The Story Behind the Story: Connecting with Lynne Tolley…and Jack Daniel’s Favorite Novel

I had one of those moments recently that I’ll remember for a long time.

I was in Lynchburg, Tennessee, speaking at the Moore County Historical Society—a town that, if you’ve read any of my recent posts, you know holds a very special place in my heart. It’s the setting for my upcoming novel, In These Hills, and it’s a place woven into my own family history.

Lynne Tolley—Jack Daniel’s great-grandniece and a gracious research source for me—kindly came to hear me speak. And she brought something with her that I was not expecting: Jack Daniel’s own personal copy of his favorite novel, Ben-Hur.

I’ll be honest with you. I may have fan-girled a little. Okay, more than a little. To hold a book that Jack Daniel himself once held, once read, once cherished—there’s something special about that kind of connection to history.

It was such a joy to catch up with Lynne again. As I researched and wrote In These Hills, she shared story after story with me about Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House—not just about Miss Mary herself, but about the everyday happenings there through the years. The laughter around the dinner table. The characters who passed through town. The small, human moments that don’t always make it into the history books but that make a place feel alive.

So many of the stories Lynne told me found their way directly into the novel. When she read an early copy of In These Hills, she told me she smiled—and even laughed out loud—recognizing stories she’d shared with me now living on the page.

I could not have written this book with the authenticity it needed without people like Lynne generously sharing their memories and their family history with me. It strikes me again, how privileged we are to be able to share our stories with one another. But no story is more powerful than the one God is writing in each of us.

The real people of Lynchburg who are characters in this novel were people of deep, abiding faith. Not perfect. But deeply flawed, just as we are. But God worked through them in remarkable ways, and they left a legacy that still speaks today.

It’s a legacy I’m eager to share with you. Come September, I hope you’ll walk these hills with me.

One last share…

Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House recently posted this decade’s old video that has Miss Mary herself in it toward the end. I’d come across it in my research a while back but wanted to share it with you.

Have you ever been surprised—in a wonderful way—by something from history someone shared with you? Something you connected with on a deeper level? I’d love to know…especially if you fan-girled like I did.

Blessings from my corner of Nashville,

Tammy

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