I had the pleasure earlier this year of writing my first novella, which was quite a feat for me—telling an entire story in 26,000 words. But I had a blast doing it and really learned a lot about pacing and sticking to the action in the process. To Mend a Dream is part of the Southern novella collection Among the Fair Magnolias.
What made the experience of writing this novella so enjoyable—same for its upcoming July release—is partnering with the other authors in the collection. Shelley, Dorothy, and Elizabeth are a joy to collaborate with.
The novellas are “standalone” stories—meaning they’re not linked to one another other than the Southern genre—and take place in Tennessee (that’s the Belle Meade story), Georgia, Texas, and South Carolina. Each novella has a yummy Southern recipe included in the story too, along with discussion questions for reading groups.
About Among the Fair Magnolias:
In the most turbulent decade of our nation’s history, four Southern women—destinies forged by birth, hearts steeled by war—face near impossible choices on their journeys in life . . . and in love.
To Mend a Dream by Tamera Alexander
(a Belle Meade Plantation novella)
Savannah Darby would do almost anything to revisit her family home. So when new owner, Aidan Bedford, a Boston attorney and former Union soldier, seeks to redecorate the house for his fiancée, Savannah jumps at the opportunity. But the clock is ticking. Can she find the box her father supposedly hid there during the war before her assignment is completed? And before she sees yet another battle lost on the home front. This time, one of the heart.
An Outlaw’s Heart by Shelley Shepard Gray
When Russell Stark returns to Fort Worth, he’s determined to begin a new life. But when he arrives at his mother’s homestead, he discovers she’s very ill, and the woman he loved is still as beautiful and sweet as he remembered. With time running out, Russell must come to terms with both his future and his past.
A Heart So True by Dorothy Love
Abigail knows all too well what is expected of her: to marry her distant cousin Charles and take her place in society. But her heart belongs to another. A terrible incident forces Abby to choose between love and duty.
Love Beyond Limits by Elizabeth Musser
Emily has a secret: She’s in love with one of the freedmen on her family’s plantation. Meanwhile, another man declares his love for her. Emily realizes some things are not as they seem and secrets must be kept in order to keep those she loves safe.
If you’d like to win 1 of 2 advance reader copies of Among the Fair Magnolias,
simply leave a comment on this post by midnight tonight
(Central time) and you’ll be entered.
One last tidbit about To Mend a Dream, my novella in the collection…
If you’ve read To Win Her Favor, then you’ve already met Savannah Darby, the heroine. Savannah’s a secondary character in To Win Her Favor whose story is wrapped up at the end. Yet I quickly discovered there was more to be told, and I’m grateful for the chance to tell it.
Speaking of secondary characters… Who’s one of the most memorable secondary characters you’ve read? Share the book title and author, if you can. It’ll be fun to see if we have any in common.
Tammy
The winners of the two ARCs (advance reader copies)
of Among the Fair Magnolias are…
&
Congrats, Deanna and Betti! If you’ll each click HERE then scroll down to “Send Tamera an email” and send me your snail mail address, we’ll get your ARC of Among the Fair Magnolias in the mail to you.
To everyone else, thanks so much for entering and for the kind words. So grateful we’re on this journey together.
Tamera Alexander
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i would love to read this! Being a true southerner myself from south Alabama, I always enjoy a southern setting !
I would love to read Among the Fair Magnolias. Thank you for this great post and giveaway!
I have been wanting to read this book sonce i read about it earlier on this blog. I am a Georgia girl, so I love stories set in the south.
donvelma(at)gmail(dot)com
Hi Tamera! Every novella in Among the Fair Magnolias sound very sweet and and am especially looking forward to your Belle Meade story!
kam110476 at gmail dot com
I would love to win a copy!
Have SO been looking forward to this book’s release! Would love to win a copy!!
Thank you for a chance to win this book that sounds like one that I would not be able to put down until finished….
I would love to win a copy.
