1Best Seller

A Chattanooga bookstore has named "Yesterday's Gone," the first novel
by a mother and son writing team from Chickamauga, it's regional best seller.

Books-A-Million placed Mary Agnes and Lamar Fine's book on its
Regional Best Seller List in January, and recently announced it was their
Number 1 Best Seller.

The Fines said they have been "elated" with the success of the novel, of
which more than 1,300 copies have been sold in less than six months.

"It's been a long hard road, but not one we've traveled by ourselves,"
Lamar said. "We've had a lot of help."

Area merchants stock the books in their businesses, and televison
stations and newspapers have featured stories about the book. The pair have
also spoken to many area church and civic groups.

The Fines went the route of many first time writers and submitted their
manuscript to the national publishing houses with little success.

"If you don't have a 'name' in the literary field, it's hard to get your work
published," Lamar said.

One of the larger publishers in New York City seriously considered
publishing "Yesterday's Gone," in fact it made the 'cut' to their final three
selections, but the publishing house elected to go with a previously published
author.

The Fines let the book sit for nearly a year before deciding it was too
good not to publish. They initially printed 1000 copies of the novel, but after
three weeks of sales, ordered 1000 additional copies.

The Fines said they always knew "Yesterday's Gone" was a good book,
and the readers have confirmed it with calls, e-mails, and letters, saying how
much they enjoyed the book. Many people have purchases second copies for
friends or family, and several people have told them it's the best book they've
ever read.

Before publishing "Yesterday's Gone," Lamar and Mary Agnes were
know across North Georgia for their work in the income tax business. Mary
Agnes founded Fine Income Tax Service 37 years ago, and Lamar was her
partner for 20 years. They retired from the tax business in 1998 to publish the
book they had been working on part-time for the last ten years.

"It's quite unique that a mother and son would co-write a novel,
especially a love story." Mary Agnes stated.

"Yesterday's Gone" is set in the Chattanooga/North Georgia area and
includes many recognizable landmarks. The time frame is 1971-1995.

"Yesterday's Gone" features two main characters, Jack and Mary, who
were teenage sweethearts and always assumed they would someday be
husband and wife.

Jack, a minor league baseball player, pursued a dream to make it to the
majors. Mary waited for awhile, then grew tired of waiting, and in the course of
one short summer, choices were made that altered their lives forever.

"Yestereday's Gone" spans 25 years in the lives of the character. The
story begins in 1971 on the eve of Mary's wedding to another man, and follows
both her and Jack in the their seperate lives over the the next 25 years, with
brief periods when their paths cross.

It's a story of real life, with its joy and sorrow, it's triumphs and
tribulations, and of holding on when there is little to hold on to. It is a story of
hope, and courage, and strength.

"Yesterday's Gone" is a love story, but it's more than that. It's a story
of life... real life... with its going ups and coming downs. It proves that by
believing in yourself and perservering, you can ultimately reach you dreams... at
least the important ones... and that while "Yesterday's Gone", tomorrow lies
ahead.

Lamar started the book and showed it to his mother when he had trouble
with a particular chapter. She told him the problem was that he was trying to
write "a woman's emotions from a man's point of view."

"She offered to re-write the section and when she returned it to me, it
blew me away. She had captured exactly what I had tried to say, but was
unable to do. It was at this point I invited her to join me in the writing, and
that's when the book really took off," Lamar said. "Not only did this enable us
to have both the male and the female perspective, but having each other to bat
ideas off of and to further develop those ideas made all the difference in the
world.

Mary Agnes said writing had been a life-long dream, but her busy
schedule of owning and operating her own tax practice, as well as rearing a
family, and other activities kept her from following her creating dream. She is
also Chairman of the Board of the historic Cove Methodist Church.

Working together for 20 years in the income tax business gave these two
a different relationship that the typical mother and son.

"I think because we worked together so long and so closely in the tax
business, writing together was a natural extension of that." Mary Agnes stated.

"We're really not sure what lies ahead. We have some ideas for a sequel to
"Yesterday's Gone", as well as some other novel ideas... We will continue to
promote and see where it leads from here. It's simply a good story that
deserves to be told. Where will it go? Time will tell."