Pepper Basham's Blog, page 2

Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #23

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

The hunt BEGINS on 10/21 at noon MST with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 10/24 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

Hi all! I’m so excited to be a part of this fun scavenger hunt with some amazing authors. And look at all the books!!

I adore a good story, don’t you?

I’m Pepper Basham: wife, mom, speech-language pathologist, and author of historical and contemporary romances peppered with grace, humor, and a dash of whimsy. My newest release really embodies those three things: grace, humor, and whimsy. The Mistletoe Countess is a marriage of convenience story with a little mystery sprinkled in for good measure. If you enjoy fiction that tickles your funny bone and warms your heart, my books might just be for you! To learn more about me and my stories, check out my other books here or learn more about me here 🙂

Speaking of fiction!

I don’t think you’d be enjoying this scavenger hunt if you didn’t like reading fiction, but why? Why do we love fiction so much? I posed the question to a group of avid readers and their answers fit within 3 main categories:

TRAVEL, ESCAPE, & INSPIRATION

 Here are what a few had to say 🙂

For TRAVEL “I love the ability to a story to take me new places and introduce me to new people. Sometimes, when life is tough, fiction gives me a way to relax and ignore the madness. I come back when I’m ready.” Vicky Sluiter

 “Fiction has the unique ability to make history feel personal to us, because if a book is historically accurate and well written we come away not just knowing a list of dates and events but feeling as though we’ve lived it.” – Caitlyn Santi

For ESCAPE  “It provides an escape from whatever is happening in the reader’s real world – drama, health issues, stress, etc. The reader enters the world the fiction book has created to gather strength – and in the case of inspiration fiction –be reminded that God is still good, He is still in control, and seeing Him work things out for fictional characters builds faith and reminds the reader that He can do it for him/her in real life.” – Ruth Elizabeth Jensen“Many reasons… 1) to dissociate from a stressful reality for a while, 2) to enjoy a historical time period from a first-person vantage point, 3) to live vicariously through fabulous romances since I have zero time for a real one in my current life situation.” – Hannah Nelson

For INSPIRATION

 “Why not fiction? A story is a powerful think; it moves, it breathes, it inspires, it encourages, it instructs, it forms an everlasting memory about things that were never meant to be forgotten.” – Rebecca Maney  “Fiction may be fiction but there are often valuable life lessons found within a story. The right book can make you ponder important aspects about your character and be catalyst for change. And you can be transported to other places without leaving your comfy, favorite reading chair.” – Lisa Kelley

 “The best of fiction weaves spiritual truths into the story and those can speak to us and stay with us and even help us in our lives. Fiction touches our minds and hearts in a unique way that leaves us changes because of the encounter with the story and characters.” – Andrette Brown Herron

 What would you add to the list?

Leave your a nswer i n the comments and have your name put into the drawing for a paper copy of one of my books of your choice (U.S.A only). Or a digital copy for outside of the U.S.A. If you leave your email a dd ress i n the comments it will make it easier for me to contact you if you win.

If you’re interested, you can order The Mistletoe Countess on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD or at your local bookstore! 

(Here’s a little bit about The Mistletoe Countess)

Mistletoe is beautiful and dangerous, much like the woman from Lord Frederick’s Percy’s past, so when he turns over a new leaf and arranges to marry for his estate, instead of his heart, he never expects the wrong bride to be the right choice. Gracelynn Ferguson never expected to take her elder sister’s place as a Christmas bride, but when she’s thrust into the choice, she will trust in her faithful novels and overactive imagination to help her not only win Frederick’s heart but also to solve the murder mystery of Havensbrook Hall before the ghosts from Frederick’s past ruin her fairytale future. Will the magic of Christmas bring these two newlyweds closer together, or will the ghosts of the past lead them into a destructive discovery from which not even a Dickens’s Christmas can save them?

Now…. 

Here’s the Stop #23 Basics:

Clue to Write Down: in which

The Next Stop on the Loop: Lynette Eason’s site!

The Heart of the Mountains cover reveal

I’m so excited to share with you the cover for my July 2022 release, The Heart of the Mountains.

This book is the sequel to My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge, Laurel’s Dream. You can learn more about that story here 🙂

Wanna know more?

