Graceland

by Nancy Crochiere

(Avon/HarperCollins, May 30, 2023)

Women’s fiction, humor

Nancy Crochiere delighted readers with her humorous and relatable accounts of family life for thirteen years in her newspaper column, “The Mother Load.” Now, she makes her fiction debut with GRACELAND, a charming and big-hearted novel about a single mom forced to chase her Elvis-obsessed mother and pink-haired teenage daughter to Memphis to stop them from revealing her long-held secret.


Bestselling author Liane Moriarty called the novel “hugely fun, fresh, and zesty” and “irresistible, addictive, and utterly entertaining.”

Here are three generations of women who are certain to charm and surprise readers: Olivia, an ailing former soap opera star who longs to see Graceland one more time; Hope, a people pleaser who can’t seem to please either her mother or daughter; and Dylan, a rebellious teenage activist consumed by unanswered questions about her father.

When Hope refuses to drive Olivia from Boston to Graceland, Olivia wrangles Dylan to take her by promising she can meet her mystery father there—not knowing that Hope signed an agreement with the girl’s father to never reveal his identity and never return to Memphis. Hope and her cousin George (who proudly cross-dresses as Jordan), must chase them down to keep them safe—and protect Hope’s secret. Chaos of all kinds ensues, the truth is revealed in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking, and all three women seek and ultimately find forgiveness, understanding, and grace.

GRACELAND is a love story about and for mothers and daughters. Even as it entertains with colorful characters, witty banter, and a fast-paced and energetic plot, the novel delves into universal and deeply felt issues about identity, belonging, and self-worth, treating them with sensitivity and aplomb. Each character has their own journey, working through who they think they should be and who they think others want them to be, in order to get to who they really are.

Nancy’s publishing journey wasn’t easy, as is the case today for many authors. But she believed in her story. She submitted the original story to some sixty agents, some of whom asked to see the full work. But it wasn’t until she reworked the manuscript and sent it to about ten other agents, that she found representation. In the video interview, she encourages new writers to be persistent. Her agent is Paige Sisley with Cooke McDermid Literary Management.

About the Author

Nancy Crochiere is a long-time writer making her fiction debut with GRACELAND. For thirteen years, Nancy wrote a humor column for two Massachusetts newspapers. In 2014, she collected her favorite columns into a book titled The Mother Load, which was a finalist for Foreword Reviews’ Book of the Year in humor and the Independent Publishers of New England 2014 Book Award. Her essays have also appeared in The Boston Globe, Writer’s Digest, and WBUR’s Cognoscenti.
A graduate of Middlebury College, Nancy received an M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Minnesota and is an alumna of GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator Program.
In her spare time, Nancy acts as an “extra” in feature films and TV shows. You can see her as the distraught mother-of-the-bride in the opening moments of Love, Weddings & Other Disasters, or catch her staring unapologetically at Bradley Cooper’s backside in Joy.

Nancy began her fiction career by penning creative notes excusing her daughters’ tardiness
at school. With her girls now grown, she lives north of Boston with her husband, a lawyer
and marathoner, and a few house plants that could use more attention.
Visit her website: nancycrochiere.com
Instagram: @ncrochiere
Facebook: @NancyCrochiereWriter