Famous in a Small Town
Author: Viola Shipman
On Sale June 13, 2023
Publisher: Graydon House
Paperback Original
ISBN 978-1525804854
Price: $18.99
OVERVIEW
Fried Green Tomatoes meets Midnight at the Blackbird Café in USA Today bestselling author Viola Shipman’s FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN, a heartwarming story about intergenerational friendship and self-discovery, set in beautiful Northern Michigan.
In 1958, 15-year-old Mary Jackson became the first woman ever crowned the Cherry Pit Spittin’ Champion of Good Hart, Michigan, landing her in the Guinness Book of World Records, and earning her the nickname Cherry Mary. Nearly 80 years old at the story’s start, Mary runs The Very Cherry General Store, a business that has been passed through three generations of women in the family. While there is no female next of kin, Mary believes the fourth is fated to arrive, as predicted by “Fata Morgana,” a Lake Michigan mirage of four women walking side by side.
Becky Thatcher (yes, like the Mark Twain character), an Assistant Principal from St. Louis, has just broken up with her long-term boyfriend and heads to Good Hart for a healing girl’s trip with her best friend. When Becky drunkenly spits a cherry pit an impressive distance, Mary urges her to enter the upcoming contest, and wonders if Becky could be the woman she’s been waiting for.
Inspired by, and paying tribute to, Michigan’s National Cherry Festival, to the Tunnel of Trees, to lake life, and to the beauty of intergenerational friendship, FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN is “full of summertime delight…and sweet, nostalgic charm” (Heather Webber, USA TODAY bestselling author of Midnight at the Blackbird Café).
Bursting with memorable characters and small-town lore, FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN is a magical story about the family you’re born with, and the one you choose.
Review
Cherry Mary is famous in her small town for being the best Cherry Pit Spittin’ Champion of Good Hart, Michigan. But, when Becky Thatcher from St. Louis shows up and threatens this champion’s record, Cherry Mary knows she is the woman she has seen in her dreams.
The characters are definitely people I know! I grew up down the road from an old store so I could just picture Cherry Mary and her old cash register. Cherry Mary is such a fantastic personality. I bet everyone who reads this novel knows someone in their life that IS Cherry Mary.
Viola Shipman has become one of my go to authors. I just love his stories. They always take me away! And this tale is wonderful.! I love all the St. Louis references….I mean…Ted Drewes! I love that place…and of course, Cardinals baseball! And he threw in a lot about Michigan. I felt like I was right there in this novel!
Need a good, small town, nostalgic tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
AUTHOR BIO
VIOLA SHIPMAN is the pen name for internationally bestselling LGBTQIA author Wade Rouse. Wade is the author of fifteen books, which have been translated into 21 languages and sold over a million copies around the world. Wade chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, as a pen name to honor the working poor Ozarks seamstress whose sacrifices changed his family’s life and whose memory inspires his fiction.
Wade’s books have been selected multiple times as Must-Reads by NBC’s Today Show, Michigan Notable Books of the Year and Indie Next Picks. He lives in Michigan and California, and hosts Wine & Words with Wade, A Literary Happy Hour, every Thursday.
Social Links:
Twitter: @Viola_Shipman
Facebook: Author Viola Shipman
Instagram: @Viola_Shipman
Buy Links:
HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/famous-in-a-small-town-viola-shipman?variant=40980279459874
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/famous-in-a-small-town-viola-shipman/1142722523
BookShop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-champion-of-good-hart-viola-shipman/18794129?ean=9781525804854
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1525804855/keywords=fiction?tag=harpercollinsus-20
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