Hi Inspy Romance readers! I met Shannon Taylor Vannatter at the ACFW Conference last fall, and I’m excited for her to share about her new novel and how it came about! So here’s Shannon and her story:
Long ago and shortly after I was born, my parents left their rural Arkansas home to follow the pipeline. We ended up in Michigan, then Indiana until the pipeline dried up. But there was a housing boom in Illinois, so we ended up there. When the boom ended, they followed it to Georgia. When I was twelve, we moved back to Arkansas. From the time I can remember, Daddy built houses. His specialty ended up hanging sheetrock.
I remember him holding sheetrock up with his head and screwing it to ceilings, smearing drywall mud, and sanding it until walls were as smooth as glass. Until I was around fourteen and he got a job easier on his body. I never knew I’d end up picking his brain on how.
Everyone says write what you know. I don’t know carpentry, but Daddy does. For my third book, I picked his brain. My heroine was overseeing a house restoration. Daddy told me what should be restored first, then step by step to completion.
For my fifteenth book, my hero is a pro at building cabins until a pre-story scandal tainted his name. He returns to the dude ranch where he grew up with his dad as the handyman and follows in his father’s footsteps in the position. He ends up doing finish work on newly built cabins.
This book intersected with a major remodel at our house. Just after I turned in the final edit, the real work began. I always hated that the front door opened into our open floor plan living room and kitchen. The first thing visitors saw was the kitchen sink. Whether it was clean or full of dirty dishes. We decided to move our front door, make the old kitchen the living room and turn the old living room into the family room. We moved the kitchen to the back of the house where our den was.
We also did a room addition with a walk in closet in our master and an office for me. We hired a carpenter build the addition and get us in the dry. An electrician moved the old kitchen plug ins down and the new kitchen plug ins up to counter level. And a plumber took care of the sink. The rest—we did ourselves. (Old kitchen below)
I never learned to drywall like Daddy. I don’t have the patience for more than one layer of sheetrock mud or all the sanding. But I can texture walls. While I did the walls, my husband did gymnastics on ladders and beams to nail tongue and groove pine on the vaulted ceiling. We put in insulation, flooring, and kitchen cabinets.
For a while, two rooms of furniture were smooshed into one with a walking trail to the bedrooms. On several nights, we sat down for family movie night and sat in rows lined up behind each other. Nightly, I convinced my husband we could do it and rewarded him monthly with steak dinners at our favorite restaurant. Daily, we discovered new sore muscles we never knew we had.
Since we wanted to have the Christmas family gathering at our house, we concentrated on the main living area. And once that gathering was over, we slowed down. We’re still working on my office and the closet. While my desk is no longer in a corner of the living room and it’s functional, my office needs door and window trim and flooring to be complete. The walk in closet has a ceiling, a light, and one piece of the wall up. But it’s getting there. Hopefully, by the end of the week we’ll be moving our clothes in. With pictures and knickknacks still in boxes, from walls and shelves that no longer exist, I tell people it’s like we moved, but we didn’t.
Yes, we watch DIY shows. But if not for Daddy following that housing boom, growing up watching him build houses, and remodeling our own over the years, I never could have talked my husband into this undertaking. And I never could have written two books with carpentry a large part of the story.
Now you walk into my pretty vintage pastel living room. The family room is rustic and part of it is open to the new kitchen. You can’t see my sink unless I invite you further into the house. We love it on so many levels. The TV used to be in the den on the back of the house. That’s where we lived, but when I cooked, I felt like I was in solitary confinement. Now with it open, I can talk to my family and keep up with whatever’s on TV while I cook.
(New kitchen and living room)
When I need quiet to get some writing done, I can go to my office which is far away enough from the main living area, that I can’t even hear the TV or my family talking.
And somehow the house stays cleaner. Even the kitchen. Probably because we want to show people what we’ve done.
The other day, our son asked why I cook more than I used to. My answer, I like my kitchen and we spent all our money on the remodel. But we sit around at night and look at all our hard work and say, “I love this house.”
Thanks Daddy.
Award winning author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter writes contemporary Christian cowboy romance and has over a dozen published titles. A romance reader since her teens, she hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer’s heart as she demonstrates that love doesn’t conquer all—Jesus does.
She gleans fodder for her fiction in rural Arkansas where she spent her teenage summers working the concession stand with her rodeo announcing dad and married a Texan who morphed into a pastor. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with her husband and son, flea marketing, and doing craft projects.
Connect with her: Shannon’s Website, Shannon’s Blog, Shannon’s Facebook, Shannon’s Goodreads, Shannon’s Pinterest, Shannon’s Twitter, and Shannon’s Amazon Author Page.
Ranching is his whole life… until he meets one special city girl
Texas Cowboy Brock McBride knows better than to fall for a city girl. She’ll leave and break his heart—just like his ex-fiancée did. But his job at Chasing Eden Dude Ranch requires working alongside Dallas wedding planner Devree Malone. And despite fierce resistance, he’s falling hard. Yet with Devree’s business back in the city, can he convince her she’s found her home…with him?
