Magic in Autumn Springs – S L Hollister, author

backstory, character interview, Creekside Cafe, interview, promo

On the Porch with Damian and Marble, a Creekside Cafe Chat

Posted on June 30, 2021June 22, 2021 by Sherri

Damian is the hero of K.B. Davenport’s new adult fantasy novel, Magic in Autumn Springs. Welcome Damian Baxter to Creekside Café.

Damian: Thanks for having me, Sherri! The café is beautiful. Reminds me of home!

Sherri: Damian it is so good to have this chance to get to know you better. I enjoyed reading about your adventures in Autumn Springs. Have you always lived in Autumn Springs? You went to college there as well? Have you ever wanted to travel? Did you ever want to leave Autumn Springs?

Damian: Thanks for reading my story! I have always lived in Autumn Springs. Born and raised! I love my hometown. It’s a friendly place (mostly), and there’s always something brewing. After I graduated high school, I went to Autumn Springs College. I wanted to stay close to home, despite not having the best relationship with my parents. The town always had a pull for me, though, so I couldn’t bear to leave it. I guess, after reading my story, you know why! There was something waiting for me there, I just had to figure out what it was.

I’ve traveled a few times. Mostly to surrounding states and tourist destinations near Autumn Springs. Never too far. But I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland. It’s so beautiful, I feel like it’s the only place that could rival my love for my hometown. Springtime there seems like a fairy tale!

When I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to leave Autumn Springs. From around ages ten to seventeen, I dreamed of moving far away and living a fast-paced life in a city somewhere. I was convinced that Autumn Springs was only for people who wanted big families and small lives. It took some time to realize how mistaken I was. Something clicked one day, and I’ve been happy there since. That’s not to say I won’t let life take me to other places. Who knows where I’ll end up now that Bartley and I are together! He’s much more of a traveler than I am.

Sherri: You had a special relationship with your grandmother. What connected the two of you?

Damian: Granny Sue was an interesting person. She had a steadfastness that I admired from an early age. I also felt her sadness about not being able to connect with her daughter (my mother), and I think it helped me deal with my own pain. But beyond that, she was an immensely creative and talented person with lots of stories and love. She would paint, sing songs, grow beautiful gardens, and it all came so naturally. I was her only grandchild, too, so I was a bit spoiled, I guess!

Sherri: How old were you when you started experiencing strange things? Magic? Dreams?

Damian: I think I was around seven or eight. At least, that’s when I have conscious memories of things happening.

Sherri: What was your first magical experience?

Damian: Just little things at first. Like, I’d be thinking about a snack I wanted in the kitchen and wishing it was in front of me. I would concentrate hard and try to move it, but the best I could do was lifting it an inch or so off the counter. I think wish fulfillment is every young witch’s first experience with magic, though!

Sherri: Who started calling you Kachoo? Where did the name Kachoo come from?

Damian: Granny and Grampa had an ornate toy train at their house when I was little. I’d always play with it when I visited them. Granny always called it a choo-choo, but I had trouble saying it. I would say “ka-choo” instead, like a sneeze, and Granny always laughed. It stuck around as my nickname as I got older. It was sort of an inside joke between us.

Sherri: You spoke of the men you’ve dated just passing through, only in Autumn Springs for school. What type of man are you attracted to? What is the most important element in a partner?

Damian: I love bookish types with a bit of a roguish side. A guy who can quote Shakespeare and swashbuckle pirates would be ideal. I mean, essentially that’s who Bartley is. He surprises me every day with new adventures. We just went spelunking a few weeks ago! The caves near Autumn Springs are spooky and mystifying.

I hate to sound cliche, but communication is really it for me. If we can talk through what we’re feeling, no matter how silly or childish we may be feeling, we’ll get through any problem. A lot of guys in my past weren’t the best communicators, despite being in college. It’s like they spent all their time expressing themselves at school and wanted to shut off when it came to romantic involvements. Bartley is so much different from any other guy I’ve met. He listens to me ramble on and on and pretends like it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever heard. I’m lucky to have him!

Sherri: You and Granny Sue share a love of plants, what are your favorites? One of my favorites is rosemary but I’ve never had much luck raising it. I have some monster aloe plants though.

Damian: Rosemary can be a bit tricky! I love herbs as well. My herb garden gets a lot of my attention, since I cook with them so much. Aloe plants are great! I love succulents, especially for the porch so I don’t have to spend too much time caring for them. I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I’d hate to let a more complicated plant suffer. I love my spider plants and rubber plants, too. I like classic and simple things.

Sherri: Tell us about Marble, she is a bit of a diva, but she is more than a pet, isn’t she?

Damian: Marble is…

Marble: Marble can speak for herself, thank you very much.

Damian: I guess I’ll let her share the spotlight!

