Former Alabama A&M PR director channels decades of experience into first novel

HUNTSVILLE — After a storied career as Alabama A&M University’s Director of Public Relations, Jerome Saintjones has turned the page – literally and figuratively – with the release of his debut novel, “The Chinaberry Tree.”

Published this month, the work marks a bold literary entry from a voice long attuned to the power of storytelling.

Saintjones recently retired after 32 years at Alabama A&M, where he also earned his Ed.S. degree in higher education administration. While his professional legacy includes decades of measured communication and institutional diplomacy, his first novel breaks those confines with unflinching candor.

“I’d be the first to admit that ‘The Chinaberry Tree’ isn’t for everyone,” said Saintjones. “It is keenly important to me that the book comes across as immensely engaging, even if sometimes crude, provocative and unapologetic.

“That’s primarily been the world as I’ve seen it, and I, in turn, have held no punches; there’s no tactful P.R. guy smoothing things over.”

At the heart of the novel is Arnold Giovanni, a white professor at a historically Black college in a small Southern town. His obsessive fascination with Black culture – and Black women – serves as the gateway into a layered exploration of race, identity, voyeurism, and authenticity.

Much of the novel’s narrative unfolds through The Chinaberry Tree, a local bar that becomes both sanctuary and stage. There, Arnold listens, engages, and chronicles the lives of those around him, drawing inspiration from their stories in a way reminiscent of a modern-day Chaucer.

Arnold’s journal, a personal anthropological project, becomes a crucible in which notions of identity, power, and authenticity are tested. Whether he is granted a seat at the proverbial table – or cast away as an interloper – is a central tension of the novel.

“The ‘Tree’ likely covers every emotion possible,” said Saintjones. “And, at a time when attention comes at a premium, I hope it will capture readers until the very last page.”

Saintjones is a native of Tuscaloosa and a rare alumnus of all three of the state’s land-grant universities: Tuskegee University, Auburn University, and Alabama A&M University.

He and his wife Marilyn, a Los Angeles native, live in Huntsville and are the parents of one daughter, Morgan.

For more information, visit thechinaberrytree2025.com or email [email protected].