Novelist Buttram Autographs Greeneville-Based Book

By: By Nelson Morais/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
09-01-2007

     Novelist Larry Buttram was the focus of attention Friday afternoon at the Jacob’s Well coffee house as he sold and autographed copies of his newest novel, The Third Generation.

A nearly-steady stream of visitors over a three-hour span sought the author out in the coffee shop for an autograph of his newest mystery suspense novel, whose action is mainly set in Greeneville.

     Buttram told a reporter he sold 15 to 18 books in the first half-hour of the book-signing, including some copies of two other books in his trilogy, False Witness and Honor Thy Sister.

Buttram has also had published a book of short stories, The Greatest Gift.

     ‘I Like Mysteries’

     One of the numerous customers, Teresa Strange, bought a copy each of The Third Generation and Honor Thy Sister and had Buttram autograph them. When she was asked what she likes about the author’s writing, Buttram interjected jokingly, “I think she said it’s the best book she’s ever read since the Bible.” But Strange responded seriously, “I like mysteries, stories that keep my interest growing until the end.” She also said that, as a Greeneville resident, she was able to relate to certain geographical points in Buttram’s books. “It’s nice to know it’s part of the area you’re in,” said Strange.

     The Third Generation is the third installment — and Buttram said it will definitely be the last one — in the False Witness series.

     Character’s Life Traced

     The fictional stories trace the life of the novelist’s main character, Ethan Ward, from his youth in Greeneville to his life as a college student in Murfreesboro, then finally to his life as an adult with children of his own.

     Buttram, a native of Oneida, said he picked Greeneville as the location for his trilogy because of its geography, which he said is important to his story, as well as because of the community’s historical tie-ins to U.S. President Andrew Johnson and frontiersman Davy Crockett.

He said Greeneville was “the right size, with the right racial mix” of whites and African-Americans, for his plot to unfold. He said he first visited Greeneville for a weekend in 2003 and found the locale suitable for the story he wanted to tell.

     A Fictional Lynching

     The Third Generation deals with a supposed lynching in Greeneville, which Buttram was quick to point out was fictional.

     “As far as I can tell (in my research), Greeneville never had a lynching, nor even any real racial problems” comparable to severe racial clashes that occurred in some other parts of the South, Buttram said. “Hopefully, I won’t get too many people (in Greeneville) angry about that,” he said of the fictional lynching.

     The Third Generation starts in 1988, with flashbacks to World War II. It deals with Ward’s daughter, Emily, as she begins her freshman year at the University of Tennessee. The book’s rear cover states that “The death of a relative leads her (Emily) to a shocking discovery that not only threatens to tear apart her father’s hometown of Greeneville, but also puts her life in jeopardy.” 
     Moral Message

     The Third Generation has a strong moral message, Buttram said, as Ethan “wonders why God allows these horrible things to happen in the world.”

     He said of his trilogy of books, “They’re clean and wholesome with no obscenities.”

     His books are available at Jacob’s Well, Dixie’s Books and the Laughlin Memorial Hospital Gift Shop. They are also available at national bookstores, including Borders, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, and B. Dalton, as well on the Amazon Web site, Buttram said. He said he has sold close to 4,000 copies of his self-published books.

     Jacob’s Well, at 522 Tusculum Blvd., also has for sale a family game created by Buttram called “Generations.”

     It was the only board game recommended by Better Homes & Gardens magazine for its Christmas gifts edition in 1999, Buttram said, and was rated the second-best new board game in the U.S. by Fox Television around the same time.

     Author Lives In Virginia

     Buttram lives in Manassas Park, Va., with his wife Bridget, who also attended Friday’s book-signing. He works part-time as a self-employed insurance agent. He retired from AT&T after working there 30 years, he said. He said he currently spends little time writing, but a considerable amount of time marketing his books.

     Buttram noted that an interview with him about The Third Generation will be broadcast on the Christian Harvest TV Network on Oct. 3.

Weatherford Democrat

Why would a terminally ill 6-year-old little girl want to visit Mt. Everest?

Manassas Park, Va. 5-22-07— Six-year-old Stephanie Renner is dying — and she wants to ask Jesus to talk to all the world’s dying children. Nothing can dissuade her from the idea that the top of the world’s tallest mountain is the best place for that conversation. That’s the premise of the title story in The Greatest Gift, a new Christian short story collection from suspense novelist Larry Buttram. Renner’s parents take her to an organization modeled on the Make-A-Wish Foundation, where she makes her impossible request, but the Foundation executive finds a way to grant her real wish. Other stories in the collection: n “The Root of All Evil”: A free-spending, high-living couple’s relationship with their fiscally conservative cousins becomes strained over lifestyle clashes, but then a series of crises force the couple to see the true cost of their lifestyle. n “Behemoth”: A classroom debate about creation versus evolution turns personal as the professor discovers she has cancer. n “One to Another”: When the wife of an emotionally empty man has finally had enough, the husband turns to God to get his life back together. n “Seventy Times Seven”: Johnny still hasn’t forgiven his sister for the accident that crippled his son eleven years earlier. Her wedding invitation causes a crisis and then his own serious accident. A stranger intervenes, sharing the Bible verse alluded to in the story’s title and bringing hope. n “Not by Works”: A selfless volunteer companion holds so much guilt over a long-ago incident that she forgets to make time in her life for her own needs. Her elderly client and the man who courts her show her a better path. n “Before the Fall”: Pro football star Terry Tibbetts is arrogant and prone to violent temper. When his new neighbor requests a favor, Terry gets nasty until someone else tells him the startling reason for the neighbor’s request. The Greatest Gift, by Larry Buttram, has a list price of $13.95 and is available in bookstores nationwide and online. For more information, visit www.the-greatestgift.net Larry Buttram was born in 1949 in Oneida, Tenn. He graduated high school in 1967, and was married in 1969. Within the next three years he and his wife had two sons. He was divorced in 1974 and remarried in 1989. Today, he lives in Manassas Park, Va., with his wife, Bridget. They have two sons and four grandchildren. Buttram started writing at the age of 12 when his English teacher challenged him to enter a school short-story competition. He entered and won the competition. He continued to write as a hobby throughout high school, and began a school newspaper when he was 14. He continued to write throughout his career and college and took numerous creative writing and literature courses. The Greatest Gift is Larry Buttram’s first short story collection. His third novel, The Third Generation, will be released in August. His earlier books, False Witness and Honor Thy Sister, received critical acclaim among both Christian and secular audiences. Buttram, who won a writing competition at age 12, is a native of Tennessee who lives in Virginia. His work history includes stints at the FBI, AT&T and AFLAC, and he has a long record of community service including serving on the Board of Community That Cares, a group that works with at-risk teenage girls and sponsors cross-racial/cultural social events.