Penned in Time with Pepper Basham

Hello, reader friends! One of my favorite people is chatting with us today as part of a JustRead Publicity Tours blog tour celebrating Penned in Time, Pepper Basham! We’re putting the spotlight on Catherine and David’s letters from book 2 The Thorn Keeper!

 

letters that started with a kiss

guest post by Pepper Basham

There’s something incredibly intimate and special about stumbling upon romantic notes between two people whom you knew loved each other. It’s all the more beautiful when those notes are unexpected and…old. After my mother-in-law passed away, my husband and I were going through her things and discovered dozens of letters written between her and her husband (who tragically died after the two of them had been married sixteen years). These letters had been written in the mid-1940s before they married, while he was in the military. They were simple, sweet, and beautifully like listening in on a conversation, where things you may never hear people say to one another out loud are suddenly ‘voiced’ through words on a page.

Writing a letter to someone seems to open a vulnerability and unique honesty not as common in speaking to someone. Have you noticed that?

In The Thorn Keeper, I had the opportunity to create that sense of intimacy and poignancy of words between David and Catherine, and it was so much fun…and special. Here are two people who deeply love one another and are separated for a time, both fighting their own separate battles while they are apart from each other. Their letters bridge the physical distance to strengthen the emotional bond which began with one conversation moved to a confession then to a kiss (or a few) and finally to these written expressions of a deeper relationship they’d forged through time. My hope, while writing these letters, was to show that relationship but also give a sense of their individual personalities and the writing style of the times.

Have you ever discovered letters from someone in your past before? Would you like to?

Have you ever written a letter to someone special?

Here are a couple more excerpts from David and Catherine’s letters ?

“My dearest Kat, Three letters in one week! You know the way to my heart, darling. Words from you. Whether they are of glad news, sad news, or dull. They are from you and I gladly drink them in. I must admit to finding particular pleasure in the ones related to bedrooms, pillows, and missing boys.”

“Dearest Dr. Ross, I warned you that I am a poor correspondent so keep your expectations admirably low and I should meet them. I received your letters in one bundle yesterday and kissed each one of them as I opened them, hoping by some miracle you’ll feel my love for you across the miles.”

B: These are such beautiful letters! Thanks so much for sharing them with us, Pepper! I’m so happy to be celebrating this series with you!

 

 

tour giveaway

(1) winner will receive all three Penned in Time novels in print or ebook format plus a stained glass dragonfly!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight April 14, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on April 21, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US mailing addresses only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

enter giveaway here
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tour schedule

“Pen” a comment below! Are you a letter-writer?
Let me know if you’ve read or plan to read Penned in Time by Pepper Basham, reader friends!
Follow along at the link above to learn more about The Thorn Keeper!