Clara Wimberly’s newest release, “Circle of Life,” is published in BelleBooks’ latest “Sweet Tea” anthology called “Sweeter Than Tea.” The book cover says “Love, tradition and pride are a powerful brew. Many readers seem to agree that these sweet, traditional stories about life in the South are indeed a “powerful brew.”
“Sweeter Than Tea” containing Wimberly’s story, “Circle of Life,” can be purchased on Amazon.com and at BelleBooks.com. She wrote the story shortly after her mother, Verna Rogers, passed away. A few weeks later BelleBooks asked her to write a story about mothers, and “Circle of Life” seemed meant to be.
The story is about three women dealing with their matriarch’s battle with Alzheimer’s and planning a Southern funeral with all its Southern traditions.
Wimberly has written three anthologies for BelleBooks. The stories are a departure from her usual Gothic and historical romances. BelleBooks is known for its Southern fiction and has received praise for the “Sweet Tea” anthologies.
Liz Carpenter, former press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson, said about the “Sweet Tea” books: “Storytelling is back with all its Southern habits and charms … the stories are so good you’ll be hungry for more.”
Another reviewer wrote “The Sweet Tea books clearly define what it means to be Southern with a Southern family.”
And another says “If you don’t recognize a family member or can’t recall a story that could be a twin to one in here, you’re a Yankee. That mystical union of Southern pride, sensibilities and practical faith traipse in all their glory through these stories.”
Wimberly’s first novel was published in 1990. It was a regional best seller and won an award in Georgia’s Maggie Awards. Since then she has written 20 full-length novels, six anthologies, several e-publications and numerous reprints.
Her books have been published in Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Italian and German and have appeared in more than a dozen different countries.
Wimberly has written for Zebra Publishing, Kensington, Pinnacle, Harlequin/Silhouette, HarperCollins and BelleBooks. She has had several best selling novels, with two awards in Georgia’s Maggie Awards and one story released on audio and read by TV Star Linda Dano.
Her next book, “Storm at Marshbay,” will be released by Red Rose Publishing later this year.
The author has lived in Cleveland all her life. She is the wife of Wayne Wimberly and has three adult children, all living in Cleveland — Wayne Wimberly Jr., Mark Wimberly and Suzanne Wisdom. She is the grandmother of seven.
When she is not writing, she enjoys studying American history, doing genealogy, traveling, collecting vintage teapots and, of course, reading.
