The idea for my novel LOST INHERITANCE came from a true story. My college friend Jayne was very close to an aunt and uncle who had no children. She spent many summers and holidays with them and lived with them for a time after she graduated from college. They always told her they planned to leave their home, properties, and business interests to her, but when they died it was discovered that the will hadn’t been property executed. It went into probate and all her aunt and uncle’s property was dispersed to a long list of other relatives, leaving Jayne out completely. She couldn’t even go into their home to get things she’d stored there but had to bid on them at auction if she wanted them. … This sad story stayed with me for years and finally found its way into the concept of this book.

Main character Emily Lamont, orphaned when only a young girl, was raised by her godparents in their opulent home in Philadelphia. From a young age she trained and worked with Hal and Mary Newman in their prestigious downtown art gallery, the Newman Gallery, and it was their heart’s desire to leave their home and gallery to her. However, as in Jayne’s story, a problem with the will cut Emily out of her inheritance. Her godparents’ home, money, art collection, and gallery went instead to their nephew Leonard—not a happy answer. In addition, Leonard disliked Emily and made it clear to her he would take over everything and do with it as he liked.

In shock, Emily discovers that a small gallery in Gatlinburg, that her godparents bought later in life, had been put jointly in her name. Her attorney encourages selling The Creekside Gallery but Emily decides instead to move to Gatlinburg to run it and to make a new beginning. However, Cooper Garrison in Gatlinburg, is bitter his mother didn’t inherit the gallery since she’d faithfully managed it for so many years. So the sweet reception Emily hoped for is tempered with Cooper’s grudging resentment, even though Cooper’s mother Mamie kindly welcomes Emily with open arms.

Of course, this is only the beginning of the story. Cooper has his own difficult past and issues to deal with and  immediately resents his attraction to Emily, too. Emily has her own adjustments to contend with, linked with her past and the new gallery in Gatlinburg. The “lost inheritance” theme plays out in other ways, also, as the story moves along … and the book is full of unsolved mysteries, friendships, love interests, and the lovely world of a beautiful little art gallery, all amid the colorful setting of Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains.

An extensive amount of research went into this novel to create the book’s settings—first in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and  then in Gatlinburg in the Smokies. I placed the Creekside Gallery on Gatlinburg’s River Road and I spent many hours creating the “fictitious” artists who showed their work in this mountain gallery. I put my characters’ homes in different spots around downtown Gatlinburg — all in the midst of all the real sights any visiting tourist can see and enjoy there. Gatlinburg is a fun city to visit … and I worked hard to help my readers feel they were “right there” in the Burg with Emily, Cooper, Mamie, Mackie, Sara, and all the other colorful characters that found their way into this story.

For additional story fun, Emily and Cooper take hikes in the Smoky Mountains together that readers will love. They walk their dogs on the nearby Gatlinburg Trail, enjoy the downtown restaurants and shops, and visit Dollywood.  … In the story,  Cooper Garrison builds log homes, so I had to study extensively about log-home building and visit a log home business to learn how these mountain homes are created. Emily’s new friend Sara Russell works with her mother in a dollhouse shop in the Laurel Mountain Village Mall in Gatlinburg, forming a link between these two young women right away as Emily builds dollhouses as a side hobby.

I believe all stories are enriched with beloved pets, and four wonderful pets help to make this story special. Emily’s well-behaved gallery dog Mercedes comes with her to Tennessee from Pennsylvania and right away has a spitzy confrontation with the Creekside Gallery cat Sugar Lips. The real Sugar Lips is owned by my Sevierville fan and friend Charlene Povia and Mercedes was based on another fan, Lisa Keever’s, gray poodle Sadie. Cooper’s golden retriever Brinkley is named after Steven Zacharius dog with the same name. Steven is the CEO of Kensington Publishing in New York and was pleased that Brinkley found his way into a novel. And finally little Buster looks very much my next door neighbors, the Owens’, two Bichon Frise feisty, little dogs. So I had actual pets to observe to create all these fun story pets. …and Mercedes and Brinkley even get to become heroes in the story.

I loved working on this book set in Gatlinburg… and many of the side characters I created became as dear and beloved to me as the main characters….the elusive, eccentric artist Cawood Gentry, the fun-loving Bolinger brothers who ran the coffee store next door to the gallery,  Cooper’s long-time friend Mackie Hilton and his wise father Delbert, and Venetta Renaugh, roaring up on her motorcycle and stirring up bad memories for Cooper. I also loved Daniel Stelben, valiantly trying to keep the Newmans’ Philadelphia gallery going and struggling to keep Leonard Newman from destroying it.

