Hi friends! Today, our author spotlight is on Pepper Basham! Everyone, say hello to Pepper! Without further ado, let's get to know Pepper and her book The Red Ribbon.
Author Bio:
I wrote my first story when I was a nine year- old, freckled-faced tomboy in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains (my earlier writings wouldn’t have been considered “books”, more like short stories). Coming from a long line of oral storytellers, weaving a good yarn seemed a typical part of my life. It wasn’t until I finished college, had two children, and a full-time job before I began to study the ‘craft’ of writing (you know when I had plenty of time).
My music-director turned pastor husband took his first senior pastor position eight years ago, moved the 6 of us to Tennessee, where we added our fifth and final kid to the Basham crew. And now hubby is a music minister in Asheville, NC. Yep, we love the Blue Ridge Mountains.
So…now I’m an older, freckled-faced mommy enjoying life, learning to write, and laughing often. My mom says that I must have a small bit of insanity because I don’t realize how stressed I ought to be.
I’m also a speech-language pathologist who spends her time hanging out with kids who have social communication and language difficulties! It’s a challenge and a blessing – and constantly teaches me about the importance of thinking outside the box!
My newest book, The Red Ribbon, releases in October 2020 and takes place in my hometown of Carroll County, Virginia.
My first split-time releases in April 2021 and is titled Hope Between the Pages!
Here's Pepper!
Hope is a beautiful thing.
Vital, really.
At times, it appears as a lifeline cast down into a stormy sea and others as a ray of sunshine through thick, permeating fog. Hope offers perspective and possibilities. Light at the end of the tunnel. A hug in the middle of this world’s tragedies.
I suppose, when I started writing The Red Ribbon, I didn’t realize how important hope would become until I’d done my research and realized how very dark True Crime could be. How evil reared its ugly head in myriad ways and appeared to be winning. How hatred, greed, and selfishness twisted and turned events in heartbreaking directions – like a courthouse massacre or a roadside murder.
So when I started writing The Red Ribbon, I knew that woven into this darker story of Virginia history, I needed to find—or shine—hope, and that’s where Jeremiah Sutphin and Ava Burcham came in.
The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre/Tragedy of 1912 was a single event that began years before because of feuding and easy offense, sparked by an unexpected kiss, and finally exploded in a gunfight inside the courthouse in the little, unknown Blue Ridge Mountain town in Hillsville, Virginia.
I’d been raised in this county. More than two hundred years of my ancestors had grown up in this county, and I’d heard the tales of bootlegging, family feuds, murders, thieving, and all the other things that can pop up in the shadowy parts of a places’ history. This story became prominent only because it made national news, otherwise, it would have likely disappeared into history like so many other similar stories from Appalachia.
Murders happened and were never disclosed or resolved – unless by residual gunfire.
Bootlegging led to feuds. It had for decades before.
But this tragedy caught the public’s interest and resulted in nationwide news coverage and a nationwide manhunt, exposing the world of Appalachia like few things have – and it led people outside of Appalachia to believe that these mountain folks were nothing more than angry, illiterate, hostile, ignorant nobodys.
I guess that’s why I loved the opportunity to show both sides of Appalachia in this book. The hardened, irreverent, and corrupt side and the hopeful, loyal, loving side. Both existed and still do, as in about any population of people around the world, it just looks different.
The Hillsville tragedy shone a light on the darker spots of Appalachia. The way loyalty can move into obsession or stark independence can lead to destructive pride. But I couldn’t leave readers only thinking those things about my home. They needed to see the hope too!
As an Appalachian girl, I love my culture. I love the loyalty of the people to family. I love their unique creativeness and steel-like resilience. I love their appreciation for their homes and land, and their intense acceptance of people (once they know you). That’s where the true crime and the fictional story blend together.
Because hope is real and a driving force to help us make it through the difficulties of life, and thankfully, as a Christian, hope is not some wispy, weak wishful thinking.
It’s a steadfast assurance that on the other side of tragedy, pain, suffering, or heartache, there is purpose, growth, and an ultimate joyful ending.
I hope that’s what readers find at the end of The Red Ribbon- and awareness that, as Christians, hope threads its way through every scene of our lives and we can hold to God’s truth in His love for our futures even in the dark.
The Red Ribbon Blurb
An Appalachian Feud Blows Up in 1912
Step into True Colors -- a new series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime
In Carroll County, a corn shucking is the social event of the season, until a mischievous kiss leads to one of the biggest tragedies in Virginia history. Ava Burcham isn’t your typical Blue Ridge Mountain girl. She has a bad habit of courtin’ trouble, and her curiosity has opened a rift in the middle of a feud between politicians and would-be outlaws, the Allen family. Ava’s tenacious desire to find a story worth reporting may land her and her best friend, Jeremiah Sutphin, into more trouble than either of them planned. The end result? The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912.
Purchase Link and to Connect with Pepper:
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1643526499
Website - www.pepperdbasham.com
FB – https://www.facebook.com/pepperdbasham/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pepperbasham/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/pepperbasham
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/pepperbasham/
Friends, I sure hope you enjoyed getting to know Pepper Basham and The Red Ribbon.
Thank you so much for joining us, Pepper!
If you're an author and you'd like to be showcased here, just let me know. Must be inspirational or clean, can be fiction or nonfiction.
Check out my website, connect with me, and sign up for my newsletter. https://sallyshupe.weebly.com/
