Announcing my newest novel
Refiner’s Fire
Available this summer!
See excerpt below
Based on two epochal and historical events, the damming of the Saluda River to form Lake Murray and the series of events leading up to the Orangeburg Massacre, Refiner’s Fire is a tale of racial injustice and the struggle to overcome the cultural racism that marked the mid-twentieth century South.
Excerpt from Refiner’s Fire
I ain’t never broke in nobody’s house, and I ain’t never took what ain’t mine, and I ain’t never touched a white woman. That don’t matter. Mr. Amos said I done all that stuff, an’ that’s all it took. It don’t matter who did break in their house, not one little bit. Mr. Amos said I did, an’ he tol’ all them awful friends of his I did, an’ that was that.
It didn’t take them but three or four days before they came to Mama’s house real early in the mornin’. Drug me outta bed an’ tied me up like an animal. Mama was yellin’ and cryin’ an’ carryin’ on, but that didn’t do no good at all. They shoved her to the floor and yelled for her to shut up. Then they drug me all the way to Mr. Amos’ barn and chained me up inside. It was cold and damp in there. An’ I was scared to death, ‘cause I know ain’t nothin’ good gonna happen to this colored boy. I can’t do nothin’ but sit here hungry and cold and piss my pants.
What you’ll find here . . .
— An excerpt from “Refiner’s Fire
·— My blog, “Spicy Old Man”—a celebration of cooking and the stories behind the recipes. (mobile users look for the
— My short stories.
— With All Due Respect”. A blog-style series of essays on a wide variety of topics.
— A synopsis of my upcoming novel Unintended Consequences to be released December 16.
My novel “Unintended Consequences” will be available in December, 2025.
“Nathan Erskine never planned to teach—nor did he expect to encounter one particularly trying student and quit in his first year. Despite his doubts, Nathan’s classroom would become the unlikely stage for a destiny far larger than he could imagine.
Matthew Beckham prided himself on being the bad boy, until a punishing military academy broke him down and a summer with his eccentric family built him back up.
And then there’s Roderick Bastrop, a troubled young man who burst into an elementary school with a rifle and a plan—only to be met by Esther Evans, who saw in him not a monster, but the boy he still might be.
Years later, the lives of Nathan, Matthew, and Roderick will collide in ways none of them could have foreseen—testing the courage, convictions, and faith they share through their Southern upbringings.
A recently retired educator and musician, Jim has lived in multiple southern states and brings a wealth of life experiences to his work. Often reading his descriptions feels like visiting the places he describes. He loves Southern culture—in all its aspects, good and bad.
