THE PLAYBOOK: INTRODUCING AN INSPIRING STORY OF PERSEVERANCE, LEADERSHIP AND HOPE
My Books
Every book I write begins with a spark. Sometimes, it’s a true story whispered across a table, other times it’s a single image I see or a line of history that refuses to be forgotten. From that spark comes a journey that blends the grit of real life with the hope that lives in all of us.
The Playbook
Set against the backdrop of high school football, The Playbook is about more than the game. It’s about leadership, second chances, and the lessons that last far beyond the final whistle. It’s a story of struggle, friendship, and the courage to stand up for what’s right.
COMING SOON
Judgment Tree
In the heat of the Civil War near Gettysburg, Colonel Axel Strong is left for dead in a wagon of corpses. In south Georgia, a young farm boy named James Booth is chasing the glory of battle. And in New York City, Roscoe Pierce is making a fortune selling other men’s lives instead of his own. Eventually, these lives collide in a story of loyalty, sacrifice, and redemption that proves that even in the darkest times, the human spirit can rise.
Gary E. Parker's Previous Novels
Soon to be Re-released
The Blue Ridge Legacy Series
“Blue Ridge Folks keep their tales in their minds, folded up like a stack of quilts, just
waiting for the time when they can pull them out and spread them open.”
Highland Hopes
A Doubleday Crossings Book Club Main Selection and a Christy Award Finalist
In this powerful first episode in the Blue Ridge Legacy Series, Abigail Porter, an unpretentious 100-
year-old matriarch, recounts the astounding events of her life, beginning with the tragic circumstances of
her own life. Out of Abby’s rich memory, the struggles and triumphs of “growing up in the hollers of the
Blue Ridge Mountains,” spring to life.
Highland Mercies
“In bleak times a body’s true character pushes out, kind of like the new rocks that
show up in the cornfield after a hard winter.”
In this poignant sequel to Highland Hopes, Abigail Porter Waterbury faces the challenges of
motherhood in the midst of the Great Depression, while also reeling from the economic adversity that
has brought her husband’s law practice to a point of collapse.
Folklorist Gary E. Parker takes readers back to the Blue Ridge mountains of a century ago,
rendering up a portrait of a distinctive era through the lives of hard-to-forget characters.
Highland Grace
“You’d think that once a family gets the wolf away from the door that most of
the worst temptations would pass. But a full belly seems to bring on as much trouble
as an empty one does.”
The latter half of the twentieth century is a time of great upheaval in Abigail’s family.
Though her courage is as sturdy as the mountains she calls home, her children and
grandchildren struggle mightily to hold onto each other and the values that have made
them who they are.
In this moving conclusion to the Blue Ridge Legacy Series, author Gary E. Parker again colorfully
portrays life in the highlands of Appalachia, complete with characters who spring life-like and
unforgettably from the pages.
Check for Other Re-releases to Follow
Film Scripts
The Playbook
Feature or Limited Series
The coach is a woman lawyer who’s never coached a game in her life. The starting quarterback is black and brilliant and just found out he’s got bone cancer. The backup QB is white, has a learning disability, a mom in rehab and loves music more than football. Together, they’re supposed to win a championship.
A former big city lawyer becomes the head coach of a small-town football team and outruns past struggles and present controversies to lead her team to a championship game.
Judgment Tree
(Inspired by A True Story)
Feature or Limited Series
When a young Civil War soldier is arrested for desertion to see his dying wife, a war-torn colonel offers his own life to save the boy from the hangman’s noose.
When a Confederate colonel, left for dead after Gettysburg, learns his son has gone missing in enemy hands, he embarks on a dangerous journey to keep a promise he made to his wife even if it costs him his life. Along the way, his path collides with a determined farm boy chasing the glory of war and a cunning New York broker selling other men’s lives in place of their own. In a time when loyalty is tested at every turn, the price of redemption may be more than any of them can pay.
Boneka Kecil
(Inspired by A True Story)
One Woman. Three Interracial Children. And a Heart Big Enough to Embrace a Nation at War.
When the Japanese invade Indonesia and imprison her husband, Anna De Ruyter fights to protect her family with the only weapons at her disposal—her smarts and her heart.
The Messengers
A Christmas Story
A young war veteran with a drinking problem meets three mysterious strangers on Christmas Eve and their message changes him and his family forever.
Roadside Stand
A troubled teenage girl forces her father, a broken covert agent, to do again the things that broke him to rescue her boyfriend who’s discovered a plot to steal a presidency.