About the Book

Book: Sweet Rivalry

Author: Terri Gillespie

Genre: Women’s Contemporary/ Christian Romance/Family Life Fiction

Release Date: October 27, 2021

Just an ordinary morning for Sarah Sweeting—watching her favorite baking show, Cupcake Rivalry, getting ready for work at her Granny’s small-town bakery. All that changes when Sarah spots a contestant who looks like her, sounds like her, moves like her.

Was this her twin sister? The twin her mother ran away with twenty years ago? Were hers and Granny’s prayers finally being answered?

When Granny confirms Sarah’s shocking discovery, Granny suffers a heart attack.

Raven Souwer’s morning began at a frenzied pace—incessantly ringing phones and a Beverly Hills’ bakery full of customers. All because everyone wants to catch a glimpse of the Cupcake Rivalry contestants—Raven and her best friend, Will Durning.

But a phone call from an excited woman who claims to be Raven’s long-lost sister—a sister Raven has no memory of—informs Raven that a grandmother she never knew was in the hospital.

The call changes the course of Raven’s life and brings up the pain she thought she’d overcome.

Will Sarah and Raven finally be united, or will other rivalries—like competing in a baking show—separate them again?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Award-winning author, YouTube personality, and speaker, Terri Gillespie writes stories of faith and redemption. She has won best contemporary with the Lyra Awards, Rattler Contest, Golden Scroll, and placed in the Angel Book Awards.

Life is a journey. Terri lived in fear most of her life. Stories helped her see life through the lens of adventure and God’s abiding love. Those stories changed her life. They empowered her to be brave. She hopes hers will do the same for you.

She is the author of critically-acclaimed Making Eye Contact with God (now in its 15^th year), She Does Good Hair, CUT IT OUT!, Really Bad Hair Day, and Sweet Rivalry.

More from Terri

Where do stories come from? Oh, so many places. Sweet Rivalry began over ten years ago with an idea called the “cupcake sisters.” Two sisters who worked in a small hometown bakery trying to be true to family recipes and not get overrun by the food chains. Not much more than that. Boring, right?

The other day, I ran across my notes written years ago with other ideas for the sisters. No plot could carry an interesting enough story to get the creative juices going.

A dear friend—and amazing author—gave me a life-sized cupcake candle. The vibrant colors and glittery icing were meant to inspire me to develop the idea and write the book. It sat on my inspiration shelf for years.

At first every time I looked at it, I would smile.

But, as the years went by the sun faded the candle, as did my hope of finding the right story for the cupcake sisters.

Then, during COVID I got hooked on those reality shows about long-lost families being reunited after decades of separation. Some of the families had no idea the other family member existed.

Each episode meant a fist of soppy tissues. Yet, even with the dramatic music, professional editing, and big build-up, some families’ smiles didn’t quite reach their eyes.

I wondered, what happens to these people after the camera crews leave? After the emotional reunions, the drama and excitement subsides and reality settles into their respective homes? How do these people from very different histories become a family? Do they even try? Do they want to face the secrets that separated them?

Some of the “long-lost” family members were children of affairs. Most were children given up through adoption. Others abandoned. One man found his birth mother, only to learn he was the result of a rape. How do they navigate the choppy and complex psychological waters?

These interesting stories became delicious ingredients for the Sweet Rivalry novel. Twin sisters separated as toddlers by a troubled mother with addictions.

One sister, Sarah was raised by her loving, Christian grandmother who owned the local Sweet’s Bakery.

The other sister, Raven was raised by her using mother, in crack houses. Still, Raven manages to become a celebrated pastry chef.

How do twins with completely different childhoods become a family? How does the sister raised in a loving, stable, Christian environment form a relationship with the sister who has seen the worst of society and had to pull herself from a terrible background all on her own? Who now blames God for the horrific things that happened to her?

And a grandmother that hides a terrible secret?

Now, throw into the mix three handsome men vying for the twins’ affections, then bake with the emotional investments into the lives of these women, and you’ve got quite a recipe for a delectable story.

With humor, passion and delicious recipes, Sweet Rivalry will satisfy the hungry reader looking for a unique story of hope.

You know, Sweet Rivalry’s journey proved to me once again, that creativity can’t be forced, and GOD’s timing is always the best—even if it is a ten-year wait.

How about a recipe?

Raven’s Dr. Pepper Chocolate Cupcakes with Fritos Frosting

The Recipe That Almost Won the Cupcake Rivalry competition for Raven and Will.

Raven’s cupcake recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup unsalted butter softened

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar packed

2 eggs room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup Dr Pepper

½ cup buttermilk

Will’s Fritos Cream Cheese Frosting

4 cup powdered sugar

½ cup unsalted butter softened

6 oz cream cheese softened

4 T Dr Pepper to taste

Original, Regular flavor Fritos (up to 1 cup)—Don’t use the scoop type

Instructions:

Raven’s Chocolate Dr Pepper Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350^o F. Prepare 2-12 count muffin tins with cupcake cup liners (22-24 total).
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer and large bowl), add in butter, granulated and brown sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on low until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Keeping mixer speed on low, add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix in the Dr Pepper.
5. Add the other half of the dry ingredients as well as the buttermilk. Mix until just combined—do not overmix. Batter should be thick and fluffy.
6. Pour cupcake batter into prepared muffin tin, filling cups 2/3 full. Tap the tin on the counter a few times to level the batter.
7. Bake cupcakes one batch at a time for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Place muffin tin on a wire cooling rack to cool for 5-10 minutes, then remove cupcakes and allow to finish cooling on wire rack.
9. Wait until cupcakes are completely cooled before applying the frosting.