If this isn’t a book you’ve read yet, I hope you will look for it soon. ....See you next month to talk about the twelfth Smoky Mountain book THE INTERLUDE …  Lin

A few reviews and reader comments:

“Lin Stepp is a gifted storyteller who skillfully captures the mystical and enduring history and beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains and the faith, loyalty, and resilience of the people who call them home. …Stepp’s writing is smooth and easy, bringing the reader into the hearts of her characters, showing (not telling) us their intersecting journey from multiple, individual perspectives. Her characters make mistakes; they stumble. They are complex, flawed, and real and while that makes me angry with them at times and sympathetic to them at others, it also makes me appreciate and enjoy their journey all the more. I’ll be returning for more of Lin Stepp’s engaging and heartwarming stories.” – PJ, Romance Dish

“Your books feed the soul in so many ways.” – L.H. Murfreesboro, TN

“I loved Lost Inheritance! When it ended, I didn’t want it to be over. It was hard to start another book after. I was still involved with the characters.” – R.J. C., Kannapolis, NC

“Just finished Lost Inheritance. Best one yet and I’ve said that about every one of your books. I feel like I’m right there in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. I hate to finish them. Hurry and write another.” – M.B., Urbana, OH

“What another fantastic Smoky Mountain series book by Lin Stepp! There were several surprises for me including the outcome concerning the glitches in the Rockwell pictures. I loved the Lady in Red ending which brought tears to my eyes as I could “hear” it being played at that moment. Lin Stepp is a wonderful writer of these contemporary stories set in and around the Smoky Mountains.” – J.W., Amazon Review

“I always turn to your books to lift my spirits! They feel like home.” … F.C., Beech, NC

[Note: All photos my own, from royalty free sites, or used only as a part of my author repurposed storyboards shown only for educational and illustrative purposes, acc to the Fair Use Copyright law, Section 107 of the Copyright Act.]

J.L. and I first drove through Bryson City, North Carolina, on the southern side of the Great Smoky Mountains, while hiking trails out of the Deep Creek Campground and working on our hiking guidebook. Charmed by the glimpses of Bryson City we spotted driving through, we stopped to explore on our return and fell in love with this quaint little North Carolina town. While many downtown areas are in decline today, due to suburban sprawl, Bryson City is still the hub of its community. Trees and  baskets and tubs of flowers and seasonal decorations line the downtown streets, and every shop and building oozes charm. Downtown Bryson is still where people gather, shop, and stop by the local diner or drug store. The gold-domed court house welcomes visitors into town with an American flag stirring on a flagpole in the breeze and the Tuckaseegee River flows right through the town, a scenic sight, as does an old time railroad line offering excursion rides. We loved hearing the woo-woo of the train as it headed into town and enjoyed eating a banana split in the 50s-60s Soda Pops café.

After our visit I told J.L. “I’m going to have to set one of my Smoky Mountain books here” … So later, when a wonderful new story idea began to bubble and develop we headed to Bryson City again to see more of the town and the area, to learn its history and talk to townspeople. My readers said they loved this small town book … and I love remembering how many of my fans planned road trips to visit Bryson City after DADDY’S GIRL published.

In psychology courses I taught in college, especially Developmental Psychology and Educational Psychology, my students often talked at length about peer pressure stereotypes that developed in the school years, especially in high school, and stereotypes that often lingered too long as labels in people’s lives. We also talked about  the increasing problems of bullying in our schools today, often linked to negative stereotypes. … So I decided in this book to explore some of these issues in my story line and what better way to do that than via a high school class reunion, bringing old school mates back together and reviving past peer identities all over again.

Both my main characters, Olivia Benton and Warner Zachery, grew up in Bryson City as neighbors on a quiet rural road outside of town. Behind Olivia’s home was a lavish formal garden created originally by Olivia’s great grandmother, a garden complete with winding trails, tinkling fountains, and lush flowers of all types and kinds. Here Olivia and Warner played as children—and later fell in love. But high school began to throw some curves into their relationship. Olivia, pretty and outgoing, soon became more and more popular with her peers, while Warner, a little odd and socially awkward, became one of the less popular kids, often ridiculed and soon nicknamed “Weird Warner.” Olivia and Warner’s school life and school friendships soon diverged, and although they remained friends at home, during school they ran with different crowds. In time, these differences created a wedge in their friendship and caused the breakup of their budding romance.

