8 minute read
Author Highlight: Johnny Bullard
WITH
By Hayli Zuccola Holly Frazier Photography
Writing—in its most basic form—is a skill that, for the most part, can be taught, whether it’s how to shape sentences, condense free-fl owing thoughts or polish grammatical errors. Storytelling, on the other hand, is a gift, a natural talent and one that Johnny Bullard was inherently blessed with.
“I’ve always had an interest in writing, even in elementary school I had an interest in writing,” Johnny Bullard said.
A native of White Springs, Johnny grew up with poetry and music-appreciating parents that encouraged him and his brother to follow their artistic and educational pursuits, whatever they may be.
“I hit the lotto as far as family is concerned. I really did,” he said.
Finding a mentor in his middle school language arts teacher, Dorothy Bryant, Johnny quickly gained the con dence to express himself through the written word. Later equipped with four graduate degrees from Valdosta State University— including a Bachelor of Arts in English—he began a 35-year career writing for his hometown newspaper, drawing inspiration from his life around the banks of the Suwannee River.
“Life is life and it has its ups and downs, but I’ve been very blessed to be in an area that’s rich in the stories that it has, rich in history, rich as far as natural resources are concerned, rich in humor—very rich in humor— and rich in the fact that, you know, I think north-central Florida is like a patchwork quilt; we have our own richness that’s unique and wonderful and di erent from any place else in the world and especially in Florida,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed people and the stories they’ve shared with me wherever I’ve gone and especially family stories that have been shared within my own family and the stories of the area.”
While strengthening his abilities as a columnist, Johnny furthered his long-held passion for education by working as a teacher, principal and—most recently—serving on the Hamilton County School Board. Nevertheless, during this time, friends, family and fans of his growingly-popular column encouraged Johnny to use his knack for storytelling to write a book—a suggestion that lingered in the back of his mind until the right moment nally presented itself.
“We all go through peaks and valleys in our lives. I’ve always been thankful for where I live and for the people that I lived among and that kind of thing, but I was at a little bit of a low point emotionally in my life, and so I thought, ‘let me see if I can write my way out of it,’” he said.
Gifted with a computer from his uncle, Johnny began to write—and write he did—forging characters and storylines guided by his surroundings.
“I think that’s what has helped—what did make—so many Southerners great writers, you know, and the South—for all of its faults and failings—produced some of the greatest literary gures in the world. I’m not one of them, but I was certainly in uenced by some people who are. The William Faulkners, the Eudora Weltys, the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlingses, the Carson McCullerses—I could go on,” he said.
Rather than constructing characters derived from speci c people, Johnny’s characters all represented a combination of personality traits, mannerisms and story arcs that read like mini-biographies rather than works of ction to help create a sense of realism.
“There’s a di erence between knowing of people and knowing the people. My characters are ctitious, but I know the people—or I have known them, let’s just say that—because I know the area, and when your family has been here as long as the River Nile, you know it, and my family has been here now for 200 years—seven generations in Florida,” he said. “I’m thankful that my memory has stayed intact and that I have a good love of people and a memory of di erent events, di erent people—lots of good memories.”
Johnny’s rst novel was split into two separate works: Nightshade and the sequel Secrets, both of which were published in 2015 and focused on ve main characters grappling with hope, struggle and victory all set in the Deep South.
“I’ll never forget when they brought in that rst copy for me to see, it as unbelievable and it as like—did see it and kne it as there—but thought, my od, that’s a lot of pages and a lot of situations in my life, and there it is, and it as a little bit frightening,” ohnny recalled.
“I did dream of publishing and having books published, and my dream came true in the publication of those books, whether they sell 10,000 or 1,000 copies or 100,000,” he said. “A lot of my dream came true in just seeing the covers of those books and the fact that there are several thousand people out there now who know about my characters and who know about this part of the world all over the world who might not have ever known them before, and I get great satisfaction from that, I do, and the fact that something that I held dear and hold dear that other people would nd pleasure and joy in it.”
Johnny released two more books set in the ctional world he rst developed in Nightshade with Destini in 2017 and Black Runs the River in 2019, and while those stories may have come to a close, that isn’t to say those characters won’t make a resurgence sometime in the future.
“When I really get into writing, and those characters really begin to reveal themselves to me as I write, those characters become very—they are real to me—and when you nish a book and that phase has come to a close, there’s joy with it in that you completed it and there’s some sadness too because you’ve lived with some of these characters for a good long while,” he said.
“I wrote those books and I had to let the stories out because I felt I wanted to ... I had something to say and I still think I have some things to say and will write more ... I don’t know that they’ll be along the same lines. I don’t think the next book that I do will be along the same lines that I’ve written; I think the next one may well be a collection of some of my newpaper articles with some of my personal anecdotes. It will be something completely di erent.”
Apart from compiling a volume of his past works, Johnny’s other novelist ambitions include writing a children’s book to help merge his love for education and storytelling.
“I go and I read stories and I tell stories at the local elementary school—I’m the chairman of the school board over in Hamilton County—and I try to go about twice a month, sometimes three or four times a month, to the elementary schools and I read stories to elementary students and I tell stories and I nd that no matter how much media and technology they have, children and people in general still enjoy having stories told to them,” he said.
While Johnny was lucky to have family members and a school mentor to o er him support and encouragement in following his dreams, since becoming a published columnist and novelist, he’s developed his own words of encouragement for aspiring writers.
“I think if you have a story, have con dence enough to write it down and share it with other people and do that, and if you want to write, write because I can tell you something: creative writing cannot be taught. It can be re ned, but for a person to be a good writer, it’s either there with a story or it isn’t there,” he said. Furthermore, for Johnny, White Springs and its nearby communities aren’t just idyllic settings for novels that delve into southern culture and characterization; it is, and always will be, home.
“If there’s one thing that I tell you I hope shines through in all of my books, is that I hope it shines through that I have a great love for this area. I hope that—among everything else—does shine through in those books, the fact that I take great pride in the area that is my home and the people that are my friends and with whom I’ve spent my entire life, and I do nd them wonderful, terrible, tragedy, triumph, agony, ecstasy. It’s all here, and you don’t have to travel anywhere else to nd it; it’s all right here, and it’s beautiful—the area in which we live—and I hope that comes through too,” he said.
“My roots are here and they’re well-grounded in the sandy soil of northcentral Florida—seven generations deep into the sandy soil of north Florida—but like a live oak, they reach out the limbs, kind of embrace everybody that’s here.” ■
Small towns are oftentimes rich with long-hidden secrets and even unsolved crimes, some so dastardly and sinister they are hard for the faint of heart to fathom, let alone confront, especially when the evil-doers might already be dead. After one such mystery is uncovered in Seraph Springs, certain folks will nally be forced to pay their just dues for past crimes that were committed in the name of greed and deep-seated prejudice. Come join in the search for righteousness with some of your favorite characters from Bullard’s previous novels: Nightshade, Secrets and Destini.
Read all of Johnny Bullard’s titles now available on Amazon.com.
