Friday, October 9, 2020

Corn Shuckins, Bootleggin’, and Gun Slingin’, oh My! with guest Pepper Basham



Hi Seeker villagers! Carrie here, and I am delighted to host my dear friend Pepper Basham today! Her new book, The Red Ribbon, released October 1st as part of Barbour's True Colors historical true crime fiction series! Take it away Pepper, my Pepper!

Corn Shuckins, Bootleggin’, and Gun Slingin’, oh My!
(Or… What Writing My First Romantic Suspense Taught Me)

by Pepper Basham

On a little knoll overlooking the green rolling hills of Fancy Gap, Virginia, stands an old, white Queen Anne style house quite out of place among the country businesses and small houses scattered nearby. It had always been such a curious sight as I traveled from my house “below the mountain” to high school “above the mountain” in Carroll County, Virginia, where I grew up. The Sidna Allen House—a place which carried rumors of a courthouse shootout, nationwide manhunt, and a massive feud, and it all started with a kiss.

As a teenager driving the winding roads of the Appalachian Mountains, I don’t think I ever imagined delving into the true story of this scar on Virginia history. It’s not a happy story. It’s a true crime.

And as I began my research, many times, there appeared to be no REAL heroes. So when I took the opportunity to bring this unknown tragedy to light through fiction, I struggled with several things.

1.      How do I walk the fine line between truth and respecting the generations of families who still live in my hometown with the lingering effects of this story?

2.      How do I write a story about something that still rings with unanswered questions today?

3.      But most importantly, how can I bring grace into this tragic tale so that the readers will see the hope of Christ in the middle of tragedy?

I’m not a suspense writer, guys. I’m a ROMANCE writer. I write KISSING BOOKS. What on earth was I doing writing a TRUE CRIME fiction?

Well this tragedy starts with a kiss so that helped 😊

Plus, I added a few extra kisses to sweeten the deal.

But this story was dark. Sad. It peeled back the culture I love and shone light on its underbelly. Most of my family STILL live in Carroll County, so the way I handled this story mattered.

Here are a few things I learned.

1.      Writing suspense is painful 😊 Seriously, I was sore from my jaws down after I finished this story. I like a little suspense here and there, but I’m not sure my body’s made for writing it on a regular basis. If you write suspense, do you have to see a chiropractor weekly or monthly? LOL

2.      Praise God for fictional characters! When I began working through the history of this story, my fictional hero, heroine, and a few secondary characters helped me weave hope, truth, and…romance into the darker creases of the true crime. Real people are fascinating, but sometimes, we just need to bring in a few make-believe people to round out the hardened edge of fact.

3.     Pain is pain, no matter the era, but kindness is universal too. Tragedy is no respecter of persons. Some pain we bring on ourselves and some happens to us because we live in a broken world. Life is HARD ya’ll! Writing this story just reminded me that pain has been around a long time, so has unforgiveness. What we all need is a lot more compassion, shorter fuses, quicker forgiveness, and quieter tongues. We also need a clearer perspective. Everyone has a backstory, and most of the time we don’t know the deeper hurts people carry which then influences their behavior. Compassion and kindness are universally beautiful and have the power to soften those hardened edges of tragedy and provide healing.

4.    We ALL need hope. Where would we be without it? At first, it was hard to find hope in the research of The Red Ribbon. The true events behind this story don’t have a happily-ever-after for many of the nonfiction characters, but as Christians we live in a dark world with the light of Christ’s hope shining into every shadow. It’s how we should think and breathe. And how much more light is needed when the story is so dark? That’s why, as Christians who write fiction, I think it’s important for us to keep that perspective. Our faith doesn’t have to preach on each page. It can be whispered throughout the story in the character’s actions, responses, and in the scenes, but of all things, our stories should carry the fragrance of hope within them. After all, we’re the storytellers of the God of Hope.

If Christ used story to bring truth and hope, it seems pretty natural for his kids to incorporate the same things into their stories. Don’t you think?

