Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, inspirational speaker, and New York Times Bestselling Author of thirty novels. Her work has won or been nominated for many awards, including the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, the Oklahoma Book Award, the Utah Library Award, The Carol Award, the Christy Award, and the RT Booklovers Reviewer’s Choice Award. Lisa writes her stories at home in Texas where she is part of the Wingate clan of storytellers. Lisa believes that stories can change the world.
All We Were Promised (2024) Ashton Lattimore "Against the backdrop of untold history, Ashton Lattimore spins a beguiling story of friendship, deception, and women crossing boundaries in the name of freedom. Disparate and deeply real, Charlotte, Nell, and Evie struggle to fully trust one another, but ultimately discover that together they may be stronger than everything their turbulent world casts against them."
The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson (2024) Ellen Baker "A family secret, a DNA test, a journey as rich and colorful as the early-day circus itself. Through Cecily Larson's hidden life, Ellen Baker tenderly examines personal determination, lost love, family ties, and our innate need to discover our own truth."
The American Queen (2024) Vanessa Miller "The American Queen is beautifully told, a story rife with struggle, intrigue, and the indomitable spirit of a woman strong enough to carry the weight of a community, bold enough to dream the impossible, and determined enough to fashion dreams into reality. Louella Montgomery is a woman for the ages. I loved traveling alongside her and meeting the people of The Happy Land."
Henderson House (2023) Caren Simpson McVicker "Like a love song to my Oklahoma roots. Henderson House offers a sweet window into a past when lives and loves moved to the gentle rhythm of small-town cafes, front porch swings, and old two-lane highways."
The Best Summer of Our Lives (2023) Rachel Hauck "The Best Summer of Our Lives blends faith and hope into a story about the seasons of life, the seasons of friendship, and the seasons of love."
The Picture Bride (2022) Lee Geum-yi "A fascinating journey into the world of Korean "picture brides" whose lives take unexpected turns as they land on distant shores. A beautiful testimony to those women bold and determined enough to leave behind all that was familiar, seeking a better life."
The Invincible Miss Cust (2022) Penny Haw "In a world where women are relegated to needlepoint and parlor chairs, Aleen sets her sights on barns and veterinary surgery. Her journey to become the impossible is inspiring, heartwarming, and ultimately triumphant."
The Ways We Hide (2022) Kristina McMorris "A riveting tale of intrigue and illusion, danger and historical mystery, but at its heart the story of one woman's struggle to escape her own past. While using her remarkable skills to help captured soldiers, Fenna finds herself face-to-face with what she loves most and what she fears most, trapped in a place where each decision she makes could unlock the paths to freedom and a future... or death."
The War Librarian (2022) Addison Armstrong "Shining light upon the work of the original war librarians, Addison Armstrong not only offers a tribute to the power of books and libraries, but also manifests the unconventional lives of two women separated by fifty years, both determined to defy society's limitations and forge futures that break the mold. Emmaline and Kathleen stand as worthy testimony to all the women who have blazed trails where none existed before."
Joan (2022) Katherine J Chen "In Katherine J. Chen's capable hands, Joan becomes fully flesh and achingly real."
The German Wife (2022) Kelly Rimmer "Rimmer's heart-stopping rendering of the war will captivate readers page-by-page."
Mustique Island (2022) Sarah McCoy "Another girl once came of age at Green Gables. Spunky, smart, buffeted by tides of duty and ambition, loss and love, young Marilla finds her voice in Sarah McCoy's beautiful rendering of a beloved place, a complex woman, and a long-ago time. Deftly and tenderly told, Marilla of Green Gables is a must read for anyone who adored Avonlea and Anne and ever wondered, what came before?"
The Good Left Undone (2022) Adriana Trigiani "Adriana Trigiani merges life and fiction so completely it's impossible to sort one from the other. Through Matelda and the Cabrelli women, readers will find themselves fully immersed in another place and time, but also vividly recalling the histories of their own ancestors. An enduring testimony to the power of family and stories - those we know well and those that have shaped us without our knowing. Breathtakingly beautiful, powerful, lyrical, and ultimately filled with goodness."
The Tobacco Wives (2022) Adele Myers "The future in Bright Leaf seems bright for Maddie Sykes and for the local tobacco wives who can't get enough of Maddie's glamorous gowns. But beneath the idyllic surface lie dangerous underpinnings and a choice that will test one young woman's spirit, forcing her to weigh the relative value of profits and people. A beautifully rendered portrait of a young woman finding her courage and her voice."
The Magnolia Palace (2022) Fiona Davis "Combining a mansion turned museum, a missing diamond, a mystery, and the lives of two young women separated by half a century, Fiona Davis stirs up a beguiling story that unfolds like a clever game of Clue. Suspicions abound, and an iconic New York City landmark stands poised to reveal a page-turning tale of wealth, family dynamics, and long-held secrets."
Honor (2022) Thrity Umrigar "In the way A Thousand Splendid Suns told of Afghanistan's women, Thrity Umrigar tells a story of India with the intimacy of one who knows the many facets of a land both modern and ancient, awash in contradictions, permeated by a smoldering mix of ageless traditions and new ideas, beauty and brutality, hope and despair, certainty and mystery. A place where love can sometimes involve the peril of defying convention . . . and ultimately risking everything for what matters most."
The Finder of Forgotten Things (2021) Sarah Loudin Thomas "Sarah Loudin Thomas never disappoints! The Finder of Forgotten Things brings together a rich cast of characters, each at war with conflicting desires and ultimately destined to decide whether, even in the worst events, redemption waits to be discovered."
The Postmistress of Paris (2021) Meg Waite Clayton "The work of an unsung heroine rises from the pages of The Postmistress of Paris. Meg Waite Clayton draws a vivid contrast between the beauty of art and the brutality of war, the power of humanity and the human cost of cruelty, greed, and prejudice. With a heart-stopping flight across war-torn Europe, this is a story readers of historical fiction and strong female characters will devour."
When the Summer Was Ours (2021) Roxanne Veletzos "In her novel of forbidden romance, conflict, separation, and reunion, Roxanne Veletzos creates a world devastated by the brutality of war, yet inhabited by characters whose challenges are matched by their hope and an epic love that defies social boundaries, geography, and time."
Under the Magnolias (2021) T I Lowe "A family’s collapse under the weight of dysfunction and mental illness becomes a luminous testimony to the power of neighbors and the ability of a community’s love and faith to shelter its most vulnerable residents. Readers will close the cover with a smile and a long, satisfied sigh."
The Shell Collector (2021) Nancy Naigle "As an avid shell seeker, I enjoyed this tale of surprises deposited among the tides, with its underlying message of finding just the shells we are meant to discover. A tender story of faith, love, and friendship that will warm the hearts of beachgoers and lovers of the sea."
Under the Southern Sky (2021) Kristy Woodson Harvey "Sometimes the key to new love lies hidden in old friendships. In Under the Southern Sky, Kristy Woodson Harvey stirs up a warm-hearted mix of hometown charm and the sort of thoroughly modern problems that bring us back to the people who know us best and the places that remind us of who we really are."
The Last Night in London (2021) Karen White "What happens when a woman’s secrets become a trap she can’t escape? Romance, intrigue, and a decades-old mystery bind three women’s lives with invisible threads. From the devastation of World War II London to the journey of a modern-day journalist struggling to find herself, Karen White delivers a page turner with heart, grit, and a perfect twist at the end."
Surviving Savannah (2021) Patti Callahan "Hidden history rises from the watery depths in all its glittering glory but also in its intimate, human detail. Meticulously researched, beautifully written, underpinned by timeless themes of personal trauma and its aftereffects, Surviving Savannah is a journey readers and book clubs will treasure."
Facing the Dawn (2021) Cynthia Ruchti "Cynthia Ruchti writes with faith and heart, exploring life and love with sensitivity and an underlying sense of grace."
Eternal (2021) Lisa Scottoline "In this book of her heart, Lisa Scottoline delivers what her readers expect and so much more, fast-paced intrigue, but also an authentic, tender coming of age tale of three best friends navigating the complexities of fascism, war, political and family strife and romantic competition."
Yellow Wife (2021) Sadeqa Johnson "A fully immersive, intricately crafted story inspired by the pages of history. In Pheby, Sadeqa Johnson has created a woman whose struggle to survive and to protect the ones she loves will have readers turning the pages as fast as their fingers can fly. Simply enthralling."
The Children's Train (2021) Viola Ardone "The innocence of childhood collides with the stark aftermath of war in this wrenching and ultimately redemptive tale of family, seemingly impossible choices, and the winding paths to destiny, which sometimes take us to places far beyond our imaginings."
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie (2020) Marie Benedict "With twists, surprises, and an ending that packs a punch in more ways than one, THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE is a whodunit infinitely worthy of its famous heroine. Benedict's exploration of Agatha Christie's life and mysterious disappearance will have book club discussions running overtime. Quite simply, I loved it!"
One Little Lie (2020) (Pelican Harbor, book 1) Colleen Coble "Colleen Coble once again proves she is at the pinnacle of Christian romantic suspense. Filled with characters you'll come to love, faith lost and found, and scenes that will have you holding your breath, Jane Hardy's story deftly follows the complex and tangled web that can be woven by one little lie."
