WHERE THE LAKE BECOMES THE RIVER

Caught in the crossfires of Mississippi's racial tensions, Parrish McCollough is shadowed by secrets and haunted by spirits. She wrestles with "The Truth About Life After Death," after seeing her father’s ghost sitting beside his casket. A gifted artist, Parrish longs to escape small town life and go off to college, but there’s no money. She fears her mother will lapse into madness if she goes, and she keeps getting distracted by the wrong kind of man. When Civil Rights workers arrive in Mississippi, Parrish takes a risk that carries her onto the razor's edge between living and dying, learns the truth about the soul's survival...and finds an unexpected romance. Lush, vivid, and wildly entertaining, Where the Lake Becomes the River brings to life an unforgettable extended Southern family, along with its dreams, disappointments—and even its beloved ghosts. Where the Lake Becomes the River won the Novello Literary Award, underwritten by Charles and Katherine Frazier's Cold Mountain Foundation. It was nominated for the Sir Walter Raleigh Literary Prize, named a finalist for Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Awards, and Included in Publishers Weekly Fall Fiction Preview. Kate Betterton's work has been described as quirky, profound, hilarious, heartbreaking, socially relevant, spiritual, metaphysical, romantic, and uplifting...with "unforgettable characters, gorgeous prose, and irresistible storytelling"..."a treasure for lovers of psychological fiction."

From the Back Cover

"Homespun and profound, deadpan and poetic, hilarious and heartbreaking, Kate Betterton's WHERE THE LAKE BECOMES THE RIVER puts me in mind of Walker Percy, John Kennedy Toole and Harper Lee. Her voice, like her imagination, is inspired and authentic to its deep-South core. A wonderful debut." --Joseph Bathanti, author of COVENTRY, and EAST LIBERTY"WHERE THE LAKE BECOMES THE RIVER by Kate Betterton ought to come with a warning label: put on your sweats, cancel all appointments and get comfortable because, once you start reading, you won't want to stop until you've devoured the whole delectable, unforgettable thing. The voice of Parrish McCullough, this novel's feisty, sensitive heroine, creates a current of gorgeous prose and irresistible storytelling that will carry you away."--Pamela Duncan, author of MOON WOMEN, and THE BIG BEAUTIFUL"Kate Betterton's WHERE THE LAKE BECOMES THE RIVER manages to be so many things at once: a southern novel, a novel of the far east, a tender exploration of the lives of girls and a wise, clear-eyed look at the lives lived between men and women. A book of great tenderness, filled with fine and delicately embroidered prose, it is also a book that is full of swagger and sass. Betterton has created a complex world that lives and breathes far beyond these pages." --Virginia Holman, author of RESCUING PATTY HEARST"Lush and tangled as a house covered in kudzu, WHERE THE LAKE BECOMES THE RIVER is also as mysterious as creatures swimming unseen in a cool, dark, southern pond. Ghosts, history (both in the making and already made), family myth, sweet tea and fried catfish all play an important part in the life of Parrish McCullough, who lives in the Mississippi Delta, where, as she says, 'eccentricity is prized like fine wine.'"--Nancy Peacock, author of LIFE WITHOUT WATER, and A BROOM OF ONE'S OWN

About the Author

Kate Betterton grew up in the Mississippi Delta, and has lived in Minnesota, New England, New Orleans, and the Pacific Northwest. She now makes her home in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Kate writes quirky, metaphysical, literary tales that always include a ghost or two, and have a solid romantic element. Kate's first novel, WHERE THE LAKE BECOMES THE RIVER, won the Novello Literary Award, was named a finalist for ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award, and was included in Publishers Weekly's Fall Fiction Preview. It is available in paperback and Kindle editions as well as the original hardback. Kate's second novel, THE ROMANTIC'S GUIDE TO WILDERNESS SURVIVAL, is now available in paperback, and in a Kindle edition. For more information about Kate's work, and some thoughts on writing, dreams, and life after death, please visit KateBetterton.com.Kate Betterton's work has been described as quirky, profound, hilarious, heartbreaking, socially relevant, spiritual, metaphysical, romantic, and uplifting...with "unforgettable characters, gorgeous prose, and irresistible storytelling"..."a treasure for lovers of psychological fiction."

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