After high school, Warner left Bryson City to go far away to college. Olivia stayed. In time Warner found his way to his dreams, married, and then dropped into unexpected fame for his humorous children’s books about a social misfit boy he named Geeky Gilmore. …Olivia stayed in Bryson City, commuting to a nearby college, living at home with her widowed father, caring for him and the Fairchild Gardens. In time her work at a local florist led Olivia to open her own small floral shop in downtown Bryson City.

As the book begins, Olivia is working with her high school friends to plan their ten-year reunion. As she and three girlfriends share lunch in a downtown drugstore, Warner Zachery walks into the store and Olivia knows as soon as she sees him she still loves him, even after all these years. .. As for “Weird Warner,” he’s now become the famous and successful W. T. Zachery but still harbors old bitterness from his Bryson City past and he is quickly reminded of that past. In addition for Warner, two years ago, his wife was killed in a New York store robbery and he’s still working past that hard time, too. He’d hoped coming to Bryson to spend time with his family would prove restful but instead, Warner is soon thrown back into old problems and old feelings for Olivia Benton he thought he’d left behind .

Mixed into this ongoing drama of two old friends reuniting are the stories of several interesting side characters, each  packed with small joys and surprises. The book also features beautiful hikes and travels around the Bryson City and Smoky Mountain area. Continuing problems occur, too, with the community’s concern over a vandal defacing public property, leaving angry messages and frightening people. Mysteries and dilemmas seem to unfold on every corner throughout the plot while Warner and Olivia try to navigate their feelings and unresolved issues amid it all.

I loved writing this book—showing how old stereotypes from school years often follow long into adulthood—and how limiting and hurtful they can be. My past academic teaching experience came into play with this story, helping to show how people grow and change and yet still carry the past along, too. I worked to spotlight as well the dangers and problems of bullying and I worked to reveal through several other characters’ stories, how damaging hidden pasts and secrets can be. Admittedly, I also had a blast creating Warner’s zany Geeky Gilmore characters that peopled his books and I loved developing his journey to success as a writer and illustrator. I also enjoyed creating Olivia’s lavish family gardens, so cherished by the women of her family, and had fun developing her small downtown floral shop in Bryson City. I studied extensively to make the gardens and florist believable and even spent a day at one of my Lenoir City fan’s florist learning the business and observing her staff at work. Many scenes in Olivia’s floral shop reflect Pat McCarter’s store. …As a final thought, like Olivia, I grew up with a mother who loved flowers and the garden, and I drew from those warm memories often in writing this book. I’m sure mother would have loved it.

I hope you’ll have fun visiting my fictional Bryson City world in DADDY’S GIRL.

[Note: All photos my own, from royalty free sites, or used only as a part of my author repurposed storyboards shown only for educational and illustrative purposes, acc to the Fair Use Copyright law, Section 107 of the Copyright Act.]

Because my husband J.L. and I had spent many happy days over in Western Carolina hiking trails and exploring the area, I decided to set one of my novels there. I decided on Maggie Valley for my primary setting—a quiet valley and resort town tucked up against the eastern boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Maggie Valley is a small, peaceful mountain community not far from nearby Waynesville and Asheville. The Western Carolina area is also “apple country” and home to many apple orchards like Barber’s Orchard that we’d often visited outside of Waynesville. So I decided to create a family apple orchard as a part of my Maggie Valley story. I called the orchard the Cunningham Farm Apple Orchard and enjoyed many happy hours reading about orchard farming and just the right apple varieties for the orchard to grow.

As a psychology professor, I’d often listened to my students talk about the problems caused in their family units by difficult family members. Many shared, in our class discussions, about a single individual that made every family get-together a nightmare and who often had torn an otherwise healthy and happy family apart. I decided to explore this idea in this novel and created Estelle Cunningham, a harsh, dominant, and authoritarian woman, who ruled the roost in her family with a demanding and unkind hand. Estelle was John Cunningham’s mother. His legacy in inheriting his family orchard, which had been in his family for several generations, included his widowed mother. He and his sister Holly had grown up with their mother’s controlling and dominating ways, each finding their own ways to cope with her. But when John brought his new bride Lydia into the family, things didn’t go so well. Lydia, a warm, friendly, and loving woman kept trying over and over again to win over the love and respect of her new mother-in-law, but to no avail. As the children came and when John and Lydia moved into the big home after John’s father’s death, things only seemed to grow worse. When John and Lydia’s three boys began to enter their teens, they developed their own interests and ideas for their life—none to Estelle’s pleasing—as she expected them to stay and work the farm. Lydia came under more attack from Estelle at that time, also, for going to work to help with the family’s debts. …In a turning point, with Lydia’s unhappiness growing, she decides to separate from John and take a job offer in Atlanta. Not long after, with increased pressure from Estelle and their mother’s support gone, the boys move to Atlanta to live with their mother. Now as the story begins, Lydia has a fine job opportunity back at home in North Carolina. Estelle has passed away and Lydia decides to take the job to see if she can patch up her relationship with her only daughter. Her sons accuse her of  going home to try to patch things up with John, too, but she denies it—even to herself.

The questions, of course, are: (1) Can Lydia and John reunite after all these years apart? (2) Are there still loving feelings remaining? (3) Can they work through the bitterness and anger they both hold about their relationship and the past? … And in addition, can their children—now grown—give up their old anger and resentments they’ve carried for so long? From these questions, you can see that  one of the book’s central themes revolves around the hurtful past of this family and whether they can ever recover, forgive, and love one another again.

Side characters and side plots also play a marvelous part in this story. The farm staff members, who live and work at the Cunningham Farm and have always been like family,  have their own lives and problems ongoing. Lydia’s daughter Mary Beth and her two twin sons had to come back home to the farm after Mary Beth’s husband deserted them. In addition, ongoing issues in her life with her husband thread throughout the story… along with fun, warm-hearted scenes with Mary Beth’s five-year old twin sons Bucky and Billy Ray. Readers will also enjoy meeting Lydia and John’s long-time friends Rebecca and Tolley Albright who are both cloggers—and who get Lydia and John back into clogging again, too. On a side note: Many national champion cloggers come from the Maggie Valley, North Carolina, area and the Stompin’ Ground theatre there still offers wonderful evenings of mountain clogging and music.

Along with the family dynamics in this story, problems with a ghost are troubling the valley and the Cunningham family. Several sightings of the ghost, and frightening scenes related to it, have happened all too close to the Cunningham Farm’s property. Speculation about the ghost are rampant—and of course there are mixed opinions as to whether it is a real ghost or someone posing as a ghost causing the problems. Before the book is out, some scary scenes unfold related to this elusive ghost until the mystery is finally solved. To further complicate matters, Mary Beth’s former husband, a troubled man, is causing problems for the family—leading to yet another menacing and suspenseful scene. You will not be bored with the events of this story in Welcome Back as one surprising event just seems to lead to another before the book finally ends.

I loved taking readers over to the Western Carolina area in this story … to scenes in downtown Waynesville, on hikes in the Cataloochee Valley, to nearby Balsam Mountain, and to visit the campus at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee where Lydia has taken her new job as career services director. To my joy, this book also was a finalist for the Selah Awards—a nice honor and a coveted one by authors of inspirational books. The Selahs are awarded annually by the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference for best books…. If you’ve missed reading Welcome Back, I hope you will look for it soon!

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW:                                                                                                                                     “Welcome Back is another terrific Smoky Mountain novel from the pen of Lin Stepp and continues to underscore her master of the genre and her impressive attention to character development and background detail.”

[Note: All photos my own, from royalty free sites, or used only as a part of my author repurposed storyboards shown only for educational and illustrative purposes, acc to the Fair Use Copyright law, Section 107 of the Copyright Act.]

As my husband J.L. and I hiked trails around the Smoky Mountains, and as I researched the mountain areas where we hiked, I read many stories about how the Appalachian lands were settled. I learned about the early settlers and then about the latter wealthy northerners who came to the area for the clean air and outdoor beauty of the mountains. Many resorts grew up in this era, often on old assembly grounds or in spots where mineral waters bubbled out of the ground. These mountain resorts were often lavish with beautiful buildings, fine dining and entertainment—places where the wealthy came in their opulent clothes, with their new Model T automobiles and industrial wealth of the time, to get away from city life and the smoke and filth of growing industry.

Into my mind, as I studied, came the idea of creating one of those resorts in one of my books. And so I invented Laurel Springs Camp Assembly Grounds, an old resort and campground in Cosby, Tennessee. Like the gracious resorts I’d read about, I enjoyed creating the history of Laurel Springs and the history of the two families that originally built the resort and whose ancestors still lived on and ran it. Carter Layman and Rhea Dean grew up at Laurel Springs, ran and played all over the resort and mountains in the area, and dreamed as children—and later as teens and sweethearts—of one day restoring the old resort and campground to its former glory. But time and angst drew them apart. Carter went away, married another, had a child. Rhea stayed, making her life at the resort.

