Christian Peterson
news@greenepublishing.com
Carl Sagan once said, “One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is a voyage through time.” David Butler, of Hamilton County, is the embodiment of this quote. While not the most renowned author in the world, his books give insight into the life and culture of the Suwannee Valley and help breathe new stories about what was, what is and what could have been.
Butler was born Oct. 4, 1944, in Moultrie, Ga., to two loving parents, Frank and Caroline Butler. He grew up in Albany, Ga., eventually graduating from Albany High School in 1963. When he was 21 years old, in 1966, Butler joined the United States Army. He completed his basic training in Fort Gordon in Georgia. He was then directed to Fort Rucker in Alabama, for his advanced individual training. After completion, he began his military occupational specialty, fixed and rotor wing aviation. Shortly after completing training, Butler was sent on the first of two tours in Vietnam. He was stationed in several places during his service, and the entire time his wife, Barbara Jo, stayed with him. After 10 years, Butler left the service with a Bronze Star medal, six Air medals, an Army Commendation medal, an Army US Vietnam Service medal, a Vietnam Campaign medal, a Good Conduct medal and Senior Aircrew wings. He left the military at the rank of E-6.
After leaving the service, Butler traveled to Hamilton County and began working for his father-in-law on a poultry farm. He also attended North Florida Junior College, graduating in 1981 with his Associate of Arts Degree. His father-in-law owned multiple businesses and Butler hopped between them for a few years doing everything from farming to construction. In fact, during his construction time, he assisted in building the Hamilton County Jail and the Suwannee County Jail. He also worked for the Florida Department of Corrections for 30 years and retired as the Supervisor Construction Projects Administrator for Region II. After retiring, Butler pursued writing.
Butler knew he liked writing from an early age but didn’t start truly pursuing it until the early 2000’s. He began by writing short stories and sharing them with his family and friends, he received good reviews and created a blog to share them with the world. Eventually, a high school friend and accomplished author, Doug Dahlgren, encouraged Butler to have his stories published and Butler began writing professionally. Furthermore, he felt inspired by his favorite book, “A Land Remembered” by Patrick D. Smith. Butler says it is, “the best novel written about Florida.” The first book he published was, “Back Up Lavon” which is a collection of short stories that he had previously posted through his blog. Since then, he has published four books, all revolving around life in North-Central Florida. Butler is a proud storyteller and has a phenomenal memory, allowing him to tell interesting stories that keep an audience constantly entertained. While Butler has many strengths in his writing, he is also more than aware of his weaknesses, “Grammar! I require a good editor, or editors!” It usually takes Butler a year to get a book finished and published saying, “I’m slow and change my mind a lot.” He remains proudest of his first novel, “Ellaville,” which is the story of the Madison County ghost town.
Butler is currently working on his third book in the Ellaville series, “Return to Ellaville.” The series follows characters in the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department as they work to solve crimes and learn to work with each other.
To learn more about Butler or read his books, visit his Amazon store at amazon.com/stores/David-Butler, or visit his blog at Davidbwrites2.wordpress.com.