Marble: I was Granny Sue’s familiar for many years. I was assigned to her by the Elder Witches after my previous caretaker passed. I was sad and lonely, and so was Granny Sue after Grampa passed away. She volunteered to take on a familiar, and I was the one she got! I couldn’t have been happier. My time with her is something I’ll cherish forever. Although, Damian treats me pretty great, too. He even lets me help fish when we go to the river. I caught a huge salmon this spring.

Damian: It was a tiny mosquitofish. But it was pretty feisty!

Sherri: Were you a human at one time Marble? Where or when were you from?

Marble: Long ago. As a lady of class, I won’t reveal my age, but I will say I had an adventurous life. Damian knows from our recent trip to New Orleans that I lived in the French Quarter for some time in my youth. I may or may not have gotten into some trouble there which led to my current state. I had a magic show in a little café there and a stunning girlfriend named Marie. We used to cause so much havoc, like when we lured that nasty old politician into the alley way and—oh, but perhaps I should share that story another time…

Sherri: What is the deal with your co-worker Shay? Sometimes she seems a little lazy and others more enthusiastic. Is she bi-polar?

Damian: Shay is an enigma. She’s never told me about being bi-polar, but she has hinted at it in the past. I try to be understanding, as I’m sure she does with my inwardness and quietness. I guess we all have our own things to work on. She’s always supportive of me, though, so I can’t say too much! I think she’s misunderstood by a lot of people, especially new people.

Sherri: If you’d have known who Bartley was when you first met would it have changed your feelings towards him?

Damian: I don’t think it would have changed my feelings, but I do think I would have been less confident! Something came over me when we met, and I presented my best self. That’s always been a challenge for me. I feel like I often misspeak or get tongue-tied when I meet new people and try to explain who I am or what I do. With Bartley, it was so easy. After I found out who he was and how prominent his family was and is in Autumn Springs, I was even more intrigued. But I probably would have freaked out if I realized he was sort of a local celebrity before we met!

Sherri: If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would you change? Why?

Damian: I would change how I dealt with my parents’ passing, if I could. While we were never very close, I did love them. I felt like I tried to push them and their memories out of my life once they were gone. I wish I would have been more reverent toward them and had taken better care of my dad’s study. Who knows what I could have discovered about myself earlier in life had I connected with their memories more? That’s been my mission lately. Since everything has settled down, Bartley and I are cleaning up the study, and I’m finding great artifacts for the library where I work.

Sherri: Do you have any regrets? Anything you wished you’d done differently?

Damian: Pushing away my magic and my sense of whimsy at an early age. Although Granny Sue encouraged me to be myself, I had so many other influences telling me otherwise. I let the naysayers get the best of me for a long time. If I could, I would be open and free with who I really was.

Sherri: What are your hopes or plans for the future? Do they include a hunky Irishman?

Damian: Oh, yes, definitely! Bartley and I are talking about all kinds of new adventures. As Marble mentioned, we’ve been fishing a lot, and we visited my aunt in New Orleans not long ago to help her with a magical dilemma. I can’t wait to visit his family in Ireland! We’re thinking of going to see them at Christmastime this year. Other than that, I just hope to stay happy and healthy with my family. I love to see Marble growing closer with her new pal, Harlan, and hopefully my former rival Elias and I can be friendly neighbors one day!

Sherri: If you liked this interview with Damian and Marble check out their book, Magic in Autumn Springs by K B Davenport and my earlier interview with author, K B Davenport.

https://sherrilhollister.com/2021/06/09/celebrating-pride-month-at-creekside-cafe-with-author-k-b-davenport/

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Creekside Cafe, interview, Recipes

Celebrating Pride Month at Creekside Cafe with author, K. B. Davenport

Posted on June 9, 2021June 5, 2021 by Sherri

I’m so excited to welcome my friend and fellow southern American writer, K.B. Davenport to my virtual café. Thanks for stopping by Creekside Café, K.B.

K.B.: Thanks for having me, Sherri! I’m really excited to chat with you.

Sherri: Is Magic in Autumn Springs your first published novel?

K.B.: Yes, it is! I released it in November 2020 through Kindle Direct Publishing. I thought about going the traditional route but ultimately decided to self-publish.

Sherri: I’m reading it right now and I’m enjoying it. It’s a slower pace for me but I adore the way you introduce the characters. Who was your favorite to craft? I’m a suspense writer and I often enjoy creating the villains.

K.B.: Thank you! Glad to hear it! I have to agree, villains are fun to write. They became some of my most emotionally complex and developed characters, now that I think about it. They have a lot to offer in terms of flaws and layers. But I also have talking animals in my story, so I have to say they’re my favorites. Marble the wise cat and Harlan the sassy pup. Harlan is a talking animal and a villain, so writing him was really the best of both worlds. And really, Autumn Springs is itself a crucial character. Creating this fictional place was a bit of a love letter to the town where I went to college and to the Natural State where I was born and raised. I wanted to be sure I created a world that represented how I felt about where I’ve grown up and lived within my life.

