Small town girl.

Name: Small town girl.
Rating: 3.714285714285714 (7 reviews)
Author: LaVyrle Spencer
ISBN: 9780425195772

by LaVyrle Spencer

3.7

(7 ratings)

368 pages1997Penguin USISBN 9780425195772

Fiction Romance Family

About this book

Eighteen years ago, young Tess McPhail left her tiny hometown of Wintergreen, Missouri, population 1,713. She headed for Nashville--and never looked back. Now one of country music's brightest lights, "Mac" McPhail is a millionaire many times over. Her career is her life. At thirty-five, Mac has no time for marriage, children, or kinfolk--until her sisters insist she come home to help care for their widowed mother...Mac isn't thrilled about spending a month in Wintergreen. But her visit home turns out to be far from dull. After almost two decades of public adoration, she is suddenly a nonperson--insulted by her jealous older sister, enraged by her intractable mother, and ignored by Kenny Kroneck, the next-door neighbor she mercilessly taunted all through high school. Now a handsome divorce who dotes on his teenage daughter, Kenny is widely respected in the community--and refuses to give Mac the time of day. But once she discovers that Kenny's daughter is a promising country music talent, Mac assumes the role of mentor--and everything changes... Gradually, the famous Mac McPhail becomes an integral part of life in Wintergreen. The priceless gifts of family and community open her heart to the sweet rewards of caring and commitment. And as the feigned indifference between Mac and Kenny turns to playful bickering, then passion, the complicated life of a superstar is forever changed--by the simple joys of love...

Publication Details

Publisher: Penguin US
Published: 1997
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9780425195772
Language: en

About LaVyrle Spencer

LaVyrle was born on July 17, 1943 in Browerville, Minnesota, USA, where she grew up. Married her high school sweetheart Dan Spencer, shortly after her graduation, a decision she calls the wisest choice of her life. They had two daughters, Amy and Beth (d. 1990). LaVyrle worked as a teacher's aide at Osseo Junior High School, when in her thirties, she read Kathleen Woodiwiss's novel "The Flame and Flower", which gave her the idea to become a novelist. She decided to try transferring to paper a recurring dream she was having about a story based on her grandmother's lifestyle on a Minnesota farm. Her story became her first manuscript, "The Fulfillment", and she sent it to Kathleen Woodiwiss. The bestselling author read the novel and promptly mailed it to her own editor at Avon. The editor purchased the novel, which was published in 1979. She was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame in 1988. She wrote 23 sweet historical and contemporany novels. Published around the world, her works had included 12 New York Times Bestsellers, and have been won four RITA Awards, three Golden Medallion Awards and a Minnesota Book Award. LaVyrle said: "the trademark of my books is mending relationships, showing people how to mend relationships." LaVyrle is a founding member of the Midwest Fiction Writers (MFW), chapter 24 of the Romance Writers of America. Four of LaVyrle's novels were produced as television movies: The Fulfillment in 1989 (She and her husband appear as extras in the film), Morning Glory in 1993, Home Song in 1996 and Family Blessings in 1999. LaVyrle and her husband are grandparents. Her husband is a retired estimator for a general contractor, and she also decided to retire from writing in 1997 after an 18-year career. They live in a Victorian house in her native Minnesota, where she enjoyes gardening, cooking, playing bass guitar and electric piano, and photography.