Love and Hot Chicken: A Delicious Southern Novel

(Paperback)

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Now in Paperback!

The debut of a dynamite new voice from the South, Love and Hot Chicken is a spicy and hilarious Tennessee story about family, friendship, fried chicken, and two girls in love.

The Chickie Shak is something of a historical landmark. Red clapboard walls, thriving wasp population, yard-toilets resplendent with sunflowers. My best friend Lee Ray and I used to come after our softball games and snag a picnic table while our mammas ordered the home team special. Truth is, most people around here order the same thing until the day somebody throws their ashes off a roller coaster at Dollywood. The line snakes around the building as far as you can see, the grimiest bunch of Jessies, Pearls, and Scooters you ever did behold, hobnobbing in the parking lot from noon until night.

When PJ Spoon returns home for her beloved daddys funeral, she doesnt expect to stick around. Why abandon her PhD program at Vanderbilt for the humble charms of her hometown, Pennywhistle, Tennessee Mammas broken heart, thats why. But truth be told, PJs own heart aint doing too good either. She impulsively takes a job as a fry cook at Pennywhistles beloved Chickie Shak, where locals gather for Nashville-style hot chicken. It may not be glamorous, but its something to do.

Fate shakes up PJs life again when the town rallies around the terribly retro and terribly fun Hot Chicken Pageant. PJ finally notices her cute redheaded coworker Boof, a singer-songwriter with a talent as striking as her curly hair, and learns to fear her smack-talking manager, Linda.

As PJ and Boof fall for each other, Boofs search for her birth mothera Pennywhistle nativecatapults the budding couple into a mystery that might be better left unsolved. The Chickie Shak pageant takes off, spurring old rivalries and new friendships in this tale of unexpected connections and new beginnings.

Reviews

Hartongs genuine comedic gift makes PJs story well placed to become a beach-read hit. Publishers Weekly "An uproarious and understated story of family, friendship, and romance set in the neon-lit haze of a Southern chicken shack. By turns hilarious, sad, and introspective, this cross between Steel Magnolias and Gilmore Girls will appeal to anyone who has searched for answers about life and how to live it in a plate of fried chicken." Kirkus Reviews "Looking for some southern comfort Looking no further...Its the perfect heartwarming story." Dallas Voice "Delightful! This novel will open your heart and preach to your funny bone." Jill Conner Browne, New York Times bestselling author of The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love With a large helping of Southern humor, this debut is a heartfelt but not maudlin look at moving on in grief. Throw in charming secondary characters, a quirky small town, a lovely slow-burn romance, and an endearing main character and you have the perfect recipe for fans of Fannie Flagg and Mary Kay Andrews. Booklist

Author Bio

Mary Liza Hartong lives and writes in her hometown of Nashville. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in English and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She also holds a master's from Dartmouth in Creative Writing and a master's from the University College Cork in British and American Literature via Fulbright grant. Mary Liza is the aunt of five boisterous nieces and a proud member of the queer community. When she's not writing, you can find her combing yard sales for treasures with her fiancee, Bridget. Love and Hot Chicken is her first novel.