Now nine years later Carter has come home, widowed, with a young six year -old son Taylor. Rhea is not happy to learn Carter is visiting or to hear he plans to stay.  She is especially provoked to find Carter expects to pick right back up where he left off with their old dreams to restore Laurel Springs and with her. The nerve! And so the story begins.

I had a joyous time creating these two stubborn, independent, smart and strong willed characters who’d known each other since early childhood. There is something about the bond with long-time friends you’ve known all your life. They “knew you when”—and in many ways know you now with a depth others don’t. In addition, Rhea and Carter’s deep ties are also linked to a place they both know and love. No place at the old resort doesn’t hold rich memories for them.

 

As the book begins Carter is quicker than Rhea to want to forgive, to want a new start with her. But Rhea isn’t so quick to forgive or to forget—not ready to give up her anger, bitterness, and sense of betrayal. She hates the idea of now being Carter’s second choice and still carries hurt she wasn’t his first, that he could have left her and their dreams behind. …. The difficulty of forgiveness is an ongoing theme in this story. Carter has his areas of hidden bitterness, too. … A sweet part of this story is how Carter’s grandfather and Rhea’s grandmother both help the two find their way past these old hurts they’ve both carried far too long.

Carter and Rhea also share the love of strong old friends Billy Wade and Jeannie Ledford. Their son Beau bonds quickly with Carter’s young son Taylor. … I painted many sweet scenes with these long-time friends and with Billy Wade and Jeannie’s desire to help Carter and Rhea…. Many other memorable family members and friends around Cosby make this book a warm and welcoming story. … I researched extensively to make Laurel Springs resort’s story and background true to the history of many resorts around the area. Not all early resorts of this type remain in the mountains today but some still do. For the Dean and Layman families I created two farmhouses to either side of the resort, developed old assembly ground buildings, a historic church, and a resort store all centered around Laurel Springs Lake. Along Little Cascades Creek, running through the resort, I had fun creating an array of cute, colorful resort cabins, each with an individual name and style and on the other side of the creek a scenic, shady campground. The road into the campground passed through an old covered bridge and Kensington’s artist used that bridge concept for the book cover, since many sweet and special scenes revolve around that covered bridge.

Cosby, Tennessee, where the book is set is a small but beautiful community tucked up against the Smoky Mountains not far from Newport, Pittman Center, and Gatlinburg. Cosby spreads over a valley area between the Great Smoky Mountains and English Mountain, rich with rushing streams, farms, forestland, and natural beauty. At its heart is a small township, tourist attractions, the Cosby Campground, and many hiking trails. Rhea, Carter, and Taylor hike one of these trails to Henwallow Falls in the book and picnic afterward at the Cosby picnic area. J.L. and I have hiked the Cosby trails many times, explored the back roads, visited Carver’s Orchard, and cooked hot dogs at the Cosby picnic area after our hikes. On one occasion we met a local bluegrass group practicing in the picnic area and I had fun bringing this memory into my story.

In doing my original area research, I learned gold had often been panned in the streams of Cosby and Greenbrier—a surprise to me. Many in the mountains hoped to get rich from the gold and gemstones found in Appalachian streams. In some areas around the Appalachian region, like in Dahlonega, Georgia, a rich amount of gold was found. On an interesting side note I learned that gold panned in the Smokies was redeemed in Dahlonega with records seldom crediting the finds to Tennessee. Just as out west, squabbles about lands and claims were common. So I had fun introducing an old gold mining story—and an unsolved mystery—into the story plot.

No matter the heart or intent, keeping secrets and not communicating causes problems in relationships, another underlying theme in this story. Holding on to stubborn pride and grudges can damage emotions and relationships, too, as this story so often shows.

Readers of this book enjoyed visiting Cosby and this section of the Smoky Mountains … and I loved creating Laurel Springs resort and Carter and Rhea’s story. This book went into a large print hardback edition and went international … and it’s always interesting to see the new covers created for different versions like these.

In closing, here are a few reader comments that I hope might make you want to read this book… or to return, as I did, to read it again.

