Back to Blue Holly: A Novel

By Beth Pride

Dottie is divorced and depleted when she loads up her dog and heads back to Blue Holly and the Quinn family lake house, where her feisty Aunt Lo and a gallery job offer beckon her like a moth to a flame. She arrives to find her childhood sanctuary with a culture chip on the mountain town's shoulders; Aunt Lo has lost her feud with Fannie Fraser and the Citizens Against Virtually Everything, closed the gallery, and is packing to leave for Belize.

As a peace offering or maybe a plan, Lo hands Dottie the keys to a condemned Red Arrow hardware store and says if Dottie fixes it, she can have it. Dottie can't get a loan, is sick of being alone, and knows nothing about using a drill, but when she spots an old moonshine still, she decides on a new, if dissonant, direction in an evangelical town with little taste for liquor and tourism.

Dottie and a relatable cast of damaged characters, including the charming and handsome Crawford Woody, unite to fight against time, small-town politics, and mysterious forces to transform the Red Arrow hardware store into the first microbrewery in Bluff County — finding community, friendship, and love, (even the romantic kind), and rebuilding each other along the way.

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"BACK TO BLUE HOLLY is a sparkling debut. Beth Pride has penned a heart-song to the places that shape us and the natural world that calls us if we are willing to listen. Witty, wise, and brimming with romance, Back to Blue Holly is a love letter to community, and the irresistible pull of finding where you truly belong. A debut not to be missed!"  

—Patti Callahan Henry, NYT bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

“It’s the rare book that engages readers on multiple levels, but Beth Pride‘s expertly crafted debut novel, Back to Blue Holly, is riveting from the get-go, with its captivating plot, people, place, and pace. Also? It’s somehow both hilarious but serious, romantic yet action-packed, and simultaneously small-town and universal.”

Whitney Collins, award-winning author of Ricky and Other Love Stories and Big Bad

“Beth Pride is a remarkable talent with a voice that leaps off the page. “Back to Blue Holly” is a charming tale of small-town politics, southern roots, and the joy of finding your place in the world.”

Cynthia Ellingsen, Amazon Charts best-selling author of the Starlight Cove series

Upcoming Events

The best part of releasing a new book, especially a debut, is getting out there, traveling, and meeting readers and reader converts. I am so excited about upcoming events—book clubs, podcasts, radio, TV, and book signings. Click the highlighted day on the calendar for more information about upcoming events, or click here for a complete list.

Please contact me if you have something bookish and fun and you’d like to include me.