LOCAL AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Lisa Patton: A Debut Novelist Hits her Mark (And we’re not just ‘Whistlin’ Dixie’)
by J.T. Landry

There was something in the air the day I met Lisa Patton for lunch at a little Italian restaurant in downtown Franklin. It was the beginning of September, and you could feel a small but ever so enjoyable taste of fall’s dry coolness – a foretaste air of the season to come. I experienced that same feeling as I read Patton’s debut novel, Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter – a hint of how Lisa Patton’s life will forever change after the publication of her novel. Because Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter is a wonderful book – a memorable story full of unforgettable characters, laugh-out-loud comedy and strength under pressure; and it’s blessed with a heroine that is going to capture the hearts of readers everywhere.

Art imitating life When Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter opens in the middle of a freezing cold night on the first day of the year in a rural Vermont inn, LeeLee Satterfield is having what could quite possibly qualify as the worst night of her life. The sole proprietor of the Peach Blossom Inn in Willingham,Vt., LeeLee suffers through an overbooking, a dinnertime blackout, and, most devastatingly, the death of her beloved 15-year-old Yorkie, Gracie.

How did a Memphis born-and-bred Southern belle get herself into the predicament of running a bed and breakfast in rural Vermont anyway? The novel backtracks to tell that story. But Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter is about much more than how this woman falls into this situation. It’s about LeeLee Satterfield’s will to survive, thrive and find out what she’s really made of despite what seems like undefeatable odds – a story of a single mother standing up to the impossible with humor and grace.

Much like LeeLee, Patton is a Southern girl from Memphis. And a single mother. And a dog owner. And, yes, Patton even ran a bed and breakfast in rural Vermont. And as art often imitates life, that New Year’s Eve scene that opens Dixie is based on a true story – although it wasn’t a New Year’s Eve. “What I had in one night was lights go out, my dog die, and I overbooked the inn,” Patton remembers. And like a grey cloud’s silver lining, it was this story that served as the impetus for Patton’s novel. Treat Williams, the television, film and stage actor (1941, Everwood, Once Upon a Time in America), was a frequent diner at Patton’s Three Clock Inn in Londonderry, Vt. One night, she relayed the story to him. “He said, ‘You ought to write a book,;” Patton recalls. “And I said, ‘Yeah, how many people say they should write a book? My story’s not compelling enough.’ And then the more I thought about it, the more I thought that the idea of a Southern girl living up there could be pretty funny if I could figure it out how to tell it, and make it compelling enough.”

Patton eventually moved back to Tennessee and worked for legendary singer Michael McDonald. For years, the idea stayed in her drawer. “We traveled a lot, worked a lot, and I was raising my two sons by myself so I didn’t really have a lot of time,” she says. But Patton’s light wouldn’t be kept under a bushel. Eventually, she found the time to write, drawing on her own life experiences to craft a story and heroine that she hoped would have wide appeal. “I think what I’ve learned as a writer is, if I can just escape to that place and close my eyes and put myself in the situation, then real emotions come out,” Patton muses. “The best thing I could do was make my heroine a single mom who has a dog and was from Memphis, Tenn., and therefore, the passion could truly come out and it would seem real.” That passion is evident on every page. With LeeLee Satterfield, Patton has crafted a character that you can’t help falling in love with – her vulnerability, resilience and humor are evident throughout her character’s arc and make her irresistible.