WHISTLIN' DIXIE IN A NOR'EASTER
 
Leelee Satterfield seems to have it all: a gorgeous husband, two adorable daughters, and roots in the sunny city of Memphis, Tennessee. So when her husband gets the idea to uproot the family to run a quaint Vermont inn, Leelee is devastated . . . and her three best friends are outraged. But she's loved Baker Satterfield since the tenth grade, how can she not indulge his dream? Plus, the glossy photos of bright autumn tress and smiling children in ski suits push her over the edge. After all, how much trouble can it really be?
 
But Leelee discovers pretty fast that there's a truckload of things nobody tells you about Vermont until you liver there: mud season, vampire flies, and the danger of ice sheets careening off roofs, just to name a few.
 
The inn they've bought has its own host of problems: an odor that no amount of potpourri can erase, tacky décor, and a staff of peculiar Vermonters. The whole operation is managed by Helga, a stern German woman who takes special delight in bullying Leelee. Needless to say, it doesn't take long for her to start wondering when to drag out the moving boxes again.
 
When an unexpected hardship takes Leelee by surprise, she finds herself left alone with an inn to run, a mortgage to pay, and two daughters to raise. But this Southern belle won't be run out of town so easily. Drawing on the grit and inner strength she didn't know she had, Leelee decides to turn around the inn, her attitude, and her life. In doing so, she makes friends with her neighbors, finds a little romance, and realizes there's a lot more to love about Vermont than she first thought.
 
In this comedic debut, Lisa Patton paints a charming fish-out-of-water tale of one woman who learns to stand up for herself—in sandals and snow boots—against all odds.
 
REVIEWS

Patton debuts with a peachy-keen summer read about a Southern woman's misadventures as a Vermont innkeeper...This sassy, lighthearted romp twists and turns toward a conclusion that is not at all foregone, but is immensely satisfying. Dixie chicks and damn Yankees alike will enjoy seeing the world through Leelee's eyes.
~ Kirkus Reviews
 
This debut by a Southern author who, like Leelee, spent three years as an innkeeper in Vermont, is sure to please Adriana Trigiani and Fannie Flagg fans. Filled with colorful characters who prove the South has nothing on the North when it comes to eccentrics, and with the ambiguous ending regarding Leelee's romance with Peter, this will have readers eagerly awaiting the sequel.
~ Library Journal
 
A pluky debut . . . A heaping helping of girl power . . . Patton's novel delivers on its feel-good moments and inspiring fantasies of finally making it on your own.
~ Publisher's Weekly
 
 
PRAISE

Lisa Patton draws you into each moment of this wonderfully heartbreaking yet hilarious journey of self-enlightenment. Whistlin' Dixie is truly a page-turner from beginning to end.
~ Jeff Bridges
 
In her debut novel Lisa Patton paints a beautiful portrait of friendship, and one woman's journey finding herself, with tears and laughter along the way. I loved it.
~ Christopher Cross – Grammy Award Winning Artist and Songwriter
 
Memphis belle Leelee heads for Vermont, trading iced tea and kudzu for black ice, black flies, and a winter that lasts well into May. The results? An amusing, touching novel about a steel magnolia who faces an extreme culture clash and must decide if she wants to set down roots in red clay or snow. Whistlin' in Dixie in a Nor'easter is a fabulous, feel-good read.
~ Karin Gillespie, author of Dollar Daze
 
Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter gives you a heroine to root for and a book that keeps you turning pages. A delightful read.
~ Linda Francis Lee, bestselling author of The Ex-Debutante
 
Not one to read fiction as a rule, this funny book had me from page one, and didn't let me go. The main character, LeeLee, captivated me from her very first innocent, but honest, observation of the people, places and things around her. A wonderful story about those few truly bright moments of self discovery that are just as likely born of our bad choices as well as our good ones, and how they happen in their own (maybe even inopportune) time and place when we least expect them. A story about staying hopeful through the struggle of staying true to one's self. A thoroughly unrepentant Memphis girl stranded in Vermont... one can only hope the Yankees survive it. If this story isn't "movie waiting to happen" I don't know what is!
~ Michael McDonald – Grammy Award Winning Artist and Songwriter

Just when you think there's nothing new under the sun, here it comes----the North/South split as seen from a brand new perspective. I absolutely DEVOURED this yummy novel, all at one sitting. Lisa Patton serves up genuine romance, wisdom, and humor at this B&B---with plenty of smart social observation on the side. Sweet, sassy, and very entertaining!
~ Lee Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Girls
 
Funny, heartfelt and loaded with southern charm, Lisa Patton's debut brims with pluck and is filled with memorable characters. You'll laugh out loud as Leelee Satterfield plants her debutante flag on the snowy fields of Vermont- staking a claim for her own future while staying true to her southern roots. You'll be whistlin' "more, more!" by novel's end. I promise.
~ Adriana Trigiani bestelling author of the Big Stone Gap series and Lucia, Lucia
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