We were lucky to catch up with Pepper Basham recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Pepper, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I didn’t consider myself a writer until I was ten and my granny called me one. Once she labeled what I’d been doing for as long as I knew how to (sort of) spell words, I realized it was a true joy of mine. After that, I had some amazing teachers who kept fanning the flame of that dream. My middle school English teacher, Movita Utt, was probably the most influential in her praise and encouragement of my writing skills. My high school English teacher, Marion Goldwasser, gave added encouragement. I can’t say enough about those early influences to a child’s dream and talents.

Writing wasn’t a professional dream at that point because “you couldn’t make a living off of it”, so I went to college and got a degree in Speech-Language Pathology, which has also been a good choice.

However, I didn’t attempt to start the pursuit of writing as a profession until 2002 and attended my first writer’s conference (at the encouragement of a dear friend).

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

As an Appalachian girl, I grew up hearing stories my whole life. Storytelling is a big part of my culture, so I fell in love with them early, but when I was 10 year old my granny bought me a second-hand typewriter and told me “because a writer needs one”. That was the first time anyone had ever called me a “writer”, even though I’d been creating little stories for a while before then. It took a long time to become a published author, but I kept writing in little snippets through college, the early days of my career as a speech-language pathologist, and having my five children. It was definitely a marathon. After about 12 years of pursuing publication and studying the craft, I received my first contract in 2014 with my first release, The Thorn Bearer, coming out in 2015. I love creating stories. Even though it’s hard work, it’s also an absolute joy and I hope that joy comes through in my stories. I write a variety of different types of stories from historical Appalachian romances to madcap Edwardian romantic mysteries to contemporary romances packed with humor.

My faith is something that is the ‘spine’ of everything I create and I hope it spills through every page of my work to bring joy, hope, and encouragement to those who read. Hope is a beautiful thing.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I have a family of seven so living among a mixture of creatives and non-creatives is an interesting journey. One of the things I think that is a struggle for the non-creatives in my life to understand is that creatives are ALWAYS creating. Our minds feel a constant pull toward our stories or worlds or artwork that even if it seems like we aren’t doing much at the moment we are usually “working”. I’ve also had to explain to the non-creatives in my life that writing is not so much something I HAVE to do but something I LOVE to do, so it can be part of my ‘relaxation’ whereas their choices may be more like watching t.v. or taking a nap. Most of the time, writing is energizing for me, not draining. Also…I tend to talk to people no one else can see, but I completely realize those characters are not real :)

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Writing has been a choice of the will as well as a gift. As a full-time working mother of 5, choosing to continue to pursue this additional career on top of being a speech-language pathologist (by day) took patience, hard work, and the desire to keep trying even when rejection letters piled up. When my kids were small, I’d fit writing time into little nooks and crannies of my life. Fifteen minutes here. Five minutes there. A half an hour during naptime or before crashing into bed at night. I attended my first writer’s conference in 2002 and, as I was able, continued to enter contests, take online classes, and attend conferences to grow my craft and network with other writers. The “call” to publication came in 2014, first with a historical romance series and second with a contemporary romance novel. Even then, the journey didn’t fall into place and still requires a great deal of stick-to-itness, prayer, and perseverance:) I find gratitude and hope key components to forging ahead even when the road gets tough. A sense of humor and adaptability certainly help too!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pepperdbasham.com
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