A guest from Butternut Creek - J. Kenner

A guest from Butternut Creek

I’m excited to have a guest blogger today — Jane Myers Perrine, the author of the new, acclaimed Butternut Creek series, the debut of which, The Welcome Committee of Butternut Creek: A Novel, will hit shelves on April 3!

Take it away, Jane!

What do I love about a small town?

We lived in Buchanan Dam, Texas, population nearly 1,700, for seven years. Our subdivision, just east of the post office and west of the dam, consisted of five houses all snuggled together in a leafy paradise overlooking Lake Buchanan. We had the greatest neighbors in the world.

One evening at nearly ten o’clock, George called me into his study and said, “I think I’m having a heart attack.”
Exactly what every wife wants to hear. I called 9-1-1 and went out on the front porch to wait. By the time EMS arrived, our neighbors had gathered to help. One of our neighbors was a nurse with terminal cancer. She was there immediately, to make sure we were okay. She stood by as George was loaded into the ambulance. Fortunately, he was fine, but her standing there calmed me.

When our closest neighbor died, George performed the funeral. When our neighbors on the lake sold chickens for their Four-H project, everyone bought one. Any time anyone needed anything, our neighbors down the hill were there to pitch in.

By the time Suzanne died, we’d moved to Austin but we came back for her funeral to sit with our neighbors.

I used these memories to create the warm community of Butternut Creek.

I used these memories to create the warm community of Butternut Creek. Friends taking care of each other—that’s what I love about a small town.

Here’s Jane’s bio: Jane Myers Perrine has taught high school and college Spanish and worked as a program director in non-profit agencies as well as being chosen an outstanding citizen of Louisville for her volunteer work. She writes stories with humor and deep emotion.

The Welcome Committee of Butternut Creek, the first book in Jane Myers Perrine’s Tales of Butternut Creek will be available April 3, 2012. The hero of the series is a young minister called to serve a church in Butternut Creek, TX. Jane, an ordained minister, has served several churches as well as following her minister husband from small towns to big cities. Library Journal wrote: “Perrine, an ordained minister, convincingly takes readers through the social and spiritual challenges that Jordan faces.”

Thanks for guest blogging today, Jane! Can’t wait to read the book in April!

You can pre-order your copy here.

So tell me, readers, what are your thoughts about series books, particularly books set around a small, close-knit community? Personally, I love visiting the same characters and places in a series. How about you?

33 Comments

Julie

thrilled you’re here! And by the way, I LOVE the cover. Love, love, love it!

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Julie

I used to live in Redlands, CA. It had so many Victorian houses like that. Loved just to walk the streets!

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Jane Myers Perrine

Don’t you love it? I feel in love with VIctorian houses when we lived in Savannah, GA. Welcome, Sherri–move right in. Yiou’d love it but it’s a lot to clean! ; )

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Julie

jealous!!! Visited Savannah once and thought it was soooo pretty. Been meaning to re-read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Talk about a town with atmosphere.

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Barbara Forte Abate

This book sounds absolutely wonderful. Finding a series to love enough to follow subsequent books is such a delicious treat! I’ve lived in small towns my entire life and that’s my comfort zone. Life in the BIG city has much to offer, and I do enjoy all that, but at the end of the day, for me, small town life is Where the Heart is. Thanks for sharing Jane with us, Julie 🙂

And yes oh yes, that is a gorgeous cover! I’d love to climb inside and have a walk around.

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Jane Myers Perrine

Thank you, Barbara. I hope you’ll pick up and enjoy all the Butternut Creek books. The cover of the 2nd book is by the same artist who did the first. I love them both because they capture the feel of a small town.

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Jan Hudson

Jane, the series sounds wonderful and I’m eager to read it. I grew up in a small town, so I’m sure I’ll recognize all the characters in Butternut Creek! What fun.

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Julie

So many folks grew up in small towns. Makes you wonder who grew up in cities!

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Kit Frazier

What I’ve always loved about your writing, Jane, is that real sense of community, something that, despite what we see on the 10 o’clock news every evening, is alive and well and living right on our very own street if we’ll just bother to look for it . . . thank you for reminding us that family, friends and neighbors are, as a nation, on of our greatest strengths.

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Tracy Wolff

Hi, Jane! I am dying to get my hands on a copy of this book! I love series books, and these days a trilogy seems just about right to me. Big enough to let us follow the characters for a while, make sure they’re okay, but small enough to be manageable. I read a few open-ended series and while I enjoy them, sometimes it becomes a bit unwieldy. Anyway, can’t wait to read the Butternut Creek trilogy!

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Jane Myers Perrine

You know I love your books–hope you’ll love Butternut Creek. I’m hoping for more than a trilogy–but I do know what you mean. Either the characters bcome different people than they were in the first book–or they don’t!

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Irene Preston

Jane – thanks so much for sharing your personal small-town background. What a wonderful experience to base your books on. Now I’m even more excited to read The Welcome Committee of Butternut Creek!

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Jane Myers Perrine

Irene–Thanks for stopping by! I’ve had so much fun with these books because I know these people. I just hope they don’t recognize themselves in my books.

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Laird Sapir

This book sounds wonderful, and I love series books – I hate it when I fall in love with characters and then…I can’t hang out with them anymore because the book is over!
I have always loved small towns, and I can’t wait to read your book!

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Jane Myers Perrine

Laird–what a wonderful name! I hope you will enjoy these books and get to know everyone–and love them! Please let me know if you do. Thanks for the comment.

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Julie

That’s exactly why I’m such a huge fan of series books…and probably why I’m always bummed when a favorite tv show gets cancelled. I hate leaving the folks I’ve come to love!

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Jane Myers Perrine

Thank you, Catherine. I got to know my neighbors in a small town. After all, I saw them at the grocery store and filling up with gas. Hope you enjoy Butternut Creek.

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Alexa Bourne

Hi, Jane and Julie! Jane, I can’t wait for this series. I love stories set in communities like this and hope to one day create one of my own! (In fiction, I mean.)

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Debbie Morella

Can’t wait to meet your characters and follow them through the trilogy. I always feel like I’m visiting friends when I go from one story to another. Thanks for sharing and I also love the cover!

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Jane Myers Perrine

Thanks, Debbie. I’ve grown very fond of these characters over three books–almost seem like family. I love the covers, too. Wait til you see the next one!

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Kristin Noel Fischer

Hi Jane and Julie,

This book sounds wonderful, and I can’t wait to read it! I love reading series, especially when they’re set in a small town. Looking forward to meeting the people from Butternut Creek.

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April Plummer

I really like the cover too! I think if a series is done well, it’s terrific. I like series’ that go into the different characters – so in the first one it’s from one woman’s POV, and the next one is from her sister’s. I read a few of Norah Roberts’ that were like that, and I loved them. the book sounds terrific! I love small town stories. Small towns are so full of colorful people, quirky characters and scandal! Sometimes even more so than a big ‘ol city I think!

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Jane Myers Perrine

I’m glad you left a comment, April. Thank you. The next cover is the town square and courthouse, done by the same artist. How lucky am I? I love to write quirky characters. Hope you’ll love them.

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Elaine Smothers

This sounds like a great series! I grew up in a city and was NOT a fan! Moved to the country the first chance I had and have never looked back. I too, love book series, because I usually end up wanting to spend more time with the characters and get to know them better than 1 book will allow. I look forward to visiting Butternut Creek and getting to know the folks there.

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