A Home for Christmas

I am pleased to annouce that I am geering up for the November 2009 release of A Home for Christmas. I have heard from a number of readers who enjoyed Only You who are as anxious as I am for this book's release.

The cover is gorgeous. My fabulous cover designer, Debra Dixon at Belle Books, once again did an amazing job! I just proofed the gallies and sent them off to my editors, so everything is on schedule.

Also, I just updated my website. I change the color to match with the cover for A Home for Christmas. So, be sure to stop by and let me know what you think about the new look. I posted an excerpt from Chapter One which I will post here as well. To further whet your appetite, if you email a request to dgracestaley@aol.com, I will send you a look at the rest of the first chapter:)

Here's the excerpt for Chapter 1 of A Home for Christmas:

Available November 2009
in Trade Paperback and in E-Format***ISBN 978-0-9821756-7-5

A Home for Christmas

The Second Angel Ridge Novel

by Deborah Grace Staley

© 2009 Deborah Grace StaleyAll Rights Reserved

Chapter One

They say you can never go home.

Janice Thornton glided up to the curb in front of the old two-story Victorian and killed the engine. It looked much the same—gingerbread trim in the eaves, wide wraparound porch with wicker furniture. The house was huge, but in the short time she spent here as a child, it had felt cozy to her.

Sitting here looking at it through adult eyes, she realized the appeal had never been the house itself, but the home her grandparents had made in it. Their house had been her ideal of what a home should be. A home she'd longed for as a child. A home she'd never had with her own parents.

Janice slid her sunglasses off and laid them in the empty passenger seat next to her. She always got sentimental around the holidays. She didn't know why. Her formative years had been spent at exclusive boarding schools. Christmases always involved a trip, either with her parents, or more often, with school friends. Each year, her grandmother had invited her to spend Christmas break in Angel Ridge, but her mother wouldn't hear of such a thing. She'd always been embarrassed by her humble roots and didn't want her daughter revisiting them.

Janice hadn't been in Angel Ridge, Tennessee since she'd gone behind her parents' backs and borrowed a friend's car when she was sixteen to come during her spring break. It hadn't changed much. Tall, old houses lined one side of a street that ran high above the Tellassee River, with church steeples just visible a few blocks over. It was a sleepy little town that time seemed to have forgotten, but for some reason, it burned in Janice's memory like a warm, inviting fire on a cold winter morning.

A movement in her peripheral vision made her refocus on the old Victorian. She noticed that a man had appeared from behind the house carrying a ladder. The sun glinted off a pile of tangled Christmas lights, bunched near the steps of the porch, drawing her attention. Janice smiled. She was glad to see that this man, whoever he was, continued her grandfather's tradition of decking the house out in grand style for Christmas.

The man leaned the ladder against the house. As he turned toward the mound of lights, he noticed her and smiled. Her breath caught and hung inside her chest. It was an easy smile, full of good humor that enticed a person to come sit a spell on the porch and enjoy the unseasonably warm, late autumn sunshine.

Tall and lean with whipcord muscles, he wore faded and well-worn jeans with a T-shirt that looked like it had once been black, but now was more a soft charcoal dotted with paint stains. A tan leather tool belt slung low across his narrow hips. A lock of thick, dark hair fell across his tanned forehead as he bent to retrieve the lights.

Janice shifted and the leather seat creaked. A sheen of sweat misted her forehead, and she cracked the window.

What must the home's owner be thinking? But he acted as if seeing a strange woman in a new silver BMW parked outside his home was an every Saturday morning occurrence. He turned, and without giving her a second glance, started up the ladder. Stopping about eight rungs up, he leaned to his right, toward one of the bay windows on the ground floor. Shifting the lights to his other hand, he reached out to pull at something above the window. He teetered. One foot went up in the air as he tried to shift back to find his balance. But the ladder tipped sideways with the movement, and Janice watched in horrified disbelief as he began to fall.

Years of medical school, emergency room rotations, residency, and private practice had honed her instincts so that she didn't even give it a conscious thought. She was out of her car and at his side almost before he hit the boxwoods and rolled to the ground.

"Ah, jeez…" he groaned.

Janice had already clicked into professional mode. "Don't worry, I'm a doctor. Try not to move." She ran her hands down his arms, checking for broken bones. "Where does it hurt?"

The man chuckled. It was a low rumble that had a crazy effect on her. And that smile…it should be registered as a lethal weapon.

