Today let’s welcome Alicia Hunter Pace and their new release SWEET GONE SOUTH! USA Today Bestselling Author Alicia Hunter Pace is the pen name of Stephanie Jones and Jean Hovey, who write together.

I’m going off the normal schedule I have planned (the first and second Tuesday of the month) because I am sharing authors at any time and always leave my calendar open for new releases. With SWEET GONE SOUTH, what better time than now? Especially because this includes an excerpt of a scene from Easter Sunday. I’m excited to share this with you!

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Thank you so much to Angela for inviting us to visit with you on her blog.  We are excited to be here and look forward to visiting with you all.

Yesterday, my god daughter, who is now thirty-five years old, the mother of two, and teaches sixth grade, texted me a picture of herself wearing her high school cheerleader uniform in the “Ready? Okay!” stance.

Weird stuff. It’s a sign of the times—social distancing times. I didn’t sit down to write about what’s going on with all of us these days, but then how could I not? It’s the life we’re living right now. We’re bored, we’re anxious, and we’ve got cabin fever, so we’re doing weird stuff.

At least my god daughter and I are.

Though it’s out of character for me, I have taken to watching Billy Dean Facebook concerts that he broadcasts from the deck of his house. If you don’t know who that is, he had some hits in the 90’s. I liked him at the time, but I don’t even know how I came to know about this. It’s not like I have been stalking him all these years. Maybe there is a little elf who comes to me in the night and whispers in my ear. But I’m glad he did, because it’s fun.

I also ordered eight salad plates with bunny rabbits on them, though I won’t have eight people to serve salad to on Easter.

I found myself looking at some ads for some really cute clothes, and thinking, “So what if they’re from one of those companies that have great pictures and awful clothes? How bad could it be?” I did not carry through. Maybe it was the elf who stopped me.

This might be the worst thing I’ve done: I incited my friend to order a pack of thirty-six rolls of wrapping paper (in six designs) to split with me—because that’s exactly what we need: eighteen rolls of wrapping paper each to add to what we already have. (We both have a wrapping paper problem, but that’s another blog.)

I guess we’re all getting through the best way we know how. Someone asked me what I was going to do when all this is over. I thought a minute and said, “I’ll probably go back to tearing around all over town going to this unimportant event or that, worrying about my husband on his commute to work, and making plans for one meal at a time and going to the grocery store every day.”

Don’t get me wrong. I want this to be over as much as anyone—mostly for those of you who are on the frontlines while my husband is able to work from the dining room table, the teenager goes to school online, and I get to be home ordering grocery delivery and doing weird stuff.

But, when better times come, I’m going to try to save some of the shiny parts of the slow down: better meal planning, being more frugal with what I’ve got on hand, and taking to time to watch a concert just because it makes me smile.

I wish you all safety and good health—mental, physical, and spiritual.

As Easter approaches, I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into the holiday from Sweet Gone South.

What have you done different from your normal routine?

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Excerpt

Easter Sunday.

There were lilies on the altar, the music was soothing, and the bells rang sweet. Behind her, Lanie heard a quiet chuckle go through the crowd. Highly unusual. Episcopalians were taught at an early age not to talk, laugh, or fidget after entering the sanctuary. This was a time to prepare to worship. Lanie resisted turning around, which was also against the rules—until she felt an insistent little finger tapping her shoulder.

She gave her head a quarter turn, and there sat Emma Avery—in a bee costume, complete with antennae, yellow and black tights, and little black shoes. Lanie bit her lip and met Emma’s bright smile. Then she slid her eyes to the left. Pressed and perfect Luke Avery didn’t look so pressed and perfect this morning. He looked like a man who had fought a war—a bad one. His hair lay in messy curls all over his head, his tie was crooked, and his face was damp with perspiration. He met her eyes and shook his head helplessly.

During the children’s moment, when all the preschoolers went to the altar to gather around Father Gregory, there were more chuckles throughout the congregation. As Emma sat among the other children wearing their smocked and embroidered finery, Father Gregory smiled broadly and said something about all God’s creatures gathering on Easter Sunday. When Emma passed Lanie on the way back to Luke, she leaned in and whispered, “Buzz.” Throughout the rest of the service—hymns, sermon, prayers, communion—Lanie fought her laughter. By golly, Emma had said she was “’posed to be honeybee,” and she was.

Luke and Emma were just stepping onto the sidewalk when Lanie descended the steps.

Emma jumped up and down and waved to Lanie. Luke looked like a man who wanted to leave the country. Town matriarch, genteel Caroline Brantley stopped and laid her hand on Emma’s cheek. Emma turned her bottom toward Miss Caroline and pretended to sting her. Miss Caroline threw back her head and laughed with delight. She patted Luke’s arm before moving on.

“Lanie! Here I am!” Emma called.

“I see you.” Lanie bent to accept her hug.

“Buzzz!” She bumped Lanie’s leg with her little soft sculpture stinger.

“Ouch! You stung me,” Lanie said.

“I stinged Father Greg too!”

“Yes,” Luke said wearily. “You’ve done a fine job of stinging today.” Emma stung Luke, probably not for the first time, before turning her attention back to Lanie.

“I’m going to Beau’s house. I’ll see the Easter bunny and find eggs.”

“No kidding? Guess what? I’m going to Beau’s house too.” She’d known they were going to Missy’s Easter brunch. She’d made Emma’s chocolate place card. But lots of people were going.

“Yay!” Emma turned to Luke. “Lanie’s going to Beau’s!”

“I heard. Do you think she’s going to have her picture taken with the Easter bunny?”

Just then, Miley Sanders and her little girl, Teresa, walked by in their matching floral mother/daughter dresses. Emma studied them for a second.

“Lanie, can you to be the same as me?”

“Hmm. That might be fun. But I don’t have a honeybee suit.”

“My daddy will buy you one.”

Lanie looked at Luke, who rolled his eyes and looked heavenward.

“That might be nice,” Lanie said. “But all the stores are closed and there’s no place to buy a honeybee suit today.”

“Oh.” Emma looked disappointed.

“I might have another idea. We wouldn’t be exactly the same, but I have a blue dress and you have your beautiful new blue dress. We could go home and put them on before we go to Beau’s.”

“I’m ’posed to be honeybee.”

“And you already have been. You’ve done a wonderful job of being honeybee. Now you can be the girl who wears her new blue dress.”

She considered for a moment. “Okay.”

Luke’s eyes met Lanie’s. “Okay? Just like that? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through this morning?”

“I might,” Lanie said.

Thank you to USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR Alicia Hunter Pace for being with us today! Be sure to click the book above to be taken to their Amazon page! Or find other links here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086M7NSB7

Apple Books: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1505868651 

B&N Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1113795094?ean=2940163871056 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sweet-gone-south-4 

D2D Universal link: https://books2read.com/u/bQRXxZ 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52860328-sweet-gone-south