Hi. Please welcome my fried, fabulous author, Poppy Dennison. Poppy has brought us her new small town romance and some fun stories about life in a small town. Keep reading for some Poppy fun!
What Happens in Small Towns…Stays everywhere!
Today, in honor of my new small town story Dogwood Days, I thought I’d share with you my first date story. Let’s go back in time for a minute…or two…or thirty years. Whatever works. *g*
Imagine for a moment, an incredibly adorable Tweenage Poppy (okay, it was my awkward phase, but we aren’t going to talk about that now are we?). I had the thrill of having my first date with a really super cute Tweenage boy. I’ll withhold his name to protect the innocent, but I can tell you that he was my tweenage dream guy. Tall dark and so squee-worthy!
We went to the movies. My very first movie without my parents. (Milestone alert!) We went to see Crocodile Dundee. Um, no one go and check the date on that, k? Cause really, I didn’t realize quite how old I was until I saw that…whoa…
So movie was adorable. We held hands and I giggled and blushed a lot. And then, it happened. We were waiting outside the theater for his parents to pick us up (mine had dropped us off) and he kissed me! SQUEEE! (Second Milestone alert!!) It was my first kiss and I was just floating on cloud nine.
Until I got home. And my mom says “So, he kissed you, huh? Right there in front of the movie theater?”
What kind of special hell was this? How did she know? Did I have whisker burn from his non-existent whiskers? Was I glowing in some sort of my first special glow that I didn’t know about? And then the phone rang. All the answers to my questions were soon revealed.
My mom’s conversation went something like this:
“Hello!” *pause* “Uh-huh. Yes, I know. Yes, she had permission. I know. I’ll talk to her. Uh-huh. Oh it’s so sweet. You should see her right now. She’s over the moon.”
Me: *dies*
So mom hangs up the phone and it rang three more times. All with similar conversations. The small town gossip mill had gone into overdrive. Apparently, someone else’s parents had witnessed my first kiss and spread the word.
Now you may be thinking that this was a negative experience for me. Okay, so at that moment, it wasn’t exactly fun, but now? Yeah, it’s hysterical.
See, I had an entire town looking out for me. My mom didn’t have to worry, and the lecture I got after the phone calls stopped went something like this. “So, sweetie, it’s probably not the best idea to kiss out on the street like that. You should have kissed him inside the theater where it was dark.”
Me: *dies*
Of course, by school on Monday, EVERYONE knew, and I was the coolest girl in class for an entire day. The cutie and I “dated” for several months before it ended in some tragic teenage way that I can’t quite remember. But I’m sure it was tragic. It had to be, right?
I have a million little stories like that from my formative years (you should hear the one where my brother got his first speeding ticket. That one didn’t end as sweetly as mine did. But I’m the good girl. *eg*)
I’ve wanted to tell a small town story since I first started writing, and the inspiration finally came to me in the form of Holly Creek. Set just over the mountain from where I grew up, Holly Creek is my love story to small towns like mine.
Here’s a special sneak peek at life in Holly Creek:
Before Jefferson could come up with another suggestion, the door to the room opened, and Sheriff Zane poked his head inside. “Hey there, Mr. Davis.”
“Sheriff Zane, I’ve told you a million times to call me Sherman. Sorry to cause you so much trouble on your day off.”
“Not a problem. Dangers of the job. You want to tell me what happened?”
“That depends.”
The sheriff frowned. “On what?”
“On what you plan on putting in the official report, which you know Selma Jane will read.”
His unspoken “and tell the entire town” didn’t have to be added.
“Understood. How about you tell me what actually happened, and then I’ll write up a report after the fact.” Sheriff Zane didn’t have to explain that he’d leave certain facts out. He clearly knew how the town’s gossip mill worked.
“Well, I went by Burkey’s Market this morning to pick up a few things. While I was talking on the phone to Jefferson Lee, I was putting the groceries away and trying to figure out how to convince Mayor Hollister not to change the route on the Dogwood parade. Jefferson Lee and I were trying to figure out how to get Clover off Beau Granville’s back before the Rose Festival.”
“I see,” the sheriff said, but Jefferson could tell he didn’t see at all.
“I might have been a little distracted with all that figuring going on. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. Sissy had apparently left one of her toys in the middle of the kitchen, and as I was going back and forth, I stepped on it. My feet went out from under me, and that’s the last thing I remember.”
Sissy, Uncle Sherman’s ancient Maine coon cat, had a habit of leaving her toys all over the place, especially when Sherman wasn’t giving her enough attention. He’d probably been so distracted with everything going on the past few days, he hadn’t spoiled the cat anywhere near the levels she was accustomed to.
Jefferson bit back a smile, but Uncle Sherman turned to glare at him. “Don’t you start with me, Jefferson Lee.”
“What? I didn’t say anything.”
Sherman grunted and turned his attention back to the sheriff. His eyebrows rose expectantly.
“So basically,” Zane began, “you don’t want it in the official report that you stepped on a cat toy, fell, broke your leg, and gave yourself a concussion.”
“Precisely.”
“So you want me to come up with something more… dramatic?”
Sherman huffed. “Well, I don’t know if dramatic is the word I’d use.”
“How about masculine?” Jefferson smirked. “Something more masculine would definitely be a good idea.”
The sheriff bit back a grin, and Sherman scowled at them both. “You know that if Gracie or Selma Jane find out I fell on a cat toy, I will be the laughingstock of Holly Creek.”
***
I hope you’ll stop by and pay the town a visit!
Blurb:
Small town heroes and big town hearts.
Jefferson Lee Davis is happy with his life in the city until his favorite uncle has a bad fall and he rushes to Holly Creek to make sure Uncle Sherman is okay. Jefferson Lee knows how to navigate small Southern town’s politics and the residents greet him with open arms. Everyone but the town’s sheriff, Zane Yarbrough, that is.
Dogwood Days, the town’s biggest festival is looming, so Jefferson has to step up and take over his uncle’s job as the town blogger, even if that puts him right in the sheriff’s path. Quirky neighbors, meddling family, and a sassy best friend all come together to make Jefferson Lee’s life in Holly Creek a full-time adventure. When he loses his job back in the city, Jefferson Lee has to start a new job search that will take him away from the town he’s learning to think of as home. Will this big city boy find sweet romance in the arms of a small town sheriff or will the allure of the city call him back?
Bio:
Add two parts sass and one part sweet and you have Poppy Dennison to T—sweet tea that is. Raised by a gaggle of Southern women who love reading and have backbones of steel, Poppy was brought up to see the best in people but always speak her mind. Mix it all together, like Grandma’s famous cobbler, and you get a sassy, Southern lady with a quick wit and loads of charm, who will soften any blow with “Bless your heart.” Her books reflect her small town roots, are filled with all the comforts of home, and come with side dish of spicy, because that’s the way she likes it.
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