“Dr. Lin Stepp has given us another Smoky Mountain novel — Saving Laurel Springs…a heartfelt story full of hope, small town charm and belief in second chances.” … It continues with the theme and setting of the Great Smoky Mountains, which serve as a backdrop for the small town of Cosby, populated with characters who are blessed with a strong community spirit and cherished memories…The reader will share the questions, the agony, the romance and the happiness as Rhea Dean journeys through memories, making decisions, only to examine them later in the light of truth and forgiveness. How her life comes back together with the people she cares about and the place she loves makes a “I-can’t-put-it-down” story that pulls the reader into an emotional blend of past and present… another Smoky Mountain gem from Lin Stepp.” – B. Marlowe, Cleveland Banner Newspaper article

“A heartwarming, tender story about young love and forgiveness. Stepp has a wonderful ability to take you back to your own youth with her characters and storytelling.”– RT Book Reviews

“A camp assembly in the Great Smoky Mountains is the setting for the eighth novel of this sweet contemporary series with a heartfelt faith message woven within the romance. The highlighted lesson behind this Christian story is forgiveness and it’s honed beautifully by the end of the story. How many of us harbor resentment for the past, never releasing ourselves into the power of forgiveness? SAVING LAUREL SPRINGS illustrates one woman’s rather bumpy journey through bitterness, ending with a rich new beginning that will touch your heart…I enjoy Lin Stepp’s books for their simplicity, taking us down-home into the lives of people who understand poverty, hard work and a belief that life improves with faith.” –Review from The Zest Quest

[Note: All photos my own, from royalty free sites, or used only as a part of my author repurposed storyboards shown only for educational and illustrative purposes, acc to the Fair Use Copyright law, Section 107 of the Copyright Act.]

In two of my previous books, readers met a minor, cameo character called Zola Devon  who always interested them. In an earlier book titled DELIA’S PLACE Zola suggested to Tanner Cross that his interest in Delia Walker might be something he should pursue. Zola told him, when she’d never even met Delia, “She’s going to be an important presence in your life.” Zola made Tanner nervous with insights like this. He’d always heard Zola was the tiniest bit odd and had a tendency to know or see things about people but now he had it confirmed. “Weird,” he said to himself, shaking his head over the incident.

Zola also popped into my book DOWN BY THE RIVER suggesting to Grace Conley, when they’d never met before either, that she owned a bed and breakfast named The Mimosa Inn in Townsend. “I beg your pardon?” Grace said, stepping back, feeling disquieted by Zola since she’d looked at a bed and breakfast only that morning, thinking how nice it would be to own it. “Are you a fortune teller?” she asks Zola. “Absolutely not,” Zola replies, looking shocked. “I’m only a simple Christian woman who sometimes hears a little word from God for people. Like a Biblical seer.” Of course, Zola shared more with Grace … and Grace had to admit Zola made her nervous, too.

Readers, fascinated with this unusual character who could “see” things about people, kept saying to me, “Write a book about Zola, Lin” … and so after hearing many, many comments like this, I decided to do just that. MAKIN’ MIRACLES is about Zola Devon, who is part Tahitian and part Appalachian. Zola’s father grew up in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee outside of Gatlinburg on the Devon family farms. He later became a missionary doctor in Moorea in the Tahitian islands, where he met and married Zola’s mother. Growing up, Zola made many visits to the states to spend time with her Tennessee family, and her father even renovated an old home place on the family property for his family to stay in on their visits. Later, when Zola’s mother died, Zola came back to Tennessee to stay with her grandparents and, after finishing college and opening her shop Nature’s Corner in Gatlinburg, she moved into her father’s house.

Life has often been difficult for Zola with her mixed heritage and Tahitian looks, but even more so because she has a gifting from God. The Lord sometimes shows her wisdom or knowledge about someone – that she couldn’t know otherwise – in order to help them in some way. Zola’s seer gift is in stark contrast to that of fortunetellers in the world, who charge for what they term “psychic abilities.” Zola’s gifts of knowing come only as God gives them and she shares them only as God shows her and never with any remuneration.

A point I wanted to make in this book is that God always has, and still does, use people in spiritual giftings, but never for profit and only by the leadership of the Spirit of God. In the world, many claim supernatural abilities—but these are not from God, even if well-intended. Many, quite frankly, are a little shady, and some abilities are very close neighbors to “the dark side,” with their origins from the opposite end of the spiritual spectrum. So naturally Madam Renee in the book, who has a psychic business for profit in the Gatlinburg area, resents Zola and sees her as a threat. Dark and light never mix well.

