Deborah Sprinkle's Blog, page 2

Turning Family Tales into Works of Fiction by Debra DuPree Williams

My debut novel, Grave Consequences, is a genealogy mystery. It features an amateur genealogist, Charlotte Graves, and the people of a small south Alabama town I call Loblolly. Most of the story was born in my imagination, but the idea of the missing grave was borrowed straight from my own genealogy research.

My sister and I began searching for our roots back in the 1990s. We had always been curious about our ancestors and frequently asked questions, but neither our father nor our mother knew much about their family histories. Especially our mother. Her father was thirty years older than her mother and he died when Mama was a young girl–not yet eight years old. The stories he may have passed along were long-since forgotten.

But it is possible to find that one nugget of a family chronicle that could be made into an entire work of fiction–as I did with Charlotte and her family. I took the fact that we cannot find my great-grandmother’s final burial place and made it into one of the secrets Charlotte must solve in order to find a murderer.

And so I began with that one fact—a missing grave. I knew whose burial place was missing in my own life, but whose was it in Grave Consequences? And I knew my great-grandmother’s story. Would it fit into the story Charlotte told? And what made her link the missing grave to the rest of the story? Who would be her sidekick? Who else was in her life?

Once you know who your main character is and the main idea of the novel, then all the subplots must fall into place to reveal the rest of the story. It’s much like real life. Especially a genealogy mystery.

My sister and I  knew we couldn’t find the grave, but why was my great-grandmother not buried by our great-grandfather? The family stories we had been told weren’t pretty, but were they true? And if not, how had they been passed down as such?

Digging into census records and subsequently finding our grandfather’s WWI draft card were eye-opening. Then there was a marriage record. It was made more difficult by a discrepancy in a name. It was Isaiah on one record, Isaac on another. We had to follow both trails, finally concluding that census takers often wrote down what they thought they heard, or often, a name they could spell, or one with which they had familiarity.

We had to trace dates for life events. Did they make sense? Was this woman with a name other than our great-grandfather’s surname our great-grandmother? It turns out, she was. She married for a second time after the untimely death of her first husband, my great-grandfather. The story of my great-grandmother was unfolding, and my mind put all the pieces together to tell Josie’s story. But that was just the beginning.

If you’re thinking about turning a family story into fiction, it can be done. You only need that one idea to spark a series of what ifs that will lead to the entire story coming to life within your imagination. Those parts that may not be so flattering in real life can make for the best parts of a work of fiction.

Give it a try. Find that one tidbit that would make a great story. Write a short story, or simply type it out as you tell yourself the story. That’s what I did. I called it my narrative outline.

That is how Grave Consequences went from my missing great-grandmother’s grave to a published novel. It all began with that one family tale.

 

Debra DuPree Williams is an award-winning author whose work has appeared in Yvonne Lehman’s Stupid Moments, Additional Christmas Moments, Selah Award finalist, Moments with Billy Graham, and Michelle Medlock Adams’s Love and Care for the One and Only You, expanded edition, in addition to other publications. When she isn’t busy writing, you will likely find Debbie chasing an elusive ancestor, either through online sources or in rural graveyards. Debbie is a classically-trained lyric coloratura soprano whose first love is Southern Gospel. She’s been married forever to the best man on earth, is the mother of four sons, mother-in-law of one extraordinary daughter-of-her-heart, and DD to the two most intelligent, talented, and beautiful young ladies ever. Debbie and her husband live in the majestic mountains of North Carolina.

www.DebraDuPreeWilliams.com

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Book Review: Grave Consequences by Debra DuPree Williams

When reading Grave Consequences by Debra DuPree Williams, turn the way-back machine to 1968. You remember 1968. The year The Beatles released “Hey Jude” and McDonald’s started serving the Big Mac? The Tet offensive launched the Vietnam War, James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King in Memphis, and two months later, Robert Kennedy suffered the same fate in Los Angeles. It was a year filled with trauma and change. Many of us were  busy with our own lives and didn’t have the perspective we have now.

Charlotte Graves, the protagonist in Grave Consequences, could be one of us. In her mid-twenties, she moves back to Loblolly, Alabama, after the death of her father. She throws herself into helping her mama clean out the family store finding her own path in the world. Her love life is in shambles, and she’s back living with her mother. Not that she doesn’t love her mama, but. . . She hopes for a place of her own.

But after six months back home Charlotte must table her dreams when her arch nemesis, Boopsie Sweets, is murdered, and Charlotte becomes suspect number one.

She determines to find Boopsie’s killer using her skills as a genealogist, and a film camera. A daunting task since cellphones and personal computers aren’t available in 1968, but one Charlotte must attempt or find herself in prison.

Could her life get any worse?

The short answer is yes. But you’ll have to read the book to find out how.

I’ll give you a hint. It involves a long-kept family secret.

Grave Consequences by Debra DuPree Williams highlights her ability to intertwine elements of humor, heartbreak, suspense, and romance into a great story that leaves you wanting to read more from her.

