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Blue Willow
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There had always been MacKenzies and Colebrooks on the
land known as Blue Willow, their histories entangled like
the graceful branches of the rare willow tress that thrived
there. Artemas Colebrook and Lily MacKenzie shared more than
that history, their souls bound to each other and to the
land the day the boy held tiny Lily minutes after her birth.
But the tragedy that has brought Lily back to the small farm
where she spent her childhood has also made Artemas’s
brothers and sisters her bitter enemies. Torn between family
loyalties and their shared sense of destiny, Artemas and
Lily must come to terms with a childhood devotion that has
turned to bittersweet desire, a passion that could destroy
all they have struggled for – even Blue Willow itself.
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Call it "synchronicity" or coincidence
or fate or the whispers of guardian angels, but stories
often come together in marvelously unexpected ways. I was
brainstorming ideas for a new book but not getting anywhere.
Some of the elements were in place but others eluded me. I
had recently come home from my first visit to the Biltmore
Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Biltmore mansion is a stunning and
evocative place. You can almost feel the spirits of the
Vanderbilt family but also the souls of the many, many
workers, servants and designers who created the estate.
I wanted to create a Southern "castle"
with the same breathtaking mix of history and human
ambition. I’d begun developing an elegant American family
named Colebrook, who built my fictitious mansion. But I
couldn’t decide how to tie them to the Georgia setting. Why
had they settled there? Why had they poured their heart,
soul and fortunes into creating a vast estate in the middle
of the mountains?
A friend made an off-hand comment one
day: "You ought to write something that has blue willow
china in it. Just so your publisher would put the china
pattern on your book cover. Everybody’s grandmother owned a
set of blue willow china. People love it."
I tucked that suggestion away with a
shrug, but it wouldn’t let go of me. I started researching
china, and – lo and behold – the pure white clay, kaolin,
used in making fine china – can be mined in north Georgia!
Suddenly, my Colebrooks had a history
as manufacturers of fine china, specifically a special
pattern of blue willow, and their Georgia estate has a fine,
pure streak of kaolin clay beneath its soil. Oh, and yes, I
now collect blue willow china. I love it.
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"Captivating" --Affaire
de Couer
"A rare treat . .
. a moving journey into the heart and soul of enduring
love." -- Julie Garwood
"A complex tale
that sweeps the readers into an intense roller coaster ride
through the gamut of human emotions. Deborah Smith continues
to demonstrate the extraordinary talent that has been the
hallmark of her previous work." –- Romantic Times
"A treasure" --
Rendezvous
"It captivated and
held me from the first page to the last." -- LaVryle Spencer
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