The other main character in this story, Spencer Jackson, a nature photographer, with a gallery in Gatlinburg not far from Zola’s shop, has a lot of hidden issues in his life. He does not appreciate meeting Zola’s gift head-on suggesting that the women he’s with might rob him later that night. Who does this woman think she is suggesting such a thing? Spencer is further angered when Zola has the audacity to suggest that Leena is not the woman for him. … So Zola and Spencer do not have a happy first meeting. Later, even when Spencer finds her warnings were true—and realizes he wouldn’t have seen it if not for her—their relationship is rocky. The two are such very different people—Zola warm-hearted, happy, content with her life, Spencer moody and broody, carrying secrets, grudges, and old anger. Yet, despite it all, they are attracted.

Zola yearns to help Spencer but Spencer resists help from Zola or anyone else. As the book progresses the reasons for Spencer’s grudges and issues are gradually revealed. But it is a toss-up for a long time how he’ll deal with them or if he’ll deal with them at all. … Amid the ongoing up-and-down relationship between Zola and Spencer are warm, happy scenes with Zola’s family and friends—all of whom readers will soon come to love. And additionally, problems come Zola’s way with a lost child in the mountains and a murder she finds herself involved in.

 

I loved creating scenes for this book in the out-of-doors, one love that Zola and Spencer hold in common. Readers get to go on several wonderful outings and photo shoots in the mountains with Spencer and Zola. My own experiences hiking in the Smokies came into play here with trails they hiked in the Elkmont area and high on the mountains near Clingman’s Dome. In another lovely scene Zola helps Spencer discover a hoar frost covering the mountain hillsides that he gets to take wonderful photos of.

Side characters in this book showed more diversity than in many of my past books. Aston Parker, Spencer’s best friend and assistant manager of the Jackson Gallery is African American—a warm, fun-loving, smart and wise man. Zola’s assistant manager at Nature’s Corner, Maya Thomas, is Jamaican. Her wisdom and love for Zola, and sweet acceptance of her and her gifts, provide a valued friendship for Zola. And Ben Lee, the father of an Asian friend of Zola’s, seeks out Zola’s help, yearning to know what has happened to his daughter who simply disappears one day.

Many big and small mysteries are revealed throughout this book, along with a rich multi-layered story of two very different people who find a way to resolve their differences and learn to love and appreciate each other. … If you’ve missed reading MAKIN’ MIRACLES I hope you’ll add it to your summer reading list. This book was also published in hardback large print, with a different but lovely cover, as well as in trade paperback and eBook versions.

[Note: All photos my own, from royalty free sites, or used only as a part of my author repurposed storyboards shown only for educational and illustrative purposes, acc to the Fair Use Copyright law, Section 107 of the Copyright Act.]

After publishing five books with my first publisher, I needed to seek a new publication route.  After sending queries to a variety of different publishers, I received a call from the editorial director at Kensington Publishing in New York. She said that she loved my book submitted, and the synopses of next titles, and that Kensington wanted to write contract for my next Smoky Mountain novels. She also told me with enthusiasm that she wanted to personally be my editor because she so enjoyed my work. What a happy call that was! A year later, in the spring of 2014, DOWN BY THE RIVER, my sixth Smoky Mountain novel, published with Kensington. Like my earlier novel TELL ME ABOUT ORCHARD HOLLOW it is set in Townsend on the quiet side of the Smoky Mountains, although in a different locale and with a completely new set of characters.

A fun note to remember about this book is that I actually dreamed the plot and story for DOWN BY THE RIVER—a first for me! My husband and I were heading through Townsend to hike one sunny Saturday and I looked over to see this charming turreted home for sale along the Little River. “Look at that gorgeous place.” I pointed toward the house. “Someone should buy it and open a shop or business there.” As we headed on to hike, I promptly forgot about the house, but a couple of weeks later, I woke up to grab a pen and paper to scribble down the story plot I dreamed about that very place. In the photo, you will see a picture of the actual turreted house on the river at the bottom of my bulletin board that inspired this story and then another modified photo above it of how I changed and enlarged the original house to accommodate a gracious bed and breakfast I named The Mimosa Inn.

