Sunday’s Author Spotlight: Palessa

Today I’m excited to have author Palessa on the Sunday’s
Author Spotlight. Palessa is the author of the contemporary series the Family Baxter
Saga and the Sacked & Tackled series. She also wrote the Growing Wild series, a historical fiction series. 

Kyle Avery, CEO of Mama Avery Foods, has been summoned to
a special meeting by a note from her late mother, Virgilia Avery. When she
arrives, she meets the elusive mogul Newton “Cass” Baxter, CEO of
Baxter Chemicals and learns of the nearly forty year history her mother shared
with Cass, as well as the obstacles they’d been forced to endure. As Kyle
struggles to understand their history, she’s forced to confront the man who
loved and left her, Brandon Hall, VP of Baxter Chemicals and the adopted son of
Cass Baxter. Kyle and Brandon unite in love, but separate in tragedy. They are
forced to deal with the sad legacy of their parent’s lives as well as their own
heartbreak. It’s up to them to finally break the chains which bind their hearts
and find their own path to happiness. 

  

Grayson Baxter, first born of Julian and Joan, has always
been the prodigal of the Baxter clan. He has also been heavily into drugs since
he was a teenager. As his brother Cass enters a new phase in his life and is
headed towards taking over the family business, Grayson’s drug use worsens.
When he attempts to break away from the family that hates him, something goes
terribly wrong. After tragedy strikes and with the help of a unique rehab
facility, Grayson gets his life back. He discovers and pursues his desire to
become a therapist and fall in love with Bindi Gail. Just as they start a life
together, one fateful decision tears them apart. Through life’s twists and
turns he finds his way from lost to found and learns to love again, Grayson’s
journey to survive and realize his path as a Baxter makes his redemption more
satisfying.

Congressman-at-large Edward Baxter and Sadie MacManus
first meet, it was business as usual. But one look at her raven hair and those
amethyst eyes, and Edward knew he wanted to know more. Growing up as one of the
unwanted and forgotten, Sadie took solace in fashion and was focused on her
dreams of Paris. She had no time for anything else or even knew what it was
like for someone to really care. Washington DC was a place where secrets were a
commodity to be bought and sold behind closed doors to the highest bidder. The
last thing Edward wanted was to open himself up to that but the heart wants
what heart wants and Sadie was his heart. As they both find themselves happier
than ever, an unexpected enemy threatens the dreams and lives of everyone
Edward loves including his only son, Julian, who must do the unthinkable to
save his family and the Baxter.

It’s finally time for the player to get played.

Tobey Fine, the ‘Blasian Sensation’ is at the top of his game as the face of
the Miami Medusas, a Steinger Football League team. When he’s introduced to his
teammate’s best friend, the Blasian Sensation comes face-to-face with his
reckoning.

Niveah Wallace is the founder of Carmicon Technologies, a software development
company contracted to do a pilot game app featuring the Miami Medusas and team
rivals, the Atlanta Mercury. If this project goes well, it will put CarmTech on
the map.

Still smarting from Tobey’s rejection years ago, Niveah is presented with her
chance to get back at him—but forgets that revenge can be a double-edged sword.

Despite their initial fallout, Tobey and Niveah grow close in a way neither
expected. But inside the SFL there’s trouble brewing as a piece of Tobey’s past
threatens to upend his present and jeopardize his future. He’ll do whatever it
takes to keep his love no matter who he has to fight to do it.

As the six-feet-five juggernaut of the Atlanta Mercury,
Christopher Devereaux Cox knows how to make his impact felt on the field. Off
the field, he’s the devoted son of a prominent family with ties to presidential
history, as well as one of Atlanta’s most eligible bachelors. He is a credit to
his family, his team, and his name. Nothing could be more perfect.

Within the SFL, a problem threatens to spread through the organization. Cast as
an unwitting scapegoat is Rebekka Stallman, a physiotherapist for the league
and the only woman Devereaux ever loved. Seeing each other again after all
those years ago when her life took a devastating turn was unexpected, and
Rebekka wasn’t about to miss the chance to unleash her fury on her former
boyfriend, who turned his back on her when she needed him.

But things aren’t what they seemed then or now.

Secrets and lies will be exposed as Rebekka forces Devereaux to question
everything and everyone he ever trusted, including himself. As the dust settles
and some facts about the league’s doping scandal come to light, Devereaux must
decide whether the life he yearns for with the woman he still loves is worth
the price of holding on to his family.

