Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times Bestselling author --Losing the Moon, Where the River Runs, When Light Breaks, Between the Tides, The Art of Keeping Secrets, Driftwood Summer and The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story, Coming Up for Air, And Then I Found You and The Stories We Tell.
Patti was a finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction and twice a nominee for the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Association Fiction Book of the Year. Patti is hailed as a fresh new voice in southern fiction. She is a frequent speaker at luncheons, book clubs and women's groups where she discusses the importance of storytelling and anything else they want to talk about.
Patti grew up as a Minister's daughter, learning early how storytelling effects our lives. She grew up spending her summers on Cape Cod where she began her love affair with the beach, ocean, tides and nature of the coast. Moving south at the tender age of twelve, she found solace in books and stories. While attending Auburn University, she met a southern boy who later proposed on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, next to a historic lighthouse overlooking the Sound. After earning her Master's degree in Child Health, Patti worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist until her first child was born.
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern (2024) Lynda Cohen Loigman "In the charming The Love Elixir of August Stern, Loigman introduces us to the plucky eighty year old heroine Augusta Stern, who just might find a second chance at everything that matters. Loigman's crisp, hilarious, and deeply moving prose brings us to the heart of the matter: the fathomless mystery of love. As the timelines draw closer in both Florida and New York, we turn the pages at top speed to discover the truth about lost love and family secrets. With the language of elixirs and potions at its center, Loigman brings us the sort of novel we need today, one full of hope, delight, and magic."
The Sicilian Inheritance (2024) Jo Piazza "The Sicilian Inheritance is an addictive family saga with a rich abundance of strong women, quick wit, immersive history, and page-turning suspense. What else could one want from a novel? With her wise prose, Piazza grabs us by the hand as we journey through the picturesque Italian countryside while our heart thumps in anticipation of what Sara will find next. Mined from Piazza's own family history, this novel is a lyrical elegy to the past and its influence. . . . Narrated by two powerful women who refuse to let others define them - Sara, a butcher, and Serafina, an Italian woman healer - will steal your heart and threaten to never give it back. Piazza is a master storyteller with a voice of deep wisdom, and The Sicilian Inheritance is don't miss historical fiction with a dash of Mario Puzo and a hint of Nora Ephron."
Miss Morgan's Book Brigade (2024) Janet Skeslien Charles "An astonishing novel of postwar WWI France with the beating heart of courageous women who change the world through books. . . and a moving tale of sacrifice, heroism, and inspired storytelling immersed in the power of books to change our lives."
Becoming Madam Secretary (2024) Stephanie Dray "A page-turning tribute to a woman who refused to give up, a woman who inspires us even now, and a woman who saved a nation. In FDR's presidential cabinet, Frances Perkins wasn't immune to the problems of her time while she struggled with family, marriage, and motherhood. Her perseverance changed our nation. Stephanie Dray brings Frances Perkins, and everyone around her, so alive you feel she will walk off the page. With an indomitable heroine for our times, Becoming Madam Secretary is destined to be a classic of historical fiction."
Mercury (2024) Amy Jo Burns "Mercury is that rare and marvelous novel that offers us the combination of unforgettable characters, tender prose, page-turning narrative, and the escape of an immersive world. Burns has gifted us with a family saga replete with the subtle moments that make us human, that take our breath away, and that gut us with feeling. Among many, Burns asks the important question - how does one become oneself while also living in a family that consumes? When we meet the Joseph family, we, just as Marley, want to sit at the dinner table with the matriarch and four complicated men without yet understanding the consequences of joining them. With textured and lush prose, Burns exposes the private desires and secrets living below the roofline of their collective lives. When a leak appears in the town's church bell tower, what has been hidden is exposed in a breath-holding unfolding. I am in love with Marley and the Joseph family, and I miss them already."
The Magic All Around (2024) Jennifer Moorman "The Magic All Around is brimming with lyrical Southern beauty, page-turning mystery, and delightful magic. With a house built of enchanted wood, a mother-daughter bond that changes a life, a family saga that brings you home, and a captivating love story, The Magic All Around is a work of storytelling-art. For readers of Sara Addison Allen and Lauren K. Denton, this is your next captivating read. If we have eyes to see and ears to hear, Jennifer Moorman is here to remind us that there really is magic all around."