What books have you read lately that helped bring hope to your world? 

 About Pepper Basham & The Red Ribbon

An Appalachian Feud Blows Up in 1912
 
Step into True Colors -- a new series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime
 
In Carroll County, a corn shucking is the social event of the season, until a mischievous kiss leads to one of the biggest tragedies in Virginia history. Ava Burcham isn’t your typical Blue Ridge Mountain girl. She has a bad habit of courtin’ trouble, and her curiosity has opened a rift in the middle of a feud between politicians and would-be outlaws, the Allen family. Ava’s tenacious desire to find a story worth reporting may land her and her best friend, Jeremiah Sutphin, into more trouble than either of them planned. The end result? The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912. 

Amazon | B&N 

 As a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Pepper Basham enjoys sprinkling her Appalachian into her fiction writing. She is an award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance, mom of five, speech-language pathologist, and a lover of Jesus and chocolate. She resides in Asheville, North Carolina with her family. You can learn more about her on her website, www.PepperDBasham.com or connect on Facebook or Twitter.

 

Carrie is giving away a print copy of The Red Ribbon to one commenter! Can be international shipping as long as Book Depository ships to your country. 

What books have you read lately that helped bring hope to your world?

33 comments:

  1. Oh my stars, I just went and read about this massacre... and what a thick story to wade into, Pepper! And so many emotions still on both sides.

    Who says division is a 2020 entity???????

    WHAT A STORY???????

    Oh my word, Peps, you do have to step cautiously on this, don't you. I don't envy you but I know you can do it.

    But don't go home to Carrol County without a little heat in your pocket, girlfriend.

    #kiddingnotkidding

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    1. isn't it a fascinating story?!?

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    2. HAHA!! Well, I haven't had any mean emails yet, so I'm hoping that's a good start, Ruthy! LOL

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  2. Peppy, good morning, nice to see you in another venue. Passions do run deep in the mountains, don't they> And they have their own justice, kind of like the Old West which is my current background.
    I read "Laurel's Dream" and your work reminds me of Sharyn McCrumb, only with the thread of Christ and redemption running through it, which gives it a whole other dimension.
    Last book that gave me a strong sense of hope was Terri Blackstock's "Restoration" series, which I read early on in the pandemic. Please enter me in drawing.
    OTHER THAN THAT...figuring out a way to work around my husband's injury to meet my October writing goals and also do our winter prep around the house. A couple of church groups are supposed to come toward the end of the month. Takes a lot for me to ask for help, but this one really did push me over that edge.
    Went to OUR mountains yesterday, the Whites, not the Appalachians. It was a long day as I had to do all the driving, but worth it to soak in nature. The peak foliage season is past but there was still a lot of good color.
    Going out soon, may not be back, have a nice weekend.
    Kathy Bailey
    Kaybee in the fallen leaves or some such foolishness

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    1. Kaybee, I now have this mental picture of you sitting in a pile of leaves LOL :) And I'm so glad you asked for help - i wish i were there to do the helping! Praying for you as you juggle all the spinning plates (or something like that haha)

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    2. Mountains are lovely this time of year, especially, aren't they, Kathy? "I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and earth!"

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  3. I have absolutely enjoyed every book of yours that I've read, so thanks for being here to share the "behind the scenes" of this one. I don't read a lot of suspense--probably for that same reason you stated: it's too hard on my neck and shoulders! I haven't been reading a lot these days, but I'm all for stories of hope. It's something we need desperately and this is a good reminder that we always have. Thank you so much for your wonderful perspective!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Glynis! Well, my "suspense" book is more along the lines of adventure-suspense than scary-suspense, because I'm not a "scary book" person. And yes, boy, do we need hope!

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  4. Man! I think I will stick to my kissing books. :-) But I love that you stretched yourself and got out there to try something different and hard. And I LOVE your message about how we need to show hope in dark situations. Thank you for sharing part of your journey.

