R. Olin Jackson had always known his strengths for his life pursuits were concentrated in the creative writing realm. Raised in northwest Georgia, he volunteered for service in the United States Army in 1971, where he was trained as a military policeman and ultimately assigned to the security detail for the Army Commander of NATO, Gen. Michael S. Davison, in Heidelberg, Germany. His Army career responsibilities required him to travel throughout Europe, and while there, he often studied the voluminous aspects of European history. With his military obligation completed, he returned stateside where he pursued fulfillment of his education objectives in the form of undergraduate and master’s degrees in journalism and history. Olin cut his professional journalistic teeth as a speechwriter for a Georgia politician in the 1970s; as Director of Media Services and Sports Information for a major university and as a senior account executive with a major public relations firm in Atlanta in the 1980s. In 1985, Olin decided to strike out on his own, and founded Legacy Communications, Inc., where he became the award-winning executive editor and publisher of his flagship creations – North Georgia Journal and Georgia Backroads magazines – the premier travel and history publications of Georgia. In the interim, Olin also wrote/co-wrote and edited a selection of books, including Moonshine, Murder and Mayhem in Georgia (2003); Tales of the Rails in Georgia (2004); Georgia Backroads Traveler (2005); Georgia’s Doc Holliday (2006); We Shall Die Together (with Dan Roper) (2008); and Traced with Fire, Written in Blood (with Dan Roper) (2009). In 2005, after approximately 20 years of ownership and management of Legacy Communications and North Georgia Journal/Georgia Backroads magazines, Olin sold these business endeavors to pursue additional ventures. Georgia Backroads magazine is now in its 35th year (as of 2021) of publication under new ownership and management. In 2021, Olin founded Whippoorwill Publications, LLC. His current book projects within that realm include Mystery & History in Georgia, Volumes I & II; Old Mills in the Georgia Hills (chronicling the historic pioneer gristmills which once dotted the hill country of Appalachia in north Georgia); and Georgia Backroads Traveler, 2022, a renewal of the premier travel and history guide to the state’s scenic attractions and historic sites. Olin is married to the former Judy Grizzle of Dahlonega, Georgia. His son, Burke – by a previous marriage – and daughter-in-law, have produced two rambunctious grandchildren.