Jacob Lassiter

Jacob Lassiter was born and raised in the Deep South during the turbulent segregation and civil rights era of the 1960's. During his life he has had the unique opportunity to witness some of the most socially volatile and politically unstable situations on four continents.  From post-communistic Russia  and  Ukraine,   deep in the  Amazon basin, to 

A look inside the Bleu Gallery on the historic Square in Dahlonega, Georgia


The Unique Crescent Moon Cover-Art


     Long before he submitted By The Blood Of The Crescent Moon for publication, Jacob Lassiter knew exactly how he wanted the cover-art to appear. While a college student in 1972 he saw the movie Deliverance that was adapted from James Dickey’s epic novel by the same name. The movie starred such notable actors as Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox.

     Deliverance tells the story of four friends from Atlanta who decide to canoe the challenging rapids of a North Georgia river before the Army Corps of Engineers completes work to convert the area into a large recreational fresh-water lake. During the trip an unspeakable tragedy occurs as a local mountain man is murdered after terrorizing and assaulting one of the four men. Frantic to conceal the killing, the body is buried in a shallow grave--soon to be covered over and forever buried under several hundred feet of lake water. 

     At the end of the movie the Jon Voight character is tormented by a nightmare in which the calm surface of the lake is suddenly pierced by a desperate hand reaching up toward the sky. The picture of that grim and determined hand was etched in Lassiter’s mind and eventually became the predominate image for his novel depicting a hate-crime in the Deep South that was never supposed to be solved.

    Lassiter’s search for an artist with the unique gift of capturing the essence of such a heinous crime took him to Dahlonega, Georgia and the Bleu Gallery--home of the renowned still-life artist, Michael Miller. “As soon as I stepped into the Bleu Gallery and saw Michael’s work, I knew he was the one I wanted to commission to paint the cover. I gave him five specific things I wanted to cover to include, and then I left him to develop it as he thought best.”

    A few weeks later Lassiter dropped in at the gallery to see Michael’s preliminary sketch. “I was completely blown away the moment I saw the hand rising up out of the Chattahoochee River. It was exactly as I had envisioned it.” A few additional weeks were required to fine-tune the portrait and complete the details (including the mysterious missing crescent moon fingernail). 

    Jacob Lassiter is pleased to announce that Michael Miller has already been commissioned to create and produce the cover-art for the Crescent Moon sequel, Iron Cross/Southern Cross.   He will also produce all of the cover-art for the for the upcoming Ethan Aronov Series.

     The artist’s website is: michaelmillerartist.com. The Crescent Moon portrait is on temporary loan to the Bleu Gallery and may be seen during gallery hours. 
Click here to visit Michael Miller's website. 
Click here to purchase any of Jacob's books on Amazon.com
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the AIDS ravaged country of Uganda in East Africa, Jacob Lassiter has witnessed human suffering, poverty, social-injustice and want on a scale unimaginable to most. 

He is currently at work finishing The Killing Field, the third volume of The Detective John Landreith Series. Other current projects include The Wanted Book--the debut novel of the exciting new Ethan Aronov Series due out Winter 2014.  Jacob's newest novel, The Hiker, is now complete and available on Amazon.com.