Get your copy now: Counting on the Cowboy Purchase Link
Shannon has generously offered to give one paperback copy of Counting on the Cowboy to one person who comments by April 8, 2018! (Void where prohibited. U.S. only)
Janet W. Ferguson is a Christy Award finalist and the FHL Readers Choice Award winning author of realistic inspirational fiction. An avid reader, she loved books so much she found a job as a librarian so she could be around them all day. Then she turned that love of story into writing faith-filled novels with characters who feel like best friends. You’ll laugh and cry as the quirky heroes and heroines chase their happily ever after. Janet and her husband live in Mississippi where they say y’all a lot, and she forces him to visit the beach as often as possible. They have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space. Connect with her at http://www.janetfergusonauthor.com/
Thanks for sharing your remodeling story! The book sounds like a ton of fun.
I love your remodeling story! Thank you for sharing!
Your “new” home looks lovely and your new book sounds great. I love cowboy stories. It’s been a while since I’ve read one of your books so maybe I will again soon.
I love your remodel story. We also did a little of that not long ago although not quite as extensive.
It’s always fun to work on a project and see the finished result. Good job on the remodeling. I am sure it takes a look of patience but the reward of having a quiet writing space and a walk in closet is all worth it.
I love all the DIY type shows, so I really enjoyed your remodel story! You were really brave to switch rooms around, especially your kitchen, that had to have been a ton of work! I’ve wanted to knock down a few walls myself for amore open floor plan, but now we are empty nesters and looking to downsize. It won’t stop me from dreaming about ways to improve things though :)
Counting On the Cowboy has a terrific cover and love that he builds cabins, I’d love to read it! Count me in!
I’m blessed to be married to a carpenter. He and I built our house from the footers up. I enjoyed reading your remodel story. Blessings!
What great accomplishments! We are doing some work on our current house to sell it and it sure does get exhausting. Enjoy your new rooms!
Hi Shannon! Thanks for sharing your remodeling and writing adventure. Blessings.
Wow, even if I didn’t live in a tiny rented apt I would never be able to afford a remodel like that! Thanks for sharing.
Your place looks wonderful, Shannon! Someday, I’ll have to make the trek down to see it. :)
Hi! Yes, books fun! Remodeling, not always in my experience, ha! I’m happy you stopped by to speak to Shannon!
Blessings
Hi Paula! Isn’t it great to have Shannon at Inspy now?!
Hi Sherri! Cowboys stories do sound interesting. I wish I knew how to write one, ha! I’m glad we have Shannon for that!
Blessings
Hi Phyllis, I hope your remodel turned out well.
Blessings,
Janet
Hi Colleen! Yes, isn’t it fun when it’s all finished!
Blessings,
Janet
Hi Tracey! Isn’t the cover cute! I hope you enjoy Shannon’s book!
Blessings,
Janet
Oh how sweet, Lucy! That should be a novel!
Blessings
Hi Susan,
I hope all goes well with your projects!
Blessings,
Janet
Hi Renate! Great to see you!
Blessings
Hi Cassandra, I hear ya! Remodeling is expensive. Hope you enjoy Shannon’s book.
Blessings,
Hi Brenda! Wouldn’t that be fun!
Thanks MJSH, it was a fun book to write. And we’re still enjoying our new old house.
I’m so excited to be here. For an update, my office has flooring now, still needs trim. And the closet is complete with our clothes in it.
I’ve grown quite fond of the cowboys I write. They’re fun and it’s a whole different lifestyle. I love getting into their heads.
I’m thinking we won’t ever be completely done. We still have decor items in boxes and pictures leaning in corners. Things that were on walls and shelves that no longer exist.
I’m not sure which I enjoy more, Colleen. The office or the closet. We used to have a very small closet. We tore it out and made a small bedroom a walk-in closet years ago. It worked great, but we had to go down the hall to the closet. But as our son got older, it became inconvenient for me to walk down the hall to get my clothes or remember to get them the night before. It’s wonderful to walk into my closet from my bedroom. And the old closet will be a laundry room eventually. Our washer and dryer are currently in a nook in the hall.
Once I’m on deadline with a book again, I’ll probably love my office more.
Hi Tracey,
It was quite an ordeal. Figuring out where to put everything in the kitchen and what size cabinets we needed wasn’t easy. I always watch the DIY shows and shake my head when they hire an interior designer to figure out the cabinets for them. Now I understand. But it turned out great.
That is a blessing Lucy. My parents always planned to build a house, but everbody else’s house always came first. They never did build their own. They’ve done lots of remodeling and additions though.
It is exhausting. Now that ‘s it’s pretty much finish work and organizing, we focus on two or three tasks a week.
Hi Renate, thanks for being here. I forgot to explain the kitchen light. It used to be my grandmother’s wash tub. I had my husband paint it copper and put the chicken wire inserts in the sides. We did several nostalgia and sentimental details like that.
It is expensive, Cassandra. We had to get a loan since we needed a new roof and our heat and air unit died. That was the incentive for the remodel and addition. We decided since we were getting a loan, we’d go big or go home and do everything we’d been dreaming of for years.
