Still Waters by Lindsey P. Brackett -- Book Tour Review + Giveaway

About the Book

When her beloved grandmother requests one last summer at Still Waters, the family cottage on Edisto Beach, Cora Anne returns to a place that haunts her with loss and tempts her with forgiveness. 

Peace means reconciling her family and her Edisto memories. But acceptance may mean loving the man determined to preserve a past she'd rather forget.

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About the Author

Award-winning writer Lindsey P. Brackett once taught middle grades literature, but now she writes her own works in the midst of motherhood. A blogger since 2010, she has published articles and short stories in a variety of print and online publications including Thriving Family, Country Extra, HomeLife, Northeast Georgia Living, Splickety Prime, Splickety Love, and Southern Writers Magazine Best Short Fiction 2015. Lindsey serves as Editor of Web Content for the Splickety Publishing Group, and she writes a popular column for several North Georgia newspapers.

As a mother of four chaotic kids, her home is always full of wet towels, lost library books, and strong coffee. Her love of family ties and southern places prompted her debut novel, Still Waters, inspired by her own love of Edisto summers and peach ice cream. Connect with her at http://www.lindseypbrackett.com.

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​Author Interview

Check out the interview HERE.

Ten Behind the Scenes Facts About the Book

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1. My grandparents actually met on a back road in Colleton County in the 1940’s. She was lost and he was bundling pine straw to sell. So that story inside the story is true.
2. McConkey’s Jungle Shack—and they’re not kidding about the shack part—really does have the best fish tacos on the coast.
3. Late in the book I reference a story about soldiers mistaking a loggerhead turtle for an enemy when the beach was being used as a lookout during WWII. This really happened and you can read about it in Nell Graydon’s Tales of Edisto, which I used for both reference and inspiration.
4. We drive a blue minivan and it’s kind of well-known because the paint job was bad (thanks Honda) and we’ve never spend the money to fix it. So my best friend begged me to put the blue van in the story. It’s there, when Cora Anne and Nan stop at King’s Market, complete with a passel of kids. (I have four of those.)
5. King’s Market has the best key lime pie. For real.
6. My cousin Heather and I were born 18 hours apart, and our moms are sisters. Yes, she inspired Hannah. We spent (and still do sometimes) many weeks on Edisto with her family growing up. Our favorite thing was to hunt for sharks teeth and snail shells so we could make necklaces with our grandmother.
7. The book is set in 2006 because I wanted a time period before social media’s invasion and before BiLo bought out the Piggly Wiggly. Edistonians are not coming around. They still call their only grocery store The Pig.
8. The Edisto Island Open Land Trust is a gem I stumbled upon while researching what made the most sense for Tennessee’s philanthropic spirit. The EIOLT was the perfect fit since it’s all about preservation of the Island’s natural beauty, while empowering home owners to still be able to afford family property that’s been passed down for generations. The executive director, John, drank coffee with me one morning at the Edisto Coffee Shop and told me so much valuable information.
9. Botany Bay (and that’s the Botany sentinel tree on my cover) was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Edisto took the brunt of the storm’s hit and the eye passed over the island. The entire first row of houses were left standing in water since the beach was pushed inland. But the community there is strong and resilient. They’ve been rebuilding and regrouping. The beaches will never look the same, but as my mama says, “That’s nature. And life. Storms come and you have to deal with the aftermath.” Or, as Tennessee puts it in the story, “Sometimes a storm’s what clears out the junk…”
10. Edisto Beach still has a video store, probably the last one left in the country. It’s also one of two places in the town to get ice cream—unless you’re sitting on your own porch enjoying the ocean breeze and listening for the churn to slow down. 

Snippet

​​She left the Seabrook plot and wandered beyond the church, to where the newer grave markers nestled under the spread branches of live oaks. There lay her grandfather’s ashes, and a few rows over, she found fresh flowers on Patrick Watson’s grave. She knelt and traced the date. July 28, 1993.
Cora Anne rose and crossed her arms. You’re not ten years old anymore. Then why did she still feel like that child?
“There you are.” Tennessee came striding across the cemetery. “Looking for someone?”
 She couldn’t help the smile. “I think he found me.”
He glanced at his father's grave and then took her arm, tugging her back toward the front of the little white church. "You enjoy the service?"
A guitar case swung from his hand, and she nudged him with her elbow. "You could have told me you're a man of many talents. Where'd you learn to play?"
"Aw, this?" He swung the case with ease. "Just a little something I picked up during the college bar scene."
She gaped at him, unsure if he was making another joke, and he tilted a half-smile her way. "We've all got a history. Some more colorful than others."
They had paused at the edge of the gravel lot and now she looked across it for Nan. She found her at the bottom of the porch steps being embraced by a woman with soft blonde curls and a face too youthful to be middle-aged.
Cora Anne stepped back and Tennessee snagged her elbow to keep her from falling. Again. Blasted oak tree roots.
"What's wrong?"
She fisted her hands against her stomach. "That's your mother."
"Yeah, I know. She and Mrs. Annie have become good friends." He peered at her. "You're white as one of these supposed graveyard ghosts."
"I haven't seen your mother since … since …" Her chest constricted and she forced a deep breath past the tightness. "Can you please tell Nan I'll be in the car?"
"Here." He shoved the guitar case at her. "Why don't you do me a favor and take this over to my truck? I'll meet you there."
She backed away without arguing and found his white Dodge Ram easily among the sedans and midlife crisis convertibles. Setting the case inside, she leaned on the open door. Grace, it seemed, would be harder to face than her son.
She looked back up as he bounded over the lot with Nan's floppy straw hat in his hand.
"Your grandmother said to put this on." 
She took it hesitantly, fingering the brim. "Why?"
"Because she said your cheeks look pink." He leaned past her and swung the case into the narrow backseat of his extended cab. "And because I'm taking you for a drive."

Review

Debut author Lindsey P. Bracket has written a beautiful and inspiring story.  From page one this novel will draw readers in, speaking to them and touching their hearts.  Not only is it beautiful and inspiring though, Bracket’s story is also heartwarming and sweetly romantic, with easily relatable characters and a gorgeous southern backdrop.  A huge theme in this book is disaster; dealing with both natural and personal disasters in life.  It is about struggles and hardships, but most of all about friendship and love.  Readers will not want to miss this delightful and inspiring debut read!
                              
Genre: contemporary, romance, Christian
Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
Publication date: September 8, 2017
Number of pages: 272
 
A copy of this book was purchased for review. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Giveaway

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Tour Schedule

​September 14--Beyond the Lake
September 15--Christian Bookaholic
September 16--Debbie's Dusty Deliberations
September 17--
September 18--Soulfully Romantic
September 19--Reading Is My SuperPower
September 20--Singing Librarian Books
September 21--Remembrancy
September 22--Reader's Cozy Corner ​
September 23--
September 24--Christy's Cozy Corners
September 25--
September 26--Pause for Tales