My favorite author – Lisa Wingate

June 21, 2012 in: Writing

Sometimes a book will come along just when you need it. Such is the case with Lisa Wingate’s Talk of the Town. I read the book two years ago and it made me laugh at a time when I didn’t think that was possible.

Daily, Texas, was the true star of the series. Lisa did a masterful job of creating characters that were authentic and entertaining, but not caricatures.

Talk of the Town begins as local girl Amber Anderson becomes a finalist on an American Idol-type show.  Daily turns into a hotbed of activity and the town rises to the occasion to protect its  own little celebrity. The action centers in the Daily Cafe, where the regulars  — known as the countertoppers — enjoy a fine piece of pecan pie. Next door is the Daily Hair and Body, that’s hair styling in front, auto body repair on the alley side.

One narrator was Manda Florentino, the producer who arrived from Hollywood to try to organize Amber’s hometown concert. Imagene Doll, a widowed waitress at the Daily cafe, narrated the other half of the story. Her Texas sayings and tender heart gave the story a sweet flavor that lingered like pecan pie. Imagene was such a doll, in fact, I started hoping she would end up with the good looking cowboy who showed up in town.

I sent Lisa a note when I posted the book review and we struck up a correspondence. I got to meet her at the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference and enjoy following her Facebook posts, where she is just as entertaining as in her books.Never Say Never, the third book in the Daily, Texas, series, won the Carol Book of the Year award for contemporary romance last year.

Some of Lisa’s books take a more serious tone, such as Blue Moon Bay which I’m reading right now. All of them touch a special place in my heart and make Lisa Wingate one of my favorite authors.

Have you read any of Lisa’s books? What did you think?

~ Susan