Picking out my favourite secondary character is a bit hard..there are so many good ones. I always like Julie Klassen’s secondary characters.
Such a fantastic group of authors! I would love to read Among the Fair Magnolias. Thank you for the chance to do so. 🙂
I would definitely enjoy reading this book!
This new group of stories sounds wonderful. I’d love to win this book. As for secondary characters, that is a tough one. I wish I could decide…
I loved To Win Her Favor & would love to read this one too!
Kristy Cambron’s The Butterfly & the Violin and A Sparrow in Terizen have wonderful secondary characters.
Elizabeth Camden’s Beyond All Dreams
I would love to read this collection! I love the sweet old charm of the South. 🙂
Hmmm, one of my favorite secondary characters would be Aunt Batty in Lynn Austin’s Hidden Places. She’s lived a full life, has drawn even closer to the Lord throughout the good times and bad, and she always has a good story to tell!
~Emma
This sounds like an awesome book. I really want it!
Thsi novella collection looks great! As far as secondary characters go, is it terrible that I can’t decide, and can’t remember them all? I go through so many books, that I can’t keep track of all the characters any more!
I just finished reading “To Win Her Favor” and loved it. I am so happy that you have continued Savannah’s story. I cannot wait to read it!
As for the best secondary characters in a novel, I really loved the shopkeeper and his wife in your novel “Within My Heart”. I was so touched by their story and their devotion to one another.
Thanks for the great giveaway!
Being a GA lady, I am very anxious to read this! Hard to choose a secondary character. I have To Win Her Favor on my Kindle and plan to read it soon!
Thanks for the giveaway!
I’d love a chance to win this book! One of my favorite secondary characters is Joe in Great Expectations, Pip’s brother-in-law. GE isn’t my favorite Dickens book, but I do like Joe – a quiet, steady, decent guy.
This collection sounds wonderful. I would love to win a copy. Thank you for the chance.
Can’t wait to read this novel! I’m excited to read more about Savannah.
I do have to tease you, though. (Surprise, surprise! LOL) You managed to pare down your verbosity into a novella, but your synopsis is twice as long as the others! <3
All of these novellas sound wonderful! I’d love to read them!
It’s hard to choose a secondary character…. but I really did enjoy Matilda (the pig) in A Match of Wits by Jen Turano. 🙂
Great books. Thanks for a chance to win.
I’m so very excited to hear about Savannah. I felt sorry for her in To Win Her Favor. Thanks for chance to win!
So glad we get to hear Savannah’ s story. I’ve enjoyed how you’ve connected many of your stories with “secondary” characters.
Some secondary characters that come to mind from To Win Her Favor are Mr. Linden, Uncle Bob and Kizzy and her family.
In Becky Wade’s A Love Like Ours I got the biggest kick out of a very minor character Zoe.
I could come up with a lot more but hopefully some of your other readers will join in!!!
Keep on writing, Tammy, and we’ll keep reading. 🙂
The title alone intrigues me! And I love a story that takes place in the south. 🙂
Ooh what a lovely collection of stories! Definitely going on my TBR list:) I’d love to win an ARC!
As for my favorite secondary characters, I love Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series and her series about all the soldiers; each O’Malley or soldier gets his or her own story and is also involved as a secondary character in the others too. You get to know them well throughout their books and keep up with them in the others, seeing how their characters developed and their stories came to be or continued.
And of course, the Bennets of Pride and Prejudice are pretty hilarious, in my humble literary-nerdy opinion;)
Can’t wait to see what happens to Savannah!
I am so excited to read these stories! I can’t wait for the book to come out!!!
I can’t wait to read them! The cover is absolutely beauteous.
I would think that Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is one of my most memorable secondary characters ever in a book. A true gentle woman just the opposite of the main character Scarlett O’Hara. However it would be very hard for the writer to bring her back in another story since she passed away in Gone With the Wind. Only if Margaret Mitchell had chosen to do a story of Melanie as an angel who revisits her family after her death.
