About The Author

Raised in northwest Georgia, R. Olin Jackson attended the schools of Polk County and the University of Georgia in Athens before volunteering for service in the United States Army in 1971. There, 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, Olin often studied the endless aspects of European history. With his military obligation completed in 1974, he returned stateside where he completed an undergraduate degree in journalism in 1977, and then earned a master’s degree in political science history.

By 1985, Olin had decided to strike out on his own.  He founded Legacy Communications, Inc., where he eventually 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.  He parlayed this endeavor into a long and fruitful career.

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).

After approximately 18 years of ownership and management of Legacy Communications and North Georgia Journal/Georgia Backroads magazines, Olin sold these business endeavors in 2005 to pursue other interests. Georgia Backroads magazine is now one of the longest-running publications in the state, continuing under new ownership and management.

In 2021, Olin founded Whippoorwill Publications, LLC.  His current literary projects within that realm include Mystery & History in Georgia, Volumes I (2021) & II (2023); Some Genealogy Keys To Some Georgia Family Trees (2023); Memories of Army Life and MPs of the 529th (2023); John Henry “Doc” Holliday (2023); Gunmen, Lawmen, and Wild Men of Early Georgia (2024) and a selection of original poems in a publication entitled After All That We’ve Been Through (2023). Olin also has plans for a renewal of the popular Georgia Backroads Traveler which highlights the scenic and historic travel destinations in the state, and has completed much of a work of historic fiction entitled Whippoorwill Hill.

Olin is married to the former Judy Grizzle of Dahlonega, Georgia.  His son, Burke – by a previous marriage – is a successful homebuilder in Cherokee County.  Burke and his wife have produced two rambunctious and beautiful grandchildren – Alexander and Catherine.