Pepper Basham | Finding a Story in a Garage Sale

My Appalachian Granny instilled in me the value of a ‘good find’ from the time I was a little girl. Starting when I was about nine years old, I’d crawl out of bed early on Saturday mornings to join my granny in her big blue car to drive toward Mt. Airy, NC and go ‘yard hoppin’ (as she called it). Yard hopping became an activity I continued throughout my life, not quite as frequently as when I was younger, but certainly something worth slowing down in front of a florescent sign on the side of the road which read - “Garage Sale”.

You never know what you might find. One of my BEST purchases so far has been a 1901 handmade cape from Madrid. It’s gorgeous, and reminds me of something Anne of Green Gables might wear!

But of all the things I expected to find at these garage sales, I never planned on discovering a story.

In fact…I discovered TWO.

I don’t mean the cool 25 cent box of used books (although I’ve found some great books in those boxes before too, like a beautifully illustrated 1945 copy of Jane Eyre or the two histories of WW1 published in 1919!!

But above and beyond those cool discoveries, I found stories :)

About thirteen years ago, while rummaging through books at a yard sale, I stumbled upon a nonfiction book on a topic I’d never heard of before. The Lusitania. For those of you who might not know, The Lusitania was a passenger liner torpedoed by the Germans in 1915. For six months before this lovely find, I’d been dabbling with a story idea about a young woman’s struggle to overcome her past, but I hadn’t found the right setting yet, until I discovered that book. Somehow the uniqueness and obscurity of the lesser known liner’s sinking fit my heroine’s story…and my debut novel, THE THORN BEARER, was born.

Of course, it would be 12 more years before THE THORN BEARER would find its way into the heart of my publisher, Vinspire, and then onto the printed page, but the perfect story setting began with a discovery at a garage sale.

In the meantime, I was in for another find which would set the stage for another story. About 7 years ago, while visiting a garage sale in our town of Johnson City, TN, I found a book for 50 cents entitled The German Invasion of Western North Carolina by Jacqueline Painter. What an interesting title, right? Curiously enough, at the time, my family and I were living just over the mountain from Hot Springs, NC, where this book took place. It was a nonfiction about a German Internment Camp during World War 1 housed in the small Appalachian community of Hot Springs. Boy, oh boy, did the sparks of creativity start to fly!! The third book in the Penned in Time series was born.

Many of my research books for novels have come from “yard hoppin’”, consignment shops, or used book sales. It’s a wonderful experience to find a treasure in the middle of castoffs and know something greater can come from your little discovery :)

It’s certainly been worth my time.

Giveaway

So…have you ever discovered a story at a Garage Sale or used book sale? Maybe not one you’d eventually write, but one that made a lasting impression on you? What was that story....more importantly, what was the price? ;-) Do you have my 50 cent purchase beat? Leave a comment below and be entered for a chance to win a copy of THE THORN BEARER.

About Pepper Basham

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she’s continually inspired by the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. Her debut historical romance novel, THE THORN BEARER, released in May 2015, with the second arriving in February 2016. Her first contemporary romance debuts in April 2016.

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About THE THORN BEARER

From the decks of the ill-fated Lusitania to the smoke-filled trenches of France, Ashleigh must choose between the forgiveness of her past, life in the present, and a Savior who can rescue her from them all.

When her fiancé leaves her eight months before their wedding, the unexpected blow ignites a battalion of insecurities stemming from her father’s intimate betrayal. Her worst fears are confirmed – who could ever love a soiled woman?

In an attempt to escape the shame and disappointment of her past, Ashleigh boards the ill-fated Lusitania to cross the war-torn waters of Europe. Much to her dismay, she isn’t traveling alone.

Sam Miller is always making up for his best friend’s mistakes. Determined to help Ashleigh, he offers his compassion and protection as she ventures across a perilous sea. With the faint hope of renewing his lost love for Ashleigh’s sister, Sam never expects to find the woman of his dreams in his best friend’s former fiancé and his own childhood companion.

As they travel across the Atlantic, neither is prepared for the life-altering and heart-breaking journey of their friendship.

When the truth of Ashleigh’s past explodes in the middle of war and Sam rejects her, Ashleigh must decide if God is enough – or if the double weight of her betrayal and past will crush her life forever.