Part 2 – Kathy Cretsinger and Shady Valley, TN

Where in the world is Shady Valley, TN? I had to look it up, but my good friend Kathy Cretsinger would be able to tell you just how many hills and hollers you’d have to travel through to get to her former home and her husband’s hometown in Eastern Tennessee!

The drawing for a free copy of Coastal Promises is still up, and extended to this post, as well! More info on that later!

Today Kathy is going to tell us a little bit about her upcoming book, Daisy’s Story: Nothin’ Shady Ever Happens in Shady Valley!

The story behind the story . . .

“Nothin’ Shady Ever Happens in Shady Valley” is the series I’m working on now. The first book is Daisy’s Story, which we hope to release in the late summer.

This series began with my daughter saying, as we left Shady Valley, TN, “Nothin’ shady ever happens in Shady Valley.” We knew Shady Valley well having lived there twice during the past 57 years. Let me tell you about Shady Valley. This is also my husband’s home community, and he has family there.

Shady Valley, TN is a beautiful part of East Tennessee, high in the mountains. It is surrounded by three mountains, and there is only one way out of the valley without going over a mountain. That passage is called, “The Gorge.” The Gorge is through Cherokee National Forrest with creeks and beautiful trees along the way. There is also a small tunnel you go through called “Backbone Rock.” They had to blast through a large boulder to build the road to Damascus, Virginia from Shady Valley, TN. You can walk across it if you are brave enough. I had no sense when I walked across it twice.

This is beautiful country with mountains on both sides of the valley. If you go west, you end up in Bristol, TN, east in Boone, NC, south in Elizabethton, TN, and north in Damascus, VA. We watched snow come across the Holston Mountain in what looked like sheets when we lived there.

Shady has one restaurant and one store, a little store. It is farmland and a rural area. Everyone knows everyone else, and they are probably related.

When you think about this, think about a woman who inherits her grandmother’s farm, but has to stay in the valley for six months before the land becomes hers. Think about what would happen if this woman was raised in Miami, FL, and had a business — a large business — of teaching people how to live and eat healthily.

Also, in Shady Valley, most people kill their own meat. They fry most everything and eat a lot of fried meat, sausage, bacon, hamburgers, fries, you name it. Daisy does not eat meat or fried anything, but fresh vegetables, no bread, nothing white, etc. Can she adjust? Will she have fun? Can she do it?

This has been a fun book to write. I am more or less on a diet like Daisy. It is not easy to stick to it, and do you think Daisy will have problems? I can guarantee it! Yes, there is a love interest and a crooked elected official. That’s all I’m telling. It’s fun to work all of this out, and I’m having a ball. We will release it in late summer. We have to do it before October. The Cranberry Festival is in October, and I plan to be there with my book. In the book, Daisy does own a cranberry bog. Fun!

Kathy, having read parts of Daisy’s Story, I can’t WAIT to read the rest!!

The Coastal Promises Giveaway!

Leave a comment on this post for an additional (yes, I said ADDITIONAL) chance to win a copy of Coastal Promises, authored by Kathy, me, Pam Harris, and Diane Turpin (who was the daughter of Kathy’s who gave her the idea for the Shady Valley series!)

Here’s the full blurb for Coastal Promises, as promised! 😉

All Yours, Art and Soul by Diane Turpin: Beth Kindall’s desire to discover the anonymous buyer of her watercolor painting is complicated by the arrival of architect, Trevor Garrett. Their instant spark upsets Trevor’s realtor who already had her eyes on the newcomer. Can Beth unravel the mysterious buyer, sort out her own commitment issues, and thwart the realtor’s advances on Trevor?

For the Love of Dolphins by Kathy Cretsinger: Sadie Miller inherited one of the dolphin tour boats when her father passed away suddenly. She was determined to make the tour as successful as her father had, even with the problems with her dad’s brother Uncle Joe. When her old middle school flame. Ian Glover returns from England, and her life takes her places she’d never dreamed.

Pawleys Aisle by Regina Rudd Merrick: Leaving a lucrative position in the banking world for the creative world of weddings, Chelsea Prince finds the perfect venue, Pawleys Island Chapel, next door to the perfect walled garden. Her elderly neighbor and partner-in-planning have an agreement, but when the unexpected happens, she has to deal with the cranky grandson who wants to be left alone to write the next great American novel. Since Chelsea has sworn off men, it shouldn’t be a problem to ignore him and go on her way hosting weddings in the chapel. But when Marc McCallum offers up a compromise, she wonders if maybe there is one man out there that can be trusted.

Surf Song by Pam Harris: Dreams don’t always work out as imagined, a fact country music singer Rachelle has learned all too well. Burned out by the demands of her singing career, she flees from Nashville to a quaint inn in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where she hopes to find peace and clarity. Registering under her real name of Holly Bellamy and sporting a new hair color and style to disguise her true identity, she revels in being just a “regular person.” When she and the inn’s owner begin to develop feelings for each other, however, her life takes a turn she never expected.

Today’s question: What’s a funny, but REAL, place name that would be a great location for a cozy mystery?

Come on, get a second chance in to win a copy of a great book with four great authors!! If you missed yesterday’s post, you can find it HERE!

Thanks for coming back, Kathy, and can’t wait to SEE you in person!

Stay safe, everyone!

P.S. Stay tuned – tomorrow I will reveal the winners of a few books from the last several weeks!!

The Mosaic Collection – available on Amazon!