Sherri: My town of Leeward is an homage to my hometown as well. I love Marble, she is an amazing character. Animals, like children present a unique perspective to the story. Getting into their minds and seeing the world through their eyes can change a reader as well as the writer.

This may have been your first published work, but you are not a novice writer. I can tell. You are too good for this to have been your first. How long have you been writing? Have you always been a writer?

K.B.: Thank you, I appreciate that! I’ve been writing poetry and fiction since I was a teenager, so almost 20 years now. I’ve written in academic and professional capacities over the last decade or so in my “real life” as well. Writing has always been more than a hobby for me. It’s like a sort of tether to reality. It keeps me grounded or lets me explore, whatever I need. I’ve been a storyteller since I was a kid, too, according to my mom. So, I guess the answer is yes, I’ve always been a writer!

Sherri: It shows. You describe yourself as a romantic at heart and there is a romance in your story, do you consider yourself a romance author? What is the difference between being a romance writer versus other genres?

K.B.: I have a hard time pinning myself to any one genre, but romance certainly plays a big part in many of my stories. Although it may not be in a way some readers are accustomed to. I’ve always been fascinated by Transcendentalist writers like Thoreau and Whitman. Romance has become intertwined and synonymous with nature and spirituality for me. That’s what I aimed to show in my book as well, a sense of longing and nostalgia that transcends companionship and gives reverence to the earth. Almost like being in love with the idea of the world itself. As for the second part of your question, I think being a romance writer requires a big heart and a passion for crafting vulnerable characters unlike any other genre. There is a certain level of pain and pleasure that goes into writing romance, and it takes just the right amount of both to create something truly spectacular.

Sherri: I always thought I was a romance writer but even though I want romance in my books, it often takes a secondary position. Sometimes I shy away from the hard stuff, especially the deeper emotions. My WIP has me crying a lot. I’m so ready to move onto the happier parts.

Is your partner a writer or reader? My husband doesn’t read much anymore but he does a lot of my research and helps me with some of my plot points. I enjoy discussing ideas with him because he gives me a different perspective.

K.B.: Definitely the same for me. Romance is one part of the larger picture. My partner isn’t a writer, but he does enjoy reading my work. He’s an idea man. He helps me work out plot points, too. Partners are great for that, aren’t they? They know you so well that they can connect dots even you may miss. Just don’t tell them that, or they may want their own writing credit!

Sherri: You have a serial you’re working on for Kindle Vella, it looks exciting. Tell us about it.

K.B.: Thanks! I’m excited about it. It’s a lot different from Autumn Springs, but I’m hopeful people will enjoy it. I’m calling it Game the Show. It’s a darkly comic look at Hollywood and the game show scene of the early 1980s. The characters are dramatic and flashy, and there are some steamy romantic moments. It centers around two rival game show hosts who vie for the same coveted time slot as well as the same love interest. A bit of a romantic triangle. There’s some bisexual and gay representation as well. I’m also using it as a platform to discuss some of the more sexist and phobic attitudes of the time. I’m a big fan of old game shows, but sometimes I cringe at the way they refer to women, people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community. So it’s a bit of a satire of that as well. Expect some uncomfortable but hopefully enlightening moments!

Sherri: I grew up watching the 70s and 80s television shows so I’m more aware of what you are talking about but how about younger readers, do you think they will be interested in this series? Who is your target audience? I have to ask myself this question often. When I wrote my Leeward Files series, I was hoping to attract a younger audience, but I’ve come to realize most of my readers are 40 and above even though my characters are mid to late twenties.

K.B.: That’s a great question! It’s interesting to find out who actually reads your work once it’s out in the world. Finding a target audience can be tricky! As a millennial, it feels like I’m straddling generations in some ways. I have close relationships with friends and family who run the generational gamut. I want my work to reflect that. Game the Show may be set in the early 80s, but I think its subject matter will be relatable from contemporary perspectives, especially considering its modern take on problematic social issues. I love historical fiction and seeing behind the curtain, so to speak, so I wanted to incorporate some of that into this project. My hope is that it’ll resonate with early to mid-millennials in America who grew up in a much different political landscape than today, but I want people of all ages and cultures to feel included as well. We’ll see how it goes! I look at writing as an experiment. I love to try new things and see what lands.

Sherri: Do you have any plans for an Autumn Springs sequel or are you writing something different?

K.B.: Yes! I’m currently working on the second book in An Autumn Springs Anthology. I’m calling it Mystery in Autumn Springs. It’s about a young empath and amateur sleuth from up north who has ghostly adventures with her girlfriend during a family reunion in Autumn Springs. I’m also working on a book of southern gothic poetry that I’m really looking forward to sharing more details about soon!

