THE RED RIBBON - Pepper Basham - One Free Book

Dear Readers, The first of the True Colors, historical true crime stories published by Barbour Publishing I read was BLACK MIDNIGHT by Kathleen Y'Barbo. I loved it so much I started looking for more of the True Colors books. THE RED RIBBON is way different from the first book, but it is wonderful. This is the first Pepper Basham book for me. Her writing is wonderful. It kept me reading every minute I could squeeze into my busy days. It reveals a lot in the time period and setting in the Appalachians. Don't miss this wonderful read. 

Welcome, Pepper. Why do you write the kind of books you do? Well, I’ve always loved stories, as far back as I can remember. Real stories and fiction. Loved them all! My favorite stories were always the once that left hope behind, so I think that’s what I find the greatest joy in – creating stories that leave hope behind, no matter the genre. Our broken world can look bleak sometimes, but the beauty of the Gospel is that there is ALWAYS hope – even when a Savior is in the tomb…but Sunday is on the way. It’s my desire to bring the beauty of grace into all of my stories, whether overtly or subtly, so that people are left with the lingering awareness of hope.

 

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life? The day I became a mom. I am grateful beyond words that God not only allowed me to be a mom, but to be one 5 times over (and a 6th that I haven’t met yet in heaven).

 

How has being published changed your life? Mostly it’s added more structure to my writing world with deadlines and marketing expectations, but one of the best things it’s done is create more opportunities to share in the book-loving reader world. There are so many wonderful readers out there!!

 

What are you reading right now? I am reading Kara Isaac’s Start With Me. Just finished Daddy Longlegs by Jean Webster.

 

What is your current work in progress? I’m working on two books simultaneously, which is my MO. A Christmas novel that comes out in October with Barbour called The Mistletoe Countess, and a contemporary romantic epistolary which has yet to find a publishing home 😊

 

What would be your dream vacation? Always UK and Ireland. If I could take my family along, that’d be perfect!

 

How do you choose your settings for each book? I usually write about the places I love. Appalachia and the UK. So far, those settings have organically fit my stories. I don’t think I have any books set in any other places than that so far. I’m not averse to trying new settings, but there’s so much within those two to draw upon, I don’t know that I’ll need to venture elsewhere for a while 😊

 

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why? I have NO idea!! I mean, culturally, I’d love to hang out with Jennifer Garner, Robert Downey, Jr, or Chris Pratt and his family 😊 Spiritually, I’d love a chance to sit down and talk with Tim Keller or Sinclair Ferguson (plus, I’d get to go to Scotland to chill with Ferguson). A pipe dream top two would definitely be Queen Elizabeth or Julie Andrews. I just can’t imagine how remarkable it would be to have a conversation with either of those ladies.

 

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading? Enjoying the Blue Ridge Mountains, hanging out with my family, making graphics (I love visual stuff), and I work as a speech-language pathologist, so that takes up a lot of my time.

 

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it? Probably time and comparison. I have a lot of story ideas, but not as much time to write them all 😊 But the bigger problem is that I become discouraged by comparison, which isn’t what I’m SUPPOSED to be doing, but my heart is still tempted to go there. The time-thing? Well, there’s not much I can do about that except use what time I have well. The comparison thing? That’s a spiritual-heart problem that needs my focus to change from me to who Christ says I am and what He’s called ME to do – not someone else. When I get my mind straight about that, then my heart follows. He’s called me to be me and write the stories He’s given me right here and now. When I shift my focus to pleasing Him instead of feeling sorry for myself, my heart and head get in the right direction 😊

 

What advice would you give to a beginning author? Write for yourself and God, first. Knowing that you love what you do for you and that you’re glorifying God by what you do, first, that will help you with the myriad challenges that come after that. And write. Don’t just talk about writing. If God’s called you to write, then sit down and do it. It’s impossible to sell an empty page.

 

Tell us about the featured book. The Red Ribbon is a true crime historical romance novel that is set in 1912 Appalachia and features the Hillsville Courthouse Tragedy/Massacre. There’s bootleggin’, corn shuckin’, corrupt cops, and dangerous kisses, all wrapped up in a story about two best friends who, not only discover a feud waiting to explode, but a romance waiting to bloom.

 

Please give us the first page of the book.

If you’re gonna court trouble, you’re bound to find a marriage of misery.

Granny Burcham

December 1911

The coming dusk cast gray shadows across the box-shaped build­ings of Main Street, Hillsville, as Ava Burcham kept a vigilant watch toward Beaver Dam Road. The chill of the December evening slipped beneath the collar of her coat, inciting a shiver, but she shook it off. With a noiseless advance, she slid a few steps farther down the street toward the north of town, weaving in and out of shadows cast by the hodgepodge of rectangular buildings.

For three months, whenever she’d come to town, she’d kept watch on the events that took place at this particular corner. She’d finally narrowed down the peculiar events to a specific day. Thursdays. A young boy carrying a crate would run up to a clump of bushes, pause a moment at the edge, and then run off in the opposite direction, his crate much less cumbersome than before.

Clutching the strap of her ever-present satchel, Ava slid behind a tree as a dark figure appeared on horseback from Beaver Dam Road. She’d never gotten this close to the rider before, but he’d come every single time about an hour after the boy’s drop-off. If Ava guessed right, it was an exchange for liquor, likely the illegal sort, from the way they were behaving. She tugged her coat closer around her shoulders. With one good look at the man on horseback, enough to identify him, she could turn him into the law, but they weren’t likely to believe her with­out more to go on than vague accusations.

Especially from the likes of her.

The man slid from his horse and approached the bushes. Ava moved a little closer, carefully keeping to the shadows.

 

How can readers find you on the Internet? I LOVE connecting with readers! They can learn more about me at www.pepperdbasham.com or via Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter.

FB – https://www.facebook.com/pepperdbasham/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pepperbasham/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/pepperbasham

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/pepperbasham/

Thank you, Pepper, for sharing this book with me and my blog readers. I know they will love it as much as I did.

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/3ks2JiM 

https://amzn.to/3lsJHKz

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