What was the first book you self-published (September Ends, right)? We are the Newest New South and I believe it will be the best one yet.

Southerners have so many opportunities that haven’t been available before now. Life is nothing like it was for our parents and grandparents. One of my grandfather’s was a coal-miner yet I’ve visited 63 countries around the globe. It seems that we should stop looking to the past and look toward what the future holds for us. We have opportunities never before offered to our region. Atlanta is the #11 financial power globally. Right now is the greatest time to be a Southerner. It gives a person a sense of place, a sense of belonging to something bigger than you. Our farm has been in the family since Tennessee became a state. There’s so much controversy about this topic right now, isn’t there? To me, it means family and our family’s history. How would you define a Southerner in the 21st century? My husband and I decided Atlanta offers more, took a gamble and moved here. After spending 17 years in sales and marketing with an international corporation, I was downsized. My late mother became ill, and I returned to Tennessee to be with the family. What fun to be young and around so many creative people. It was awesome! I worked as a make-up artist. You were born and raised in Tennessee, what brought you to Atlanta? Yes, I studied creative writing but my emphasis was on English Literature. Getting paid for doing what you enjoy is such an incredible experience, isn’t it? I had no idea they were going to pay me for the story, so you can imagine how excited I was to receive a check from them. “Serendipity in the Garden” was the articles name. But, the first time someone sent a check to pay me was following an article I wrote for the Whitfield County, Ga., paper.

It was great! I wrote various music and special interest stories for the Chattanooga newspaper. After graduating, I wrote for a couple of low budget rock papers in Nashville. In high school and college, I wrote for the schools papers.

What was the first thing you ever published? Some people play music, sing, dance, act, or paint. How did you discover your passion for writing? Pretty Southern recently sought out the acclaimed author to learn more about the secrets of her success and how she became the South’s self-publishing guru. Jones, then check out her insane following on social media with 35,000 followers on Twitter, almost 12,000 likes on Facebook and hundreds of raving reviews on Goodreads.

September Verses by Hunter S. Jones