Friends & Fiction Live: Patti Callahan Henry's The Secret Book of Flora Lea

On Monday, May 1, The Charleston Place & Buxton Books Literary Series are thrilled to host a very special pre-publication launch party for New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and co-creator of Friends & Fiction, Patti Callahan Henry! Patti will be joined by friends and colleagues Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, and Kristy Woodson Harvey - each fantastic authors in their own right - at The Riviera Theater in downtown Charleston.

Patti's latest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, officially releases on Tuesday, May 2, but Patti is going to celebrate with us - and you - a day early. When you attend this event, you will be among the first people to get your hands on a copy of this beautiful new book.

Just as special, you will be with Patti and the authors of beloved literary group Friends & Fiction as they toast to the release of Patti's novel! Being with this group of women feels like being among friends, and there is no better to way to celebrate.

In addition to the main event - the author talk and signing at the Riviera - we are offering a couple more intimate options for spending time with Patti and the ladies of Friends & Fiction. A VIP ticket option is available that includes a cocktail before the event - along with a couple other perks! Space is limited for the VIP tickets so get them quickly!

As an add-on to any ticket type, we are offering a Coffee with the Authors event the next morning at the Charleston Library Society.

More information on both the VIP ticket and the Coffee with the Authors add-on is available as you move through the ticket buying process!

Please feel free to email [email protected] or call the bookstore at 843-723-1670, if you have any questions or need help booking.

We hope to see you there!

ABOUT THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA:

When a woman stumbles across a mysterious children’s book, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed in this “transporting, heartfelt, and atmospheric” (Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author) novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

1939: Fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora evacuate their London home for a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the Aberdeen family in a charming stone cottage, Hazel distracts her young sister with a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own: Whisperwood.

But the unthinkable happens when Flora suddenly vanishes after playing near the banks of the River Thames. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, carrying the guilt into adulthood.

Twenty years later, Hazel is back in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore for a career at Sotheby’s. With a cherished boyfriend and an upcoming Paris getaway, Hazel’s future seems set. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing a picture book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the storybook world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years? Or is something sinister at play?

For fans of Kate Morton, Janet Skeslien Charles, and Kristin Hannah, this is a “fantastical” (Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author) celebration of sisterhood and the magic of storytelling wrapped up in a “heartrending, captivating tale of family, first love, and fate” (Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author).

ABOUT PATTI CALlAHAN HENRY:

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, EPCA, Globe and Mail, and USA Today bestselling author of sixteen novels, including her newest, The Secret Book of Flora Lea. She’s also a podcast host of original content for her novels, Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

​She is the recipient of The Christy Award “Book of the Year”; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast. Patti was also a contributor to the monthly life lesson essay column for Parade Magazine. She’s published in numerous anthologies, articles, and short story collections, including an Audible Original about Florence Nightingale, titled Wild Swan narrated by the Tony Award winner, Cynthia Erivo.

A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband, Pat Henry.

Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey and will be released on May 2nd, 2023 with Simon & Schuster Atria.

ABOUT FRIENDS & FICTION:

New York Times Bestselling novelists Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Patti Callahan Henry are four longtime friends with more than seventy published books to their credit. With chats, author interviews and fascinating insider talk about publishing and writing, these friends discuss the books they’ve written, the books they’re reading now, and the art of storytelling. With a mission to support independent bookstores, they are always seeking new and innovative ways to introduce dynamic voices and trends in publishing. If you love books and you’re curious about the writing world, you’re in the right place.

Host or Publisher Buxton Books