CeCe Lyra

I'm best-selling author Bianca Murray and I'm joined by Cece Lira of Wendy Sherman Associates and Carly Waters of PS Literary.

Hi everyone.

Today's guest is the New York Times bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post notable book, the editor and NPR best book of the year, The Guncle, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Novel of the Year, The Celebrants, a Today Show read with Jenna Book Club Pick, The Guncle Abroad, a USA Today bestseller, and The Dogs of Venice.

His fiction has been translated into 20 languages,

He resides in Palm Springs, California.

It's my pleasure to welcome back Stephen Rowley.

Stephen, welcome back to the show.

It's always wonderful having you.

We are huge, huge fans.

So Stephen, will you show the cover of the book?

Because I didn't get a galley or a hardcover.

There we go.

So for those of you who are watching on YouTube, look at that beautiful, beautiful cover.

Absolutely stunning.

I'll be getting my hardcopy soon.

Yes, I will just read the flap copy so everybody's on the same page before we dive in.

So, college professor Jesse Dalruth has been abandoned.

30 years into their relationship, Jesse witnesses his husband Norman get out of bed late one night, walk into their Joshua Tree backyard, step into a strange beam of light.

and disappear.

How could Norman desert him after a lifetime together?