William Mathis was born in Chattanooga and grew up near the two major battlefields featured in Chickamauga Dreaming: A Novel on the Civil War's Enduring Impact. Although he moved to British Columbia after marrying a Canadian, the author's continuing fascination with the complex historical and geographical character of Chattanooga resonates in his novel. The numerous monuments and markers that visibly reflect the Chattanooga area's heritage inspired Mathis to probe the psychological and emotional connections between the modern South and the Civil War. His novel-in-progress is also set in Chattanooga.