A little About Me

I am a writer who enjoys things historic and nostalgic. The challenges of writing wthin the confines of the truth and what really happened in a story such as a true crime or a compelling tale from the past is something I enjoy and on which I prefer to work.

I was born in rural North Carolina, outside of the city of Lexington, NC.  My parents were hardworking, honest, and instilled those ethics in all three of their children.

We were one of those families one would call "hand to mouth."  We had everything we needed, but certainly could not afford everything.

I excelled in High School at Central Davidson, but knew there would be no monies to put me through college, so I went to work in the printing industry immediately after graduation.

In my thirties, I found I could afford to attend 

GTC College in Jamestown, NC. I graduated in the top five of my year with a 4.0  grade  average.  I was one of 5 students (of 1,200) who were awarded the college's "Academic Achievement award," and was nominated by faculty members as Most Outstanding Graduate. 

While studying the core courses regarding English and poetry, Professors began to instill in me the idea that  had a gift for writing.  When my father took me to visit the Lawson family gravesite in the late eighties, the family tombstone  gave me the feeling of a prophecy with its epitaph...

"Not now but in the coming years, it will be in a better land, we will read the meaning of our tears, and someday we'll understand."

With the praise of my teachers in my heart, I began to believe I could write a book about this sad mass murder that had occurred on Christmas Day, 1929.  That day my Father, M. Bruce Jones, and I agreed to work together to research and write the story.  With my printing experience, I believed I could publish it.  The rest is history.

When that first small book was printed, the first 2,500 copies sold out in three weeks. I had it reprinted two more times with a mainstream book publisher producing more than 10,000 additional  books.

By 1994, the book had sold through these copies and due to the difficulties I had with book distributors and other sellers, I refused to print it again.  In the meantime that first book, White Christmas, Bloody Christmas became highly desired and collectible.

 In 2005 I decided to do more research and rewrite the story as the 376 page beautifully bound collectors' book, The Meaning of Our Tears.

Since this time I have published another True story of life growing up in Greensboro, Nc in the Depression ans World War II era.

there are others I've published, but those are a tale for another day.

I appreciate everyone who has supported my efforts by purchasing my work.

Thank you all.

Trudy