California Dreaming – Novella

Genres

Romance, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Queer Fiction, Sapphic, Grief, Americana

Scaling

Comedic 3/11

Romantic 6/11

Scary 3/11

Suspense 4/11

Sadness 7/11

Comfort 3/11

Cerebral 5/11

Erotic 3/11

Dramatic 8/11

Synopsis

In 1972, following her mother’s passing, Hope Clarence returns to her childhood town of Waybrooke, Mississippi, prepared to brave her reputation as the licentious poet in exile. This is made more complicated as Hope enters a whirlwind romance with the pastor’s daughter, Poppy Baybrige. As social and racial tensions in the small town rise, difficult choices must be made. Will Poppy turn her back on everything she knows or will she lose the woman she loves forever?

Mood Excerpt

“It was always a curious thing to her, August.

It was a month that never fit quite so neatly into her conception of summer – August was a platonic ideal, an abstract version of summer that really only existed in her memory..”

Read This if You Liked…

If you ever fancied the small-town political, and Southern feel of To Kill a Mockingbird crossed with all the lesbian drama of the latest Chappell Roan album, then you’ll love California Dreaming.

A Word From The Author

Petrichor Moss: “This book is very dear to me. An exploration of oppressive social structures in the rural American South, California Dreaming is a love letter-to all those who loved and lost before it was safe to come out, and for those who still do.”

Content Guidance

This novella explores themes of societal pressures through the lens of racial and homophobic prejudice, and contains graphic depictions of violence.

Average Read Times

Word Count: 23,000 words

Average Chapter Read Time: 12 minutes
Average Total Read Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.