"If I said everywhere, would you keep doing that?"

Order Now from http://www.bellbridgebooks.com/

FOLLOW MY BLOG!

It saddens me to say that the Angel Ridge Blog has no followers! I promise to post more cool stuff her about the series, but I need followers. So, what are you waiting for? Follow this blog and tell all your friends about it so they can follow, too!

All the best,

Deborah Grace Staley

Big Hats & Sweet Tea Debut Party

What fun we had on Saturday, June 6, at the Big Hats and Sweet Tea Debut party for Only You! The weather was beautiful, lots of friends and family came to join in the celbration, and the coconut cake and sugar cookies by Scartlett were fab as was the sweet tea by Donna Gennoe. Of course, in no time at all, we were all in a sugar coma!

I am going to upload some pictures. If I were better at doing captions, I could tell you who everyone is, but since I'm caption challenged, I will just tell you some of the stories about what happened and the about the fabulous hats. Most had their own story!

Janene Satterfield, aka Dixie Ferguson, and Donna Gennoe were the hosts. They did the food and decorations and did a wonderful job. The security were my husband (Fred) and my son (Ethan). They looked very nice all dressed up and official in their dark glasses.

In attendence were my mother-in-law, Wilma Davenport. She looked lovely in a brown blouse and mathcing skirt. Her shoes and purse were fabulous! Barbara and Sarah Gillespie stopped by to taste the goodies and get a book, but then they had to dash. My new friend, Jennifer, from my bible study group came in a lovely straw hat decorated with hibicus from her garden. She looked lovely. Megan Pray was a vision in black and white with a complementary black hat.

Blount County Commissioner, Wendy Pitts Reeves, arrived in style in a 2-door red sports car wearing a gorgeous lime green blouse and black trousers. The pastor of Beech Grove Baptist Church, Kenny Armstrong, and his lovely wife Beth stopped by on their way back home from a wedding. You know, I named the Baptist pastor in Angel Ridge after my pastor.

Jane Connatser wore basic black and white, but not having a hat, we had t supply one for her as you can see in the group photo. Donna Gennoe wore beige on white with a matching straw hat decorated in pink accents. Her mother, Sue Reynolds, also looked lovely in black and beige. Donna's daugher, Emily--or is it Brianna this week?--wore white and lime with a very pretty straw hat.

The music was provided by my dear friend, Jan Taylor, how set the mood of the day, which was definitely southern, by playing the lap dulcimer. David Ratliff, who have known since he was a baby, look dashing in blue. The last to arrive, but certainly not the least, was my friend Beth Eason, who looked gorgeous in an ankle-length black and white dress with a white, sleevless sweater.

Kay Macero wore a long, very southern looking dress. Her hat was purchased just before the event at an estate sale. She embelished it with purple flowers. I wonder what other stories that hat could tell?

And we can't leave out the fabulous Dixie. True to form, she stood out oin a multi-colored dress in lime gree, black, white, and yellow. Her wide-brimmed straw hat with big flowers was the perfect topper.

Me, I wore coral and fushcia with the most amazing shoes who were given to me by my dear friend, Valerie Gibbs of Austin, Texas. They were four-inch wedge heels with orangle leather ankles straps and floral appliques. The at has coral with a fuschia sequined scarf and while flowers.

I'd love to hear the attendees comment here their impressions of the event. It was like a fairy tale for me. So much fun with good friends, good food, wonderful weather, amazing music. For those who atteneded and for the others who wanted to come but could not, it meant more to me that you could ever know.

DGS

Re: First Only You Event More to Come

I had the first event for the release of Only You last weekend. I appeared at the Knoxville Christian Center Funfest May 29-31 to promote and autograph Only You, An Angel Ridge Novel.

I met some great people! Lots of fun was had by all. Proceeds went to support KCC's Bible School this week.

Saturday, June 6, we will be celebrating the release of Only You with the Big Hats & Sweet Tea Debut Party at Beech Grove Church, 1519 Topside Rd., Louisville, TN. The event is hosted by Janene Satterfield and Donna Gennoe. This is a southern tea part on the lawn. Guests are encouraged to wear hats! Books will be sold, and I will be available to autograph. There will also be refreshments and giveaways.

Join us! And if you can't, check back next week for pictures.

DGS

Joy! The book arrived!!!!

My copies of Only You, An Angel Ridge Novel, arrived at my door yesterday. Hot of the press from my publisher. I'm doing the happy dance!

