East Central Community College alumnus Dr. Jim Crenshaw (center) of Brandon is shown presenting copies of his book, The Real, to Leslie Hughes (right), director of the College’s Burton Library, while retired faculty member Ovid Vickers looks on. Crenshaw, a Newton native who attended EC during the summer months of 1981 and 1982, was a student of Vickers who plans to write a review of Crenshaw’s mystery/thriller. Crenshaw, who writes under the pen name of James Cole, said The Real was first conceived while he was attending the University of Mississippi, where he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1995. His work on the book was an on-again, off-again proposition and it was not until this summer that The Real finally became a reality. Dr. Crenshaw is the son of long-time Newton residents Mason and Joan Crenshaw now residing in Madison, and is married to the former Stephanie Copeland, also of Newton. For more information on Dr. Crenshaw and The Real, visit his Web site, www.secretrealms.com.