What type of novel is TALK OF THE TOWN?
Lisa Wingate: TALK OF THE TOWN is a combination of down-home Texas fun, small-town values, Hollywood glitz and a little romance thrown in for good measure. I have to admit that when I started writing the book, I wasn’t exactly sure what shape the final novel would take, or what category it would fit. I’m still not sure exactly where it fits. It’s a bit like that old Jimmy Stewart movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, only in this case, Washington comes to Mr. Smith’s hometown, but it’s Hollywood knocking on the café door, rather than Washington (if that makes any sense). The idea came to me as I was paying for lunch in a local restaurant, listening to news reports playing on the TV behind the counter. Somebody jokingly said that if those people could taste the pecan pie at the café, they wouldn’t need drugs and alcohol — the pie would be enough. Before I was even out the door, a story idea was born — wouldn’t it be nice if the cure for such complex problems were as simple as home co
