Interview with Beverly Varnado

1.Why do you write the kind of books you do?

My friend and author,Terry Kay, who has had several of his books made into movies for Hallmark, suggests that we do not write to tell a story but to discover a story. The stories I usually discover have Southern settings and a historical thread, which is what really interests me and I hope interests my readers.

2. What is your current work in progress?

I’m currently working on a screenplay from which I will also write a novel. The title has been with me a long time and the story is a coming of age tale about the search for beauty amidst tragedy. It’s still
cooking, so I can’t say much more.

3. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Well, I wouldn’t call writing a hobby. It’s definitely my work. My hobbies include spending time at the piano as I’ve been a musician my entire life. As an art major, watercolor is my preferred medium, and I occasionally use some of my work on my blog. I’m also an avid birdwatcher.

4. What advice would you give to a beginning author? 

I have a writer’s group I started a few years ago, and the thing that’s most apparent from my own
experience as well as others’ experience is that it’s going to take longer than you think to reach your goals. That’s why it’s important to know why you’re writing and to review those reasons often. We can’t survive on moments of inspiration. We need to be disciplined in our writing endeavors to build a body of work.

5. Tell us about Home to Currahee – a brief blurb:

All June Callaway wants is a simpler life and healing from a tragedy when she moves from Atlanta to the charming town of Toccoa near historic Currahee Mountain. However, her discovery of a mystery-laden treasure with a World War II connection makes her life even more complicated and threatens to waken a fear that would take her back down a road of heartache and grief. Colorful town characters help her along and the mountain itself bestows an unimaginable gift on her, but will she be able to push past her fear and solve the mysteries of the desk in time? Can she, as the stranger suggested, “do it afraid”?

6. While you were writing Home to Currahee, do you think it mattered where the book was set?

Definitely. The book is set in a town near Currahee Mountain
where the paratroopers trained who parachuted on D-Day. Though Home to Currahee is contemporary Southern fiction, the opening chapter is set on D-Day.

7. What impact did your research have on you personally?

Interestingly, we’ll observe the 70th those men who changed the world because of their bravery. I did the research and wrote the first draft of this book eight years ago. I interviewed Reed Pelfrey who was one of the Pathfinders who set the drop targets for the paratroopers and one of the first ones to jump that day. He has since died, and I truly count it a privilege to have been able to interview him.

8. Is there one particular message or “moral of the story” you hope readers walk away with?

Madeline L’engle said that writers “write more than we know.” I’m praying I do and that though I may intend the reader will walk away with courage to live more boldly after reading Home to Currahee, I also hope that there may be messages of grace that God intended that I didn’t even know I was writing.

9. What’s on the horizon for you?

I have another novel, Give My Love to the Chesntut Trees, the screenplay for which is under option. I’ve been told that it should go into production late 2014 or early 2015, which is very exciting.

10. Where can readers find you online?

I have blogged for several years at One Ringing Bell (http://bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.com) where you will find “peals of words on faith, living and writing.” You may also visit me on my website, www.BeverlyVarnado.com or my Facebook author page at https://www.facebook.com/BeverlyVarnadoAuthor.

The paperback and eBook are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Booksamillion, Parable, Cokesbury as well as other online retailers and in select Christian bookstores.

Southern writer, Beverly Varnado, has been featured in several Georgia publications including Southern Distinctions Magazine who recently highlighted her in an editorial of select Georgia Authors.

 She has won numerous awards for her work including being a finalist for the prestigious Kairos
Prize in Screenwriting, a finalist in screenwriting at the Gideon Media Arts Conference and a
semifinalist in Christian Writer’s Guild Operation First Novel. She currently has a screenplay
under option with Elevating Entertainment.

Beverly’s nonfiction has appeared in the Upper Room Magazine, ChristianDevotions.US, and a
Focus on the Family publication.

She lives in North Georgia with her husband, Jerry, wonderful children, Aaron and Bethany, and
their chocolate Lab, Lucy, who is outnumbered by several cats.