Each of these stories sound great. I look forward to reading them.
I love the time era and would love to read this.
Probably the most memorable secondary character I’ve ever read would be irrepressible Miranda Griscom, who appeared in both “Marcia Schuyler” and “Phoebe Dean” by Grace Livingston Hill. The last book in the series belongs all to Miranda, and the series is also called the “Miranda Trilogy,” so she isn’t as unimportant as most secondary characters. She deserved her own book.
I am glad you mentioned the GLH books. I loved that trilogy and hadn’t thought about them in a long time. Maybe I need to go re-read them.
Thank you for the giveaway!
I have been eagerly looking forward to reading this book ever since I first saw the cover ages ago. So excited!!
I would love to win a copy of “Among the Fair Magnolias”! I’ve seen this around for a bit on different blogs and it’s definitely on my want-to-read list. Thank you for the chance 🙂 I’ve not read anything by you yet, I don’t think, but I’ve heard such great things about your writing!
Tammy, congratulations on writing your first novella! That’s pretty exciting. I’ve got plans to write a couple to go along with the novel I’m working on. Those will be my first attempts at novellas, so I’m kind of nervous about it. Any tips for conquering the fewer-paged beast?
Blessings,
Andrea
andrearenee2004@yahoo.com
I just love the cover of this book! Can’t wait to read it!
I love the secondary characters of so many books I’ve read (especially those who are children), it would be difficult to pick a favorite. I love the storyline of each novella in this collection and any book with the word Magnolias in the title – gets my attention. I can’t wait to read “To Mend A Dream” – thank you for the opportunity win a copy!!
I love stories set in the south and being historical fiction makes them about perfect 🙂 I would love to win a copy!
I would love to have the advance copy of Among the Fair Magnolias! I have always loved Southern stories…thanks for the giveaway!
Can’t wait to read this book. It sounds great. Thanks for the chance to win it.
I love your books and can’t wait to read To Win Her Favor. Off the top of my head, one of my favorite secondary characters is Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. I really relate to her and for that reason am more partial to her than Lizzie. I know that probably sounds crazy. Haha. As for a secondary character in one of your books, I loved Robert Green in To Whisper Her Name. He was so unique and interesting and I love it even more that he was based on a real person. It makes it that much cooler. 🙂
Love the title…Magnolias are so Southern! Sounds like a great collection, would love to win…thanks for the opportunity! Linda
Love magnolias and anything southern. (I’m from Alabama). My daughter always said she wanted a big magnolia tree in her front yard when she bought a house. Not only did she buy a house with a huge magnolia tree in the front, she also bought it right across the street from us!
Oh this sounds so good!!!
I would love to win an advance copy of Among the Fair Magnolias.
Thanks so much, everyone, for entering. Can’t wait to share this story with you come July! Or for two of you….next week! : )
Sounds like another great story and one I’d love to read!
Would like to win a copy of this book. It sounds so good.
Hello, dear Tamera! The day has gotten away from me, and I’m just now getting to comment. I can’t wait to read Savannah’s story in To Mend a Dream, as well as the other novellas in this wonderful collection! Thanks so much for the chance to win an ARC!
I would love to read this book written by amazing authors that will make this book a bestseller. I love historical novels especially those rich with a Southern theme. I’m from Texas so I would love to read this book and get lost in the writing of historical southern stories. Thanks for the chance .
Blessings
Deana
I’m adding this to my “to-read” list! I can’t wait to read it.
I love the title of your book and would love to win. Congrats on your first Novella. Maxie
I would love to win an advanced copy. I am a huge fan of Shelley Shepard Gray, and this would make a great addition to my collection of her books. I also would like the chance to read the other stories as well. 🙂 I think the title of the book is great and it in general looks like a fantastic way to enjoy an evening: relaxing with a great read.
I love your books! Im sure this book will be absolutely amazing! It sure sounds like it! I would love to win this book! 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m so looking forward to reading this!
Deanna 🙂