Oh happy day....

DGS

Blogging

I have been blogging to promote the release of Only You, an Angel Ridge novel, now available for order form www.bellbridgebooks.com and at www.amazon.com. I had a particularly lively discussion led by Dixie Ferguson, the proprietor of Ferguson's Diner in Angel Ridge last week, so I thought I would post that blog here to see if we can keep the discussion going.

Here it is.

Enjoy!

DGS

Hey, ya’ll! Dixie Ferguson here. I’m sitting in for Deb Staley, aka Deborah Grace Staley, who will likely stop by later today. I run Ferguson’s Diner in Angel Ridge, Tennessee, which is featured in Deb’s new Bell Bridge Books release, Only You.

First, I’ll tell you a little bit about our corner of the world, just to get you acclimated, and then I’ll mostly be talking about what it’s like living in a small southern town like Angel Ridge.
Angel Ridge is a picturesque town in East Tennessee, established in 1785. It overlooks the valley of the Little Tennessee River. This town’s seen a lot over the years. In the early days, its first families staked their claims on hundreds of acres along the banks of the river. Some built their homes along the riverbank, others operated more modest farms on the backside of the ridge, while others were content to build modest homes in the town that developed high up on the ridge where they’d be safe from the river’s flooding.

Long story short, the Flood Control Board came along in the 1970s and built a dam upriver, making a new lake and taking all the homes in the valley. Some called these stately homes relics of a bygone era, but regardless of how you might see it, these folks elbowed their way into our sleepy town and commenced to attempting to take over the running of Angel Ridge. I say “attempting” because some of us up here don’t take to being told how to live our lives. We’re more in favor of moving beyond old hurts to create a new generation in Angel Ridge made strong because of their roots, yet free of its past.

After all the years I've spent behind the counter at Ferguson's, I could probably tell ya'll a story about near everyone in town. In Only You, we’ll focus on Josie Allen and Cole Craig. This is a story about coming home. It's also a story about acceptin' folks for who they are. You could say it's a story about a librarian and a handyman, but I say it's a story about finding love where you'd least expect to. Ya know, those kinds of things always seem to happen when you open up your heart to possibilities. Of course, a little help from our hometown angels and yours truly don't hurt none either!

Now, let’s see . . . Where was I? Oh, yes. Life in a small southern town. Some believe a woman should be seen and not heard. That comes from our Baptist roots, but I say that’s a bunch of hooey. After all, the first folks to preach the gospel were Mary and Margaret who went to the tomb and found Jesus had risen. If they’d kept quiet, the disciples would have gone right on crying in their grape juice in the upper room. So, following in that tradition, you can always count on me or any other good southern woman who’s worth her salt to speak their mind!

Case in point, a woman should wear a hat to church, particularly on high holy days like Easter and Christmas. I sing in the choir down to the Baptist church in town. I point that out because there is one other church sitting at the end of Main Street, and that’s First Presbyterian. They have dances and socials in their fellowship hall where folks have been known to share a glass of wine. Of course, at the Baptist church, there’s none of that foolishness going on, but we have been know to get a little charismatic in church services saying, “Amen,” when Preacher Strong makes a good point that someone in the congregation needs to take to heart (and they know who they are), or the raising of hands when the choir sings a good song that touches you.

But I digress. One Easter Sunday morning a few years back, I busted up into the choir room of the First Baptist church sporting a mighty fine Easter hat as is my habit on Easter Sunday Morning because Jesus don’t like it when ladies don’t wear a hat on Easter Sunday! I put on my choir robe and sat down as we waited to have Brother Sam, our fine music minister, take us through a rousing rendition of “He Arose” which we were starting the service with.
I was sitting there chatting with Ella Clayman, minding my own business, when Sadie Watts, God love her, called to me from the back of the room, “Dixie!” in that clipped little voice of hers that sets your teeth on edge. “Dixie!” she said, “You are wearing a hat!”

I turned, smiled, and said, “Yeah,” because it was clear for anyone to see that I was indeed wearing a hat, and it was fabulous if I do say so myself, and I do. Peacock blue with yellow flowers to match my yellow dress. The shoes, of course, were also peacock blue. But again, I digress.

“Dixie!” Sadie called again from the back of the room. “You are not wearing that hat!”
To which I replied, “Yeah,” because I most certainly was wearing that hat, and very well I might add. Jesus was very pleased.