The Wildest Sun (2023) Asha Lemmie "The Wildest Sun is an epic quest for identity and a tender search for selfhood as a woman and a writer. Asha Lemmie is a master of the heart and with her we meet the vulnerable Delphine as she searches for the larger-than-life man who might be her father. Through decades and across continents, The Wildest Sun is an inspiring and compelling novel. Lemmie's insightful observations into the writers life with its hopes, fears, and creativity is the lifeblood of this courageous journey for the truth."
The Paris Assignment (2023) Rhys Bowen "The Paris Assignment is a sweeping story of love, bravery, and ultimately hope. Rhys Bowen masterfully weaves an immersive story that carries us through the crucible of war with characters that capture your imagination and heart. Traveling through Paris, London, and Australia, The Paris Assignment is a story about the things we do when we believe there might be nothing left to lose, about the irrepressible love of a wife and mother, and about courage in the face of great and terrible odds. Historical fiction at its best, The Paris Assignment is a rich and absorbing experience."
Horses of Fire (2023) A D Rhine "Narrated by the fierce women of Troy, Horses of Fire is epic in scope and intricately vivid in the details. Reminding us why myths are timeless and sacred guides, A. D. Rhine brings the ancient world to vibrant life while expertly planting us firmly in history. With lyrical language and spellbinding details, this is a re-imagining that captivates and enchants. I felt every pound of the horse's hooves, heard every whispered desire, tasted the dust of the land, and fell in love with all four complicated women. You'll never see the old stories the same way again. Horses of Fire is an immersive and sensory experience of page-turning adventure."
Alchemy of a Blackbird (2023) Claire McMillan "A chorus of fascinating voices, including the mystical and wise voice of the tarot, guides us through this powerful and immersive novel."
A Right Worthy Woman (2023) Ruth P Watson "A Right Worthy Woman is a remarkable and stirring novel, a story destined to be told. Ruth P. Watson brings to vivid life a woman who changed history, a woman both determined and fascinating, a woman named Maggie Lena Walker. From the heartbreaking opening line to the closing scene, the reader is on a transformational journey as Maggie Lena Walker revolutionizes both Richmond, Virginia and women's history. Inspiring and rich with detail, this is your next book club read."
The Last Lifeboat (2023) Hazel Gaynor "A thrilling and atmospheric novel told with Gaynor's signature compelling storytelling. During WWII's British child evacuation, two families' destinies collide in an absorbing story about breathtaking survival, extraordinary perseverance, and the resilience of love. I felt every splash of the storm-ridden sea in the lifeboat, every unsinkable hope for a child's return, and every shattering loss. With Gaynor's wise insights into the human heart, prepare to lose yourself in this book."
The Wishing Game (2023) Meg Shaffer "A magical ode to storytelling, imagination, and the mystery of the creative life . . . Wildly imaginative, clever, and inspiring, The Wishing Game is for anyone who has found light in a story just when they need it."
All the Pretty Places (2023) Joy Callaway "All The Pretty Places is a timeless and powerful novel of a daring woman who must decide if she will risk everything to follow her passion and find her voice. Callaway's wise and insightful prose gives life to Sadie Fremd, a woman who understands the value of beauty and the vulnerability of love. For anyone who has ever had to find their voice in a crowd shouting to be the same as everyone else, Sadie Fremd will be your hero. With lush gardens so generously described that one feels as if they can pick the flowers, All the Pretty Places is immersive, engaging, and full of wonder."
The Golden Doves (2023) Martha Hall Kelly "Meticulously researched, hauntingly told, and inspired by real events that span generations and continents."
The Woman with the Cure (2023) Lynn Cullen "With emotional honesty and prose that rings with lyrical detail, Lynn Cullen expertly takes us back to the world where polio slays our children and a pandemic places us in isolation. Cullen shows us who we might be without the genius of women who are willing to put it all on the line for a cure. From behind the eyes and heart of a woman determined to save a generation of children by hunting down a cure, The Woman With the Cure is an enlightening and immersive read. Working against time and mystery, Dr. Dorothy Horstmann must not only battle the mysterious virus but also a system that can't bear a woman at its center. Dorothy's scientific imagination shook the medical community, and Lynn Cullen's re-imagining of her life and work is powerful, visionary and inspired."
When the Moon Turns Blue (2023) Pamela Terry "This moving novel reminds us of the necessity of love, the value of family connection, and the redeeming light of forgiveness. Pamela Terry seems to have a second sight - one that allows her to really see the secret workings of the heart. She writes with humor, elegance, and grace about subjects as universal and diverse as humanity itself."
A Matter of Happiness (2022) Tori Whitaker "A thrill of a ride and a beautiful read. Violet and Melanie are connected across generations by blood, bourbon, cars, and a great need for independence. Tori Whitaker unfolds the narrative with a deep sense of history imbuing every sensational page, weaving the women's stories until the inspiring conclusion. This is a compelling story of women who understand that we can choose our happiness and we can choose our lives. Whitaker crafts a riveting read about strength, fate, and choice that you will not want to put down until the very last page."
A Bend of Light (2022) Joy Jordan-Lake "From the evocative opening sentence to the shocking conclusion, A Bend of Light is a thrill of a ride and an engrossing read. Joy Jordan-Lake's heartfelt and lyrical prose is paired with a mystery that won't let you go. As layers of the truth are uncovered, the courageous Amie Stilwell navigates a small coastal town in the 1950s, and we are enthralled until the final reveal."
The Tobacco Wives (2022) Adele Myers "The Tobacco Wives is a sweep-you-away story with a lush North Carolina setting and a courageous woman at its center. What more do we want from a story than this? Myers's prose is stitched together as beautifully as the fancy dresses her protagonist Maddie Sykes sews for the elite women of this tobacco town. The question at the heart of this novel trembles with power - what happens when what we know is right conflicts with what we are being told is true? Myers's story will resonate long after you turn the last page; powerful and authentic, The Tobacco Wives is unforgettable."
Coco at the Ritz (2021) Gioia Diliberto "Gioia Diliberto expertly frees Coco Chanel from the bonds of legend and introduces us to the complex life of a dynamic woman. An intriguing romp through Chanel's fascinating life, a glitzy view of Paris and a powerful narrative about the little-known arrest of Coco Chanel at the end of WWII. With an intriguing author note and impeccable research, I devoured Coco at the Ritz. For book clubs, lovers of historical fiction and fans of Marie Benedict, here is the book you were waiting for!"
A Million Reasons Why (2021) Jessica Strawser "From the opening line to the heart-healing ending, A Million Reasons Why is an immersive and startling novel of great compassion with plot twists that will take your breath away. When all we know is turned upside down and inside out, who do we become? Strawser isn't afraid of the bigger questions and this beautiful exploration of family, loyalty and love will both break and heal your heart. Powerful, poignant and profound -- don't miss this compelling novel from a master storyteller."
The Christmas Clock / A Song For My Mother (2020) (Dreyerville, Michigan) Kat Martin "Kat Martin has the uncanny and delicate ability to pluck the heartstrings of the reader, and she’s done it again with pitch-perfect tone."
Across the Winding River (2020) Aimie K Runyan "Inspired by a true and powerful story, Runyan has written a wondrous story of courage, sacrifice, and most importantly, love. Expertly winding between WWII and present time, Across the Winding River accomplishes the almost-impossible: layering three stories that come together to take your breath away. Runyan captures the heart-thumping years after Pearl Harbor and then wanders through the terrifying battles of Hurgen Forest. The vivid narrative is born of impeccable research, and reaches through the pages straight to the reader’s heart. Uncertainty is the fire through which all the characters must pass. With a bit of mystery, a lot of heart, and beautiful prose, Across the Winding River will steal your imagination and you’ll be the better for it."
Feels Like Falling (2020) Kristy Woodson Harvey "Kristy Woodson Harvey has the voice of a best friend; a storyteller of the finest sort. Feels Like Falling takes us on a page-turning journey with two very different women who must somehow find their way together. Harvey asks the important question -- how do we let go of the preconceived notions of our life ? And she answers that question with lyrical prose, an uncommon wisdom and a sharp wit. This is more than a novel about friendship, it is also a story for friendship: you will find yourself sharing it with everyone you love. Dive in; the storytelling is delicious!"
Before Anyone Else (2020) (BAE, book 1) Leslie Hooton "Before Anyone Else is the romantic debut we have been waiting for, a coming of age novel that is both deeply moving and creatively beautiful. With wit and dazzle, Leslie Hooton takes us through both a love story and also the cut throat restaurant business. With charm to spare, this novel is a powerful story with a dose of hostess gold woven in for good measure."
Lady Clementine (2020) Marie Benedict "The atmospheric prose of Marie Benedict draws me in every single time. Lady Clementine's powerful and spirited story is both compelling and immersive. Benedict fully inhabits the measured and intelligent voice of Clementine Churchill. Entranced throughout, I discovered the secrets behind a familiar story I thought I knew. Deftly moving from the early nineteen hundreds through World War II, Benedict skillfully paints a vivid picture of the times and life of Clementine, the remarkable woman who was the steady force beside Winston Churchill."