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    1. Anything Pepper writes is a kissing book - no matter the genre LOL

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    2. Haha! So true, Carrie! Gotta have those kisses in there! And Amy, I'm not usually a suspense book reader - and definitely not a 'scary book' reader - so The Red Ribbon has more "adventure-suspense" in it than "scary-suspense" :-)

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    3. Fear not, there’s plenty of worthwhile kissing happening...in fact, that’s where the problems started! It kept me on my toes but wasn’t scary.

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    4. Fear not, there’s plenty of worthwhile kissing happening...in fact, that’s where the problems started! It kept me on my toes but wasn’t scary.

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    5. Teri!! LOL. Worthwhile kissin' goin' on FOR SURE :-)

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  5. Pepper, wow. This sounds like a poignant and powerful read. I loved reading your heart for the situation as well as how you chose to weave hope and kindness into a dark event. I look forward to reading this one!

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    1. I love Pepper's heart for hope and kindness :) And for kissingbooks haha

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    2. Jeanne! Thanks so much!! I hope it will be a powerful read. If nothing else, it spoke to my heart, but I think the best books do, don't you? They speak to the author before they ever speak to the reader.

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  6. I was drawn in by the cover for sure. Thanks for the interview. I look forward to reading this story!

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    1. Thanks so much for dropping by, Nora! I ADORE the cover! It's the only one of my covers that my oldest son likes because it doesn't look super "romancy" :-) LOL

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  7. Hi Pepper!

    I'm looking forward to reading this story!

    This series fascinates me. When I read The Blue Cloak by Shannon McNear, I was hooked, and the rest of the books are on my TBR list.

    What is it about true crime that fascinates us? Is it coming face to face with the reality of evil and how real people confront it? If I wrote one of these, I'd have to have fictional main characters, too. I think it would be too easy to get caught in the heart-wrenching throes of the real story otherwise.

    Thanks for being here!

    Thanks for being here!

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    1. Hi Jan!! That's a great question. I do think it's the "reality' of it that we are fascinated by - but with the fictional aspect, we can bring a much needed either conclusion or hope within the tragedy. It's like that "spoonful of sugar" to help digest the pain of reality?

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  8. Wow! writing suspense sounds really hard. Thank you for the interview, it was really interesting. I love the cover, I feel like it leaves you with questions and makes you want to read the book.

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    1. thanks so much, Angeline! I really like the cover too - and writing this book WAS hard, but also incredibly encouraging because I had the chance to take that very hard truth of history and weave hope into it. There was something very satisfying about that

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  9. This sounds fascinating, Pepper. Please put me in the drawing. It does sound like it would have been difficult to write. True Crime is definitely a popular genre of reading. I work in a book store and our True Crime section is very popular.

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    1. that's really interesting, Sandy! I personally watch a lot of true crime shows on the Investigation Discovery channel but I haven't read any true crime nonfiction yet.

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    2. That is so interesting to me. I'm not a fan of true crime, as a rule, but there are just some stories that pull you in and you HAVE to stick around to learn about the whole thing :-)

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  10. I'm reading an e-copy of this book but I'd love to have a print one! The most recent book to bring hope was Finding Wings by Deborah Raney. jarning67(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Deborah Raney writes hope-filled stories for sure!

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  11. Pepper, welcome! Such interesting history! I went to read a bit about it before commenting and just now got here over an hour later! haha

    I'm sure it can be difficult to handle when you still have family there, but writing it as fiction helps to buffer that some. And with all the research I know you did, I bet people will be interested to see your version.

    I love that cover! So eye-catching. I'm going to have to buy the book! You've got me sucked right into the history. :)

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    1. isn't it intriguing, Missy? And that cover gives me all the heart eyes.

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  12. I just finished The Sanctuary by David and Beverly Lewis. Talk about a book that has a lot of twists and turns. It's a great romantic suspense story! Vivian Furbay jtandviv (at) q (dot) com

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