J. Richardson shares her time these days between her tiny house near her beloved Texas hometown and a getaway home on an Arkansas river. Her children, grand-children and two great grand-children are scattered across the large home state. She married her high school sweetheart.

The small adventures and rich life experiences are the inspiration for her writing. She and her hubby built, from scratch, five homes in the past nearly fifty years...a log house in the woods of East Texas, a lakehouse, a farmhouse, a cabin at the foot of the Colorado mountains and their present river house.

She published her first novel in 2013, with eleven to follow. There are also two youth (for ages 8-11 years) books published.

A pen name claims her writings because she states that many of her characters are based on friends and family. "Although," says Jo, "many are based on my years of observing people, characters I have met and from my overworked imagination."

Jo says, "I think the internet is such a fascinating tool for learning, to research new locations. Research is my favorite part of writing a novel. The social media sites are just not for this old gal, but the communications from my readers are a great joy for me. Writing has been a fresh and exciting experience for me."

"My favorite reads are mystery and humor. In recent years I've become very interested in the Preppers movement and the everyday person's options for survival of catastrophe. I enjoy reading the dystopian fiction and that led me to wanting to write my own stories on the subject."

At 7,000 feet above sea level, Cissy had lived for the last twenty years, with her adopted family, in the safety of their small community of survivors, sheltered from the conditions of the post catastrophe America. Some unexpected changes were coming to her haven and her private longing to explore beyond her home would be tested. Would she find the adventure she desired in the higher elevations around her or would dangerous threats await? Would this be the year that she and other people near to her could never forget? The rough and towering mountains hold the secrets.