The key ingredient to life is family . . . and love.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs returns with a powerful, emotionally complex story of love and loss, heartbreak and healing, the pain of the past . . . and the promise of the future.

Sometimes the greatest dream starts with the smallest element. A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes.

Love. Success. A handsome husband, a beautiful home. These are the things Annie Rush can call her own. These are the foundations of her charmed life in Los Angeles.

But in an instant, that life is shattered. And as Annie sifts through the ashes, she must face the shock and pain of a devastating loss.

Grieving and wounded, she retreats to her family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the place where she grew up, the people she knew before, the hometown boyfriend whose life has been filled with unexpected turns. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.

Family Tree is the heartbreaking, heartwarming story of one woman’s struggle to make peace with her past and take control of her future— a story that celebrates family and love in their many forms. Clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, this is a novel to cherish and to remember.

Susan Wiggs is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty novels, including the beloved Lakeshore Chronicles series. Her novels have been translated into two-dozen languages, and she has won many awards for her work, including a RITA from Romance Writers of America. A Harvard graduate, she lives with her husband in Washington State, on an island in Puget Sound.

“Clever, creative, and ingenious, this is Susan Wiggs at her best. I devoured the book, turning the pages so fast I got a papercut!”

—Debbie Macomber

MARKETING CAMPAIGN• National Radio

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• Radio Satellite Tour

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• Major Reading Group Outreach, Including Reading Group Guide and Features on BookClubGirl.com and in the Book Club Girl Newsletter

• Feature in the BookPerk and From the Heart Newsletters

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• Original E-short, with Teaser Excerpts from Family Tree

• Official Author Website: www.susanwiggs.com

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• Deep Distribution of Reader’s Edition

• 10-Copy Signed Carton 978-0-06-247201-4

Fiction/August 2016978-0-06-242543-0; $25.99 ($31.99 Can.);

320 pages; 6 x 9 E-Book: 978-0-06-242547-8

HarperLuxe 978-0-06-246636-5Unabridged CD 978-0-06-246669-3

One Day Laydown On Sale August 9, 2016

You’ve written both historical and contemporary novels, which have been set in a wide range of time periods and locations. What draws you to a particular era or place? What inspires your imagination as a writer, and what do you learn while writing your books?

SW: Assuming there’s no undiagnosed attention disorder, it’s got to be my endless curiosity about the world. About everything, from the Boston-Rio ice trade route (The Charm School) to maple syrup production (Family Tree). I was that annoying kid you remember from grade school, my hand shooting into the air to ask how much a human head weighs, how to get to Timbuktu, or how long it takes for poured concrete to harden around your big brother’s feet.

Every book is a learning experience. I’m not a doctor, a lawyer, a TV cooking show host, a painter, a librarian, a baseball pitcher or a pirate—but my characters have been. Writing gives me a glimpse into other people’s worlds.

What inspires me? The absolutely fascinating workings of human relations in all forms—romantic love, family love, friendship, rivalry, betrayal, sorrow, joy, triumph, endurance, and everything in between. Like readers everywhere, I write (and read) to explore and connect. And to endure nerve-wracking lengthy waits at the airport and the dentist office.

You have reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list, have been nominated for and won prestigious awards, been recognized by peers and critics, and your books are read around the world. Did you ever dream you would achieve such amazing success? What has surprised you most about your career as a writer?

SW: The first time I saw a Wikipedia page about “Susan Wiggs,” I thought my head would explode. I even love the inaccurate parts!

But believe me, when I sit down to write, past recognition is the furthest thing from my mind. But your question (and thanks for asking it) reminds me that yes, my voice is heard in this crazy, wonderful, frustrating, rewarding, and baffling business. More than that, seeing a book on the bestseller list reminds me that somewhere out there, is a reader like me, desperately looking for a story that will affirm her notions, challenge her mind, warm her heart, and ultimately uplift her with the knowledge that you’re

never alone when you’re reading a book. Or maybe she was bored in a waiting room somewhere. . . .

Did I ever dream of being a successful writer? Absolutely, starting in grade three, when I self-published my first story—A Book About Some Bad Kids. I was lucky enough to have a magical third-grade teacher who told me it was possible, and I believed her completely. Every child deserves a Mrs. Marge Green. She was awesome, and lived to see me publish many books, reading each one and sending me notes in her perfect, Palmer-method cursive writing.

