About the Book

Book: A Penny Saved

Authors: Terri Gillespie & Cynthia L. Simmons

Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy & Mystery

Release Date: May 27, 2023

A Move, A Mess, A Mystery

Mason’s world turns upside down when he, his little sister, Olivia, and their mother move into their grandfather’s house.

Mason misses his cool friends. Unfortunately, R.B., the weird kid down the street, thinks he’s Mason’s new best friend.

Mason’s grandfather, a retired professor, stays in his office filled with musty, dusty books. Never realizing there’s a magical treasure hidden in plain sight. An 1860 Indian Head penny, named Penny, who is alive!

When Penny goes missing, Mason helps his grandfather look for her.

Will Mason find Penny and learn her secret?

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview

Do you set a plot or prefer going wherever an idea takes you?
Generally, the plot is set in my mind, or in the case of A Penny Saved, my co-writer Cynthia and
I collaborated on the plot. Having said that, we did deviate when the story and/or characters
made their wishes known.

Do you need to be in a specific place or room to write, or you can just sit in the middle of a
café full of people and write?
This is going to sound strange, but I need a “safe” place to write. Public places don’t work for
me because I am hypersensitive to noise and movement. My office is where I do most of my
writing. If I’m at a writing retreat, I find an isolated place to write.

A paper with drawings on it

Description automatically generated

When did it dawn upon you that you wanted to be a writer?
I was pretty young when the
fire ignited. I was around five
or six.
My grandmother was my best
friend and a spellbinding
storyteller. I remember while
my brothers 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 because I had
challenges with reading 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 sparked the
fire to write and the hope that maybe I could see a real book with my name—not one bound with
tape.
Although I have written a women’s devotional (2008), it is stories I’m most drawn to. Those
stories Grandma told me changed my life. How wonderful if I can do the same for readers.

Where do you get your ideas for your books?
As with many writers, I get my ideas from life. Events around me or in me that trigger an
emotion—happy, sad, anger, fear. Then I think: What if? What if my hairdresser wanted to fire
the beauticians she inherited and start fresh—but couldn’t, legally. What if twins were separated
as toddlers by a troubled mother and reunited twenty years later. What if an 1860 Indian head
penny that has been passed down through generations is alive, but no one knows?
The more conflict and twisty plot, the better.

Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?
Absolutely. In A Penny Saved, the protagonist, Mason, has a lot of the qualities of my grandson,
DJ. In fact, the artist based the illustrations on several photographs of him.

About the Terri

Terri Gillespie is a multi-award award-winning author and speaker and YouTube personality. Terri lives with her hubby outside Atlanta. They have one adult daughter, who lives in Chicago with her husband and son. Terri was one of the managing editors of the bestselling Tree of Life Version of the Holy Scriptures.

More from Terri

My grandson, DJ, loves to read, but there is a lack of inspirational and clean books with Black protagonists. DJ loves fantasy and mysteries, and as his safta (grandmother), I wanted a book that gives even more, a sense of legacy with a theme of looking past the exterior to the value underneath.

When the strange, awkward R.B. offers to pray for Mason’s grandfather and then brings over his granny’s tuna casserole, Mason is touched and wonders if he has misjudged R.B.

After tasting this recipe, would you change your mind?

Widow Savier’s (R.B.’s granny) Tuna Casserole

2 (5 oz.) cans chunky-type tuna in water (drain well)

1 cup frozen peas

1⁄2 cup milk

3⁄4 cup butter-Ritz-like crackers, crushed or crushed potato chips (R.B. prefers the chips)

4 oz. (about 2-1⁄2 cups) thick egg noodles

1 can (10.75 oz.) cream of mushroom soup

1⁄4 tsp. garlic powder

Bit of butter (it is the south after all)

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Cook noodles according to package instructions, adding peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking; drain in strainer.
While noodles are cooking, in a separate bowl, mix together soup, milk and garlic powder.
Stir in the noodles and peas, then add the tuna.
Transfer to a 1-1⁄2 quart lightly buttered casserole.
Bake 15 minutes; top with cracker crumbs OR CHIPS. Continue baking 5 – 10 minutes or until heated through.

Serves 4, so Widow Savier doubles the recipe for Mason’s family so they have leftovers.