by Michele Gillis, Staff Writer
During the last five years, when the market slowed down a bit, many Realtors took the time to find other areas to dedicate their time.
Ben Walker, a Realtor with Ponte Vedra Club Realty, was no exception and he used the time to write another book, “An Island in the South: a sequel to “Winds of the South,” which was published in 2008.
Since the books are set in the 1800’s, Walker spent a great deal of time researching to ensure the historical accurateness of that time period.
This worked very well with a Realtor’s flexible schedule.
Now that his book is published and the market is improving, he finds many customers are coming back to him and he can devote more time to his real estate career.
“I am a daytime writer,” he said. “I can’t write after dinner. I just don’t feel like it. When I was younger, I always had night jobs so I’d write during the day.”
Due to the way he ended “Winds of the South,” it opened the door for a sequel. But, you don’t have to read “Winds of the South” to thoroughly enjoy “An Island in the South.”
“They can be read separately,” said Walker. “There is a certain amount of recapitulation of the story in the new book, for that purpose.”
One begat the other, he says.
“I really got the idea for this book in the last pages of “Winds of the South,” said Walker. “There was an unexpected twist at the end which to me suggested a sequel.”
“Winds of the South” ends with nearly all of the main characters still alive and well, which left the door open.
“I talked to several people who had read the book and asked them what they would like to see me write next,” said Walker. “They all said they would like to see me write something similar, in the same time period and maybe some of the same characters.”
“An Island in the South” was published in November 2012. It took Walker about two years to write the book.
The main place Walker sells his books is at Books Plus, an independent book store in Fernandina Beach. They are also available at Barnes and Noble stores as well as Amazon.com and all three of his books are on Kindle.
Walker created his own publishing company, Jamin Press, to publish his books. You can also order an autographed copy from his website, www.jaminpress.com.
He also been doing a lot of book signings and recently returned from a book signing at Parnassus Books, an independent book store in Nashville. Dates and times for more book signings are on his website.
Walker has been a Realtor with Ponte Vedra Club Realty since 1998, right around the time he published “Sentimental Music,” his first published book. He is also a playwright.