“Dix-ie!” Sadie called, a little louder this time. “You-are-NOT-wearing-that-hat!”
To which I replied, once again, “Yeah,” because I most certainly was wearing that hat, as I had previously stated.

I turned back to continue my pleasant conversation with Ella. Well, about that time, there was a commotion in the back of the choir room. Everybody turned to see Sadie huffing and puffing out of the choir room, her robe flapping the breeze. Well, I say good riddance.

I proceeded to Easter Sunday morning service wearing my hat with my choir robe. I looked fabulous and the choir sounded even better. I think we always sound better on Resurrection Day and Jesus' Birthday, but you know that wasn’t the end of it. No. Sadie called a meeting on Monday morning with the pastor, the music minister, and the chairman of the deacons, who just happened to be her husband.

Next thing I knew, I was called into a meeting with the music minister and told that henceforth and forever more, ladies would not be permitted to wear hats with their choir robes. To which I replied, “You know, Jesus don’t like it when ladies aren’t permitted to wear hats in his house on Resurrection Day. And besides, how can a person be expected to properly hoop and holler if they can’t throw their hat in the air?” One never knows in a good Baptist church when such an occasion might arise.

But to no avail. Brother Sam was out-voted 2-1. So, I guess I’ll have to sing in the choir without my choir robe when I choose to wear a hat, which I might add, is often because I do love how a fine hat sets off a fabulous outfit!

Which brings me to my next point. Southern women are born with steel in their spines. They may look and speak like the soft, snowy white, sweet-smellin’ magnolia blossoms growing on our centuries old trees, but looks are deceivin’.

Thank you for visiting with us on the High Hats and Sweet Tea Blog tour. We’ll be here all day talking about Deborah Grace Staley’s novel, Only You, and dispensin’ southern wisdom.
Ya’ll take care now!

Dixie Ferguson

Welcome

Welcome to the website for all things Angel Ridge!

I am your host, Deborah Grace Staley, the author of the Angel Ridge Novels.

The first novel in the Angel Ridge series is Only You, and it is a May 2009 release from Bell Bridge Books (www.bellbridgebooks.com).

Angel Ridge is a small town in East Tennessee. Dixie Ferguson runs the local diner and also serves as our host while in Angel Ridge. Here's what she has to say about her corner of the world:

Hey, ya'll. Dixie Ferguson here. I run Ferguson's Diner in Angel Ridge, Tennessee. Population three hundred forty-five. Even though I wasn't born here, well, I call it home now, and most of the locals accept me as one of their own. Let me tell ya a little bit about our corner of the world.
It's a picturesque town in the valley of the Little Tennessee River, established in 1785. In the early days, its first families-the McKays, the Wallaces, the Houstons, the Joneses, and, of course, the Craigs-staked their claims on hundreds of acres of the richest bottom land anyone had ever seen. They built large homes near the meandering river and operated prosperous plantations. Well, all except for the Craigs. They were traders and craftsmen. Men of commerce, as it were. Meanwhile, the town developed above the river on a high ridge.

In the early 1970s, the Flood Control Board came in and bought up about all of the property along the flood prone river, and those stately homes that some called relics of a bygone era were inundated in the name of progress. But those who built more modest houses near town up on the ridge, well, their homes are still standin'. Of course, the families who lost theirs to the newly formed Tellassee Lake moved up to the ridge as well and built elaborate Victorian mansions such as this quaint little town had never seen.

Most of the families I mentioned earlier are still around. These folks are hardy people. Why in all the time they've lived here, they've endured Indian attacks, floods, divided loyalties in the Civil War, and yes, even feuds. The older folks are still marked by the hardships of the past, but the young people of the town hope to move beyond old hurts to create a new generation made strong because of their roots, yet free of the past.

After all the years I've spent behind the counter at Ferguson's, I could probably tell ya'll a story about near everyone in town. But we only have so much time, so I'll narrow it down to just two for now.

This is a story about coming home. It's also a story about acceptin' folks for who they are. You could say it's a story about a librarian and a handyman, but I say it's a story about finding love where you'd least expect to. Ya know, those kinds of things always seem to happen when you open up your heart to possibilities. Of course, a little help from our hometown angels and yours truly don't hurt none either!

So, come on along to Angel Ridge. Sit a spell and enjoy.

Stay tuned for news about the upcoming release of Only You, visits with Dixie and other Angel Ridge residents, and chats with me.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit. I look foward to chatting with you!

Deborah