I n 1954, Susan Lindsley of Peabody High School, ’54, met American-famed author Mary “Flannery” O’Connor, ’45. Although Lindsley’s mother was childhood friends with O’Connor’s mother, Regina, when both lived in Milledgeville, Georgia, it wasn’t until after Regina and O’Connor left Savannah and moved to Andalusia that Lindsley and O’Connor met. The O’Connor land and Lindsley land shared a mile-long fence for many years, even before Regina and O’Connor moved to Andalusia. 

“Flannery walked into my house on her crutches, carrying a smile,” Lindsley said. “When I saw her dressed in her deceased father’s clothes, I loved her instantly, for I wore dirty jeans and a sweat-soaked shirt.”

O’Connor told Lindsley that she wore her father’s clothes, because it would be a waste to discard them.

“Genius and very practical, with a barn full of common sense,” Lindsley said.

Regina came over to talk “farm business” with Lindsley’s mother.

“They had a rousing conversation,” Lindsley said. “Flannery spoke barely a word after introductions, but sat and listened. I began to wonder if she were already plotting a new story based on the political topics of conversation.”

O’Connor was a great listener. Then, she wrote about everything happening around her and even included her mother, Regina, in many of her stories.

When displaced World War II refugees worked on Andalusia, O’Connor took notice and wrote about them, as well.

“Flannery could take reality and give it a twist, usually while laughing,” Lindsley said. “It didn’t matter how serious the moment was. She could see the humor in any situation.”

When O’Connor first showed Lindsley the room where she wrote, she noticed her desk didn’t face a window or the door to her room.

“Flannery told me to always face the wall, because if I didn't, I could be easily distracted,” Lindsley said. “So, I always face the wall when I write. It really works.” 

Since Lindsley lived outside of the city, she didn’t enjoy the same close-knit associations that many of her Peabody School classmates had. She wrote often, spending her lunch hour and time at home writing.

One of her favorite written works is a poem about a tree that she wrote while she was a student at Mercer University. That poem took first place in the university’s poetry contest.

“Everyone said it was about the crucifixion and resurrection, but it was only about a tree,” Lindsley said. “Therefore, I hesitate to interpret any meaning into another’s works.”

Lindsley also wrote her first novel while in college and her second before age 25.

“As an inspiration, Flannery wrote about everything going on in Milledgeville, which taught me that it's okay to write about anything,” she said. “I especially love the twist she used in her stories.

“A Confederate Civil War Veteran sat on stage at Georgia College & State University (GCSU) when his much younger wife graduated,” Lindsley said. “A Late Encounter with the Enemy” is the same event basically, but O’Connor put a twist on it.”

Lindsley also likes to add something unexpected to her short stories. 

Inspiration to create a story can come at a moment’s notice.

“Sometimes I wake up from a dream at three o'clock in the morning and hit the computer,” she said. “In one of my stories, I dreamt about a guy going fishing who had not been on vacation. But when he opened his refrigerator, it was already full of fish.”

One of Lindsley’s nonfiction books includes her adventures as a counterfeit game warden who, with the aid of fellow hunters, was in pursuit of poachers. She also wrote a couple of books based on events happening while she attended college.

Overall, Lindsley wrote 18 books. The last one, “Return to Yesterplace,” has a list of all her books in it. Through the years, she has received more than 80 accolades including certificates, plaques and medallions for her stories, poems, limericks and books.

Today, Lindsley’s penning a set of two nonfiction books about white-tailed deer. She’s inspired by observing their activities in her yard. One book covers the deer and all the activities they go through, from infancy up until they die. The other book covers the life, sexual growth and activities of the bachelors. The first book will be released in late 2022.

She says writing fiction or nonfiction is work, but it is fun to her. 

Her fiction books include the adventures of her friends who hunted with her. She also writes about Milledgeville and Baldwin County characters including politicians, cattle rustlers and moonshiners.

Some of her works are based on actual events in Milledgeville and Baldwin County history. Lindsley still gets emotional remembering some of them.

“I feel laughter and anger,” she said. “I still laugh when I think about the gal who forced lawmen to take her on a still raid. At times, I’m angry about some of the politics and crime.”

On the lighter side, the extent of Lindsley’s imagination can be discovered in her books.

“It’s fun to have a lion jump out of a TV set or Bigfoot save a hunter’s life,” she said, “also, to let someone die and be resuscitated and then paint portraits of those he met in the hereafter.”

O’Connor inspired Lindsley to use people she knows as characters, as well as local events and sites in her writing.

“Flannery encouraged me to write about who and what I know,” she said. “I still write about the people and events I know of, unless I go off into some weird world of space or time warped age or the inhabitants of an unknown world or a dream.”

Eventually, Lindsley’s wishes are to pass on the copyright of her creative works to GCSU, as both her parents were professors at the university. GCSU was also alma mater to Lindsley, her mother, aunts and sisters.

She hopes her poetry will make people cry, laugh or simply enjoy her work; her fiction will make readers look behind the story for the reality based on true events; and her wildlife books will teach others to enjoy and spend time with nature and support the habitat.

“Some of my writings deal with race and situations from my youth,” Lindsley said. “Some deal with nature. Some deal with crime and punishment. And some are just fun. I want the times pictured to be remembered as they were.”

Learn more about Lindsley’s publications.