Tahlequah Man Makes New Life As Published Author

Ever think to yourself, if I just had the time, I could spin a pretty good yarn and maybe write a novel?

A temporary bout with bad health gave a Tahlequah single dad the time, and he not only wrote and published one novel, he wrote six.

D. W. Jackson sits on his couch, working on novel number seven.

"I've sold 30,000 books in my first year which puts me in the top 5 percent of self-published authors," Jackson said.

It wasn't that long ago Jackson was a correctional officer in the Oklahoma prison system. The whole story changed when he decided to adopt the two kids his sister was fostering. Eddie and Katy.

"I was working at Stringtown, but when I adopted the kids, they were living down here," he said.

He transferred to be closer so the kids wouldn't have to move again. He got sick - spent a couple of weeks in the hospital.

"You can only watch TV for so long, so I started working on a book," said author D.W. Jackson.

He had some family members read it; they suggested he publish it. That was the beginning.

"I sold enough to pay the bills, so I wrote the next one."

His stories are all set in the Middle Ages. He loves the time period, but it requires lots of research - clothing, weapons, houses.

"If you mess something up small, they'll notice it," he said of his readers and fans.

One soldier wrote him from Afghanistan.

"The only thing I don't like about the book is I have to wait for the sequel," Jackson quoted the soldier.

His life has really changed and in a hurry. He's adopted two beautiful kids and found a new career.

"I hardly have time to leave the house; I work about 14 hours a day," Jackson said.

If you find something you truly love, it's really not work, is it.