Emily Flora | SWoCo

Jim Crowgey, a Southwest Roanoke resident, has written two books during his retired years and is working on another.

Jim Crowgey has released his second book, Guardian of Eden Springs, a sequel to his first-ever published book, The Battle of Eden Springs.

Crowgey said that he began writing the first book in 2007 and spent about eight or nine months writing it. He said that his daughter even helped him edit the book.

"I always wanted to write," said Crowgey, who was born in Wytheville.

Crowgey said that when he was a student at Virginia Tech he entered a writing contest with the newspaper and to his surprise, he won, which he didn't think was possible. Crowgey went to school to become an engineer and worked for GE in Salem for 35 years before he retired in 1997.

"I was exposed to a lot of good people in GE and in the valley," he said. "I'm blessed with a good memory."

He moved to Roanoke in 1950 and graduated from the old William Fleming High School, where he said he had an excellent English teacher, Mrs. Mason. He also lived in Abingdon for a while. During college at Virginia Tech he was on the wrestling team and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 1960.

"If there was one pivotal point in my life it was the Depression," Crowgey said. "I am the youngest of eight children. I didn't grow up during the Depression, we had everything we needed, but we saved everything. My mother said it was hard to find jobs but that if I became an engineer, I'd always have a job. So, that's what I did."

He traveled to many places, as well, including Russia and Australia during the Cold War.

He now enjoys writing for fun, working on his books, and writing a newsletter for his church at Windsor Hills.

"Whenever I get a chance, I like to throw some imagination in it," Crowgey said about his books. "I came of age in the '50s. I wanted to grab the reader at the first page and not let them go until the very end."

He said that his first book, "The Battle of Eden Springs," is set in a fictitious place in West Virginia called Eden Springs during the Civil War. It contains a villain, a coal mining baron and conflict between a layer and son who are caught in the middle of the coal mining business and lack of reclamation. After the battle is fought at Eden Springs all the bodies go missing and no one knows what happened to them. The book is based around the discovery of coal in 1951 and the conflict between saving their heritage or selling it.

"This book works through a mystery of why the Battle of Eden Springs was fought on a cold wintry day during the Civil War era. Once you get into it, it doesn't slow down."

"The Battle of Eden Springs" was released in 2008 and then Crowgey began a sequel, called "Guardian of Eden Springs." Crowgey's work began on the sequel last fall and was just released in this past spring. He said it took him about seven to eight months to complete it.

In the sequel coal magnate Robert Barker returns to Eden Springs after losing his strip mine there. Now a criminal, he seeks revenge during a reenactment of the Battle of Eden Springs.

"My books have elements of conflict, love stories, and hopefully humorous implications," Crowgey said.

He also said there will not be a third book to Eden Springs, but he does plan on writing another book set in West Virgina.

"To me, writing is like you're driving a herd of horses and they are all over the field but when you get to the end you have to corral all the horses in at the same time. That is what I've tried to do in these books," Crowgey said.

Trafford Publishing published both of Crowgey's books. They are available for purchase online at Trafford Publishing (traffordbooks.com), Southwest Plaza and Printer's Ink Bookstore for $14.95. Some of the proceeds that Crowgey makes from his book sales is donated to the Roanoke Area Ministries.

"I sure enjoy writing and I enjoy people reading it and if they come back and enjoyed it, that makes me walk on air."