Joshilyn Jackson books

I am really enjoying her work. She has written 4 books so far and I'm listening to the 4th one now. I listened to them in the following order:


The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

gods In Alabama

Between, GA

Backseat Saints


They were written however in the following order:

gods in Alabama,

Between, GA

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

Backseat Saints

Without having finished Backseat Saints I'd say that gods and Between are my two favorites but I'll say for sure once I'm done with Backseat Saints. I really love the stories though and find myself continually interested and wanting more. You know the "I can't wait to drive home from work so I can hear more of the story" feeling. I came across Joshilyn's work via a sales table at Books A Million in Columbia, SC on a recent road trip. Normally books discounted to $10 are just OK but I really enjoyed The Girl Who Stopped Swimming enough to look up the author and order 2 more of her books on Amazon. I wasn't 1/2 way through gods in Alabama when I got back on Amazon and ordered Backseat Saints.

I could sum up each book but then I’d be afraid I’d give something away… just know that they are VERY southern in nature. That’s obvious with the gods and Between books just by the titles. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming takes place in Pensacola, FL and Backseat Saints in Texas. Joshilyn reads her own books in all but one. I love her voice and accent and therefore take pleasure in having her read it to me. I find that I hear a southern accent in my head when I write about her books… LOL! You likely won’t have the same issue I’m sure – I just tend to pick up a southern accent pretty easily.

A few more tidbits… Two of the books connect and those are gods in Alabama and Backseat Saints – there is a minor character in gods who is the main character in Backseat Saints – her name is Rose Mae Lolly. I’m on disc 5 of that book and am enjoying the connection. I don’t think it’d be an issue to read Backseat Saints first but again can’t say for sure quite yet. Also, there is a supernatural element to The Girl Who Stopped Swimming that isn’t found in the other books. One other last tidbit… just as you can’t experience living in the south without religion being a part of it Joshilyn’s books bring that in as well. The main characters in her book aren’t necessarily actively religious but they bring their religious upbringing and/or religious family into their character… it’s a part of their personal baggage. I find it not only amusing but quite accurate. I have heard members of my family or friends say things folks say in the books as it relates to church, God, morals, levels of honesty and chasteness, being Southern Baptist or Catholic. It’s pretty funny and Joshilyn knows her stuff here.

I guess that’s all I’ll say on this author and these books… as you can tell I really like her work. Another gal at work has listened to 1 or 2 of her books and enjoyed them very much as well and her background and life experience is pretty different than mine so that tells me that Joshilyn is good despite the fact that I connect with tiny portions of various characters of hers. I hope you’ll check her out!