By The Book

Please welcome my friend Lindsey Brackett to the blog today. How cool is that? Referring to an author as a real friend! Lindsey will tell you how we met, but let me tell you I am the one who has been blessed to have gotten to know this talented author. Lindsey has introduced me to Edisto Island and the Coultrie-Halloway family and friends in her two Southern/Women’s fiction novels, and I cannot wait to get back there  . . . or anywhere her storytelling will take me. If you like this genre, please put Lindsey up at the top of your TBR list. Be sure to check out the blurbs at the bottom of the post.

Thanks so much, Lindsey, for helping me celebrate my 10 Year Blogiversary! (For a link to the Big Box of Books Giveaway post, click HERE.)

Guest Post by Lindsey Brackett

Last spring when I was named a regional author for a local literary festival, I realized quickly I was out of my league. Despite having a marginal amount of popularity in my local community, within this sphere of academic and literary minded authors, readers, and teachers, I was convinced no one would care about my inspirational women’s fiction. 

I was also convinced I’d have my first failed book signing in which I sat at a table alone, awkward, and surrounded by piles of unsold books. 

Then Beckie Burnham came. We’d met in a round about way—a mutual friend recommended I ask Beckie to review my book. I did and she chose it for her book club and then took the extra time to interact with me on social media. She could have stopped with a follow, but that’s not Beckie. She appreciates authors and is genuinely interested in who we are beyond the back cover copy. 

So when I was sitting — not alone but between two authors whose names I can’t remember — at the literary festival, just hoping someone would be interested in me, Beckie showed up. She was on a weekend away in the mountains, and the morning had been rainy, but she came over anyway. “I wanted to meet you in person!” she told me as I hugged her gratefully. 

We hung out all morning and then she took me to lunch, where we talked books and reading and book clubs and Jesus and the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. She made me feel like a real author — someone who had fans and was known and who had written words that mattered. 

It’s no surprise to me Beckie has lasted ten years in the blogging world which can, unfortunately, wear a person out. She’s built a strong following and gained the respect and friendship of authors like myself because she cares about more than our next book. She wants to know who the writer is behind the voice, and I am so very thankful for our connection. 

Here’s to ten more years — and then ten more, Beckie! Congratulations on your achievement. May your enthusiastic spirit for good books never cease and may we all benefit from your discernment, grace, and willingness to serve. 

Still Waters

Cora Anne Halloway has a history degree and a plan: avoid her own past — despite being wait-listed for graduate school. Then her beloved grandmother requests—and her dispassionate mother insists — that she spend the summer at Still Waters, the family cottage on Edisto Beach, South Carolina.

Despite its picturesque setting, Still Waters haunts Cora Anne with loss. At Still Waters her grandfather died, her parents’ marriage disintegrated, and as a child, she caused a tragic drowning. But lingering among the oak canopies and gentle tides, this place also tempts her with forgiveness — especially since Nan hired Tennessee Watson to oversee cottage repairs. A local contractor, but dedicated to the island’s preservation from development, Tennessee offers her friendship and more, if she can move beyond her guilt.

When a family reunion reveals Nan’s failing health, Cora Anne discovers how far Tennessee will go to protect her — and Edisto — from more desolation. Will Cora Anne choose between a life driven by guilt, or one washed clean by the tides of grace?

The Bridge Between

Louisa Coultrie Halloway has returned home as caretaker for the family home on Edisto Island, but years before she left this world behind. Now she flounders to find her place. When Liam Whiting, a local professor studying tidal creek preservation, invites Lou to join his research team, she welcomes the opportunity for purpose.

David, her ex-husband, has followed Lou and their children to Edisto. As he finds his footing in this new life, their once strained relationship eases into a familiar rhythm — and he hopes for more.

But the past still has a hold on them all, especially in the presence of Grace Watson, whose son intends to marry Lou and David’s daughter. Somehow, Grace and Lou must let the past of a shared love settle between them.

In this idyllic setting, relationships deepen and shift. And once more, Lou finds herself caught between the life she’s chosen — and the love that might be meant to be.

Award-winning writer, Lindsey P. Brackett just writes life — blogs, columns, articles, and stories — in the midst of motherhood. A blogger since 2010, she has published articles and short stories in a variety of print and online publications. She writes a popular bimonthly column for several local newspapers in which she meditates on small town southern life.

Her love of family ties and southern places prompted her first novel, Still Waters, a Lowcountry story about the power of family and forgiveness. Thanks to her four kids, in her home you’ll find wet towels, lost library books, and strong coffee.

Connect with her at http://www.lindseypbrackett.com, where she just writes life, on Facebook as Lindsey P. Brackett, on Twitter @lindsbrac, or Instagram @lindseypbrackett.

Tags: Lindsey Brackett, Southern fiction, women's fiction