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If you’re a fan of the best-selling novels by lawyer-turned-author, John Grisham, then you know that his latest book, The Associate, hit bookstores in late January.  About 2.8 million copies of Grisham’s twenty-second novel were released in the United States, and if readers respond to this book as they have to previous works, Grisham is sure to have another hit on his hands.

One of the always colorful characters in Grisham’s new book is described as a ‘thirty-year-old single female attorney, a rising star on the fast-track to a partnership.’  Her name is Sherry Abney.  It’s no coincidence that this character shares a name with real-life Cumming resident, Sherry Abney. 

It turns out that Sherry’s husband, David Abney, went to Delta State University in Mississippi in the mid-70s with John Grisham for a semester.  While the two never met in college, they were introduced in early 2008 at a fundraising event for the university’s baseball program.  “Grisham had been invited as a special guest to the fundraiser by legendary baseball coach, David ‘Boo’ Ferriss,” explained Sherry Abney.  “The funny thing is that John attributes his writing career to Coach Ferriss because it was Ferriss who broke the news to John that baseball was just not his sport.”

During Grisham’s brief stay at Delta State, he tried out for the Statesmen baseball team, with dreams of becoming a professional baseball player.  It was fellow player, Stewart Cliburn who played a role in squelching Grisham’s dream.  Cliburn was a former pitcher with the Statesmen and former major leaguer who struck out Grisham during practice one day.  “Grisham just wasn’t good enough, and Coach Ferriss was the one who had to tell him that baseball wasn’t going to work for him and cut him from the team,” said David Abney.  Ferriss himself had been a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

“This must have been a turning point in his life, because after one semester at Delta State, Grisham attended Mississippi State for four years and then got his law degree from Ole Miss,” said David.  As the saying goes, ‘the rest is history.’  Grisham began writing about what he knew best and has penned some of the most captivating novels about law, lawyers and the criminal justice system.

The Abneys had the opportunity to meet Grisham at a private alumni function during the 2008 fundraiser at Delta State, and one of the silent auction items was a bid for the rights to have one’s name included in Grisham’s next book.  The Abneys found themselves recipients of the silent auction item, and David suggested his wife’s name be included in the book.

"I had no idea what kind of character John was going to cast me as, so I was pretty nervous when the book arrived on my doorstep the day before it was going to be published nationwide,” laughed Sherry.  “When I flipped through the book and found the first mention of the Sherry Abney character, I was relieved that she was a smart, decent and upstanding character!”

“We’ve been having a good time with this.  Sherry has had friends drop by the house with a copy of The Associate, asking for her autograph,” shared David.  “We were so glad we had the opportunity to meet John, and we both found him to be a nice, down-to-earth guy, and were impressed that he was willing to donate his time and talents to a school and a baseball program that are obviously close to his heart.”  

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