Signal Mountain resident Jeannie Harper recently release her first novel, “GLINT.”Signal Mountain resident Jeannie Harper’s first book, “GLINT,” follows three teenage boys on a time-traveling adventure to the Civil War era. Directed toward middle school-aged readers, the book was partly inspired by her only son, Dan.
“I’ve always liked to write, and I’ve probably started about 14 different manuscripts,” said Harper, adding that the manuscripts have ranged in genre from romance to self-reflection to picture books.
Once her son started driving, she suddenly had the time to write, something she had never had in the past.
She said Dan, an auditory learner, has never gravitated toward reading in the way that she did as a child, when her mother would buy her seven books a week and she would finish them all.
In 2014 she attended a one-day writing seminar, whetting her appetite for further writing instruction, which she sought out the next year through Chattanooga State’s continuing education program.
Fellow students challenged her to finish her novel by the fourth and final session of the class, and this motivated her to complete her two-year writing journey in two and a half weeks.
One of the questions that drives the story is “How could something as simple as a butter knife change someone’s life forever?” The book’s title comes refers to the glint of the knife, which she based on a piece the family actually owns.
When Dan was younger, the Civil War really appealed to him, so she decided to incorporate it in the novel with a time-traveling twist.
“I’ve always liked time travel, and it can be helpful in making a story play out the way you want it to,” said Harper.
Rock climbing is another important element in the book, she said. Dan started climbing when he was in seventh grade, and Harper and her husband often traveled to local climbing sites to watch him practice his new hobby.
“It really is an outdoor playground here,” said Harper of the Chattanooga area.
She said that she used rock climbing as a way to attract readers that may not otherwise be interested in learning about the history of the Civil War.
“I want it to make middle-schoolers go, ‘Gosh, I might want to learn a little about that,’ but overall, I want it to be fun,” said Harper. “It’s written with boys in mind, but I’m hoping girls will pick it up too,” said Harper.
The message she hopes readers will glean from reading the novel is that you never know what life has in store for you, and sometimes dreams do come true. Trying to get preteens outside and active is a subtext of the book, she added.
“It’s OK to get outside, get dirty and make some noise,” said Harper, whose other goal is for readers to learn at least one new thing or experience some sort of emotion.
Harper has visited a fifth-grade class at St. Nicholas School to speak about the book, and is open to visiting other local classrooms as well. While the book is directed toward middle-schoolers, she has found that it appeals to younger and much older readers as well.
GLINT is available on Signal Mountain at Wild Hare Books and Mountain Top Toys, as well as in Chattanooga at Star Line Books and Barnes & Noble. Purchase the book online at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.
Contact Harper at harper69@epbfi.com or visit her website jd-harper.com.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.