Chapter I
The Writer
Stories live here first.
I write because It's where I find quiet. I quiet the loudest parts by putting them into stories.
That is the honest answer. The longer answer involves a porch in longview, MS. Aunt Lena who told stories the way other people breathe, and a long, slow education in paying attention to the things that most people walk past.
I write novels, essays, opinions, and poetry. I write for children and for grown-ups who still remember what it felt like to be one. Everything I make starts in the same place: ordinary life, looked at long enough to become extraordinary.
Books
The long form
Fiction & Literary
Dear Old Nicki: The Letters of Leshawn Jackson
An epistolary novel told through letters.
Before The Cicadas Quit
A novel. Kindle pre-order live — releasing August 15, 2026. Paperback August 22, 2026.
Children's Books
Cam's First Easter Speech
A joyful picture book about a child preparing for the big moment. 5 stars.
Young Squid: A Father's Love Song
A tender picture book about a father and his child.
Amira's First Day
Part of the Keep Going, Little Hero series. For the child who needs a push.
Libby's New Doctor
Part of the Keep Going, Little Hero series. Courage in the waiting room.
New Wheels For Wesley
Part of the Keep Going, Little Hero series. 5 stars, 2 reviews.
Blessed Assurance: & the Midnight Train
A story of faith, family, and the long road home.
All titles available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Kindle editions available for most.
View Full Catalog on AmazonEssays & Letters
The thinking out loud, the notes, and the letters
The Next Founders
A meditation on Generation Z, American renewal, and why the young people often dismissed by politics may become the next founders.
ReadWhy Sincerely, Donny?
This is my letter to the world. A place where I can share what I am creating, what I am learning, what I am growing, and what I am loving.
ReadIt Is Ok to Leave the Comfort of Your Hometown
Starkville was comfortable. So comfortable that I did not even realize how much of my life I was moving through from memory.
Read
Dear Young Black Boy, Daring Young Black Man
Your life does not belong to anybody else. Not your family, not your friends, not the people who only know how to love you when you are easy to understand.
Read
The Sacred Reset
A letter about recalibrating after disappointment, returning to yourself gently, and remembering that one painful moment is not the whole story.
ReadPoetry
The feelings I could not make prose
About Him
A love poem collection between Adam and Steve. Soft, honest, grown, and still becoming.
ReadFor Invited Readers
The Writing Room
A private space for work-in-progress. Drafts, fragments, early chapters, and writing that is not ready for the world yet but is ready for you.
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Enter the Writing Room"I write because I cannot figure out what I think until I put it into sentences. Everything else is just the long way around to that."Sincerely, Donny
Next
The Artist
Visual work, commissions, and the practice of making things with my hands.