WINNER AND A NEW BOOK

The winner of Susannah's Hope is Maxie. I"ll email you for your address. Congratulations and I hope you enjoy the book.

Nicola Furlong's book, Heartsong, will be released in May. It is up on Amazon in ebook for sale now. The cover and blurb follows.


Some families have hope. Others have faith. The Shepherds of rural Oregon have Faith, Hope and Charly, three quirky sisters whose lives change forever when they reluctantly answer a personal calling to help other make amends. 

Thirty-something single parent Charly Shepherd is satisfied with her life raising two children and thousands of plants in her family owned Sweet Shepherd Nursery. The tragedy strikes. As she and her siblings struggle to keep the nursery going, Charly begins to believe her family’s destiny is greater than raising flowers. When the three sisters reluctantly delve into family secrets to help their ailing father fulfill a promise, their lives change forever as they pursue a new inspirational path of discovery, heartache, humor and redemption. 

SUSANNAH'S HOPE

April 1, 2014 was the release date for my latest book, Susannah's Hope. I thought you might like a little information about Susannah and Val.

You met them both in Callie's Mountain. Susannah was very selfish, attracted to herself and a gossip. Val, ,on the other hand, was kind, considerate and a handsome man. Val was the child of a mixed race race couple. When I started developing the characters, I thought I needed someone who was not a Melungeon, but was accepted by them. Let's ask them a few questions.

Susannah, what made to change to be the person you are now? "Mercy me, it was spending time with Mary Gibson and her husband, Aaron. They were so kind, and not like my father and grandfather had told me. They were clean, helpful and certainly not thieves."

Val, were you happy to see Susannah's change? "I certainly was. She was and still is a beautiful woman. I was drawn to her by her beauty, but she was not someone I wanted to be around. She was arrogant, self-centered and an all over brat. I didn't think I could ever fall in love with her."

Susannah, did you really believe the lies your father and grandfather told you about the Melungeons and people of color including Indians? "Yes I did. You know you are taught to respect your parents, and that's what I did. I thought Papa and Grandfather knew what they were talking about. They would have been much happier if they'd discovered how wonderful the Melungeon people are.

Val, exactly where is Maple Hill, Tennessee? The real name would be Newman's Ridge. It's in Hancock County, Tennessee. When white men came to the ridge, they found the Melungeons. They were there before the white man set foot on the ridge. Some people think they may had been Spanish solders who became lost. There are many theories to how they got to the ridge. They were isolated from the rest of the world."

Thanks for telling us a little about your and your lives.

I am giving away a copy of Susannah's Hope. The name will be drawn on April 18.

 If you would like to receive a monthly newsletter by email, please reply to kattanderson4 at gmail.com. I will start the newsletter in May. I'd love to send you one. It will be filled with lots of what's going on in my life, recipes we like and lots of other information. The first one to sign up will receive a free copy of Susannah's Hope. 

SUSANNAH'S HOPE

I am very proud to announce the almost birth of my new baby, Susannah's Hope. She's had a tough time entering the world, but if you'll go on Amazon.com, you can see a picture of the cover and read the blurb.

As with each baby, Susannah is my favorite so far. The naming of Susannah had special meaning for me. When my husband and I were going to cemeteries to look for the graves of his long lost relatives, we found the grave of Susannah Cole. That name stuck with me for years and when I began Callie's Mountain, I knew Susannah was a name I wanted to use.

I know very little about the real Susannah Cole except she is buried in the Cole Family Cemetery in a cow pasture in Shady Valley, Tennessee. I do know she and her husband came to Shady Valley from North Carolina.

My Susannah was a spoiled brat. Not someone I would want as my best friend. Callie had a lot of patience to like her, but they remain friends through both books. Susannah does change into a wonderful woman, someone I would want for my friend.

What's next? I'll try to bring you up to date next week. I'm becoming more organized with my writing time, so I should have more time to devote to my blogs. I thought you would want to see the beautiful cover by Roseanna White. I'm so happy with all the covers she has designed for me.

Here's the cover and blurb for Susannah's Hope. The Kindle edition is the only one I could find on Amazon. The book will be released April 1,  2014.

Susannah Cole had been taught prejudice since she was born. But when she is almost drowned with her father, she is taken to a Melungeon home to heal and recuperate.  A mixed race doctor, Dr. Val Minor, encourages her to accept the Melungeons and other races.

Susannah and her mother decide to make the store her grandfather established a success and to consider all people equal, as God intended. It’s a struggle, but with the help of Rachel Gibson, a Melungeon, and Lincoln Amis, a suitor, they all work hard together.

A smallpox epidemic strikes the small mountain community of Maple Hill, Tennessee. Val doesn’t have time to treat all the people. He asks Susannah and others to help him. He finds Susannah has changed and is a caring person. She enjoys helping those in need, not like her father had taught her.

Through the course of the epidemic, Val finds he has fallen in love with Susannah. Marriage is out of the question for a mixed race man and a white woman. Is their love stronger than the law of the land?

The only place for them is in the North, but would they still be accepted in the South?