Will’s Fritos Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Use a clean stand mixer (or a hand-mixer & large bowl) on high speed beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy, roughly 2 minutes.
2. Drop speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. May be clumpy at this stage—don’t worry.
3. Keeping speed on low, slowly beat in softened cream cheese. Will recommends cutting the cream cheese into 4-5 pieces and mixing in one piece at a time.
4. Finally, add in the Dr. Pepper. Now if you want more Dr. Pepper flavor, you can add more, and you can add up to a cup more of powdered sugar, but after that, you lose the great cream cheese flavor.
5. Finely ground ½ cup of Fritos. Almost as fine as coffee grounds. Fold in by hand into frosting.
6. Frost the cupcakes.
7. Remaining Fritos you can either roughly ground and sprinkled on top, or Will likes to leave one Frito curl nestled on top, right before serving.
8. Eat immediately—I mean, who would wait?

Interview with Terri

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Golly, it was probably when I was five or six years old. My grandmother was my best friend and a spellbinding storyteller. While my brothers and cousins played outside, I sat on the porch swing with Grandma as she spun tales that sixty-five years later, I still remember.

Somehow, she could see the writer in me. Which was discerning on her part because I had reading challenges that took decades to overcome.

The definitive moment for me was when Grandma set an ancient Royal typewriter atop a rickety metal table, with a small stack of paper and said, “Write.” My first “publication” on that old typewriter was Jilly the Teddy Bear (1959). That ignited the fire to write and the hope that maybe I could see a book with my name—not bound with tape.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

READ! I firmly believe writers should read other authors. And I did, but that escalated when I launched my YouTube channel, Terri Gillespie Author for Authors. Each month I read and review new releases and then produce an episode. Also, monthly I interview bestselling and award-winning authors and talk about their latest releases. These days I’ll read over fifty books a year. Not bad for a kid who struggled with reading.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?

The most surprising thing? Bakeries don’t like “revealing” insights into their operations. Our local bakery has several awards, and the owner was on the Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship. I was so excited to meet with the bakers and cake designers. The closest I got to these elite bakers was the manager—at least a half dozen times. Each time, she said she would talk with the owner and get back with me. Crickets.

So, praise the Lord for the Food Network. I binge watched several baking shows and took copious notes.

No hard feelings with the local bakery. We frequent the quaint shop as often as the waistline permits.

Do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they?

• “Just write.” Whether you begin writing on a legal pad, journals, slips of paper, backs of envelopes, or your laptop, write. Write every day in some form or another.
• Don’t begin editing until you’ve finished the first draft. Trying to edit while writing the first draft will keep us in the weeds. Until we finish the first draft, we really don’t understand how to edit the story properly anyway. Just write!
• Find a writers’ group or buddy. We need other writers/published authors who see us and will be honest about our weaknesses yet encourage our strengths and cheer us on. Take the time to develop these relationships—which means reciprocity—because they can help us out of the self-pity pit. As well as talk us off the ledge of discouragement. Brainstorming is so much fun, too.
• READ. Read other successful authors and learn from them what touches our emotions and keeps us turning the pages. I love reading all genres. It’s important, I believe, to expand our vistas.
• And after you’ve read that book, leave a review on those important sites, such as Goodreads, BookBub, and Amazon.

What’s your favorite part about being a writer? Research? First Draft? Editing?

First-Draft Editing. That’s when I get to play dress-up with my WIP. Put personality into the characters and enhance those conflicts.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

Be a mommy and write.

 What project are you working on now and how do we find your books?

MIDDLE-GRADE BOOK: My co-author, Cynthia L. Simmons, and I are working on book two of the Penny series, working title, A Penny for Your Dreams. There will be more time-travel and history.

WOMEN’S CONTEMPORARY: I’ve completed the story, WT, Holding Hands. It’s the story of a single mother with a sinful past who has worked hard to become a hand physical therapist. She has two new patients: one from her sinful past and the other who could be her future. Right now I am editing before I submit to my agent.

To follow the progress of these stories, my newsletter and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/terri.gillespie.author/ reels will provide updates.

The newsletter is published every month with updates on my writing, a brief devotion, information on that month’s featured author interview on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@TerriGillespieAuthorforAuthors series A2A, giveaway winners, and all sorts of helpful links. To subscribe to the newsletter, head on over to my website. https://authorterrigillespie.com/

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, December 16

Artistic Nobody, December 17 (Author Interview)

Books I’ve Read, December 17

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 18

Texas Book-aholic, December 19

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 20

Cover Lover Book Review, December 21

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 22

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 23

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 24 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, December 25

Beauty in the Binding, December 26 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, December 27

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 28 (Author Interview)

Exploring the Written Word, December 28

Lily’s Corner, December 29

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Terri is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon Gift Card, a signed copy of Sweet Rivalry, Cupcake Stickers, Sweet Rivalry bookmark, and a Hand-poured Cupcake Candle!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/293d5/sweet-rivalry-celebration-tour-giveaway