Books & Java

Love, Alabama

by Susan Sands

Giveaway Over today 04/27/2016!

Review and Interview below.

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Synopsis:

Emma almost never concerns herself with the town gossip that she’s a has-been former beauty queen, admittedly a gorgeous one.

Television director Matthew Pope wonders what kind of karmic sin he’s committed along the way that takes him from Manhattan and lands him back here in Podunk, Alabama, not two hours from his own home town full of bad blood and disastrous memories, to direct a new Southern cooking show for the network.

Matthew recognizes Emma as the former Miss Alabama he’d rescued from a difficult and desperate situation ten years before. Emma doesn’t recognize Matthew because she’d been drugged at a frat party that night.

Tad Beaumont, the mayor of Ministry, Alabama, is Emma’s ex-boyfriend and a controlling narcissist, and unbeknownst to Emma, has manipulated circumstances, making certain Emma’s dating relationships have never progressed.

Matthew helps Emma realized what’s been missing from her life as they discover a deep connection and budding relationship. A huge sin of omission and Tad’s well-placed lies and manipulations might cost them their future together.

Can Emma forgive and learn to trust Matthew after ten years of keeping men at arm’s length?

Can Matthew overcome his weighty emotional baggage after returning home to face his own demons of the past?

My Review:

What a fun and charming story. It goes to show that in the South, the beauty pageant world is part of the culture. Not all of these beauty pageant beauties are shallow, some are smart and use their involvement as a launching pad for their future careers. Also, I learned that things aren't always ideal for these beauties. They have lives and suffer hurts and want genuine love beyond the physical attraction like everyone else. 

This was a fun and sweet read truly grounded on Southern culture.

INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN SANDS...
 
Question: Why are your books set in Alabama?

Response: I don’t hail from that great state. I grew up in small-town Louisiana and I live in the Atlanta suburbs, but I write about Alabama. It’s in the South. Way South. Every time I pass through Alabama on my way to the beach, I feel an overwhelming urge to stop and sit on a stranger’s porch and drink sweet tea. That’s how cute the old houses are in Eufaula, Alabama. Have you heard Tom Hanks pronounce Al-uh-bahma in Forrest Gump? Love. Also, the way natives pronounce Mo’ beel, Mont gum’rey, and Green’vul. It’s the best kind of Southern that rolls off the tongue. Every time I pass through Alabama on my way home to Louisiana from Georgia, I cross this awesome lake with lovely houses on its banks. I have that same urge to stop and sit on a stranger’s dock and drink sweet tea. Alabama has lake(s) and a beach. And sweet tea. And of course, SEC football. Roll Tide. Go Auburn Tigers! Just kidding, I’m an LSU Tiger fan. Don’t hate me, y’all. Finally, there is Talladega, right? I think I had to mention NASCAR, even though it’s too loud for my delicate eardrums.

Question: Why not Louisiana?

Response: When you think of Louisiana, your mind immediately plays zydeco music and sees purple, green, and gold plastic beads. I, personally, begin to smell boiling crawfish and crave bread pudding. But, unless I want to try and explain how Louisiana is separated into three distinct demographic and geographic regions, it’s hard to set a “southern” novel there. By the way, the three regions are: New Orleans, Cajun Country, and Redneck. It’s a fun place. Soon.

Question: What do you think of the South?

Response: I live in Georgia, and it’s a fine place to reside, but everybody thinks of Atlanta. Period. There are the wonderful Carolinas in the South, but they are considered more a moss-laden “low country” South. The drawl is different and often has a coastal feel. It’s a southern sub-genre that’s owned by the biggies like Mary Alice Monroe and Pat Conroy (God rest his soul). Florida isn’t considered the South. Not really. Only geographically. Texas. That’s all sexy cowboy rancher stuff. Arkansas. Sigh. I don’t know Arkansas. Mississippi. Maybe someday in the Delta.