I am so excited that friend and fellow author, Debra DuPree Williams, is sharing a bit of background for her debut novel with us today. Welcome back, Debra!

By Debra DuPree Williams

One of the main characters in my debut novel, Grave Consequences, is Rose Haven, the estate of Miss Marge Mayhew. It is situated out in the countryside near the fictitious town of Loblolly, Alabama.

Rose Haven was built prior to 1819 when Alabama became a state. At that time, Rose Haven was a simple four-room square home. Over time, it became the estate it is in 1968, the year in which the novel takes place.

Many people pass through Rose Haven’s doors. Secrets were overheard here. Lives began and ended here. Hearts found their way home and hearts were broken within her walls.

In all those years, Rose Haven has housed her share of stories, family members, and a few mysteries along the way. One big mystery that develops in Grace Consequences is that of a long-lost grave. Add to that a murder mystery.

Rose Haven is patterned after a home called Rose Hill, built by my brother-in-law’s Great-grandfather, David Jefferson Foshee, born about 1864. This home is quite lovely and is still standing in Red Level, Alabama.

My sister and her husband have never been inside as it slipped out of family ownership many years ago. I’ve seen the grounds and it is in a very pretty setting. Of course, I’ve taken poetic license to change its size and its surroundings. But, in my mind, I always think of Rose Hill. Sitting there in all her glory, on the outskirts of lovely little Loblolly.

Back Cover Blurb

Sometimes finding the living is more difficult than searching for the dead. 

In 1968, twenty-six-year-old Charlotte Graves wrestles with more than just her decision to return to her hometown, Loblolly, Alabama—she is also fleeing a broken heart, colliding headlong into a second one, and about to stumble onto a deadly secret.

Now settled back in Loblolly, Charlotte is hired to oversee the Woodville County Historical Society, a job she was born for. But no sooner has she banged the gavel to bring order to the first meeting than she is accused of being incompetent to lead the group by her old nemesis, Boopsie Sweets. Later that night, she finds herself arrested by her old beau, the current deputy sheriff, Roan Steele, for killing Boopsie.

After being released on bail, Charlotte uses her skills as a genealogist to leap into the investigation. And when Charlotte goes digging up dirt, she unearths a long-kept family secret. Will it lead to Boopsie’s murderer … or to grave consequences for Charlotte and her family?

About Debra

Debra DuPree Williams is an award-winning author whose work has appeared in Yvonne Lehman’s Stupid Moments, Additional Christmas Moments, Selah Award finalist, Moments with Billy Graham, and Michelle Medlock Adams’s Love and Care for the One and Only You, expanded edition, in addition to other publications. When she isn’t busy writing, you will likely find Debbie chasing an elusive ancestor, either through online sources or in rural graveyards. Debbie is a classically-trained lyric coloratura soprano whose first love is Southern Gospel. She’s been married forever to the best man on earth, is the mother of four sons, mother-in-law of one extraordinary daughter-of-her-heart, and DD to the two most intelligent, talented, and beautiful young ladies ever. Debbie and her husband live in the majestic mountains of North Carolina.

Connect with Debra on her blog.

Amazon