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What Makes a Good Summer Great?

Quiet places and long lazy reading hours, of course! What's on your book stack for summer? If your beach bag is looking a bit lonely and you're one of the many who've asked over the past two years, "When will Before We Were Yours finally be out in paperback," you're in luck! The gorgeous new paperback edition officially hits shelves May 21st.


The paperback. Isn't it lovely?


It's sporting a gorgeous new dragonfly stepback cover...



...and a reader's supplement perfect for book clubs.


If you've been waiting, or your book club only reads in paperback, you can  grab it at your favorite store, or click here to order online. You can also find the online book club kit here.

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 If you've been following along on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you know that the film rights to Before We Were Yours have been optioned by MGM. I've spent many an hour daydreaming about Rill and the Foss family coming to screen, as I've been traveling around, sharing the true story behind Before We Were Yours.

Between travels, I've also been finishing up the next novel, which (I'm happy to report) is now off my desk and on my editor's. It will be hitting shelves around this time next year. In the meantime, there's a surprise new nonfiction companion to Before We Were Yours coming up in September. For more on that, read on below!

Book Tour!  
Who's Ready?

It's that time again. I'll be visiting several cities to sign the new Before We Were Yours paperback and meet reader-friends . Huckleberry--having noticed a rash of unauthorized suitcase movement at HQ--is staying close to his MTP (Mobile Transportation Pod), so as to be ready for travel.


(Please don't tell Huck, but he'll be staying home to
do guard duty at HQ during the paperback tour.)



I'd love to meet you (so would Huck, if he weren't needed here at home). In the next two weeks, I'll be in TX, CA, AZ, SC, and NJ. To see if I'll be near your hometown, click here for the book tour schedule.


A New Nonfiction Book
Coming in September 2019 
 
If you have been to one of the recent book chats, you've heard me talk about an unexpected non-fiction follow-up to Before We Were Yours. 
 
 
 
 
Hitting Shelves Oct 22nd and available for preorder now 
 
  
Shortly after the release of Before We Were Yours, I began hearing from the real-life adoptees and families of the Tennessee Children's Home Society. Many asked if I would help them plan a reunion. Last June in Memphis, we did that. Our coming together was an experience beyond words.  
 
You can watch a bit of video from the event by clicking here,  but there is so much more to tell about these families and their triumphant gathering.
 
Along with author pal and award-winning journalist, Judy Christie, I'm honored to have worked with this incredible group of people to share the truth of how their lives and their families became tangled in the web of Georgia Tann and her baby brokering network. Their true stories are surprising, and beautiful, and filled with life lessons about love, resilience, and the meaning of family. 
 
Before and After is coming to shelves October 22nd, from Ballantine/Penguin Random House.  
 


A New Novel in Spring/Summer 2020  

Yes, there is a new novel coming in 2020! It's a story steeped in an incredible and little-known bit of history as startling and heart-tugging as the true events that inspired Before We Were Yours. When I learned of it, I knew I had to write about it.
 
As a little sneak preview, why don't I take you along on a recent research trip? You might pick up a hint or two about the book. Ssshhhh... it's just between us. ;)
 
 
Can you imagine all the people who've passed beneath these lofty oaks? John Wayne was one of them. He rode right up the front drive and stopped his trusty steed at the yard gate.  
I'm not sure whether he noticed the unique bottle garden
inside that picket fence, but I did! 
 
 
 
What stories could this room tell, I wonder? 
Just across the levee, the Mississippi river is passing by.  
Back in the day, you could've opened the shutters  
on that sunny upstairs gallery and waved at the riverboat  
passengers steaming along.
 
 
 
Speaking of stories, Matt Housch told me some  
great ones at Cane River National Historical Park.
Visit this fascinating place if you have a chance. Or support a National Park near you and give the staff a hearty thanks.These devoted people keep our history and our wild spaces thriving and protected.  
 
 
 
Here's another place filled with stories. I  
can't wait to tell you how those stories are connected 
to the upcoming novel.  
 

 
Taking a little time to trade tales with my gracious hosts. The  
best thing about stories is the way they bring us together.  
There are no better people anywhere in the world than  
book people!   
 
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I'll sign off for now. I hope to see you on the paperback tour,
or perhaps when Before and After hits stores in the fall. In the meantime, wherever this note finds you, I hope it finds your world filled with good reading and adventures to remember.  
 
Thank you for sharing these literary adventures with me!  
 
Lisa 
 

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