On Tour 10/11/26-11/19/26 “What Happened In Beulah” by Christy Scott Cashman

Release Date: October 21, 2026

About The Book:

Nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, Beulah has always seemed steady—rooted in tradition, shaped by generations, and slow to change. But in 1986, the ground has shifted, and no one feels that more than fifteen-year-old Barrett Childress Owens. Between her parents’ unraveling marriage and a school full of kids she can’t connect with, she feels invisible in her own hometown.

When Lacy Gunderson, the captivating new girl everyone is curious about, suddenly vanishes, the town’s calm surface fractures. Search parties comb the woods. A police investigation begins. Rumors multiply. Families close ranks. And Barrett begins to sense how much the adults around her choose not to say. As Beulah clings to its usual rituals—including the annual Miss Kudzu pageant, which has shaped local girlhood for decades—Barrett is forced to navigate a community where loss lingers in the air and secrets are carefully kept. Her journey through the uncertainty reshapes her understanding of friendships, family, and the complex place she calls home.

A rich coming-of-age story with a pulse of mystery and a budding romance, What Happened in Beulah explores the fault lines of a small town and the courage it takes to face the truths people would rather bury.

About The Author:

Christy Scott Cashman is the author of The Truth About Horses, winner of the 2024 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for General Fiction, now in development as a film she is co- producing with Jane Seymour. She has appeared in American Hustle, Joy, Ted 2, and The Pink Panther 2, and was an executive producer on The Kids Are All Right. She founded YouthINK, a nonprofit creative mentorship program for teenagers, and serves on the boards of the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and the Boston Public Library’s Literary Lights Committee. She lives in Boston.

https://christycashman.com

Social Media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cashman.christy/

Book Blurbs:

What Happened in Beluah is a wonderful book—funny, sharp and poignant. It’s a story designed for all of us, of all ages, all wisdoms. It points to the necessity of recovery. It’s a novel of ghosts present and ghosts past, with alcoholics and dreamers and preachers and small town grifters all coming together in one place—the everywhere of guilt and consequence, the kudzu of our lives.”—Colum McCann, author of Apeirogon and Twist

“What Happened in Beulah cannot but remind us of what Hemingway said: ‘There is no friend as loyal as a book.’ Here, page after page, Christy Scott Cashman succeeds in making the reader hang onto the story as the drama on Beulah’s seemingly calm surface ruptures like a scene of serene rain that suddenly modulates into a rumbling thunderstorm. I’m sure the book will be a loyal friend to many readers.”—Patrick Kabanda, author of The Creative Wealth of Nations

Bloggers On Tour:

Oct. 11th- Books and Coffee MX https://instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx

Oct. 12th- Lindas Book Obsession https://www.facebook.com/lindasbookobsession/

Oct. 14th – Rozier Reads and Wine https://instagram.com/rozierreadsandwine

Oct. 15th – Jennifer Tar Heel Reader https://instagram.com/tarheelreader

Oct. 25th- Miss W Book Reviews https://instagram.com/misswbookreviews

Oct. 25th -Plains Reading https://instagram.com/plains_reading

Oct. 28th- Reading With Mere-https://instagram.com/readingwithmere

Oct. 29th- Books Love And Understanding https://instagram.com/booksloveandunderstanding

Nov. 5th- Reading Is My Remedy https://instagram.com/reading_is_my_remedy

Nov. 6th- One More Exclamation https://instagram.com/onemoreexclamation

Nov. 6th- Marilyn Goncalves https://instagram.com/marilynjgon