, Luke for the South and Zach for the North. Near the end of the war, each of the young men returned home damaged: Zach had post-traumatic stress and Luke was near death from his wounds.
After its publication, many readers of Home Again asked me what happened to Zach. They were curious to know more about how he handled his malady, and so the second book, Scarred, explained in great detail how he faced his demons down and ultimately freed himself from his psychological nightmare. Scarred addressed the trauma many soldiers must have felt before the days when PTSD was diagnosed.
I also learned, in the aftermath of Home Again‘s publication, that readers didn’t want Luke to die—in spite of his near-death status. I must admit, I didn’t intend for him to survive his wounds. But then I started to think, “What if he had survived?” And “What would have happened to him?”
The third book in this trilogy of sorts, The Thin Gray Line, follows Luke who survives a leg amputation and becomes addicted to opioids. He fears rejection by his sweetheart Carol and is constantly trying to prove his worthiness to his father—though it is unclear whether his father is even still alive. In his coming-of-age, Luke learns a thing or two, and, in the end, must make a decision to follow his heart or follow his conscience. He ultimately gains redemption in a place he never suspected.
While each book stands on its own, the combined life stories of these two men describe the brutal reality of our Civil War during in which over six hundred thousand men lost their lives.
Click for more on Home Again, Scarred, and The Thing Gray Line.
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