The Quaker Cafe

A debut novel brimming with Southern heart about a small town where, regardless of what happens behind closed doors, the neighbors awake each morning and meet at the Quaker Café. *** When Liz Hoole, a free-spirited liberal from the Midwest, marries into a conservative Quaker family in a small rural town in North Carolina, she knew it would be a delicate task to negotiate the raising of her four boys in compliance with Quaker values…but as much as she tries, she always seems to fall short of expectations. After Judge Corbett Kendall, the politically powerful father of her best friend, dies, Liz stumbles upon secrets from the past that threaten to unravel the delicate fabric of racial harmony in an easily-divided town. Whether examining the history of Cottonwoods Plantation or eavesdropping on the latest gossip at the local Quaker Café, she finds herself burdened with the truth of an injustice that she cannot reveal, even to her own husband. The Quaker Café dances with rich Southern characters: Miss Ellie, the elderly owner and gracious hostess of the café knows more than she admits; Debbie Bradshaw, Liz’s dynamic and colorful secretary, knows more than she should; and Frogbelly thinks he knows it all. As Liz delves deeper into the history of Cedar Branch, she learns that even good people can make bad choices and that bad choices can have lasting consequences…

Brenda Bevan Remmes lives with her husband near Black River Swamp, South Carolina, in an old family home filled with the history of generations past. Her stories and articles have appeared in Newsweek, Southern publications and journals. She spent her career conducting rural health education programs for the Schools of Medicine at both The University of North Carolina and The University of South Carolina. The Quaker Café is her first novel; she is working on a sequel.