Here’s a bit about the story:

To escape a forced marriage, Cora Taylor travels from England to the Blue Ridge Mountains in search of her brother, who is working as a teacher in a mission school. She hopes to find a place where her nursing skills and independent ideas will be accepted and appreciated, but nothing prepares her for the wild mixture of isolation, community, brokenness, and hope within these mountains…or in the person of Jeb McAdams.Returning from the devastation of World War 1 emotionally damaged, Jeb McAdams struggles against the rampant mountain alcoholism to soothe his nightmares. It’s easy to hide within the mountains, or it was, before Cora Taylor arrives. Now, she seems to show up at every turn, bringing her ideas, curiosity, and beautiful eyes with her. Their mutual understanding of the costs of war leads to an unspoken bond that develops into a hesitant friendship. As Cora turns her nursing experience and determination on establishing hygiene and education for women in the Appalachian community while also attempting to rescue Jeb from his own ghosts, Cora and Jeb’s partnership turns into a project of celebrating the gifts within Appalachia. But when the past sweeps back into their lives and an outbreak of scarlet fever threatens the future, will Cora and Jeb find a way to work together – even if it means unplanned matrimony – or will their different lives and brokenness tear them apart.

I’m a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains and lots of these stories are seasoned with smaller stories my granny told me while I was growing up. This culture is so dear to my heart and I hope you’ll feel the ‘heart of the mountains’ too as you read my Appalachian-flavored books!

Without further ado!

Here is the cover for The Heart of the Mountains!!

Tuesday Tea Talks – A Reason for Hope

There is a lot of hope to be found from Peter, the “apostle of hope”, in his letter I Peter. Here are a few of my thoughts.

Tuesday Tea Chat – Grief and Perspective

It’s been almost two months since my brother went missing and an 11-day search ensued until his body was found. Life has moved on for those of us still here and I’ve been learning a lot about the grieving process and my own heart. This is an impromptu video about what God has been so kind to help teach me as me and my family continue to grieve and grow. Hopefully, some of the things I’m learning about living in a world of suffering can help you too!

Burdened with Glorious Purpose?

I love dressing in costume.It’s a family thing. We all like it.It’s fun stuff to “pretend” to be someone else that we may see as “cooler” or “more beautiful” or “more powerful” or…just weird  But just because I put on a cape or a funny hat doesn’t mean I forget who I am underneath the costume.  In a world where lots of voices cry out to tell us who we “ought to be”, and show us pictures of a “better” or “more beautiful” way, I’m so grateful for a Truth that doesn’t change. A truth that doesn’t just say “whatever makes you feel better” or “whatever makes you happy”. Because, to be honest, happiness is fleeting, and if we based our happiness on what the “voices” of our time say, then it’s only going to last as long as the next fad or movie or advertisement.  Such “happiness” is temporary and, in the end, not very satisfying because there will always be the “better” in that measurement system. So we need something secure.Certain. Something that can give us true identities when all the facades are pulled back.And only one being has been around long enough to give us an “eternal” perspective against the changing “expectations” of centuries and even millenia. So…who does God say we are?Created beings, yes. So subordinate to Him, but also creatures created “in His image”!!! Handcrafted by God. Wow!!In the creation story of Scripture, we read that God “said” and the world became filled with light, life, and structure. But, when it came to humans, “saying” wasn’t how God wanted to move forward. He became much more personal in his details.He said, “let us MAKE”Make – handcrafted extra special. Why is that so wonderful?1. We’re not our own gods (even though we really try to be). This means, we have a Creator who knows more than we do and we have a Creator who knows more than we do. (get it We are both deferential to His greater understanding and power, but we are also couched within his care, love, and greater good for His kids.2. We are special in creation because of the image we bear. We have the ability to reason, think, forgive, restore, encourage, love, dream, imagine, create, and so many other things that, as a whole, are uniquely given to humans.3. We were created with PURPOSE – out of the formlessness of pre-creation, God brought order and life…and all of it had purpose. But the pinnacle of his creation was humankind!!! We were made for a purpose and a reason. To flourish.  But instead of being “burdened with glorious purpose” like Marvel’s Loki, we don’t have to feel the burden. Our purpose of glorifying God happens because Jesus made a way for us. Sure, as image-bearers we marred the “image” of God when Adam and Eve took their free will and sought to be their own gods. Sin entered the world, but our purpose remained. We were STILL image-bearers, but because we’d marred the image of God, another human would have to come to set things right. A “special” human. The God-Man, Jesus. And he was TRULY burdened with glorious purpose – a purpose he fulfilled without any trickery or deceit.To restore our image to its right place so that we could flourish in this world as our souls are prepared for the next.What a beautiful thing to remember as we plod along some days wondering “what is going on?”If you haven’t been taken to Heaven yet, Christian, then God isn’t finished with you yet. He still has a glorious purpose for you and me. A plan that He will work out through us!Burdened?Nope.Honored.Yes!

