Author Spotlight - Excerpt from Renovations

Thanks so much for visiting the Desert Breeze Blog this week. We hope you have a memorable Thanksgiving. Theresa thanks you for visiting as well. Leave a comment here on the excerpt post today, Saturday and Sunday and I'll pick a winner on Monday to receive a PDF Copy of Theresa's Renovations.

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Moderator Steph

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Blurb for Renovations --

Was she making a big mistake?

Megan Callaway now owned Green Oaks Plantation, with all of its outbuildings and forest of trees and grass – and problems. She planned on changing it into a bed and breakfast. Yet she didn’t have complete control. She would have to agree on everything with Andy Perry, the president of the local historical group.

The man didn’t want to see anything change on the property.

Megan wanted to demolish all the outer buildings except an old-fashion outdoor kitchen.

Sparks fly every time the two get together.

But it’s not until her past starts catching up to her, things get interesting.

Would Megan really be able to let go?

Excerpt --

A slight grin lifted his lips as if saying, Why are you hiding from me? She fisted her hands together, forcing her fingers away from her glasses.

His grin faded. "Look, I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry for how I acted the other day."

"I accept your apology."

He stepped past her on the stairs, stopping her halfway down them. Eye to eye, she was forced to look directly in to his astonishing brown ones. She'd never seen eyes the color of this man's before, brown with little hints of caramel coloring reflecting brilliant in the harsh light of the stairwell. A woman could never be safe with a man with eyes like his. Mysterious, full of promises. She suddenly wanted to agree to those promises.

No, no, no.

"You're not acting like a woman who has just accepted a man's apology."

Pulling her gaze from his, she slid past him and raced down the stairs.

"Hey?"

Oh, how foolish could one woman be? Part of the reason she'd driven eight hundred miles was to get away from a man who'd promised her the world. She definitely didn't plan to get involved in any way with another one for the same reasons.

She heard him calling her name, but she ignored him. The front entrance came into view as she swallowed bitter tears. Before she reached it, a hard hand stopped her. She jerked out of his grip and turned toward him.

"Are you okay?"

Megan couldn't talk as she fought her tears.

He dropped his hands and backed away from her. "Now I've made you cry."

"No."

His eyes widened at her negative answer. "Then why are you?"

"I don't..." She didn't know what to tell him because she wasn't sure why. "Sometimes women just... need to cry." What the hell is wrong with me anyway? "I'm overwhelmed by all that's happening now."

He looked chastised. "My attitude certainly isn't helping you, is it?"

"No." She blew out a relieving breath. "But I'll be all right."

His steady glance told her he didn't quite believe her.
Buy link

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-228/The-Sisters-Calloway-Book/Detail.bok

http://www.amazon.com/Sisters-Callaway-Book-Two-ebook/dp/B0067DE6L8/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1321562080&sr=1-4

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sisters-callaway-book-two-theresa-stillwagon/1107396598

Author Spotlight - Theresa Stillwagon talks about 2nd Guessing

The hardest part about writing Renovations was getting past my uneasiness about the past.

During a time of repression and sorrow, the wife and youngest daughter of the owner showed unrelenting courage and wisdom. Many enslaved men and women were given a chance at freedom by their actions.

As I started writing about the Richardson ladies' courageous action, I stopped and wondered if I should write it at all. Would it be proper? Would it be right? Would I offend someone by being up the issue of slavery.

That's when Grandmother Ruby's grandmother first spoke to me. Just like Andy said, "You can't pick and chose what parts of history you want to remember. You need to remember it all, good and bad." Grandmother Ruby's grandmother said the same thing.

I fell in love with Grandmother Ruby the moment she stepped onto the page. She -- and her church family -- were the ones tackling the rebuilding of the slave cabins at the back end of Green Oaks.

If Grandmother Ruby was okay with it, so was I.

Author Spotlight - Theresa Stillwagons talks about the inspiration behind her Calloway Sisters Series

The Callaway sisters have been a part of my life since 1995. When I finished the first book about Allie (now in the virtual trash bin), the other three sisters were screaming at me to write stories for them. I'd never even attempted to write a series before so I pushed them away and wrote a few other stand-alone books.

Yet Jessie wouldn't shut up, so I decided to write Saving Pale Moon.

Then Megan started pleading with me, so I had to write her story.

Now it's the oldest sister Liz. She's being patience with me right now, but I feel her gently poking at my back to get on with it already.

A second story for Allie is forming inside my head, using some of the older book. I'm so glad I didn't delete it permanently. There are some good scenes in that one I can rewrite and use in the new story.

Kelly, the fifth sister, was a surprise. When I wrote Jessie's story, I found out her birth father had a daughter. The whole clan took her in as one of their own.

But I think the real inspiration for the series are my sisters. I have five of them, and they're all younger than me. And, no, none of the Callaway's were based on them.

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Theresa Stillwagon

STEPH: I don't know much about Renovations. What's it about?

THERESA: Renovations is the second book in the Callaway series. It's Megan's, the youngest sister. She's tired of her old life, tired of the way everyone treats her, so she decides to buy an old plantation called Green Oaks and renovate it into a bed and breakfast. It takes her a year to finally make her decision to do it, though. She's happy until Andy shows up with his reaction. He thinks she's going to mess up the 'historical value' of the place.

STEPH: What was the inspiration behind the story?

THERESA: I was going to set all the stories in Texas, on the ranch, but I couldn't fit Megan's story there. Right now I live in Georgia, near Savannah, and I'd always been interested in Civil War history. These two things just brought the book together. I had them eat lunch at Cracker Barrel where I used to work a few years ago and I'm familiar with the area. The small town the story is set in is a fictional one.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

THERESA: Actually the first draft only took about two and a half months. (Book 3 of the series is taking much, much longer.)

STEPH: Did you have to do a lot of research for the novel?

THERESA: Not really. I used a lot of places I was familiar with like the hotel off Interstate 95 and Cracker Barrel. I did do some research on small towns in Georgia and searched for pictures and information about antebellum plantation.

STEPH: Andy doesn't want anything to change on the plantation. Why?

THERESA: Andy is the president of the local Historical Society, and also a history teacher. He's trying to find proof that the original females who lived on the plantation were teaching their slaves how to read. (The owner of the plantation was considered one of the cruelest men around at the time.) He's afraid Megan will destroy that proof during her renovations if he's not involved with it from the beginning.


STEPH: What do you want the reader to take away after reading the story?

THERESA: I think it's that you can always find good people in even the most depressive situations. And, if you look deep into yourself, you can find the strength to change your life.

STEPH: Why does Megan have a strong desire to change the plantation into a bed & breakfast?

THERESA: Everyone thinks she's just a pretty face, with nothing much else going for her. No one believes she can renovate the plantation, and make it profitable. She plans on proving them all wrong.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

THERESA: Yes, I have a Kindle. My husband got it for me on my birthday, and I love it. Truthfully, I don't know how I lived without it for all these years.

STEPH: Are you a plotter or a panster?

THERESA: I'm an in-betweener. I think about a story for a long while before I actually sit down and start making notes. I need to know the characters well, and I need to have some structure or the book ends up going off in the wrong direction. I usually have a general idea of how the book will end and a bit about how I'm going to get there. Usually in the middle somewhere I need to stop and rethink my plot.

STEPH: Fun question: What's your favorite Thanksgiving pie?

THERESA: I like Apple Pie. I remember growing up my mom and dad would both make pies, and we had to say which one we liked best. (My father was a cook, in Africa, during World War Two. He loved making pies.)
It was all in fun though.