Jaclyn Weldon White

The Greatest Champion That Never Was is now available! Publisher's Weekly has already declared this biography of boxer W.L. "Young" Stribling one of the top ten sports books of the fall of 2011. Stribling was born in a small south Georgia town in 1904 and should have lived his life in that rural setting. But he was performing in vaudeville before his fourth birthday and was a professional boxer by sixteen. His career spanned only twelve years before his death at age 28 and, during that time, he fought 287 matches, losing only 12. Although he never achieved the championship he sought, Young Stribling was true to himself and the values with which he'd been raised. The most important things in his world were sportsmanship, honor and doing his best. He never did less.

Jaclyn Weldon White has devoted most of her literary life to murder and mayhem, with an occasional side trip to the world of biography. But this spring she decided to turn her attention to one of her favorite activities - growing and using the "helpful plants". So, using her own experience and the vast knowledge of professional herb growers, she wrote and published A Southern Woman's Guide to Herbs. In this new book, which can only be ordered from Jackie herself, readers will learn to design and plant an herb garden, cook delicious herb-inspired meals, preserve herbs for year-round use and make herbal crafts and gifts.

Of course, Jackie hasn't given up delving into the criminal side of life. Her most recent novel,Mockingbird in the Moonlight introduced readers to Dixie McClatchey, who was a rising young homicide detective when she inadvertently caused the death of a loved one. In this unsentimental Southern novel, Dixie puts her past behind her to build a new life in Macon, Georgia, a charming city where ghosts, gracious living and blackmail live side by side. She makes some friends, opens a bookstore and volunteers with Friends of the Library. When one of the volunteers is killed behind her shop, and evidence points to members of the library group,Dixie is reluctantly drawn into the investigation. As the story unravels, she learns she's not the only one with a past.

Like Mockingbird in the Moonlight, Jackie's first novel Distant Hearts combined suspense, romance and humor. And Distant Hearts adds a healthy dose of southern history and a primer on genealogical research as well.

But Jackie hasn't abandoned true crime. Whether recounting a forty-year-old tale of serial murder and black magic, as she did in Whisper to the Black Candle, or relating in The Empty Nursery the heart-breaking story of an infant's disappearance in present day Georgia, Jaclyn White has the unique ability to present a true story as if it were a novel.

White's ventures into the field of biographies has produced two acclaimed books. A Very Special Gift is the history of a remarkable and generous family. And Bestest recounts the exciting life of southern businessman, bon vivant and philanthropist Peyton Anderson.

She also contributes frequent articles to local and regional magazines. Most recently she's been working on personal interest stories for Living Jackson, a magazine devoted to life in Jackson County, Georgia.