Tuesday Tea Talk with Pepper – A New “Normal” & “Why, God?”

Hello, friends!

Today, I’m beginning a new series of videos where we chat about various things. Some serious. Some fun. Some in-between.

I’m even trying to answer some frequent questions I’ve received. If you have some topic you’d like us to discuss, you can email your ideas to pepperdbasham@gmail.com

This is my first try at such a video and I hope for a laid-back, conversational style.

I don’t have all the answers. I’m just a fellow traveler on this life journey too, but hopefully, we can have some good chats along the way

 

 

Appalachia, Stories, and a CelebrateLit Tour

Books are a uniquely portable magic – Stephen King

My great-great grandmother Malinda Belle Hawks (and her young’uns)

Appalachia is known for having a high illiteracy rate. A place of beautiful scenery and rugged landscapes, the people of the mountains developed stories through oral storytelling much more than “book learning” for a long time. Which meant, history and legend were very important and passed down from one generation to the next. As a young girl growing up in this world, I loved hearing my granny share tales from up to five generations ago, filling in the narrative gaps between a birth date and a death date on a tombstone – giving flesh and breath to the stone-etched names.

It’s no surprise then, with a heart cultivated from rich oral stories, I fell in love with reading. Books became that “portable magic” that took me places my little Appalachian community couldn’t provide. I fell in love with the Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew. Wept through the end of Bridge to Terabithia and Old Yeller. Traveled to the plains with Sarah Plain and Tall and fell in love with horses with The Black Stallion. But when I was in seventh grade, I read my very first “British” novel, The Secret Garden. In that one introduction, my world expanded into mysterious English manor houses and British classics. Before long, I’d consumed Jane Eyre, Austen’s classics, some Dickens, Dracula, Frankenstein…and the list goes on! And then…I found Tolkien and Lewis – and the ‘real’ world swelled into OTHER worlds.

I’m grateful for true stories of book-loving pioneers traveling into the world of Appalachia to provide books and literacy training to “my people”, because I know some of those books made their way to my tiny elementary school library…and not only brought me the chance to discover stories, but to write them too!

Isn’t it amazing how books can do that?

In Hope Between the Pages, I wanted to bring the same awe and discovery I felt as a child (and continue to feel as an adult reader) to the story of two people whose worlds had seemed small. Stories stretched their worlds, but the stories also gave them wonderful imaginations and positive perspectives. It’s still amazing to me that ink-and-paper words can make such a lasting impact on hearts and minds. They can lead us to dream, teach us new things, encourage our hearts, help us to think outside the box, swell our imaginations, broaden our horizons, and encourage our hope.

Books are not a replacement for real adventures and relationships, but they certainly provide a beautiful “door” into other lives and worlds that we may never have a chance to experience in real life. Sadie, my historical heroine, and Clara, my contemporary heroine, both have kept close to home but traveled greatly through books…and BOTH are given the opportunity to reach beyond the bindings to discover real-life adventures. I’d like to think that their love for stories helped them have the courage to step away from the page and into their own tales even more prepared than they would have been without stories.

What are some of your favorite books you read as a child? Did any of them influence you to become a more avid reader?

AND RIGHT NOW, CelebrateLit is having a wonderful #giveaway for my newest novel, Hope Between the Pages plus a $25 Amazon Gift Card!! Check out the giveaway, here! 

Hope Beyond Imagining

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved the idea of flying.

In fact, any time I could pretend to be a superhero, it was always a flying superhero.

Even in my sleep, my recurring dream as a child and young adult was a “flying” dream.

