A book signing for Nashville resident Jason Horn will be held Sunday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. at the Black Pearl on Main Street in Mineral Springs. The public is invited to attend, buy a book and have it signed. Copies of his book, Crossing Paths, are $12 each. Refreshments will be served, and the event will continue as long as people are attending
Horn said Crossing Paths is for all ages. “It’s a book that’s a western base but has lots of comedy, murder, corruption and even a little love story to catch everyone’s attention. I always had ideas running through my head for a few books but this one continued to grow so I finally just sat down one day and started writing. I had several scenes I knew I wanted in the book so I started writing those first and then just filled in the blanks. After 18 days of writing for 4 or 5 hours per day, I had a 72,000 word novel.”
The book idea came from “my favorite real life person who was a Native American Indian named Quanah. He was the last War Chief for the Comanche Nation. I had always loved reading about him so I made up a main character by using two of my family names. I threw lots of friends in as characters and started writing about a place I knew and loved, ‘Hell’s Valley,’” Horn said.
The story is a two-part series, and the book spans for 26 years in the mid-1800s. It has lots of factual events, and Horn said anyone from Nashville or surrounding areas will recognize lots of names and places.
“I could never have taken my story from a thought to paper and from paper to book form without help from family and friends who helped every step of the way. People in the community who knew about the book have been super supportive and inquisitive which is really exciting and I am so grateful for all the support.
“My biggest help came from an employee at the court house. I would love to give a big thank you to Keri Teague. I went in her office one day and told her what I was doing and I needed some help in finding some old maps for cover art for my book.
“She never hesitated and off we went in search of old maps,” Horn said.
“You don’t know how much work or how many people go into something as simple as telling a story. So, thanks to everyone who had a hand in this.”
