New
Smyrna/Vinings Living Magazine
BelleBooks
September
19, 2000
Smyrna
author Sandra Chastain has written nearly forty successful romance novels,
but it was her down-home southern short stories in
Sweet Tea and Jesus
Shoes that won raves from former Miss America Phyllis George and Ladybird
Johnson's former press secretary, Liz Carpenter. Those VIPs are among
a long list of readers who love the funny, nostalgic story collection.
"We've
just been amazed at the reaction and the sales," says Sandra, who
became a writer after a long career managing her late husband Pepper's
south Cobb veterinary practice. The 'We' Sandra refers to are her five
partners in BelleBooks, a small Marietta publishing company.
BelleBooks
is made up of exactly what the name implies--southern belles, though none
of the partners grew up in pampered moonlight-and-magnolia tradition.
Sandra's partners and fellow authors include Virginia Ellis, a Florida
native who used to work as a team photographer for the Atlanta Falcons,
Nancy Knight, a playwright whose work has been performed at Stone Mountain's
Art Station theater, and Deborah Smith, who began her writing career as
a reporter for the Marietta Daily Journal. All are well-known romance
authors who are winning a whole new audience with
Sweet Tea and Jesus
Shoes.
"People
are always asking about that title," Sandra says. "We tried
to come up with symbols that are uniquely southern, from our childhoods. Sweet tea is
about as southern as you can get. Every southern woman has her own special
way of making it--the exact amount of sugar, how long you boil the tea
bags--people have been known to fight over their recipes!"
As for
the Jesus Shoes, Sandra explains: "When I went to Vacation Bible
School as a child we outlined our feet on pieces of cardboard, cut out
the 'soles' for cardboard shoes, then laced them up with string. Those
were our Jesus shoes. We were so proud of them."
Sandra
and her partners are excited about their next BelleBooks' project,
Mossy
Creek, the first in a series about a small fictitious town in north Georgia.
"We drew on our experiences and people we know," Sandra says. "The series will
follow a whole community of lovable--and some not-so-lovable--characters."
Mossy
Creek goes on sale next March. For now, readers can buy
Sweet Tea and
Jesus Shoes at Joanne's Hallmark Shop (see article this issue for their
new location), through the neighborhood Barnes & Noble bookstore,
via www.bellebooks.com, or by directly ordering from BelleBooks at P.O.
Box 67, Smyrna, GA 30082. Phone orders: 770/384-1348. Cost is $14.95 plus
$3.75 shipping and handling.
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
DEBORAH SMITH
Director of Marketing
Phone: (706) 864-3306
Fax: (706) 867-6119
E-Mail: debbsmith@aol.com
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