Sherri: Did you say you recently visited New Orleans? I was born not far from there. I went back there after my oldest son was born. We lived about a half an hour from New Orleans. There’s something about New Orleans that you don’t find anywhere else. I bet you found a lot of inspiration for your gothic poetry.

K.B.: Yes, we just visited New Orleans a couple of weeks ago for the first time! That’s interesting you lived near there! You’re so right. It really is a different world there. I definitely feel inspired, so much so that I spent some time there writing in our hotel room. I couldn’t help myself. It’s such a historically rich and vibrant place. Even with all the trials the community has faced, they still thrive. It’s encouraging. We stayed at the edge of the French Quarter near Armstrong Park and the Treme, so we got a good mix of touristy things and local culture. I can’t wait to go back. We’re thinking about visiting again for Jazz Fest this fall. And, yes, I’m absolutely using the experience for my poetry! The architecture alone was the perfect inspiration for gothic romance and drama. I loved it.

Sherri: I hear you like to cook, are you a fancy chef or do you prepare family recipes. I raised six sons and worked in fast food, so, most of my cooking has always been get it out quick. With my sons grown and gone, I like to experiment. I’m an avid Food Network watcher but my husband is more of a meat and potatoes guy, but he’s reforming. Do you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share?

K.B.: That’s great! I think it’s fun to experiment and to try new things in the kitchen. I love to cook. I learned how to cook for my family when I was a teenager. My parents didn’t really care for cooking, so I took it on myself to save us from frozen meals and canned chili. I have to admit, I’m mostly a comfort cook. Fried chicken, pork chops, mashed potatoes, tacos, stir fry, breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls. But my partner and I try new recipes fairly often. We recently made a tres leches cake that was delicious! One of our favorite meals to make is pizza from scratch. I roll a mean thin crust. I’ve made a lot of breads since the start of the pandemic, like most bored home cooks. Here’s a recipe for a citrus bread I made when I ran out of ingredients for banana bread!

Glazed Citrus Bread

For the batter:

1 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp water, more if needed

Pre-heat oven to 350. Prepare a standard loaf pan with butter and flour.
In a large mixing bowl, combine orange juice, lemon juice, buttermilk and melted butter.
In the same bowl, mix in baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, beaten egg and vanilla.
Mix in flour until all ingredients are combined. Do not over mix; the batter should be light so the bread stays soft snd fluffy.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven. Pour on glaze, making sure to cover all of the bread. Glaze should melt evenly and cover the sides of the bread as it cools snd separates from the pan. Cool for at least an hour. Enjoy!

Sherri: Do any of your hobbies, life experiences or acquaintances show up in your stories?

K.B.: Absolutely! While I’m not as much of a green thumb as Damian in Autumn Springs, I love gardens and being in nature. I grew up visiting a lot of watering holes and going on long drives through the Ozarks, so I love to use those scenic experiences in my writing. Hot Springs and Eureka Springs, Arkansas are two big influences in my work. I wanted to pay homage to their natural beauty. Also, I’m a TV buff. Game shows, sitcoms, live events—there’s always been something really fascinating about the way television operates to me. I figured I should put that to use in my writing, so that was sort of the genesis for Game the Show. In terms of people, I feel like most of my characters are composites of a lot of different people I’ve met. While I don’t want to use any one person as direct inspiration for a character, of course, I will pick certain aspects to infuse in my work. Really, I feel like every character I write has a little bit of myself included, too.

Sherri: If you liked this interview with K.B. Davenport, follow him on social media and check out his book Magic in Autumn Springs.

K. B.’s BIO

An independent Southern American writer and designer, K.B. Davenport loves reading and reviewing books by other indie authors. He writes cozy supernatural tales and dramatic stories with LGBTQIA+ themes. K.B. also designs book covers and promotional graphics. He lives with his handsome partner, loves to travel and really wants a pet.

BOOK BLURB

A picturesque small town. A budding romance. A mysterious grimoire.

Welcome to Autumn Springs, a woodsy southern hamlet full of charming folks and scenic beauty. Meet Damian Baxter, a self-professed homebody who works diligently as a librarian at Autumn Springs College. He spends his evenings in his cozy Victorian home on Starry Night Way reading and curling up with his cat, Marble.

After he unlocks his grandmother’s grimoire, Damian begins a magical journey he never could have imagined. With his trusty feline friend by his side, he trains for an incoming threat from a reclusive neighbor and the most powerful dark witch in town, Elias Robicheaux.

Will Damian be able to protect his uprooted life while managing his busy job and a new romance with Bartley O’Dowd, a handsome Irish transplant with a secret of his own? Come along for a moonlit hayride and discover the mystery and magic in Autumn Springs.