Cathy Anderson Jones was once known as the Rhyme Time Storyteller, featuring the stories she wrote in front of students from entire schools.

But before that, the Ohio native admits she was too shy to perform even in front of her husband.

She began writing, she says, at the age of 19, right after her marriage and after accepting Jesus as her Savior.

Her husband, Tom, was working on the third shift, and when he came home she would say to him, “I wrote a song, would you like to hear it?

He would say yes, then she would say, “You have to get behind the door. “

And that’s how she sang to him, with him standing behind the bedroom door so she couldn’t really see him.

It might seem like a bit of a change, moving from that not only to reading her stories in the classrooms, but also actively signing her book autographs at the inauguration of the Readers’ Book Trail to Leaders. at Eubank Park on Saturday.

But, then again, she will admit that she has had a few years to gain confidence.

“I’m not trying to be rich or famous. I’m just trying, as a senior now, “- and here she laughs a little -” to fill out my to-do list and pull out a little book here and there. I have shared them in schools for all these years, and it would be a shame for them to sit on a shelf now. “

“Flowers of White” is Jones’ second published book, which was only released this spring. His first was written and illustrated by Jean Ann Cossey over 20 years ago.

Because it had been so long since she had written that first book, Jones and Cossey decided to update it. Then, while working on this project, Cossey asked Jones if she wanted Cossey to finally finish “Flowers of White” while she was at it. She had started it many years ago, but had not finished it.

Now, the recently released “Flowers of White” have been printed in large sheets and added to the wooden plaques that adorn a section of the Eubank Park walking trail.

This project, the Readers to Leaders Story Book Trail, was undertaken by the Lake Cumberland Leadership Class of 2020. In just a few months, this leadership class has brought a storybook to life and seeks to bring even more of it, into Cole, Rocky Hollow, Firebrook, Shopville, White Lily and Woodstock parks, and maybe a few more.

When asked what she thought of her participation in the trail, Jones replied, “I can’t tell you how [I am], and what joy it brings me to know that children and families will share this story. I don’t have the words. I’m just so glad I can share this way.

Jones said when contacted to participate in the trail she said she received the call as she was about to leave the house.

“I got in my car, and I just started praising God for letting me share this way, and I had tears running down my face. It blessed me so much.

She made history when her daughter Amanda, now 41, was still a child. She said “Flowers of White” was a true story, based on something her daughter said.

Jones said that one day Amanda saw flowers in a tree, and she was excited about them.

Jones explained that the flowers would bring apples.

A few days later, the flowers were all on the floor and Amanda started to cry. “She said, ‘Mom, the flowers are on the floor, there won’t be any apples.’ and I said, ‘Oh, you’ll be surprised. Go up the tree, you will see that there will be little apples.

And, of course, there was.

“When I went to sit down and write this story,” Jones said, “I had written a lot of Bible stories for my Sunday school class and then the Lord just put on my heart to see what I could do on my own. “

Then one day she was invited to tell a story to a class at a school, and her love for storytelling grew until she visited many different schools, libraries, and events with her tales.

“But then the kids always wanted a book. They were like, “I’m going to go to the library and take all your stories. And I’d say, ‘Honey, I’m a storyteller, I haven’t really got the books yet. I hope one day I will.

That’s why she published her first book all these years ago, just so the kids would have something to take with them.

Now that Jones has more time, she said she plans to work on more books, the next one being “The Grumpburger,” still based on a story she told school kids years ago.

“It’s just my hopes and dreams that I can make enough money to put out my next book and then the next one,” she said.

While she and her husband are both originally from Ohio, she said her husband’s father’s family is from that area, or “Jones Holler,” as she put it.

“White Flower” will be available on the Storybook Trail at Eubank Park for the foreseeable future. Leadership class representative Jessica Carlton said the hope is to be able to change books on each track once per quarter, with some books looking toward future leads.