Many creative writers are story tellers.
Giles, one of Kentucky's best known writers, lived for 30 years and most of her writing life at Knifley, Kentucky. Because Giles was a meticulous researcher, her fiction and nonfiction works are accurate. Stuart suggests that because Giles herself had to overcome many hardships in life, she understood her characters and could write authentically. Dianne Stuart, whose own life reflects courage and optimism and who is a meticulous researcher herself, presents Janice Holt Giles sensitively. Stuart, who has been reading Giles since 1956 and researching Giles' life for several years, feels that Giles' pioneer strength and sense of adventure helped her face and conquer many hardships.