Book excerpt: A #1 Los Angeles Times bestseller in hardcover! Lila Mae Wooten is leaving her home in Kentucky and, with her four children, is driving to meet her husband in California, where they aim to pursue the American Dream and escape a few bill collectors on the way. But since Lila never fails to find treasure on the road less traveled, what should be a four-day trip turns into an adventure of grand proportions. Each encounter, be it with a gas station attendant or a distant relative, draws Lila and her troupe into a new escapade-each one a wildly comedic diversion from their path. Dreaming Southern has been called "zany" (Los Angeles Times), "a sheer delight" (Rita Mae Brown), and "a remarkable first novel" (Joan Didion). It will no doubt delight paperback readers with its fresh, humorous taste of 1950s Americana. "A comic odyssey guaranteed to induce grins of recognition from anyone who's ever experienced the joys of intergenerational travel."-Marie Claire