Rural South

When we last left off, there was a big wedding and an addition to the family. But, what happens when a new resident moves to town and shakes things up? And what will everyone do when a familiar face shows up and creates chaos during the holidays?

In her rural Appalachian holler, 10-year-old Misty’s closest friends are the crawdads. Misty can speak to them, to the birds, to the creek, to everything outside, and she understands how they think. She knows that if she could just speak to her parents in the same way, she could stop all the fighting. But it’s too hard. Strange things start to happen in the holler. When her friend William takes their friendship too far, Misty’s need to connect is greater than ever, but it’s hard to talk about what you don’t understand.

Surrounded by a macabre chain of events, Lila Huff refuses to break. Determination, gritty humor, and the steady light of others carry her through the darkness.” — Amy S. Taylor, Southern Book Review After surviving a devastating car accident that claims the life of her boyfriend, twenty-three-year-old Lila Huff is left in full-time care at Happy Valley Nursing Home—the youngest resident by decades. She has no memory of her mother. No clear past to hold onto. And no answers for why the woman she once loved has been erased from her life. As fragments of memory begin to surface, Lila ...

From the author of Lovejoy and Blessed comes a series about church ladies of the South. After reading this first novel in the series, fans of Southern fiction write, "I want to live next door to Mildred Budge." A retired school teacher, Mildred Budge just wants to live a quiet life in her hometown of Cloverdale. But retirement does not mean she can say no to a friend--not a friend in trouble. Mildred Budge knows how. A disciplined woman, Mildred can breathe the word "no" to a second cup of ice cream. Can resist drinking too much champagne. But when it comes right down to a friend needing a ...

Tomato sandwiches. Tobacco barns. Cooking collards. A shopping list left on a desk for 40 years at a deceased grandparent's house. Traditions that die as families age. What it means to "be country." Pig pickins'. Splitting firewood. Minor league baseball. Redneck snow days. Places that you can't go back again—sometimes good, sometimes not. All of these nostalgic and not-so-nostalgic stories from a rural upbringing are colliding with the New(er) South and are at risk of being lost from the culture. A Southern Season: Rural Stories is a collection of short stories about the food, lifestyle,...

Maren Walker told herself she wouldn’t need to sell pills for long, that it was only means to an end. But that end seems to be stretching as far away as the other side of Blackdamp County, Kentucky. There’s always another bill for Granny’s doctor, another problem with the car, another reason she’s getting nowhere. She dreams of walking through her little door to leave it all behind. The doors have appeared to the people in her mountain town for as long as anyone can remember, though no one knows where they lead. All anyone knows is that if you go, you’ll never come back.

Waiting to enter a movie theater to see "Dr. No," the first James Bond movie, Simon sees a cute Black girl standing in a separate line that leads to the balcony, the "colored" section. A friend tells him, "You're in the South. Stick with your own kind.” Simon doesn't. It's the steamy summer of 1963. Simon Klein has moved with his family, Jews from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Pickettville, Alabama, where his father has taken a job at a nearby Army base. He is as mystified of the South as Southerners are of a Jew While gathering information for a story he is writing for his school paper, Simon ...

A lifetime of lies, and a truth too painful to tell. When Suzanna Duff was ten years old, she lost her mama, and that’s when the lies began. At first, they were just harmless little fibs, a way to hide her unbearable loneliness and the truth about a daddy who came home rip-roaring drunk every night. But in time, the lies grew bigger and now, when she is a grown woman with a daughter of her own, they threaten to destroy everything she loves. The irony of this situation is that Suzanna never planned to stay in Georgia, she was simply passing through, looking for a fresh start in New Jersey....

Return to Virgin River for the holidays in this uplifting tale from the beloved series by New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr. Now a Netflix series! Last Christmas Marcie Sullivan said a final goodbye to her husband, Bobby. This Christmas she’s come to Virgin River to find the man who...

Elise Jacobs is ready for a change. A new beginning. Recently divorced, she relocates to her hometown of Landover, Maine to operate a bed and breakfast she inherited from her grandmother. After growing up with the fondest memories of her childhood being spent there, she relishes the chance for a fresh start and an opportunity to revive the inn. As summer gives way to Autumn, the inn is returning to its grandeur. A handsome guest sets out to challenge Elise at every turn. She knows the wealthy narcissistic type...or does she?