In a world where folks can strap on wings to hang glide or buckle into a parachute to skydive, the idea and experience of “flying” might appear like a very tangible opportunity, but the concept from my child-brain and the actuality of taking flight like Superman, isn’t something that happens in the real world. I can’t step off my back porch and take to the skies by just thinking about it. Not really. And as hard as I try to imagine it, I’m sure REALLY being able to fly would be much better than what I think or dream.

I ESPECIALLY wanted the power to fly during this past year. As the world has been on constant lockdown or intermittent quarantine, the desire and hope to “fly away” from it all hit hard some days.

How about you?

There were times, when the struggle of online school, managing work from home, lonely kids, canceled plans, sick friends, grieving loved ones, and a host of many other painful transitions, hit at my hope like few other things have. There has been such a wearying feeling of helplessness and hopelessness for many folks.

I think that’s why the story of Easter is particularly potent this year.

In a time of great grief when the long shadows of death or loneliness hover so close we feel saturated in them, the tale of God’s powerful love brings an added sense of wonder and…hope.

Why?

As the Son of God was convicted for a crime he didn’t commit, suffered the eternal wrath of God alone, died as a criminal in one of the most hideous deaths of the time, and was hastily buried in a borrowed tomb, the deep shadows of grief fell across the world, and especially on his followers. In their minds, hope had died along with their Master.

The darkness had won.

Or so, they thought.

But we know the rest of the story.

Christ rose from the dead. Death was defeated. God’s wrath on sin was satisfied.

Hope didn’t just emerge; it blew the stone off the grave with a finality to change eternity.

In Christ’s death on the cross, God affirmed his compassion and love for His people, but in Christ’s resurrection, God displayed his ability and power to secure His millennia of promises for His people.

He didn’t just tell us about why we should find hope in Him.

He showed us in 3-D certainty why we can find hope in Him. He was not only willing, but completely able.

God’s plan proved beyond anyone’s imagination. Which is why, when we face hardships of pandemic proportions, we can find comfort in the God who is not only willing but able to work outside of our human imaginations to do remarkable things. (especially when the world looks dark).

And He does! Every moment.  He gives purpose to our struggles when the long shadows fall upon our lives. No second of our lives is outside of God’s power to touch or beyond his ability to use for our growth and His glory.

And He is efficient. Every grief, every sting, every frustration…he takes them and uses them to work in us an awareness of who He is and who we are in Him.

As you prepare your heart to celebrate Easter, I encourage you to focus on Christ. Circumstances may be hard, but God is still the Creator of amazing things…even in, and many times through, our trials.

God used the impossible to secure hope for His people. And He’s still doling out hope, even in the middle of devastation or despair. He’s near. He hears. He is with us.

There is hope.

He is risen!

Happy Easter!

Ephesians 3:20-21: Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Hope Between the Pages

I hadn’t planned on writing this book.

The opportunity came and I took it. (Thank you, Barbour).

I hadn’t planned on the way Oliver would swoop into the story and completely win my heart. Or the way Sadie’s strength would find its way throughout the pages and wind itself into Clara. I hadn’t expected Max. At all. Or the way fairytales and fiction and hope and strength kept sprinkling their ways into every scene.

I hadn’t planned on any of them, but I’m SO glad they found me and my “pen”.

 

This story stretched me, made me laugh, sigh,…and ugly cry. I’d never written a dual timeline before, so that was new for me. I really wanted to make the stories as seamlessly fit as I could so that the reader easily transitioned from the historical to the contemporary.  AND saw how one life braided into another.

  But more than anything, I wanted this book to overflow with hope.

We live in a world where difficult things happen. We are wounded, betrayed, scared, scarred, forgotten, ashamed, and multitudes of other ways that brokenness invades our lives. Many times there may be “reasons” to lose hope, but if nothing else comes from the pages of this book, it’s my prayer that it leaves the readers with hope.

Hope that “there’s still some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for” as Samwise Gamgee says in The Two Towers.

Not only that, but it’s worth LIVING for: Living and dreaming and laughing and moving forward.

I hope YOU will enjoy Hope Between the Pages. I’m so thankful Barbour let me bring this book to life.

If you are interested in discovering more about this story, you can order in many places, but here are a few

Sassafras on Sutton, Baker Books, Amazon, Books a Million

Biltmore in the Time of Corona

What is a special place that helped you get through 2020

Here is one of mine! (see below for photos)