ON SUGAR HILL - Ane Mulligan - One Free Book

Welcome back, Ane. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about? Trusting God seems to show up a lot, but in this new release, On Sugar Hill, the theme of self-image is apparent. Women are so hard on themselves, comparing themselves to others by the world’s standards and not God’s.

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

By the Sweet Gum releases March of 2022. It takes place in a Georgia mill village in 1930.

She’s bound by duty. He’s tethered to a dream.

In the beleaguered mill town of Sweetgum, Georgia, Genessee Taylor dreams of a life beyond running the mill-owned hotel with her family. Though the work is honest, the owner of the mill is not. Genessee and her father long to see stronger labor laws passed to protect the innocent children who are injured and dying in the mill. When the owner learns of their activity, he will stop at nothing to silence them. 

Tommy Mack works at the mill and dreams of playing professional ball and marrying Genessee. When he’s contracted by a big-league team, his dreams are within grasp. Just as Tommy and Genessee’s wedding is on the horizon, tragedy strikes Sweetgum. Tommy can’t stay and Genessee can’t leave. 

Is there any way for them to battle through loss, deception, and sacrifice to find their way back to each other? If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

Carol Burnett. It’s no secret that I love theatre, and I wanted to be just like her when I was growing up. Her comedy is legendary, and she’s also a writer. She would have a lot of wisdom to impart.

What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why? I’ve always enjoyed the biographies of the U.S. Presidents’ wives. I suppose I’d pick one of them, and being that I’m writing during the Great Depression, I’d say Eleanor Roosevelt.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers? Don’t give up. It took me twelve years to get a publishing contract. Instead of fussing, I enjoyed the journey, making friends with writers, agents, and editors. I worked hard to keep improving my craft. I also learned to factor God’s timeline into mine. It was well worth the wait. By the time I got that illusive contract, I had three novels ready to publish and never faced a horrible deadline.

And I thought my eight-year wait was a long time. Tell us about the featured book.

On Sugar Hill

She traded Sugar Hill for Vaudeville. Now she’s back.

The day Cora Fitzgerald turned sixteen, she fled Sugar Hill for the bright lights of Vaudeville, leaving behind her senator-father’s verbal abuse. But just as her career takes off, she’s summoned back home. And everything changes. 

The stock market crashes. The senator is dead. Her mother is delusional, and her mute Aunt Clara pens novels that have people talking. Then there’s Boone Robertson, who never knew she was alive back in high school, but now manages to be around whenever she needs help. 

Will the people of her past keep her from a brilliant future?          

Please give us the first page of the book.

New York, October 31, 1929

Rumors soar in the wings of the Palace Theatre here in New York and everywhere else with a vaudeville stage. Normally, I don’t give credence to hearsay, but I have high stakes in this one. My career.

Vaudeville is dying.

With one finger, I draw back the curtain a quarter inch and peek out at the audience. This stage is my favorite spot in the whole world, where makeup can turn even a plain Jane like me into a beautiful woman. Here, I’m Dixie Lynn, adored by audiences, a success, a star—not Cora Fitzgerald, a disappointment.

In the first row, Madame Dressler, my vocal coach, watches all my performances and takes notes. Aware of the rumors, she says to leave what’s left of vaudeville behind and break into Broadway revues, I must perfect my singing voice. “Hard vork for expandink your vocal strength and range. Dat ees your tee-ket,” she tells me every week. I’d rather be an ingénue—a leading lady. But Madame Dressler says I don’t possess the required beauty. I need my voice.

As if I didn’t already know that.

Nobody’s certain from whence my other talent originated. The peculiar one. I don’t think it’s really a talent, just an ability, but as a four-year-old, I could make my dolls talk. By the time I was six, I could throw my voice across a room. I figured if I weren’t a beauty, at least I could be entertaining. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun that was. Mama and Aunt Clara thought it was funny when I’d frighten the servants and the senator half out of their wits. The senator had a different opinion.

With one more peek through the curtain at the full house, I signal ready to the stage manager and step into place in the center of the stage. I settle my ventriloquist dummy, Sugar, on the high, round table beside me and smooth her dress. The annunciator bearing my name slides into its window at stage right.

The curtain rises.

That sounds wonderful. How can readers find you on the Internet? I can be found on my website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, BookBub, Goodreads, Pinterest, Twitter, and The Write Conversation.

Thank you, Ane, for sharing this new book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read it. Remember, we both have a theater background.

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/3pijW2o - Paperback

https://amzn.to/3vOR0ld -Kindle

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