Like generations of his family before him, William Rawlings, Jr. was born
in Sandersville, Georgia where he lives on the family farm with his wife
and two children.
"I really wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he explains. "This
is 'home' in the finest sense of the word. Both my father's and mother's
families arrived here in the late eighteenth century and, for whatever
reason, we stay because this seems to be the place we belong."
Rawlings was educated at Emory University in Oxford and
Atlanta and at Tulane University in New Orleans where he earned a
Master's Degree and his Doctorate in Medicine. He did his postgraduate
medical training in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins
Hospital in Baltimore, after which he returned to Sandersville to
practice medicine. Although he has numerous academic publications to his
credit, fiction writing
is a relatively recent interest. "I think one of the most fascinating
jobs in all the world is to practice medicine in a small, relatively
rural Southern town. Perhaps I have an undue advantage; I grew up here
so I know-or know of-most people, many of whom I claim as relatives. It
doesn't take long to realize that a place rich in history and populated
by memorable characters is an inspiration and a rich resource for anyone
who aspires to
be a writer."
Rawlings's interests vary widely. He has a number of
business interests other than the practice of medicine. He is an
inveterate collector of things odd, ranging from oriental porcelains to
Persian carpets to an eclectic assemblage of American and European art.
"Travel is probably my biggest addiction. I usually make several trips
out of the country each year. I think I inherited that from my
grandfather. He practiced medicine here in Sandersville until he was
well into his nineties, but for decades starting in the 1930's
traveled extensively on a regular basis in Central and South America."
When asked why he writes and how he chooses his plots,
Rawlings replies, "I think the most successful writers are those who
really understand what they are writing about.
It was not a conscious effort in the beginning, but I have discovered
that I love writing about the real South that still exists outside of
urban areas, about interesting characters based on people that I have
known, and about situations that-if they didn't really happen just as I
said they did-could have."
Rawlings's first novel The Lazard Legacy was
published by Harbor House in 2003 and
was a commercial success. His second novel The Rutherford Cipher,
also by Harbor House, debuted in September 2004. "It's got a great
plot," he explains. "For my readers I finally answer that old
mystery about what really happened to the Confederate gold…."

Rawlings's third novel The Tate Revenge was released
by Harbor House in September 2005. It's
the story of Nathan Bedford Forrest Finch, youngest son and (as his mother
said) “a change-of-life surprise” for a Vidalia Onion farmer and his wife
living near Soperton, Georgia. It has a complicated plot with a
“Southern” twist, starting off in Paris, moving to Savannah, and wending
its way across south Georgia before ending up in Atlanta. It involves
(in addition to Vidalia Onions), the travel industry, art stolen by the
Nazis during World War II, Paris and the Eiffel Tower, Serbian war criminals,
southern racists, Iranian terrorists, the Port of Savannah, the antiques
business, and Underground Atlanta.
His next novel,
Crossword, released in September 2006, brings back Matt Rutherford
and Lisa Li from The Rutherford Cipher. The story begins
when Matt is asked to help identify the severed head of a would-be hit
man. The intended target was Stewart Jarrard, a lawyer from
"up North" who has moved to the small Southern town of Walkerville
seeking a more relaxed lifestyle. Soon Matt is sucked into a
vortex of murder and conspiracy that carries him from the bright lights
of New York City to the calm luxury of the Georgia coast, all the while
pursued by an unseen enemy threatening his death. The plot moves
rapidly with wildly unexpected twists and turns. It has "more
peaks than the Himalayas," in the words of one reviewer.

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