Main characters in DOWN BY THE RIVER are Grace Conley and Jack Teague. As the book begins, Grace, who’d lost her husband a few years ago, is restless and looking for a new direction in life. She decides, somewhat impulsively, to buy a bed and breakfast for sale on the Little River while visiting in Townsend to pick up her daughter at a nearby college.  Her family in Nashville is scandalized when she returns home to break the news. “Mom, are you crazy? What do you know about running a bed and breakfast? You haven’t worked in years … and if you move away who will keep the kids  during the Vanderbilt games and host our family holidays?” But Grace does move away, even with her grown children’s disfavor, and then begins to question her own sensibility after finding herself attracted to Jack Teague, the local ladies man. She knows better than to get involved with a man like Jack.

Jack Teague, a realtor in the Townsend area, is attracted to Grace Conley from the moment he meets her, even after seeing she isn’t the kind of woman who wants to fool around. Busy with his life and his twin girls he’s raised alone, Jack doesn’t expect to see Grace again after showing her the inn on the river. When, to his surprise, she buys the inn and returns, it’s the beginning of many complications in his life—none of which Jack is  the least bit ready for.

To further complicate things, Grace’s difficult daughter Margaret shows up to stay with her, and the young minister of the church next door, Vincent Westbrook, thinks he’s had a sign from God he’s supposed to marry Margaret. Visiting only briefly, Margaret makes it clear she is not interested in Vincent and would never want to live permanently in a Podunk town like Townsend. … Then on top of all the other problems going on, there is a stalker in the neighborhood whose furtive, threatening actions are troubling the area residents.

To learn what else happens in the story and to meet all the other interesting characters you’ll need to read the book. It will quickly wrap you in its rich, heart-warming, keep-you-guessing story … while taking you to visit in the charming town of Townsend near the Smoky Mountains.  You’ll enjoy book scenes along the Little River, as in the photo above, a visit to the Little River Railroad Museum, and you will smile at the many sweet scenes on the swinging bridge behind Grace Conley’s Mimosa Inn.

With every book published my author’s life is kept busy with … book launches, a book tour, book signings, speaking events, and the ongoing tasks of keeping up with blog posts, social media, and replying to reader emails. In addition to continuing to write more new books, authors travel to many signings and events all year round. Fortunately, I really love traveling to meet my readers and I love speaking for book clubs, organizations, libraries, literary events, conferences, and book festivals, too.

It’s always fun when readers come to a signing or event to meet me to get my latest book and tell me the things they enjoy about my writing. Another encouragement and  joy are the wonderful reviews and comments written to me by fans and readers from all over the U.S. and abroad in personal emails and the fun Facebook notes or comments posted on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Goodreads, and a multitude of review sites. Here are a few reader comments below I thought you might enjoy.

“Stepp established a lovely sense of place in the novel, capturing the sights and sounds of Tennessee’s breathtaking Great Smoky Mountains.” – Booklist

“Down by the River is a delightful book through and through…the setting is beautiful…the array of characters are fun and quickly feel like friends…the banter between Jack and Grace is amusing. There’s tragedy, good times, everyday life like we all experience. The author has penned a wonderfully inspiring tale that left me smiling long afterwards.” – J.A., Goodreads

“Stepp is an amazing storyteller … the romance exhibited is pure, natural and heartwarming.” – RT Review

“These books are so real it’s like I want to go to Townsend, Wears Valley and Gatlinburg looking for these people just to meet them …I finished Down By The River today and turned right around and started reading it again to make sure that I did not miss anything.” – B.F., Cincinnati, OH

  “Outstanding novel.. .Down by the River… Cannot put it down.” -S.M., South Africa

With Kensingon’s interest and backing, DOWN BY THE RIVER was a wonderful success. The book built a strong new national following, racking up best-seller awards, and went international. I enjoyed seeing the international covers popping up for my Kensington books like the Polish version pictured here, so different from the U.S cover. In looking back, the entire year of 2014 when DOWN BY THE RIVER published proved to be unbelievably hectic year for me and for my husband J.L., too. Our jointly written Smoky Mountain hiking guidebook THE AFTERNOON HIKER also published in 2014 in the spring  as did my novella “A Smoky Mountain Gift”  published in Kensington’s Christmas anthology WHEN THE SNOW FALLS in 2014 in the fall  … In addition, my next book MAKIN’ MIRACLES came out right after the new year in 2015. During this period, many new honors and awards came my way with books hitting the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon Bestseller lists. Titles soon began to go into large print, audio, and international versions and many fine interview and review articles popped up in magazines and newspapers. It was a fun and exciting time.

[Note: All photos my own, from royalty free sites, or used only as a part of my author repurposed storyboards shown only for educational and illustrative purposes, acc to the Fair Use Copyright law, Section 107 of the Copyright Act.]