Unspoken (2019) (Start Up in the City, book 2) Kelly Rimmer "Before I Let You Go is an unforgettable novel that will amaze and startle you with its impact and insight."
Glory Road (2019) Lauren K Denton "From the opening of The Hideaway, the reader is captured by the voice of a woman who has for too long kept a story that must be told, one the reader wants to hear. Denton has crafted a story both powerful and enchanting: a don’t-miss novel in the greatest southern traditions of storytelling."
Christmas at the Chalet (2018) Anita Hughes "The magic of the season is on full display in Christmas at the Chalet...In the best Christmas present of them all--a beautiful and authentically heartfelt tale--Anita Hughes reminds us of the true miracle of Christmas: love."
The Lost Queen (2018) (Lost Queen, book 1) Signe Pike "An extraordinary historical page-turner. Pike brings a creative eye, unique voice and immaculate research to the world of historical fiction - the people and lands of this novel will not leave me. The Lost Queen is more than a book; it is a profound experience. Languoreth has emerged from the mists of Scotland to assume her rightful place on the throne where she belongs."
Rush (2018) Lisa Patton "RUSH transports us smack dab into the middle of the secret world of sorority rush. We find ourselves behind the scenes with a provocative peek into the world of sorority sisters and the beloved House staff who work tirelessly on their behalf. Lisa Patton has penned a powerful and relevant story infused with raw emotion and the beating heart of her sassy humor. I adored this unforgettable novel that will both surprise you and capture your heart."
The Late Bloomers' Club (2018) Louise Miller "Heartwarming, charming and utterly fascinating, The Late Bloomers' Club is a beautifully rendered peek behind the scenes of a small town, its community and its mysteries. I adored this novel."
I Was Anastasia (2018) Ariel Lawhon "Ariel Lawhon is a masterful storyteller; I Was Anastasia is a wild ride, extravagant with its vivid sensory experiences and page turning suspense. Inspired by history, and infused with imagination and intrigue, this novel satisfies with every twist and turn. I was both captivated and enchanted; I will carry this story—from its beguiling opening to its catch-my-breath ending — in my heart and imagination for a long, long while."
Shadow of the Lions (2017) Christopher Swann "Swann is a gifted storyteller, a master at the twisty tale . . . Under Swann's deft hand, ultimately, Shadow of the Lions explores the timeless complexity of deep friendship--how it shapes us, destroys us and sometimes remakes us."
The Hidden Light of Northern Fires (2017) Daren Wang "With a forbidden love story weaving in and out of the pages, Daren Wang has crafted a novel that will linger in the heart long after its last page."
Close Enough to Touch (2017) Colleen Oakley "Oakley delivers a story that overflows with compassion, humor, and the impulsive need to read just one more chapter until you reach the very satisfying end."
Happiness for Beginners (2015) Katherine Center "HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS does what a story should do--introduces characters we want to know and then takes us on their unexpected journey to a new and braver life. Helen Carpenter is doing what needs to be done, and along the way she shows us how to be brave . . . when we need to be and when we want to be. When life doesn't give Helen what she believes she wants, she journeys into the wilderness to find what she needs, and we are with her every step of the way. Center's witty, honest and compassionate storytelling opens us to new ways of feeling and trusting, just as her character is doing the same."
The Summer Girls (2013) (Low Country Summer, book 1) Mary Alice Monroe "In the bestselling tradition of Kathryn Stockett's The Help, Mary Alice Monroe skillfully weaves together issues of class, women's rights, and domestic abuse set in the tumultuous South during the 1970s. . . . Beautifully wrought, and rich with keen insight . . . an unforgettable tale of marriage, resilience, and one woman's private strength."
The Miracle of Mercy Land (2010) River Jordan "With words spoken like a gentle angel, River Jordan takes her reader deep into the human spirit. The Miracle of Mercy Land is a story about the past, the present, and the future all at once, not only altering the hearts of the characters in the novel, but also changing the heart of the reader. A triumph of beauty."
Hurricanes in Paradise (2010) Denise Hildreth "Soaked with sun, wit, and heart, this is a story of healing and the hope that, sometimes, surviving the storm has no rewards."
Necessary Arrangements (2007) Tanya Michna "A novel about the power of love in a broken world... a poignant story that will touch the heart."
