By the Sweetgum

A Charming Historical Southern Tale

One of the perks of being an author is befriending other authors. Today I’d love for you to meet my brainstorming buddy Ane Mulligan. She’s got a new book out, but I’ll let her tell you about it…

While the town of Sweet Gum is fictional, the mill towns in Georgia are very real. I got a wonderful private tour of Porterdale, one of the better mill towns. Usually, the mill owners supplied housing for their workers. Most were shanties, some downright hovels. Others, like in Porterdale were small but decent housing. There, they had social workers who planned all kinds of events and competitions for the children of the workers.

But not all mill towns were like that. And some mill owners hired small children as young as five years old to work in the mills. Many lost limbs and their lives in horrific accidents. In By the Sweet Gum, Genessee Taylor and her daddy work to see the child labor laws changed.

Here’s a blurb:

She’s bound by duty. He’s tethered to a dream.

In the beleaguered mill town of Sweetgum, Georgia, Genessee Taylor dreams of a life beyond running the mill-owned hotel with her family. Though the work is honest, the owner of the mill is not. Genessee and her father long to see stronger labor laws passed to protect the innocent children who are injured and dying in the mill. When the owner learns of their activity, he will stop at nothing to silence them. 

Tommy Mack works at the mill and dreams of playing professional ball and marrying Genessee. When he’s contracted by a big-league team, his dreams are within grasp. Just as Tommy and Genessee’s wedding is on the horizon, tragedy strikes Sweetgum. Tommy can’t stay and Genessee can’t leave. Can they battle through loss, deception, and sacrifice to find their way back to each other?