Code Name Helene (2020) Ariel Lawhon "Ariel Lawhon delivers in Code Name Hélène. This fully animated portrait of Nancy Wake— underground operative, charmer in red lipstick, loving wife, and hard-hitting woman of her times, will fascinate readers of World War II history and thrill fans of fierce, brash, independent women, alike. A stark exploration of the remarkable difference one person, willing to rise in the face of fear, can make."
The Queen's Fortune (2020) Allison Pataki "History, romance, and the dangerous intrigue of revolution combine to make coming of age a high-stakes game in Allison Pataki’s richly reimagined account of a woman seeking not only to manage her circumstances but to triumph over them and rise to the throne of a country that will become her own. This was a piece of history I knew very little about. Pataki’s latest effort brings a fascinating time and place fully to life."
Light Changes Everything (2020) Nancy E Turner "I adored stepping into to the world of the Prines through tough-as-rawhide Mary Pearl. Light Changes Everything is a novel as gritty and authentic as the women of the Arizona Territory. Nancy E. Turner brings the west and its people fully to life."
Home for Erring and Outcast Girls (2019) Julie Kibler "Home for Erring and Outcast Girls deftly reimagines the wounded women who came seeking a second chance and a sustaining hope."
Call Your Daughter Home (2019) Deb Spera "A mesmerizing Southern tale, Call Your Daughter Home follows three women intertwined in struggle, unlikely friendship, and ultimately, redemption. Authentic, gripping, a page-turner, yet also a novel filled with language that begs to be savored. This book kept me up late and stayed with me long after I closed the final page."
The Daughter's Tale (2019) Armando Lucas Correa "Quite simply, I devoured this book! The Daughter's Tale is immersive, both heartbreaking and redemptive, steeped in harrowing historical events and heroic acts of compassion that will have you reflecting on the best and worst the human heart has to offer. Fans of WW II history and book clubs will find depth and skillful storytelling here, but on a deeper level, searing questions about life, love, and the choices we make in the most impossible of circumstances."
The Last Year of the War (2019) Susan Meissner "A story of one family's heartbreak and hope. Strong [and] resilient, Meissner's characters step off the page and into history."
Glory Road (2019) Lauren K Denton "Glory Road brims with faith and family, second chances, and new horizons."
The Secret of Clouds (2019) Alyson Richman "A story of family bonds, heartbreak, healing and hope—one that reminds us it is not how long we live but how well we live that matters most. The tenderly written ending will bring you to tears, but in the best possible way."
Finding Dorothy (2019) Elizabeth Letts "A breathtaking read that will transport you over the rainbow and into the heart of one of America's most enduring fairy tales and the hardscrabble life that inspired it. Gripping, fascinating, Finding Dorothy is a novel for anyone who ever stared in awe as Oz came to life onscreen, and wondered what other secrets lay hidden behind the curtain. A dream of a book you'll want to savor and share!"
Nothing Is Forgotten (2018) Peter Golden "Both heartbreaking and mesmerizing, Nothing Is Forgotten is the sort of book you won't soon forget. Peter Golden starkly juxtaposes the joys of coming of age and first love with the startling revelation of a dark family legacy. Cold War Europe, lingering Nazi secrets, and the tragic history faced by millions of families not only bring this tale to life, but will keep you turning the pages."
No One Ever Asked (2018) Katie Ganshert "Katie Ganshert is a skilled writer who wrestles earnestly with the clashing forces of faith and fear."
The Lost Girls Of Paris (2018) Pam Jenoff "Fraught with danger, filled with mystery, and meticulously researched, The Lost Girls of Paris is a fascinating tale of the hidden women who helped to win the war."
The Lake Season (2015) Hannah McKinnon "Seasons of change take us home to the places and the people who shelter us. Well-told, and in turns sweet and bare, The Lake Season offers a compelling tale of family secrets, letting go, and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood."
Once Upon a Summertime (2015) (Follow Your Heart , book 1) Melody Carlson "A hard-working girl finds her happily-ever-after ending in Melody Carlson's heartwarming tale. Readers will cheer Anna's journey as a summer of new beginnings becomes a summer of unexpected love."
Sweet Olive (2013) (Trumpet & Vine, book 1) Judy Pace Christie "Sweet Olive is a tender, romantic tale loaded with faith, hope, and heart."
Softly and Tenderly (2011) (Songbird, book 2) Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck "Fans of Karen Kingsbury's tender family stories will love this southern flavored tale of triumph and grace."
Paper Hearts (2007) Debrah Williamson (Debrah Morris) "Debrah Williamson creates characters who are spunky, flawed, courageous, lovable and above all real."
