Hope you all will give Shelia Stovall a fond welcome as she visits One Writer’s Journal today to tell you about her Christmas novella, A Sassy Creek Christmas, and her inspiration for her town of Sassy Creek, Kentucky. I met Shelia several years ago at a book event. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of visiting her library and getting to go to Habegger’s Amish Market for lunch with her. We’ve shared times at other book events and writer gatherings since then. Shelia and I have a lot in common. We’re both small-town girls who treasure family and faith. We both have those dog buddies who ramble through the woods with us as we think up new stories. And we both love writing stories we hope will be uplifting and a pleasure to read. The same as I, she sets her stories in small rural communities. She says she blessed to live where country stores still thrive, fiscal court meetings start with a prayer, and the locals help their neighbors. On more than one occasion, she’s witnessed farmers delay tending their fields to help a sick friend harvest his crop. No one suffers a tragedy alone. Don’t we all wish more communities were neighbor friendly like that?
So, welcome, Shelia. I’m turning the floor over to you. Tell us all about A Sassy Creek Christmas.
Last week, I released a Christmas novella, A Sassy Creek Christmas, as a free ebook to introduce my readers to the charming, make-believe community of Sassy Creek, KY. Sassy Creek is about ten miles from Weldon, which is the setting for my novel Every Window Filled with Light. My Christmas novella provides readers with a glimpse of Weldon and a few of the minor characters in Every Window Filled with Light.
A Sassy Creek Christmas was inspired by the Capitol Hill, KY Christmas parade. A friend posted a FB live video of the event last year, and I was utterly charmed. More people were in the parade than bystanders, but that didn’t diminish their joy and excitement while celebrating Christmas. I loved it.
Sassy Creek is made up of a country grocery, a fire hall, Bethel Hope Church, and a feed mill. Everything in Sassy Creek starts at the Wide Spot Country Store. Since reading a Sassy Creek Christmas, one friend said she felt like she’d walked into Allen County’s J & L Market. A family member said she recognized the Gold City Store in Simpson County, KY. Several readers mentioned other community hubs. I just giggled as they were all wrong. Habegger’s Amish Market was the inspiration for my country store. 
I’ve learned there are three things you can depend on in a booming country store: a good sandwich, a little gossip, and plenty of laughter.
The church in Sassy Creek is called Bethany Hope, and I picture it to be very close to a little church I pass on my way to work every day called Hickory Hill.
In Allen County, the fiscal court sometimes meets in the district fire halls, and I’ve been told the locals often enjoy a potluck supper after the meeting. In my opinion, this is our government working at its best, with elected officials sitting down at the table and listening to concerned citizens.
I hope you’ll download, A Sassy Creek Christmas. Simply visit my website, www.sheliastovall.com, and click on the blue button DOWNLOAD THE BOOK FOR FREE. You’ll be asked to provide—your email address to subscribe to my blog/newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time.
I plan to release a second Christmas novella, Weldon’s Secret Santa, before Christmas. If you subscribe to my blog/newsletter, you’ll be notified when the next free ebook is available to download.
My stories feature friendship, hope, and hometown life. I hope you get the chance to visit Sassy Creek and Weldon, KY.
Merry Christmas!
Shelia
From the back cover of A Sassy Creek Christmas:
There aren’t enough people in Sassy Creek to make up a Christmas parade, yet Ovaleta Mayhew is organizing one.
Ovaleta, a retired school teacher, plans the first-ever Sassy Creek Christmas parade to raise funds to help pay eight-year-old Ava’s medical bills. When conflict erupts, she regrets her impulsive actions.
Pastor Seth is Bethel Hope’s young pastor, and the matrons in Sassy Creek think he needs a wife. No one knows Pastor Seth is in love with Lila, a nurse he met in the cancer center when visiting leukemia patient Ava, one of his congregation’s youngest members.
When calamity strikes, the community gathers to pray. Without a miracle, it’s doubtful there will ever be a Sassy Creek Christmas parade.
Thanks for taking time to come visit here today, Shelia. I know your Sassy Creek Christmas is one readers will enjoy.
Here’s a little more about Shelia.
Shelia Stovall is the director of a small-town library in southern Kentucky, where only strangers mention her last name, and the children call her Miss Shelia.
It tickles her to see shocked expressions when people learn she’s traveling to Africa—again. She’s the worst missionary ever, but God continues to send her to the ends of the earth as He attempts to mold her into something useful.
Shelia is a country girl who relishes eating a bologna sandwich at a country store just as much as savoring an elegant meal in a posh restaurant.
Shelia and her husband Michael live on a farm, and she enjoys taking daily rambles to the creek with their three dogs. Spending time with family, especially her grandchildren, is her all-time favorite thing. The only hobby Shelia loves more than reading uplifting stories of hope is writing them.
Okay, readers, have you ever been to a place like Sassy Creek?
P.S. Check back Wednesday and I’ll post a link to the fun Zoom meeting Sarah Loudin Thomas, Cindy K. Sproles and I had last week. You can hear what we said about those Appalachian stories and Christmas traditions.