Lee Cody and I have been working nonstop for 2 days on our book–our working title is The 14th Denial–a book that will tell the story of C. Lee Cody, Jr. who worked in Jacksonville, Florida, with the Duval County Sheriff’s Office for seven years, reaching the rank of Detective Sergeant. In 1964, in the midst of the volatile times surrounding the Civil Rights Movement, Sergeant Cody solved one of our nation’s worst hate crimes and paid for it with his career. In the years since, Cody has collected a mountain of evidence that reveals blatant racism in high places, a horrifying tale of cover-ups and corruption involving sheriffs, judges, mayors, and even the FBI– leading to flagrant violations of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights guaranteed citizens under our nation’s Constitution.
I should be able to submit the book to one publisher this week that has expressed interest as well as query letters to several agents who market nonfiction for we truly feel the book has potential beyond the printed book form. If all goes well, I should be able to return to Monroe tomorrow, though every time I come here, it gets harder and harder to leave. I just wanted to leave you with the short summary of the book I’m working on and some photos. Below is the beautiful Katy, a friend and fan of my books. She is actively trying to help me find some places to perform down this way. With her in the second photo is my co-author, Lee Cody. He is a great man who has more than paid his dues in life. His story has been told on Oprah, Dateline, Court TV and the History Channel–with invitations to return when he has the book. Look up the story of Johnnie Mae Chappell and you will find his name, and there’s a reason for that.
Katy, Longbeach, MS
C. Lee Cody, Author of The 14th Denial
The third photo is an crane, an origami piece one of my Delta students made for her PowerPoint project. I have named the crane, Stephen.
Stephen Crane: Origami
Following the crane is a photo of a GAT, a type of lighter one of my students showed the class how to make with just staples, tape and AA batteries. I should have more photos to post very soon. Likely the next batch will be of the Celtic Festival.
GAT: Emergency Lighter