 

Any remembrances of 1968—or family secrets—you care to share? Leave them in the comments. We promise not to tell.

 

 

 

 

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An Interview with Author Lynette Eason

Lynette Eason is an award-winning, best-selling author of over sixty books. She’s also one of the nicest people I have the honor to call friend. She works hard at her craft and it shows. Lynette has a gift for weaving a good story with threads of action and romance intertwined with fibers of social injustice and faith. Lynette took some time out of her busy schedule to speak with me about how she got started and what’s coming next.

As a young girl, who were some of your favorite authors? What influence did they have on your writing career?

My favorite authors were Alfred Hitchcock, Carolyn Keene, Agatha Christie, and Francine Pascal. Eventually, I discovered Steven King and others.

Wow! I can see where the suspense came from with authors like Hitchcock, Christie and King, but what drew you to romantic suspense?

I’ve always loved love stories. The funny thing is, I’m not a huge romantic. My husband is much more romantic that I am. LOL. But I love a happy ending so that’s probably why I’m drawn to the romance part of it. Throw some danger in there to send them fighting for their lives while falling in love—well, that’s just a lot more exciting, isn’t it?

I think you’ve mastered the love while under fire thing for sure. You’ve written many successful series. Let’s talk about those. In general, do you center them around a location, one character, or something else?

Usually, I write a series, so the series is focused on the main characters. Four family members or four friends. I generally set them in locations that I’m very familiar with like Greenville, SC, Columbia, SC, the Nashville, TN area, or the mountains of NC.

How did you choose the subject of your series, and what special research did it require to write about each one?

I pick things/occupations, that I’m interested in. I do a ton of research. Fortunately, I know people. Ha. I’ve [been] very blessed to have a lot of wonderful professionals in my email list that I can reach out to for advice and feedback.

You’re known for writing romantic suspense, but is there romance in all of your books? Do you enjoy writing the suspense part or the romance part the most?

Yes, there’s romance in all of the books. Not as much in some and more in others. It just depends on the story. I really enjoy writing the suspense part more. I find it more exciting.

Besides romance, readers seem to love pets in books. Do you have any pets in your books? If so, are they fashioned after your own pets?

If I include a pet, it’s usually a dog. I’m a dog person. Cats don’t excite me. Haha. Sorry, if you’re a cat lover. It’s just what I grew up with. Kittens are another story. I think kittens are adorable. I had one pet that I used in Collateral Damage that was based on my dog at the time. He was an American Eskimo and was about as smart as they come. He developed a brain tumor shortly after I turned the book in and on January 15th, 2019, I had to put him down. It broke my heart.

I’m so sorry, Lynette. I read Collateral Damage. It’s a great book. If a reader could only buy one book of yours, which would you recommend? Why?

Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason

I think I would recommend Collateral Damage. I’m just really thrilled with that story and I think readers are loving it. It placed #5 on the Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list which was exciting.

What do readers have to look forward to, Lynette?

I’m currently working on the last story in the Danger Never Sleeps series. It’s called Hostile Intent. Acceptable Risk releases August 4th, 2020, so that’s coming up really fast!

Any additional thoughts or advice you would like to share with my readers and other writers?

I just want to say thanks to everyone who purchases and reads the stories. It’s because of you that I’m able to keep doing what I do. If you’re a writer looking to get published and aren’t there yet, just keep working on it. Never give up.

Be sure to pre-order Acceptable Risk coming out on August 4th, 2020 and watch for Hostile Intent, two more books in Lynette Eason’s latest series, Danger Never Sleeps.

 

Lynette Eason can be reached on the following social media sites:                   

www.facebook.com/lynette.eason

Twitter: @lynetteeason

IG: @lynetteeason

Lynette Eason is the best-selling, award winning author of over sixty books including the Women of Justice series, the Deadly Reunions series, the Hidden Identity series, the Elite Guardians series and the Blue Justice series. She writes for Revell and for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line. Her books have appeared on the CBA, ECPA, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. She has won several awards including the Carol Award, the IRCC award, the Selah, and the Christian Retailing’s Best 2017 Award. She placed in the top ten in the James Patterson 2016 co-writer contest. The movie, Her Stolen Past, based on Lynette’s novel with the same title, aired February 2, 2018 on the Lifetime Movie Network. Lynette is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Romance Writers of America (RWA), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), International Thriller Writers (ITW), and Faith, Hope, and Love (FHL) chapter of RWA as well as the Kiss of Death (KOD) chapter. Lynette can be found online at www.lynetteeason.com and www.facebook.com/lynette.eason and @lynetteeasonon Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Book Review: Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason

Book Review: Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason

Be sure to read Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason in a secure location! And you might require plenty of rations as well. Once I began reading, I couldn’t put it down, and finished the 322-page novel in a day and a half.

Asher James

The first two chapters of Collateral Damage highlight Mrs. Eason’s excellent attention to detail. The book begins in Afghanistan with a military detail on a mission led by Sergeant First Class Asher James. We feel the b...

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