Yes. You need to stop waving from Branson and come on down, Brenda. Just let me know well in advance :)
rooms are beautiful! lot of hard work paid off!
A few years ago, we had a lot of work done on our house, but not a major remodel like you did. And we didn’t have the skills to do the work ourselves. I applaud the work you did. It is beautiful.
Thank you for the chance to win a copy of this book. It looks like a great read.
Thanks Shelia. We really are enjoying it.
I don’t know about our skills, Susan. Trim work covers up a lot of mistakes. We have a retired carpenter in our church who wanted to come see it while the work was in process. Grant wouldn’t let him come until we got all the patching and trim done. It’s not perfect, but the finished project looks good.
I can’t believe no one has commented on the original 70’s wallpaper in the old kitchen. In my defense, it was there when we bought the place. Over the years, I painted it yellow, then taupe and added backsplash. Once we pulled out the cabinets and the backsplash, it revealed all the stages. We couldn’t get the glue off where the backsplash had been, so that wall is really textured now in the new living room.
I loved the remodeling story. My dad was a handyman part time.
Nice remodeling on the inside of the house.
Our old farm house has been almost a continual remodel job. Then you get those jobs that sneak in like a leak behind the wall of the shower. It’s good family wasn’t in because some things had to be shifted around so he could work on it. Most of it was put back the day before Easter. Never know when life is going to throw a little messy your way. Hope everyone had a good Easter.
This was a fun read about your dad! Thanks for the give-away – I need to read this book!!
Wow! How neat that you were able to undertake that project on your own. I’m glad that you’re really enjoying your new kitchen.
WHOA! That is a lot of work! Glad it is turning out so well! The pictures look wonderful! The book sounds great, too!
What a fun post! Your remodeling is amazing, and these pictures are fun! My hubby and I built our first home together, and have remodeled other houses that we have had since then. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment and you did a great job! I know you are excellent at craft projects! (Thank you!) I love that carpentry is a large part of some of your stories!
Hey Kathy. Did he ever get anything handy done at home. My parent’s house was always last on the list to get anything done. Kind of like when I was a hairdresser, my family always stayed in dire need of haircuts.
The outside is a wreck Kim. The debris is finally gone, but addition needs painted badly. Actually the whole house does.
That’s us Nancy. Continual projects. Water leaks are the worst. Glad you’re put back together. We had a lovely Easter. My husband is the pastor so I got up at 5 to make sunrise service. I’m not a morning person so I had to nap to recover before a family meal.
He taught me everything I know about home improvement. But he’s much better than me. He doesn’t need trim to hide imperfections. Every time we ended up with a gap somewhere. I said, “quarter round will fix that”
He taught me everything I know about home improvement. But he’s much better than me. He doesn’t need trim to hide imperfections. Every time we ended up with a gap somewhere. I said, “quarter round will fix that”
It was a job. But we saved a ton of money doing it ourselves.
Thanks Melissa. People who’ve been to our house before are amazed. It’s really funny to watch friends or the pest control guy pass up our front door and go to where the old one used to be.
I’ve heard people say building a house is the test of a marriage. Remodeling is too. We had our cranky moments, but it was so worth it. I hope you’re enjoying the memory board.
Oh…now I want to remodel my house…desperately! Great post! Shannon, I haven’t read any of your books yet, but would love to :) what can be better than cowboys?!
She gave us some fun ideas!
Hey Becky! Y’all are the sweetest couple!
It does look great!
Agreed on the cowboys. Sorry about making you want to remodel. I gave my mom the bug too.
That’s a huge undertaking. We just remodeled our existing kitchen and updated the bathrooms vanities before we sold our house. And painted the house. We did the basement our contractor did the rest. It was a lot of work. I can’t imagine having to do your renovation. It looks really nice.
Thanks for sharing and for offering this giveaway!
We need to tackle our master bedroom next. And paint the house. See endless projects.
Thanks for stopping in, Linda.
Wallpaper is the worst!
Especially 70’s wallpaper. What was everyone thinking?
the excerpt of Counting on the Cowboy sounds wonderful. Thank you for the opportunity to win.Have a wonderful week.
Thanks for stopping by, Emma. You have a good week too.
Shannon, I SO love your new kitchen/family room! I love all the wood, it looks so pretty. :-)
How fun that your dads experience helped you write your story more authentically. Did he mind you picking his brain in the name of research? :-) I hope he got a kick out of it and loved sharing his knowledge with you.
Your book sounds amazing! Can’t beat cowboy characters, those are my favorite kind in a story. Thank you for the giveaway chance, that cover just draws me in! Congrats on the book baby Shannon!
Thanks Trixi. We love the wood. All of that was old dark seventies paneling before. Daddy loved sharing his knowledge. He’s very proud of my books and tells everyone he knows that his daughter is an author. So, me needing him for a book thrilled him. I love writing cowboys. They’re so much fun.
wow!! your remodeling pictures look so amazing!!! I love seeing other pepole’s home improvement projects. I love the fact that you are giving away a copy of your book, I would love to be entered to win.
I’ll try!
Thanks Andrea. It’s quite a transformation. People who’ve never been to our house before don’t appreciate it as much as the ones who have.