Southern Humour Fiction

The unspooling of Toni Lee Wells' Tiffany and Wild Turkey lifestyle begins with a trip to the Luckett County Jail drunk tank. An earlier wrist injury sidelined her pro tennis career, and now she's trading her tennis whites for wild nights roaming the streets of Rose Hill, Georgia. Her wealthy family finally gets fed up with Toni Lee's shenanigans. They cut off her monthly allowance but also make her a sweetheart deal: Get a job, keep it for a year, and you'll receive an early inheritance.

For the Temple women, the winds of change are blowing. And if they're not careful, it could sweep them all away. After rising from Temple servant to tea shop owner, Violet finally feels in charge of her destiny. While learning Gullah folk magic from her aging grandmother, she worries much of her cultural heritage will be lost to the grave. Is there enough time for Old Sally to pass down all her special wisdom? Bride-to-be Queenie has never felt younger at heart.

With her phenomenally popular Miss Julia series, author Ann B. Ross has graced the New York Times and other best seller lists on her way to capturing the hearts of her many dedicated fans. Miss Julia, a graceful Southern lady with impeccable manners and a penchant for problem solving, has become a beloved heroine for countless admirers.

BETRAYAL. PASSION. MAGIC. And...WIGS! From the sparkling imagination of gifted entertainer Keke Palmer and her iconic alter ego, Lady Miss Jacqueline, comes a hilarious modern fairy tale about a wilting violet, a clash of personalities, and a multitude of hair.

Jesse Few peddles lies. His boss and clients order a couple. His married girlfriend gets a few. His family buys several. But he saves the top-of-the-line dishonesty to sell to himself. The 49-year-old suburban rogue focuses on carousing with his golf buddies, chasing women much too young for him, and surviving the Great Recession that’s raging across the South like it's the Big Banks March to the Sea.

Jamie is a Florida Woman. She grew up on the beach, thrives in humidity, has weathered more hurricanes than she can count, and now, after going viral for an outrageous crime she never meant to commit in the first place, she has the requisite headline to her name. But when the chance comes for her to escape viral infamy and imminent jail time by taking a community service placement at Atlas, a shelter for rescued monkeys, it seems like just the fresh start Jamie needs to finally get her life back on track — until it’s not.

Not only do Southerners talk slowly, but sometimes the whole language is hard to understand. No one realizes that more than Memphis belle Leelee Satterfield. Watching her tackle life and love in Vermont was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to antics, charades, mischief, and romance. Now that she’s back in Memphis, and starting a new relationship with Peter, the Yankee chef from her New England inn, you’d think she’d sit back and enjoy her newly crafted life back home in Dixie. But that just wouldn’t be as much fun.

Aaron thinks genre fiction is an affront to the fiction-writing craft. He often quotes the essayist Arthur Krystal, who says literary fiction "melts the frozen sea inside of us". Ironically Aaron doesn't seem to realize that he's emotionally frozen. The vivacious Laurie, lover of flamingo-patterned attire and all things hot pink, is the one person who might be capable of melting him.

Single-again Lucinda Mae Watkins - of "Edison, Mississippi, fried chicken royalty" - learns Big Doodle Dayton is blaming her dead daddy for the drug scandal exploding at the local Chicken Palace fried chicken joint. She takes off cross country on the train to clear her daddy's name, while hopefully discovering the secret to happiness along the way. Join Lucinda on the most hilarious - if slightly ribald - adventure of her life.

Harper Kirkpatrick is not what Cameron Bennett expects for the bachelor party in his Savannah mansion. She's desperate when he sends her home in her cat costume. Jobs are scarce and eviction looms. Former boyfriend Billy took off for California and she's too proud to head home to Chicago. Although Cameron may not go for her cheerleader kicks, he does admire Harper's spunk. When she answers his ad for a nanny, she's horrified to find herself back at his mansion.

Cain’t Do Nothing with Love was the winner of the CIPA EVVY Audio Book Award 2014. All stories treat the most difficult topics - death, religion, family - with sharp humor and urgent respect.

"When Poppy Wainwright's grandmother dies, she travels from her home in Arkansas to live with her grandmother's older sister, Sookie, in Savannah, Georgia. 'Your Grandma Lainey was a self-righteous nit-wit,' Sookie tells Poppy upon their first meeting, 'and if I had the gumption, I'd drive myself up to Mountain Home and spit on her freshly dug grave.' Sookie is everything Poppy's grandmother was not: atheistic, slovenly, suspicious, prone to vendettas, and completely lacking any verbal filter." (Kirkus Reviews)

The listener who has grown up in the South will swear that he knows each and every character in these tales - from the "Indian doctor" with the secret hemorrhoid cure to the bull who couldn't keep his "loins" out of reach of the youngster's BB gun; he'll identify with Bubba gigging for Giant Southern Frogs and with the curious cat that burned the cabin down; he'll remember high-school teammates like "Shorty" and "Speedy", as well as college fraternity brothers like "Snake" and "Stud". And he'll laugh while remembering.

Janet Williams is practically invisible. If only she had the pluck to speak up at work, flirt with the handsome barista she sees every day, and realize how special she is. When a magical wig offers Janet a chance to shake things up, will she dare to try a bold new style? The voice in her head - flashy and fierce, with an unbridled southern drawl - tells her to go for it. And once she does, there’s no turning back.

Lady Miss Jacqueline swears that hair makes a difference. And it does! Now Janet is taking charge on the job and making moves on a local barista she’s always shied away from. But when her brash new Lady Miss drawl gets all the wrong attention, Janet realizes that she needs to change her style - and her wig. It’s all a matter of finding the perfect fit.

After her latest life-altering wig switch, Janet slips into leather leggings, quits her job, goes full advance on her barista crush, and makes a career commitment to her bestie, Candace. The follow-through? Not pretty. With guilt and betrayal hanging over her head (not to mention that dangerous, if fetching, wig), Janet must comb out the mess she’s made. And there’s only one way to do it.

After slipping on Chelsea - a magical wig that comes with a gregarious personality - Janet is making strides at work and has a new friend and a confident strut. Life is fab. Isn’t it? Honestly, there’s something missing. Where’s the adventure? The purpose? What she needs is to tap into her inner daredevil. But her mystical wigmaker has a word of caution: should Janet lose control, it might not be so easy to get it back.

In the South, we believe in being polite, even if it kills us. So, when we just can't fight the urge to say something nasty, we follow it up with a "bless her heart" just to make us feel better. "Look at that poor woman trying to jog around that track. Her rear-end is dragging a trail, bless her heart." Youngblood and Poole talk about the ins and outs of nosy neighbors, sibling rivalry, and why every Southerner worth her salt feels the need to offer advice.

Author and professional storyteller Brooke Cox believes sauces from the Lord are all around us. Don’t be misled; this is not a book about food. For the most part, Cox considers these sauces as the basis for stories that equal fun lessons from God. She says these sauces often leak into our lives in the guise of stories that are equipping us to live, not only in our present, but also in our future. In the book, Saucy Southern Stories, Cox shares the zesty sauces the Lord has generously poured onto her quirky tomboy life.