A Composite Novel: One Town. One Winner. Thirteen Ways to Come Undone
In Liberty, Illinois—a small coal-mining town fallen on hard times—one obsession swallows everyday life: the Queen of Hearts contest. Built around a weekly drawing, the game can be over in a moment—or stretch on for months, sometimes even a full year. And as the jackpot climbs past one million dollars, Liberty’s residents invest more than money. They invest hope, pride, desperation, and the belief that one turn of luck could finally mean relief.
But Liberty is the kind of place where everyone knows your history—or thinks they do. The longer the jackpot grows, the more the contest turns into a pressure cooker. Friendships strain. Families fracture. Old grudges sharpen. What starts as entertainment becomes leverage, and the town’s unspoken rules begin to show themselves—who gets protected, who gets blamed, who gets believed, and what people will do when ‘almost’ starts to feel personal.
Through an ensemble cast of neighbors, couples, rivals, and outsiders, Queen of Hearts follows the ripple effects of a single, all-consuming dream: money that can buy a fresh start…or expose what people were willing to trade for it. Each story adds another angle—another secret, another motive, another consequence—until the whole town is forced to face what it has been avoiding for years.
Told through thirteen interconnected stories, Queen of Hearts is a composite novel in two parts—The Reckoning and The Aftermath—an ensemble-cast small town drama and character-driven literary fiction. This small-town and rural novel is steeped in Midwest family secrets, where judgment travels faster than truth. When someone finally wins, Liberty discovers what the prize can’t fix—and what it costs to keep chasing it.
Queen of Hearts is the fifth published novel by Laurie Lisa, who has written thirteen novels and is known for richly observed storytelling and unforgettable Midwest voices. If you’re drawn to small town literary fiction—where community can save you or swallow you—this is the contest you won’t stop thinking about.
Genre: Literary Fiction
In Liberty, Illinois—a small coal-mining town fallen on hard times—one obsession swallows everyday life: the Queen of Hearts contest. Built around a weekly drawing, the game can be over in a moment—or stretch on for months, sometimes even a full year. And as the jackpot climbs past one million dollars, Liberty’s residents invest more than money. They invest hope, pride, desperation, and the belief that one turn of luck could finally mean relief.
But Liberty is the kind of place where everyone knows your history—or thinks they do. The longer the jackpot grows, the more the contest turns into a pressure cooker. Friendships strain. Families fracture. Old grudges sharpen. What starts as entertainment becomes leverage, and the town’s unspoken rules begin to show themselves—who gets protected, who gets blamed, who gets believed, and what people will do when ‘almost’ starts to feel personal.
Through an ensemble cast of neighbors, couples, rivals, and outsiders, Queen of Hearts follows the ripple effects of a single, all-consuming dream: money that can buy a fresh start…or expose what people were willing to trade for it. Each story adds another angle—another secret, another motive, another consequence—until the whole town is forced to face what it has been avoiding for years.
Told through thirteen interconnected stories, Queen of Hearts is a composite novel in two parts—The Reckoning and The Aftermath—an ensemble-cast small town drama and character-driven literary fiction. This small-town and rural novel is steeped in Midwest family secrets, where judgment travels faster than truth. When someone finally wins, Liberty discovers what the prize can’t fix—and what it costs to keep chasing it.
Queen of Hearts is the fifth published novel by Laurie Lisa, who has written thirteen novels and is known for richly observed storytelling and unforgettable Midwest voices. If you’re drawn to small town literary fiction—where community can save you or swallow you—this is the contest you won’t stop thinking about.
Genre: Literary Fiction
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