About the Book

The Jamieson Family Legacy series follows the lives of the two Jamieson brothers in Boston, Kidd and Ace and their cousin Cameron from St. Louis.

Kidd, the older brother, is struggling with anger and resentment issues toward his absentee father who never married his mother, but had the audacity to demand his illegitimate sons carry his last name Jamieson. Ace, on the other hand, is on a collision course with disaster as he shows how much a “chip off the old block” he is when it comes to women. Their highly educated MIT graduate cousin, Cameron Jamieson, is all about saving his family from self-destruction. Through genealogy research, Cameron’s mission is to show his cousins their worth as eleventh generation descendants of a royal African tribe and give them a choice: to be angry black men or accept the challenge to become strong successful black men.

The Jamieson men in this three book series are challenged with accepting that the past and the present are both in God’s hand. Without Him they can’t move forward toward their future blessings. The bonus storyline is one that progresses the story of the much-loved Grandma B.B. character from author Pat Simmon’s previous Guilty books and her new sidekick, Mrs. Valentine.

Guilty by Association is the story of Kevin “Kidd” Jamieson. Kidd has a chip on his shoulder because of his absentee father. How dare his father insist that his sons carry his last name when he did nothing but abandon his family? As far as he’s concerned the Jamieson name is worthless and it shows as his anger seeps out into every area of his life and he carelessly leaves a trail of destruction wherever he goes.

When Kidd receives an invitation from a distant cousin, Parke Jamieson VI to come to St. Louis for a visit, he is hesitant but accepts almost as a dare. Initially he bumps heads with Parke but when a series of events involving a dog named Silent Killer, a pair of Stacy Adams shoes, and a couple of women of faith, take place, Kidd’s raging storm is challenged.

Will determination to keep up his bad boy attitude and hatred for the Jamieson name destroy Kidd? Or, will the information he’s given about his father’s family and a few unexpected encounters break him and turn his life upside down?

Find out more about the series at TheJamiesonLegacy.com.

 

About the Author

List your published books: Guilty by Association (January 2012); The Guilt Trip (October 2012); Free from Guilt (October 2012); Crowning Glory, Talk to Me, Guilty of Love, Not Guilt of Love, and Still Guilty.

Which book did you find the hardest to birth? Probably The Guilt Trip. I wanted to write an emotional story, and I hope I hit the mark. I’ll have to wait and see in June.

Which book is your current favorite? Crowning Glory. It’s the only book I wrote where I continue to ask God to let me be like Him and have no respect of persons when it comes to knowing a person’s past.

How would you describe your writing style? Romantic and comedic; inspirational and finally educational (genealogy tidbits).

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind? When I first started writing, I did. Now, it’s a distraction when I’m trying to create a scene.

Tell us anything about you as a writer that you think might be interesting or unusual. It’s testimony: Guilty of Love was actually the third novel I wrote, but the first one that was published. The amazing thing is I didn’t want to write the story because of the subject matter: abortion. After I gave it some thought, I realized that I could write ten novels and none of them would be successful until I wrote the one God told me to. Let me tell what Jesus did. That book broke sales records for the imprint that year. It also established my writing career. The Guilty series now called the Jamieson Legacy will probably go to seventeen books. Look at Jesus. What would have happened if I didn’t say, yes Lord?

Prior to starting that book, I became interested in my family’s genealogy. I decided to incorporate some of my family names into the stories in hopes of tracking now distant relatives who might pick up the book and recognize names.

I chose Charlottefor my main character’s mother. Charlottewas my maternal grandmother and my maternal great-great grandmother. Then on to the last name. I needed something that had a distinguished ring. Somehow Jamiesons stuck, thus creating Parke K. Jamieson VI. He and his brothers became the strong, successful and confident men who were the tenth generation descendants of a royal African tribe.

My maternal grandmother’s last name was Wilkerson. I located Charlotte Wilkerson along with her two sons: William (my great grandfather b. 1866) and his brother Samuel (b. 1868), on the 1880 census. I hit a wall when I went back to the 1870 census. I couldn’t locate them. I turned to other genealogy enthusiasts to help in the hunt for Charlotte Wilkerson and her two sons who would have been four and two. It’s amazing how savvy some these sleuths are. A few days later, they came back with information that made me hold my breath.

It appears that Charlotte’s last name was actually Jamieson. Eerie, huh?  I had no idea I was giving my character the exact FIRST and LAST name after an ancestor.

Since 1870, was the first year blacks were counted as free, I searched the 1860 slaveholders’ schedules. Sure enough, Robert Jamieson was the slaveholder over my great-great grandmother. In his household, there was a guest and teacher in the academy, John Wilkerson (my white great-grandfather).

So for six years, the Guilty series has captivated black and white readers alike with its positive strong black family and historical facts that are weaved into contemporary storylines. This month under a new publisher, the Guilty series presents The Jamieson Legacy.

My encouragement to every aspiring author is to listen to Jesus when you get that first offer. It may not be the publishing house or advancement you want, but we never know how God will cause a seed to grow, once we’ve planted a story.

 What advice do you have for aspiring writers? Rhonda, as an award-winning author yourself, there is not enough paper to tell all the ups-and-downs of the industry. The most important thing after completing a manuscript within six months is to pay for an editor (not a teacher or friend), but a person who has freelance edit for authors before; attend a writer’s conference (make sure it has representatives from the publishing houses you seek and the literary agency you want to represent you.

Writers are often encouraged to write what they know. Have you found that to be the case with your writing? It has helped me a lot. Otherwise, I’m researching for hours, and sometimes days, just to write a one or two scenes out of the book. I had to learn balance and I’m still learning.

Purchase Guilty By Assocation online at:

Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Visit author Pat Simmons online at:her website, http://www.patsimmons.net/, or connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

View the Guilty By Assocation blog tour schedule at :

http://www.tywebbin.com/blog-tours/authors-on-tour/2012-tours/