The Secret of Rainy Days

Nina Barnes Enloe, "Little Bit," grew up in the shadow of her imposing grandmother and her best friend Win¿who did, in fact, win at everything. Bit thought she had escaped her grandmother's grip by starting over in New York City, but an unexpected death takes her back to the colorful town and people of Erob, Alabama. Bit's world turns upside down as she faces who she was and learns who she is becoming.

About the author

Leslie Hooton is the author of three novels. Her debut novel, Before Anyone Else, garnered a Zibby nomination. Leslie’s second novel, The Secret of Rainy Days, was a book club favorite. Her third novel, After Everyone Else, the sequel to Before Everyone Else, will be published June 28th. Kevin Wilson, Jane Rosen, Patti Callahan, Lisa Barr, and other wonderful writers have offered praise for Leslie’s novels. She has had essays published in “Moms Don’t Have Time to Grieve,” and she has an upcoming essay in Newsweek. Leslie attended The Sewanee Writers Conference for many years. Leslie has been a guest on numerous podcasts and her talks are engaging and thought-provoking.
Leslie has often said some people have a stroke of luck, and she had one at birth. Having limited use of her right side and numerous surgeries allowed her to be a keen observer of human behavior. She refers to her body as her “bargain basement body” and doctors as the “men in white coats” because she has had a lifelong relationship with them. She uses dictation for each of her novels and often jokes “I haven’t typed a single word.” She brings this unique perspective to her writing with humor and heart.

Summary

A 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner for Best Regional Fiction
Growing up in Erob, Alabama, Nina "Little Bit" Barnes Enloe lived in the shadow of her imposing and harsh grandmother, Nina "Biggie" Barnes Enloe. If she wasn't being bossed around by Biggie, then the task fell to her best friend Win...who did win. At everything. Bit never seemed to share Win's lifetime supply of “lucky dust.” Perhaps the only thing Bit has ever chosen for herself is her friendship with Avery, the out-of-towner who showed up on the saddest day of her life—unpretentious and decidedly un-Southern—with a funeral casserole in hand.

Bit believes she can escape her grandmother’s controlling grip once and for all by moving somewhere where she is the only Nina Enloe listed: New York. Yet her world is turned upside down when an unexpected loss forces her to leave her new life in the city and return to Erob, where she must face everything—and everyone—she left behind. In the process, Bit discovers her true identity, learns the hard lessons of acceptance and forgiveness, finds herself falling in love in unexpected places, and finds comfort in the secrets of rainy days.

Leslie Hooton, author of Before Anyone Else, brings her signature wit and Southern charm to the page again in this triumphant coming-of-age story.

Foreword

• Early reader review campaign with advanced reader copies



• Book club and book subscription box outreach



• Pre-publication push to reviewers through Goodreads and Edelweiss



• Social media campaign through influencer outreach and giveaways



• Publicity outreach to local and national media



• Author appearances at virtual and in person bookstore events



• Online advertising



• Promotion on Turner Publishing Company’s newsletter and website



• SIBA promotions and advertising

Additional text

"Equal parts funny and profound, The Secret of Rainy Days will have you laughing and crying both at once. Leslie Hooton's extraordinary second novel firmly establishes her place as a major new voice in Southern literature." –Amy Greene, nationally bestselling author of Bloodroot

"Leslie Hooton, her writing vibrant and alive, so wonderfully harkens back to the grand tradition of southern storytellers. She writes with that potent mixture of humor and grace, and The Secret of Rainy Days has all the makings of a book club darling, a story that you can't help but share with someone else. This is a book suffused with a lifetime supply of "lucky dust", that intangible quality that makes you want to be close to it." –Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here and The Family Fang

"Heartbreaking and heartwarming, The Secret of Rainy Days examines the intricacies of small town livin’ ('OKOP'–Our Kind of People). It is a coming-of-age tale chock full of Southern charm, love, tragedy, and unbreakable family ties. Leslie Hooton’s world brings us colorful, witty characters and intricate friendships–those we choose, and those who choose us. The Secret of Rainy Days is a reminder that you can escape your roots but never really leave. And yet...if you look hard enough–all the answers are right there under the 'Welcome' mat." –Lisa Barr, award-winning author of Fugitive Colors and The Unbreakables

"The Secret of Rainy Days is a coming-of-age novel that is both deeply moving and beautifully crafted . Witty and charming, The Secret of Rainy Days is a gem.“ –Patti Callahan New York Times bestselling author of Becoming of Mrs. Lewis and the upcoming Once Upon A Wardrobe

In distinctly Southern prose, Leslie Hooton captures the complexity of family dynamics and the difficulty of sudden loss in her sweeping sophomore novel. The Secret of Rainy Days explores what it truly means to come home again, especially when we think we have left forever—and how, sometimes, it’s the most difficult days and the lessons they bring that teach us who we truly are. Fans of coming-of-age stories will find themselves immersed in every page. Kristy Woodson Harvey, NYT Bestselling author of Under the Southern Sky


The world that Leslie Hooton creates in The Secret of Rainy Days is both big-hearted and wise; it is a celebration of lasting love and friendship and an exploration of family ties and the many losses and secrets along the way. Hooten's eye for memorable details and her sharp sense of humor is a delight." — Jill McCorkle, New York Times best-selling author of Hieroglyphics and Life after Life

"Like the best Southern novels, The Secret of Rainy Days reminds us when searching for your place in the world, you may find it where you least expect it. And that sometimes to move forward, you have to go back to where you came from." —Colleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author

"Hooton utilizes vivid description, a strong sense of place, and unparalleled comparisons to paint an accurate portrait of life in the South, both complex and multilayered." –Shelf Unbound
"[A] sweet meditation on letting ourselves find happiness....if you love Hallmark movies, you’ll love it." –Manhattan Book Review

Product details

• Authors: Leslie Hooton
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 28.09.2021
• EAN: 9781684427048
• ISBN: 978-1-68442-704-8
• No. of pages: 336
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; FICTION / Women, FICTION / Literary, FICTION / Romance / Romantic Comedy, FICTION / Southern, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, US South, Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary