Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

Enter to win a Blizzard a day for a year!

In 150 words or less, write your favorite Dairy Queen memory and email it with your telephone number, bookstore from which you learned about the contest and an email address. The winner will be contacted on Monday, June 2. Void where prohibited.

The winner will receive a gift card good for 365 Dairy Queen Blizzards.

For readers of Fannie Flagg and Sheri Reynolds, here is a witty and unforgettable debut novel about a young Southern girl caught between two worlds, and coming of age in the space therein.

It’s the early 1970’s. The town of Ringgold, Georgia has a population of 1,923, one traffic light, one Dairy Queen, and one Catherine Grace Cline. Daughter of Ringgold’s Baptist preacher, Catherine Grace is quick-witted, more than a little stubborn, and dying to escape her small-town life.

Every Saturday afternoon, she sits at the Dairy Queen, eating Dilly Bars and plotting her getaway to Atlanta. And when, with the help of a family friend, the dream becomes a reality, she immediately packs her bags, leaving behind her family and the boy she loves to claim the life she’s always imagined. But before long, tragedy brings Catherine Grace back home and, as personal events alter her perspective—and change grips Ringgold—she begins to wonder if her place in the world may actually be, against all odds, right where she began.

Intelligent, charming, and utterly readable, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen is an inspirational debut from a talented new literary voice.

Read an excerpt…

News and Reviews

DQ is #14 on the SIBA Bestseller List for March 30! Thank you, everyone!

Even more appealing than a diet of Dilly Bars, and Gilmore’s novel is a meal well worth the consumption. - BookPage

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen is a delightful fast-paced read that is much more than a fun-filled quirky novel. Susan Gregg Gilmore deftly weaves a southern story with full-bodied characters, a rich multi-layered plot with a twist that will leave you breathless, and life lessons galore. Oh, and there are some wonderful characters that were introduced to that we hope to see again. My favorite is Gloria Jean. I hope to hear a great deal more from her in the future. -Andrea Sisco, Armchair Interviews

A simple story with a complex message - John Seigenthaler, A Word on Words, Nashville Public Television

This is Susan Gregg Gilmore’s first novel, but her voice is similar to that of Fannie Flagg. Readers of Southern stories will enjoy the poignant self-discovery journey of this lovable heroine. - Tampa Tribune

Every female will find herself identifying with Catherine Grace’s search for her place in the world. - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Witty -Politics & Prose Bookstore & Coffeehouse website, Washington, DC

‘Looking for Salvation’ a stellar literary debut…Like Lee Smith’s,(Gilmore’s) is an ear with nearly perfect pitch. (Gilmore) beautifully reproduces standard rural speech, especially Southern female speech at its cattiest and most hilarious. - Wilmington StarNews

Gilmore tells her tale with gentle humor and genuine regard for her characters. - Omaha World Herald

Charming, humorous and fun but it was also touching. Next door neighbor, Gloria Jean made reading the whole book worthwhile. However, I enjoyed getting to know the residents of Ringgold, warts and all, and I enjoyed the way that the author drew the story to a close. -The Sleepy Reader Blog, Michigan

I LOVED it. Susan Gregg Gilmore reminds me more of Olive Burns (Cold Sassy Tree) than Fannie Flagg, though, and Cold Sassy is one of my long time favorites. -Ellen Ward, owner of Foxtale Bookstore

Appearances

Susan will be signing in bookstores across the South this spring. Check for a location near you…

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