A VISIT TO PINEY BLUFFS, TN WITH TRIXIE STILLETTO'S P.I. ALLY CALHOUN

A southern girl, Trixie Stilletto traveled north when she found the love of her life, and they enjoyed more than 20 years together working as journalists. Now she's back home in Tennessee writing stories that range from short, hot romances with a kiss of humor to southern-flavored mysteries. Today Trixie lives seven miles from the neighborhood where she grew up with three adored pets and a host of characters waiting for her to tell their stories. Learn more about Trixie and her books at her website. 

An Interview with Ally Calhoun from Trixie Stilletto’s Tempest

When I first got the idea for Ally and Tempest. I did a short interview with her to learn what motivated her to pack up and leave her Boston home for a place in Tennessee she’d never seen or visited. This is the result.

You left a thriving business and life in Boston to come to Piney Bluffs, Tenn. Why?

“Weather is a big draw. Can anyone say nor’easters? My husband always talked about his childhood here, and he said he wanted to have a place in the mountains. After he passed, I found he still owned the family land and property. It seemed only fitting when I needed a change after his death, to come and take a look. I’d never been here – we were so busy getting and keeping the Agency going ….”

Sorry for your loss. He was very young …

“Yes. It wasn’t a good thing. I wish we’d never taken on that job, but there are no do-overs.”

That last job. Can you talk about it?

“I don’t want to. That wasn’t what I agreed to when you said we have to do this.”

But you uprooted your life, sold the PI business you loved and created with him. All to move down to Tennessee, a place you’d never visited, never wanted to, because of how that last job ended. Don’t you think you need to talk about it?

“Now isn’t a good time.”

Ok. I’ll let it go. But you know you’re going to have to address it at some point. What are you going to do now that you’re here? This place is a mess.

 “Only one thing came to my mind the day I first saw it. Wow. Not in a good way. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to be able to stay here.”

I can imagine. This property has belonged to the Calhoun family for two hundred years. The first settlers to come across the mountain settled here.

“Yes. I discovered that. Along with several unopened letters from the Tennessee historical society requesting that Mike either restore it or sign it over to them.”

Is that your current plan? To restore it and open it as an historical site?

“Uh, no. I just want to make it safe enough I don’t think the fire department and building inspector are going to come in and make me move.”

Who’s doing the work?

“Right now, me. I spend a lot of time Googling things. I’m a pretty quick study. That’s a good thing.”

That’s a surprise. I figured someone with your background, would hire everything done.  Contractors, subs and designers. Have you done renovations before? I believe you had a maintenance-free condo in Boston.

“Never. Being a private investigator is mostly about research. I also think it will be helpful in my new career.”

That’s right.  Your plan is to be a writer. What are you writing? Is anything published?

“Nothing published. Just polishing my first story. It’s a thriller. I’ve always been good with my hands, too. Lots of time when I was deployed, things would break or just not work like they were supposed to. I learned to adapt and overcome.”

Isn’t it one thing to jury-rig a piece of equipment for a relatively short op in the desert where you have a team to help you vs. trying to rehab a house that’s falling down around your ears?

“Maybe. But it doesn’t feel right hiring out this stuff. Mike would have fixed it himself.”

You’re not Mike. Besides, isn’t this more a money thing?

“Have you been talking to my accountant?”

More he’s been talking to me. How can you be broke? I thought your PI business was doing well?

“I did, too. Mike handled all that ….”

Tempest

Widowed ex-private eye Allison Calhoun has left behind the career of heart and her native Boston for the sleepy Tennessee town of Piney Bluffs. All she wants to do is heal and write the great American novel. Only Piney Bluffs is a hotbed of decades-long secrets and lies, all seething just under the surface of the humid summer.

Enter C.J. Lanahan. Once the best friend of Ally's husband and always a thorn in her side, journalist C.J. pushes all of Ally's buttons and not all in a good way. On top of that, his newspaper and editorials seem to be stirring up a hornets nest folks 'round here want left alone. When C.J. is a murder suspect and then almost kills, himself, things go from hot to deadly quicker than a heat-driven storm in this Tennessee valley.

Can Ally and C.J. live long enough to expose the truth, or will the long-held secrets stay buried forever?

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR DIANNE VENETTA

Our guest author today is Dianne Venetta who, when not whacking away at her keyboard crafting her next novel, can be found chasing grasshoppers and plucking hornworms in her organic garden and drawing wild analogies between kids and plants and men. Learn more about Dianne and her books at her website. -- AP

Tennessee is an interesting place.  Not only a great vacation spot for hiking enthusiasts, but the rivers and streams are a huge lure for fisherman, the whitewater rapids a strong draw for the kayaker and canoe lover.  It’s also a great setting for a novel!  But did you know it’s said the word Tennessee comes from the word “Tana-see?”  That’s the Native American word for “the meeting place.”  Whether or not this is true, it’s a fact that many Cherokee people inhabited the area before Europeans came through.

One of those famous Cherokee people was Sequoyah.  Although exposed to the concept of writing early in his life, Sequoyah never learned the English alphabet.  Unlike the white soldiers in the war of 1812, he and the other Cherokees were not able to write letters home, read military orders, or record events as they occurred. After the war, he began in earnest to create a writing system for the Cherokees.  In 1821, after 12 years working on the new language, he finally reduced the thousands of Cherokee thoughts to 85 symbols representing sounds. He made a game of this new writing system and within a few months of introducing his alphabet, thousands of Cherokees became literate.

Today, Tennessee is host to the world’s largest freshwater aquarium, located in Chattanooga.  It also boasts the largest underground lake, located in Sweetwater, TN.  Speaking of “large,” Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee was created by the largest earthquake, the New Madrid Earthquake, which occurred in the winter of 1811-12.

But I like that it’s the birthplace of country music, the Krystal burger, miniature golf, the typewriter and a host of other inventions.  It’s also one of my favorite summer destinations which is how Ladd Springs came to be.  I drew my inspiration from the canopied trails, the cool water rivers and waterfalls, but most of all, from family and friends.  We have some crazy feuds going on out there in this world and I just had to put pen to paper and start stirring the pot!

Ladd Springs is a work of fiction, but it was sparked by some interesting characters I’ve observed in my travels.  Add a little embellishment from me, and you end up with a story full of mystery, drama, and of course, romance.  I hope you enjoy!

Ladd Springs

A deathbed promise and a mysterious find in the Tennessee forest bring Delaney Wilkins and Nick Harris together in a dramatic fight for the rights to Ladd Springs.

Delaney Wilkins finds herself at odds with hotel developer Nick Harris over a deathbed promise and a mysterious find in the Tennessee forest.  Both are after title to Ladd Springs, a mecca of natural springs, streams and trails in the eastern Tennessee mountains, a tract of land worth millions.  But Ernie Ladd, current owner of the property and uncle to Delaney, is adamantly opposed to them both.

Felicity Wilkins, Delaney’s daughter, deserves to inherit her family’s legacy, but neighbor Clem Sweeney is working against her, ingratiating himself with Ernie Ladd.  Clem is also harboring a secret that will make him a very wealthy man—unless the others stop him before he can bring it to fruition.

Complicating matters is Annie Owens.  Ex-girlfriend to Jeremiah Ladd, Ernie’s estranged son living in Atlanta, she declares her daughter Casey is Jeremiah’s, making Casey every bit as entitled to the property as Felicity—only Annie hasn’t proven this claim.  Yet.

All are fighting to get the property, but only one will walk away with the gold.  Which will it be?  Find out in the first installment of Ladd Springs...

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