There is just something about the mountains that draws, yes? And if you loved Christy and want to return to that beautiful setting in fiction, check out Pepper Basham’s next book.
 Carolinas, North Carolina , Appalachian Mountains , 1910s , 1900-1930 (US Early American) , Mercantile/Shop Keeper, Teacher, Writer , Basham-Pepper |
My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge: Laurel’s Dream Journey into the Blue Ridge Mountains of 1918 where Laurel McAdams endures the challenges of a hard life while dreaming things can eventually improve. But trouble arrives in the form of an outsider. Having failed his British father again, Jonathan Taylor joins is uncle’s missionary endeavors as a teacher in a two-room schoolhouse. Laurel feels compelled to protect the tenderhearted teacher from the harsh realities of Appalachian life, even while his stories of life outside the mountains pull at Laurel’s imagination. Faced with angry parents over teaching methods, Laurel’s father’s drunken rages, and bad news from England, will Jonathan leave and never return, or will he stay and let love bloom? |
|
*******************************************************************************************************
Questions about Pepper’s Story
What inspired your story?
I LOVE THIS STORY!!! 😊 This book came out of family history stories that my grandmother would tell me from as many as five generations back. Some of the characters are based on real-life people from my family history but most are just representations of people I grew up imagining as I’d listen to my granny’s stories. Having the opportunity to celebrate my Appalachian culture through the mode of creative writing, and allowing readers to ‘visit’ this disappearing culture, has been such an honor and joy.
Which scene is your favorite, the one you never tired of working with?
AHHHH!!! Only one???? Well, in the second chapter (spilling into the 3rd chapter) there’s this encounter with a mountain lion that was SUPER fun (and a little eerie) to write! It’s a great way to introduce the hero to the Appalachia culture with a little zing 😉
Did you stumble upon anything in your research for this book that made you sad?
Actually, both sad and ‘aha’ – in Appalachia there was a lot of alcoholism, but for a portion of folks in this area (particularly men) they had this very strange way of being drunk. Seasonally, actually. My granny would share stories of men staying drunk during winter, but working 9 months out of the year (spring-fall) without any ‘drunk’ spells at all. When I started doing research about this, there were a few articles relating Seasonal Affective Disorder to the type of alcoholism that was happening in the mountains. With the natural darkness of the days, combined with the ‘darkness’ of the surrounding mountains, AND the relative remoteness of being stuck in those mountains during the cold winter – it started making a lot of sense.
*******************************************************************************************************
Questions about Pepper’s Reading
 |
What was the last Christian Historical Novel whose characters stayed in your head days after you finished reading it? A Name Unknown by Roseanna White |
 |
Which book got you hooked on reading Christian Historicals? Mary Connealy’s books – beginning with Petticoat Ranch 😊 |
 |
What Christian Historical Novel in your To Be Read pile is begging you to make time to plop down with it right now? Laura Frantz’s novel A Bound Heart |
Pepper is giving away winner’s choice of a paperback book (USA entrants only) or an ebook (Worldwide entrants). Enter the Rafflecopter below!
**If you don’t want to enter Rafflecopter, tell me in a comment below: “I’m not entering the rafflecopter, but please throw me in the hat” so I can manually put you in there for a chance.**