I’m
really excited and honored that Stacy Campbell picked my spot as one of her
stops during her blog tour. Stacy and I became friend like many others, on
Facebook. I had the pleasure of finally meeting her last year at the NationalBook Club Conference in Atlanta, GA. Stacy’s new novel, Forgive me is a
definitely pager turner. I couldn’t read fast enough.
Stacy
sat down and talked about Forgive Me, what brings her the most joy as well as a sharing with us something that she loves to do. I hope you enjoy.
Yolanda:
Tell us about Forgive Me. What is it about? How did you come up with the title?
Are there any characters from Dream Girl Awakened in Forgive Me?
Stacy:
Forgive Me
is the sequel to Dream Girl Awakened. It
focuses on the fallout of a lot of things that took place in DGA. Lies,
infidelity, and parental neglect led the characters to make bad choices. Forgive Me explores what happens five years
later. I came up with the title because the characters kept talking to me,
telling me they wanted a do-over and a second chance with the people they hurt.
Yes, the crew is back from the first book.
Yolanda:
What or who brings you the most joy and why?
Stacy:
This may
sound sappy, but I get joy from living. Each day is another chance to grow, to
learn, and to do better. We chase so many things that we forget to give thanks
for being able to walk, talk, breathe, read, have freedom, live in a country
where we can openly serve God, etc. Living is the cake; everything else is the
buttercream icing.
Yolanda:
Tell the readers something about yourself that they would be surprised to
know/your hobbies.
Stacy:
I love to
cook. I was attached to my mother’s hip around the age of 8 or 9 in the
kitchen. I’d follow her around, ask questions, and pull up a chair to see how
she prepared meals. I mostly cook from scratch, but my family gifted me my
mother’s “recipe suitcase” when she passed on. I trace my fingers over her
hand-written recipes.
Yolanda:
Did you always want to be a writer?
Stacy:
No. I’ve
always been an avid reader, and I’ve been writing since I was small, but when I
brought up the subject of writing for a living to some older relatives, they
said, “Child, only fools and dreamers go to Hollywood to act or write books for
a living. Get you a real job.”
Yolanda:
What is one thing you hope that readers would get from reading any of your
books?
Stacy:
I want
readers to know that life isn’t perfect, neither are people. It’s easy to judge
someone who doesn’t suffer from our issues and urges, but we’d all shrink back
if someone put a spotlight on our weaknesses.
Yolanda:
What are you currently reading?
Stacy:
I am
reading/doing Kicking In The Wall by
Barbara Abercrombie. I read writing exercise books when I’m working on a novel
so I can write consistently. It also eliminates my fear that someone else’s writing
voice or style will creep in my head. Barbara challenges the writer to replace
the “you” in each prompt with characters from your work so you can get to know
them better.
Yolanda:
What makes your book stand out from the crowd?
My goal with both books
was to write with a fast pace and a sense of immediacy.
Publisher: Strebor Books/Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978-1593094584
336 pages
About
the book: In this fast-paced
sequel to the debut novel, Dream Girl Awakened, five characters come to grips with their
pasts amidst broken friendships, infidelity, grief, and loss.
Aruba Dixon has hit rock bottom. After two years of marriage, her second husband has died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, and she finds herself wanting to end it all. A botched suicide attempt makes her parents reach out to her ex-husband, James, for assistance. Up until that late-night phone call, James is living the golden life of success and wealth, but now everything is about to spin out of control… Meanwhile, Tawatha Gibson is grateful for the chance to be free again. After serving five years in prison, she is released on a technicality. Though shunned from those she loves most, Tawatha clings to the dream that she will be given another chance to start anew. But when her daughter, Aunjanue, learns about her release from prison, she’s not sure she can celebrate her mother’s freedom, let alone forgive her.
Then there’s Victoria Faulk, who struggles with forgiving and forgetting. After a messy divorce, she wrestles with feelings of inadequacy and doubt. When her new beau, Emory Wilkerson, proposes in front of family and friends, she knows she’ll never be happy until she forgives the one person who hurt her—her old “friend,” Aruba Dixon.
As the events unfold around the lives of these women, they face the challenge of letting go of the past and building new bonds. Will they come full circle and learn to move on, or will their past mistakes follow them forever?
Aruba Dixon has hit rock bottom. After two years of marriage, her second husband has died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, and she finds herself wanting to end it all. A botched suicide attempt makes her parents reach out to her ex-husband, James, for assistance. Up until that late-night phone call, James is living the golden life of success and wealth, but now everything is about to spin out of control… Meanwhile, Tawatha Gibson is grateful for the chance to be free again. After serving five years in prison, she is released on a technicality. Though shunned from those she loves most, Tawatha clings to the dream that she will be given another chance to start anew. But when her daughter, Aunjanue, learns about her release from prison, she’s not sure she can celebrate her mother’s freedom, let alone forgive her.
Then there’s Victoria Faulk, who struggles with forgiving and forgetting. After a messy divorce, she wrestles with feelings of inadequacy and doubt. When her new beau, Emory Wilkerson, proposes in front of family and friends, she knows she’ll never be happy until she forgives the one person who hurt her—her old “friend,” Aruba Dixon.
As the events unfold around the lives of these women, they face the challenge of letting go of the past and building new bonds. Will they come full circle and learn to move on, or will their past mistakes follow them forever?
I hope you’ll support Stacy and purchase a copy of Forgive Me, available
February 11, 2014.
Author Bio: Stacy
Campbell is an author born and raised in Sparta, Georgia. A graduate of Albany
State University, Stacy was bitten by the writing bug after hearing her elderly
relatives share family stories on her front porch. Her work has been published by the Detroit
Writers Guild, Indiana Writers at Home, and Georgia
magazine. Her first novel, Dream Girl
Awakened, was published in February 2013 under Strebor Books, a Simon and
Schuster imprint. Stacy’s subsequent
novels, Forgive Me, and Wouldn’t Change a Thing, are also under
the Strebor imprint and will be published in 2014 and 2015, respectively. When
she’s not creating new characters or honing the writing craft, she’s most
likely spending time with her family, trying out new recipes, or dining at new
restaurants for dinner ideas. You can visit her at www.stacyloveswriting.com, www.facebook.com/georgiapeach2814,
or @stacycampbell20 on Twitter.
