Authors Interviewing Characters: Mara Williams

The Other Side of Starting Over

Bygones on Main, an antique store in the California mountain town of Suncrest, has been in the Bell Family for three generations. It attracts collectors and tourists alike and sells one-of-a-kind treasures and kitschy knickknacks in an expansive, labyrinthine storefront on Main Street.

The longtime shopkeepers, Paul and Linea Bell, recently retired, handing the store over to their daughter, Beatrice Bell, and Simon Dimitri, a specialist in furniture restoration. I sat down to speak with them about their new partnership and their hopes for the business.

Mara: So wonderful to meet you both. I’d love to hear about your history with the store and its impressive legacy.

Beatrice: My grandparents opened Bygones on Main in the 1950s, and I was raised in this store. I set up a lemonade stand out front during the summers and played hide-and-seek in the yard. When my parents took over, I worked here after school and on weekends. It’s basically my second home, and I’m so happy to be back.

Simon: Linea and Paul hired me about a year ago when Beatrice was off in the Bay Area. We didn’t meet until recently because she hadn’t been back to visit.

Beatrice: You act like I abandoned my parents.

Simon: Just stating a fact. You were not living here when they hired me to take over the store.

Beatrice: They didn’t hire you to take over. They hired you to help out.

Simon: If by “help out,” you mean “keep it afloat,” then yes, I suppose I was hired to help out. When you showed up, I’d already been running the place for months.

Beatrice: Without supervision.

Simon: I don’t require supervision. I’ve put this store back on the map for collectors. I’ve invested in timeless pieces, restored them, and replenished our inventory—

Beatrice: By collecting pieces that you want to work on, whether or not they have adequate resale value.

Simon: What do you know about resale value?

Beatrice: I have an MBA. I’ve run multiple businesses.

Simon: Funny, I don’t think either of those businesses was an antique store.

Beatrice: Funny, I don’t think you’ve run a business of any kind—

Mara: So it’s safe to say that there have been some growing pains in this new partnership?

Beatrice: I wouldn’t call it a partnership.

Simon: It’s more like an arrangement.

Beatrice (under her breath): or a punishment.

Simon: We work independently. But together. I have an eye for antiques.

Beatrice: And I have an eye for the business.

Mara: I’d love to hear about your plans for this next phase of the business. It’s been around for seventy years. What can we expect now that you two are at the helm?

Simon: I think we’ll stay the course. The business of antiques is about tradition. No sense in messing with it.

Beatrice: But in business, you need to evolve or die. I plan to renovate the store to showcase the signature pieces with coordinating accents to show customers how the items could fit in their homes.

Simon: People go antiquing to treasure hunt. If you lay it all out for them, they may as well shop at a generic furniture store.

Beatrice: Most people are shopping at generic furniture stores, and it’s our job to lure them back.

Simon: We can’t sell our soul to capitalism.

Beatrice: Well, we can’t sell anything if we go out of business.

Mara: I’d love to end on a positive note. What are you most excited about in taking over the store? What do you love most about this work?

Beatrice: This store is my family’s legacy. I have such fond memories of growing up here among the relics and inventing backstories for all the most interesting pieces. I want to care for the business to make sure it can survive another generation and preserve the magic for my children to enjoy as well.

Simon: I want to source and restore antique pieces that others would overlook. I love finding the diamonds in the rough, bringing them back to life, and giving them new hope and a new home. With enough time and attention, even the most battered things can be made whole again.

About the Book:

The Other Side of Starting Over

When her husband’s tragic death uncovers long-buried secrets, a young mother fights to protect her family and heal her heart in an emotionally resonant novel about loss, love, and second chances.

After her husband’s sudden death, Beatrice Bell retreats to her childhood home in California’s Sierra mountains with her rebellious teenage twins in tow. Her plan is to take over her parents’ antique store, ensure it survives another generation, and build a new life from the rubble of the old one.

But Bea didn’t plan on Simon, the gruff store manager with his own ambitions for the business. As they’re forced to work together, animosity gives way to grudging respect and ignites an unexpected spark. Before Bea can find her footing, everything is upended. First by River, a local boy who bears a striking resemblance to her late husband. Then by her estranged mother-in-law, who reveals devastating secrets that will test everything Bea believed about her marriage.

As Bea navigates grief, betrayal, and an unexpected connection with Simon, she finds that it may be possible to begin again, but only if she confronts the truth of her past.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing