Title & Cover Reveal—My 2025 Novel!
FOR YOU FIRST
A LOST MOTHER
A LEGENDARY BOOK
And THE DAUGHTER SEARCHING FOR BOTH
Dear Reader,
This is one of the most exciting times with a new novel. I have a cover! I have a title! I have a new book! And I am here to share it with YOU FIRST!
It all started with the discovery of a secret language created by Beatrix Potter.
From there, this spark of a story carried me from 1927 South Carolina across the ocean to London during one of the deadliest natural disasters of 1952, and then onto the serene Lake District of Northern England.
Uncovering a lost story or a hidden fact about a tale you think you know is my favorite aspect of historical fiction. While researching Beatrix Potter, I stumbled upon a fascinating detail: she once created a secret language for her journal to keep it hidden from her mother. This discovery led me to the intriguing literary mystery of Barbara Newhall Follet—a child prodigy who invented her own language and published a bestseller at twelve before vanishing in an unsolved cold case.
My curiosity and imagination went wild. And now I want you to meet Clara and Bronwyn, Charlie and Wynnie — and so many more!
Here is a taste of THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND.
Inspired by a true literary mystery, New York Times bestselling author of the mesmerizing The Secret Book of Flora Lea returns with the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.
In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.
By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.
Told in Patti Callahan Henry’s lyrical, enchanting prose, The Story She Left Behind is a captivating novel of mystery and family legacy that captures the profound longing for a mother and the evergreen allure of secrets.
Visit my website for more detail and links to pre-order.
NEWS
Next week I will be back with the things that are inspiring me right now but meanwhile, you can check out all the newest right HERE! Including…
This feature in the Salisbury Post.
This feature in Woman’s World magazine that included The Secret Book of Flora Lea in their list of 12 Must-Read Books About Books: From Historical Fiction to Romance and More!
ARKANSAS STATEWIDE READ: The Secret Book of Flora Lea was chosen as the selection for 2024’s “If All Arkansas Read the Same Book” annual, statewide reading program. This program is designed to encourage the enjoyment of reading and promote book discussion in libraries of all types across Arkansas. I’m honored that they chose my book and look forward to traveling through the state of Arkansas in July to talk with readers all about it! Read all about it HERE.
EVENTS
I’ve got several events happening this summer!
First up, I’ll be in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, June 28th!
Come see me and my Friends & Fiction sisters all together in-person on Friday, June 28th in St. Louis! We are all gathering to celebrate the launch of Kristy Woodson Harvey’s new novel A HAPPIER LIFE in grand F&F style at a garden party and author panel hosted by the St. Louis County Library and The Novel Neighbor. GET TICKETS now!
After that, I’ve got a string of events, both in-person and virtual, to support The Secret Book of Flora Lea and the “If All Arkansas Read the Same Book” program:
• Gravette, AR — July 14, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
• Arkadelphia, AR — July 15, 2024, 12:00 p.m.
• Conway, AR — July 15, 2024, 7:00 p.m.
• Virtual Gathering of Book Clubs, hosted by the Independence County Library — August 8, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
Always keep an eye on the EVENTS PAGE on my website for the latest news.
FRIENDS & FICTION
We are busy as ever over at Friends and Fiction!
Did you catch this week’s LIVE episode where we celebrated the launch of my dear friend Kristy Woodson Harvey’s new novel A HAPPIER LIFE? If you didn’t tune in live last night, you can watch it NOW on our Facebook page and YouTube channel—or listen tomorrow (Friday, June 21) on our podcast.
Join us on Wednesday, June 26th at 7pm ET to watch our next episode of The Friends & Fiction Show with Ron Block and me interviewing the New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End, Chris Whitaker, to discuss his brilliant new novel, ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, a soaring thriller and an epic love story that spans decades. Watch the video broadcast as it airs on Wed 6/26 at 7pm ET on F&F’s Facebook & YouTube, and catch it on our podcast Fri 6/28.
Keep an eye on the EVENTS PAGE on my website so we can see each other whenever I’m out on the road.
For now, back to planning for my March 2025 release and book tour and plotting the book after that!
With Love,
Always,
PCH
ABOUT PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY
New York Times Bestselling Author and Podcast Host
Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author of seventeen novels and a podcast host. She is the recipient of The Christy Award—A 2019 Winner "Book of the Year”; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year for 2020; and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for 2019.
Patti is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly web show, podcast, and online community, Friends & Fiction.
A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama, with her husband, Pat Henry. Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey and was released on May 2nd, 2023, by Atria (Simon & Schuster).
Be sure to follow Patti on social media and visit my website for the latest updates and announcements!
This sounds just wonderful. What a great rabbit hole!
Oh my word… only you could find such a story and give your readers a delightful tale with a secret language, mystery and magical prose.
I am excited about each story that you so brilliantly gift to our reading world!
March is always a treat because of a book release for 18! years now? I will never forget that first one… @ the Margret Mitchell House in Atlanta. You blew us away & still keep us sailing through your PCH stories ! 💞👏