An inheritance has reunited three estranged cousins. Their grandmother Lucy left Nessa, Flynn, and April her cabin nestled in the woods near Blossom, Texas, as well as a hope chest to be unlocked after they complete a special task. Together, they must hand stitch a cherished quilt Lucy left unfinished. It meant everything to her. And now, to three people struggling with their own patchwork pasts.

This #1 New York Times bestseller introduces Amos Decker, a gifted police detective with a perfect memory who must solve a mystery he wishes he could forget: his family's murder. Amos Decker's life changed forever—twice. The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the...

In the mountains, there are places people forget. And there are places that remember. When Virginia Stapp and her documentary crew travel to the remote Appalachian community of Cold Branch, West Virginia, they expect to film stories about mountain culture, fading traditions, and the stubborn people who still call the hollers home. Instead, they find a town that seems trapped between past and present. Hidden beyond a mile-long tunnel cut through the mountain, Cold Branch is isolated from the modern world in ways that have little to do with geography. The locals speak carefully about certain ...

Southern historical fiction novel of drama and intrigue set on the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in Western North Carolina. Excerpt from Chapter Nine: She hid in the woods all night long. Didn’t even come out to milk the goat or feed her mother’s chickens. The goat was starting to bleat to be milked by the next morning, but she was too afraid to take a chance on being out in the open long enough to milk her. By the time the sun started going down, she gathered enough determination to slip close enough to the cabin to see through the open door. There was enough light left in ...

This is a powerful tale of family, a celebration of decency, and the heartbreak of society’s injustices then that rings true today. ★★★★★ Set in a world where women of the KKK betray their neighbors, where horrors of unscrupulous foundling homes come to light, and buried mysteries are not all that hidden. It's Georgia 1921. Mute since birth, fifteen-year-old Willow Stewart has one task to complete—to leave her Appalachian homestead and find a traveling preacher and her brother, Briar. When a peddler kidnaps her, she escapes only to face an unjust arrest and penal servitude. ...

Settle in with your favorite cup of cocoa and a warm blanket for this swoony holiday romance that includes a peppermint festival and characters that are sure to warm your heart this Christmas. Deals require negotiations, but for Cole Stevens, this could be the riskiest deal of his lifetime. Holland Jenkins has been disappointed so often that she questions her purpose and her talent as an artist. The cabins she helps lease for her family is the one constant in her life.

Discover a gripping Southern coming-of-age novel about friendship, secrets, and the weight of moral choices. In the 1990s Mississippi Delta, fourteen-year-old Evan and fifteen-year-old Micah find their lives changed by a Gulf War veteran living in the shadows. This character-driven literary fiction explores the bond between two boys and a forgotten man in a small-town Southern setting. What begins as a simple act of kindness turns into a dangerous secret. As the boys navigate the complexities of loyalty and courage, they learn that doing the right thing comes with a price. The Last Good ...

Fun-loving Hannah Taylor needs grumpy builder Gabe’s help to get the family’s beach house inn ready for summer guests. Will their opposites-attract romance spark a happily-ever-after? This is a clean and wholesome, grumpy sunshine trope, small town southern romance. If you love sweet, kisses only beach romances set in quaint coastal communities that make you wish you could pack your bags and move there today, you'll find it all in MEANT TO BE!

An emotional novel about a small-town Texas family, forgiveness, and coming to terms with the past by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown. Angela Marie has spent all of her thirty-five years on Meadow Falls, the farm that’s been in her Texas family for generations. It wasn’t her...

Zoe Wright left Las Vegas and a broken engagement to a prominent man, determined to start over and pursue her passion for furniture-making. Matt Kelly is a local Crestpoint Beach fireman whose heart has always belonged to his job and his small hometown. An unexpected act of kindness—and a lovable rescue dog—bring Matt and Zoe together, but will their kindling romance be strong enough to stand the heat when Zoe's past comes back to claim her? This is a clean and wholesome, "he falls first" small town beach romance. If you love sweet, kisses only beach romances set in quaint coastal ...