All She Wrote x Queer Romance Book Club: Love and Hot Chicken (With the Author!)

Join All She Wrote Books on Sunday, March 9th at 10:30am at All She Wrote Books for a discussion of Love And Hot Chicken by Mary Liza Hartong, a spicy and hilarious Tennessee story about family, friendship, fried chicken, and two girls in love. Seats are limited and Mary will be joining us in person, so snag yours quick!

Worried about finding the book? We've got you covered! Grab a physical copy through registration for the event, at Bookshop.org, or Libro.fm.

Can't make it? No worries! Let us know ASAP so we can release your spot to someone eagerly waiting on the waitlist. Don't miss out-register now!

Remember: This event has limited capacity, so grab your ticket and claim your seat before it's too late! We can't wait to see you there! ✨

About the Book

The Chickie Shak is something of a historical landmark. Red clapboard walls, thriving wasp population, yard-toilets resplendent with sunflowers. My best friend Lee Ray and I used to come after our softball games and snag a picnic table while our mammas ordered the home team special. Truth is, most people around here order the same thing until the day somebody throws their ashes off a roller coaster at Dollywood. The line snaked around the building far as you could see, a real parade of diversity hobnobbing in the parking lot from noon until night.

When PJ Spoon returns home for her beloved daddy’s funeral, she doesn’t expect to stick around. Why abandon her PhD program at Vanderbilt for the humble charms of her hometown, Pennywhistle, Tennessee? She tells herself it’s to help her brokenhearted Mamma, but PJ’s own heart’s not doing too good either. She impulsively takes a job as a fry cook at Pennywhistle’s beloved Chickie Shak, where locals gather for Nashville-style hot chicken.

Then fate shakes up PJ’s life again. While the town rallies around the terribly retro and terribly fun Hot Chicken Pageant, PJ finally notices her cute redheaded coworker Boof, a singer-songwriter with a talent as striking as her curly hair.

While PJ and Boof fall for each other, Boof’s search for her birth mother—a Pennywhistle native—catapults the budding couple into a mystery that might be better left unsolved. When the Chickie Shak pageant takes off, old rivalries and new friendships in Pennywhistle lead to unexpected fireworks, and new beginnings.

About the Author

Mary Liza Hartong (she/her) lives and writes in her hometown of Nashville. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in English and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She also holds a master's from Dartmouth in Creative Writing and a master's from the University College Cork in British and American Literature via Fulbright grant. Mary Liza is the aunt of five boisterous nieces and a proud member of the queer community. When she's not writing, you can find her combing yard sales for treasures with her fiancée, Bridget. Love and Hot Chicken is her first novel..

Our Book Club Guidelines

• We strive for a thoughtful and respectful discussion of the featured book and its related themes.
• You do not have to have finished the book to participate, but we ask that you contribute to the discussion in whatever way you feel comfortable.
• We do not tolerate demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech.

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