Miss Julia's School of Beauty

Book excerpt: Imagine Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show with a lot more backbone and confidence," wrote Publishers Weekly about Miss Julia, Ann Ross's endearing Dixie doyenne of decorum. Don't miss her latest, Miss Julia Raises the Roof, coming April 2018 from Viking. In her latest romp, Miss Julia—now Mrs. Sam Murdoch—returns from her whirlwind elopement, only to find herself roped into Hazel Marie's scheme to raise money by throwing a beauty pageant. Though it all seems a tad distasteful, it's nothing compared to the revelation that Pigeon Forge, the marriage mill across the state line that wedded Julia and Sam, might not be legitimate. And a flustered Julia can't help wondering whether she and Sam can keep up appearances before the town finds out they might be living in sin.