#SaturdaySpotlight is on T. I. Lowe & Driftwood Dreams

Good Morning from Troy, Alabama!

Some of you may have noticed my new promo picture on some, or all, of my social media sites and/or website. I'm not a fan of cameras and not near as photogenic as my daughter and granddaughter so every ten years is enough. I know the depiction on this blog isn't very large so here is a larger one for you.....

Enough about me, let's get on with our guest!

Last year I attended the Dixie Youth World Series in Monroe, LA and our South Carolina team won undefeated. This year, we're in Alabama for the games which will take place in Ozark, AL. Neat how this works out so well with today's guest whose book being spotlighted is # 2 in her "Carolina Coast" series.

Tonya has shared Beach Haven (book 1) on Wednesday Words with Friends and in a Spotlight. We also found out quite a bit on Driftwood Dreams (book 2) last month in her WWwF post but today we're getting a peek into the novel!

Josie Slater has allowed the circumstances anchoring her in Sunset Cove to become a life sentence. Since her mother’s death years before, she’s spent most of her waking hours helping her dad run the Driftwood Diner. As her best friends, Opal and Sophia, make their dreams come true, Josie watches her own art school aspirations drift on by. But when a French-speaking Southern gentleman from her past moves back from Europe, Josie is launched into a tizzy of what-ifs and I-sure-do-hope-sos.

August Bradford left Sunset Cove six years ago to sow some life oats and conquer his ambitious career goals. Finally ready to lay down some roots, the successful artist is back in town and determined to win Josie’s heart. When he enlists Josie’s help in the preparations for a children’s art camp, Josie finds herself unleashing her artistic side in a way she hasn’t since before her mother’s death. August hopes to convince Josie to paint a life with him, but the problem is convincing her to let go of her apprehensions and give him—and her dreams—a fair chance.

 Excerpt: Standing in the midst of the ebb and flow of her daily chaos always gave Josie Slater the same feeling as standing in the surf—it was ever-changing, yet she felt trapped in the same spot with her feet slowly sinking in the sand. She absently handed an order slip to a passing waitress while ringing up the couple sitting at the counter in front of her.

“This place is amazing.” The middle-aged man handed over a couple of bills.

“Why, thank you.” Josie offered a polite smile along with his change. She didn’t even have to be present in the moment anymore to serve up generous portions of Southern hospitality to tourists.

“The candied pecan waffles were deli-cious,” the wife added as her husband helped her off the stool.
The couple had been sitting there chat-ting Josie up for the better part of the last hour about their thirtieth wedding anniver-sary trip to the Grand Strand. They were both dressed in brand-new swimwear and were pasty white, except for the fresh streaks of sunburn across their noses. Even if they hadn’t told her, they were broadcasting their tourist status. Josie often wondered why vacationers couldn’t figure out how to properly apply sunblock. Over the years she’d seen various red-and-white stripes, Rudolph noses, hairline sunburns, and handprints.

Even with their neon noses, Josie thought they were the cutest and wondered if such happiness was ever going to be in the cards for her. Seemed the only card she owned was the one that kept her rooted behind this counter, parroting courteous responses to customer accolades.

The man wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “And just think, we were about to walk on by, but the people piling in and out of this old building made us curious enough to step inside.”

“A hidden gem is what Driftwood Diner is.” The wife added a generous tip to the old-fashioned milk can that served as the tip jar for counter service. “It’s the best meal we’ve had since arriving.”

Josie couldn’t agree more. She was right proud of the establishment created at the hands of her parents. The timeworn, rusted shanty sat proudly, even with its arthritic lean to the left, on the sand of coastal South Carolina and had been a prominent fixture in the Sunset Cove community for nearly four decades. Its breakfast fare was legendary, and it usually took just one taste of the bis-cuits and gravy to have a newbie hooked for life. Josie’s father replaced the traditionally used ground sausage with chopped shrimp, taking the already-decadent dish over the top.

“Y’all have a good time at the beach, and be sure to come back for lunch.” She waved goodbye to the couple.

“Oh, we will. I have to try the shrimp burgers.” The husband waved one last time before guiding his wife out the screen door.

Josie continued on autopilot, gathering dirty dishes and wiping down the counter while her mind wandered toward happier thoughts of the upcoming weekend meeting with the Sand Queens.

Tonya “T. I.” Lowe is a native of coastal South Carolina. She attended Coastal Carolina University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in psychology but excelled in creative writing. In 2014, Tonya independently published her first novel, Lulu’s Café, which quickly became a bestseller. Now the author of twelve published novels with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, she knows she’s just getting started and has many more stories to tell. She resides near Myrtle Beach with her family.

Connect with her on her Author Page,  T.I. Lowe’s Website   Instagram   Twitter (@TiLowe)   and Facebook  

Get a copy of Driftwood Dreams at Tyndale, Amazon OR wherever books are sold. Don't forget to pick up book 1 in the series, Beach Haven!

Thanks for this peek into your book, Tonya, we are SO looking forward to hearing more on book 3 in the series!

Hope you enjoyed today's spotlight friends and that you'll check back each week for more Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlights.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT