Lily of the Valley—A Novel

Lily Wilk always knew she was destined to be an artist -- ever since she pulled a drawing kit from a grab bag on her tenth birthday. Now Lily's work is always in demand around her small Massachusetts town, where she makes her living painting fire hydrants, lettering diplomas, and applying "Gulls" and "Buoys" to restaurant bathroom doors. But when supermarket heiress Mary Ziemba commissions her to paint a family portrait, Lily senses her lifelong dream of creating a memorable masterpiece is finally within her grasp. What she discovers, however, is that dreams often take their own unexpected twists...and with each small and gentle brush stroke she applies to Mary Ziemba's painting, Lily learns more than she ever imagined about the meaning of friendship, family, and love.

With a gift for creating fiction that is "rich with an unusual sweetness" (USA Today) and filled with wry humor, bestselling author Suzanne Strempek Shea delivers a poignant and unforgettable work of art in Lily of the Valley.

Suzanne Strempek Shea, a former reporter for the Springfield (MA) Union-News and the Providence (RI) Journal, is the author of the highly acclaimed novels Selling the Lite of Heaven and Hoopi Shoopi Donna, both available from Washington Square Press. A freelance writer whose work has appeared in Yankee magazine, Walking magazine, The Boston Globe Magazine, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, she was featured in the 1998 PBS documentary The Polish Americans. She is the recipient of the 2000 New England Book Award for Fiction, given by the Booksellers Association in recognition of a body of work that contributes to the literature of the New England region. Suzanne lives in Bondsville, Massachusetts, with her husband, Tommy, a columnist for the Union-News.