Graham Tate-Fuller needs a wife. Not just any wife. One
who is young enough to take on his education mission to the African continent
and not ask too many questions about his past. Lisbette Caldwell is just
seventeen, a young woman who isn’t ready to give up her tomboy ways. She dreams
of playing football and becoming a teacher just like her father. Through a
series of circumstances beyond her control, Lisbette marries Graham and embarks
on an adventure in Eyubea, a small independent township in southern Africa
which managed to escape the colonial rule that overtook many other African
nations. 

There Lisbette settles into her new life as an assistant teacher to a small
group of young girls who will have no choice but to become wives and mothers.
It’s a simple enough task that will turn into a fight for their lives as
Graham’s past catches up to them and Lisbette faces the dark side of marriage
in a land not her own.

Set in the early 1900’s, Lisbette is forced to take a stand for herself and her
Eyubea Girls against stacked odds, even if it means losing the life she’s come
to love. With the help of new friends and a will to carve out her own place in
the world, she searches for a way to live life on her own terms in a place she
will come to call home. 

Oh, that’s a story. Well, I’m currently living in
Jamaica, which is where I was born, but I was raised in Miami, Florida. I’m
definitely living a different life and that’s what’s allowed me to pursue this
writing dream. I have a cat, dog, and chickens and goats and am working on
building a sustainable life with a farm…like I said, it’s a story.

When did you decide you wanted to become an author and
write your own book?

I didn’t decide as much as I was reminded and pulled.
After a couple of decades of living the life I was supposed to live, I finally
gave in to this urge to write and pursue my dream of writing and other stuff. I
was grateful that Sable Hunter thought my first book was interesting enough for
her to publish.

What do you love most about being an author?

I like the process. It’s strange and scary and
frustrating sometimes because it’s changing and I have little to say about that
but I like working it. It’s a learning process and the characters are pretty
patient and understanding.

What is the best thing that happened since you’re
first book came out?

I’ve gotten out there a little more and am invited to
events. I’ve gotten mostly positive feedback about the books and I’m totally
grateful for the readers who are willing to give me a shot.

Tell us about your books? How did you come to the idea
of writing them?

I have three series at the moment. Two are contemporary
and one is historical fiction. Baxter Family Saga is a trilogy that deals with
a family legacy of love, betrayal, tragedy and a lot more. Sacked & Tackled
is a sports fiction series that takes a look at the players behind the game of
a fictional sports fiction league. Growing Wild is an historical fiction that
takes place in the early 1900’s. The first book is about Lisbette Caldwell’s
journey from England to a township in southern Africa, where she deals with the
darker side of marriage. So 3 different story lines.

Where do you go to write your books? And where do you
get the inspiration?

These are ideas that come from my years of watching
television and of reading. There are so many interesting stories out there and
it only takes a spark of an idea to really get going. That plus pen and paper,
which are my ‘go to tools’

What are your future plans in writing?

I have a tentative schedule that takes me through the
next decade at least. I will say that I am just trying to really work and
understand my process a little better, exploring different stories and
characters and just trying to become better at telling the stories.

Are you a reader yourself? And what is your favorite
book(s)?

I am but I’m a BAD reader. I haven’t had the chance to
really read a book for about a few weeks now because I’m working on a draft. I
tend to read the classics. For example, I’m in the beginnings of ‘Great
Expectations’ by Dickens. I have ‘Emma’ on my TBR list as well as ‘The Color
Purple’. I promised myself I would read a book a month and I’ve failed horribly
at keeping that promise. 

What would you advice be to new aspiring authors?

Keep writing, learn your craft. I mean, one of the things
I’m working on is trying to really balance my descriptions and to describe
things better. It’s not easy but I’m plugging away at it. There are times when
I feel as if what I’m writing is just nonsense. Write anyway. 

Palessa started reading her first romance novel, at the
age of 11. Then she got introduced to V.C. Andrews, Barbara Taylor Bradford,
Anne Rice and many more notable contemporary authors as well as some of the
classics, ‘Anna Karenina’, ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, ‘The Great Gatsby’
and others. It was during her teenage years that she dabbled in writing. First,
it was in her diaries, then she started creating characters, stories about
romance, the supernatural and much more.

It would take almost 20 years, a radical move from the
city she grew up in, Miami, FL back to her Caribbean birthplace, and a chance
Facebook meeting with Sable Hunter to start the juices flowing again.

After some fits and starts, the Baxter Family Saga was
born. The Baxter series was the beginning. 
She considers herself just a storyteller that sees no reason to shy away
from the juicier romantic elements. She currently lives in the mountains of
Jamaica with her crazy, crackermunching-mutt Ivy and a farm, primarily managed
by an agribusiness partner, also known as Dad.

For more information about Palessa please visit her blog,
Pinterest, Goodreads, Google +, Tumblr and Tsu.