What she didn’t teach me was how challenging it would be. I had to figure that out on my own, writing, rewriting, sending out my work, getting rejected, again and again and again—until the door cracked open. I have yet to meet a writer who can look me in the eye and say, “That was easy!”

What surprises me the most is the sense of passion and renewal I rediscover with every book I write. Each novel is a new journey for me, so I never get bored. Writing is a privilege I will never, ever take for granted.

The other lovely surprise I’ve discovered comes from readers. They are so kind, so responsive and genuine. It never ceases to amaze me that a reader will use a portion of her precious time to sit back and read one of my books.

You have written both stand-alone novels and series. What are the joys and challenges of writing each?

SW: I write the kinds of books I love to read. Sometimes I love getting involved in the lives and loves of a cast of characters in a particular place (the ever-popular Willow Lake, for example), creating a world that grows around them, book by book. It’s just plain fun—to populate a book with new characters, but in passing weave others we’ve already met.

The challenge in writing a series is to keep the facts straight. In an open-ended series, the writer has to keep track of who’s who, and inevitably, slip-ups occur. A dog’s coat changes color, a baby is inexplicably in school in a subsequent book, a character I killed off is mysteriously resurrected. . . . Even with sharp-eyed editors, some of the details are slippery little things.

And when I finally sit down to tackle the final book in The Calhoun Chronicles, it will probably blow my own mind.

AN INTERVIEW with Susan Wiggs

Other books emerge as a whole world unto themselves, and the story is told in one go—Miranda, Summer by the Sea, Just Breathe. Readers who love those books often ask for a spinoff about another character—Cameron in Table for Five and Emma in The Ocean Between Us seem to have their own fan clubs.

Like several of your prior books, Family Tree is filled with fabulous food. What are some of your favorite ingredients and dishes? How did your love of food develop and who taught you to cook?

SW: Readers will probably guess the answer to this one—my grandmother. The Ukrainian one who never learned to read or write in English. She and my grandpa came to the US as teenagers and built a farm. These days, we hear a lot about locally-sourced ingredients and sustainable farming practices. My grandparents would not have recognized those terms, but they lived them. Nearly everything they ate—grains, fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat—came from their own labors on a lovely little storybook farm in upstate New York.

The other part of my answer is food labels. When I was a churchmouse-poor grad student in a little walk-up apartment, I could barely afford textbooks, let alone cookbooks. (Cue the tiny violins.) And this was before the Internet was even a blip on the radar—imagine cooking without Pinterest! So I collected “suggested recipes” that were published on can labels—three-ingredient pasta sauce (1 cut-up onion, 1 big can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes, 1 whole stick of butter; simmer for 45 minutes, then mash or puree and serve over hot pasta.) No-knead bread, courtesy of King Arthur bread flour: 3 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast, 1 1/2

teaspoons salt. Stir in 1 5/8 cup water to create a shaggy dough, let rest at room temperature overnight. Preheat a smallish Dutch oven at 450˚F. Form the dough into a ball and place in the pan. Lower the oven temperature to 300˚F, put the lid on the pan and back for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15-30 minutes, until the top resembles a golden dome of goodness.

Taking a break from writing my master’s thesis, I loved the food trivia we used to see on packages. A bag of chocolate chips told me that the cookie was invented by Ruth Graves Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts, a hot spot for home cooking in the 1930s. Her cookbook, Toll House Tried and True Recipes, was first published in 1936 by M. Barrows & Company.

The short answer is, I think about food all the time.

Where do you get your ideas for your characters? How have your experiences and the people in your life shaped your stories? Is there something you haven’t written about that you’ d like to explore?

SW: Ideas are everywhere. I’m probably having thoughts about you, right about now. Eager young publishing professional picks the brain of a seasoned old pro, only to find that the pro is hopelessly insecure, because she’s starting a new novel, and starting a novel is like stepping off a cliff into a pit of alligators. . . .

Just an example. I love writing about people in all their glorious, quirky diversity. Because I’m in charge, these people are often far more courageous and talented than I am. They are explorers, pilots, protected witnesses, firefighters, EMTs, adoptive mothers . . . far more interesting and also thinner and younger than me.

And far more troubled. A story is a way of sorting things out. Annie in Family Tree came from me imagining what it would be like if a cataclysmic, unexpected event forced you to change everything you thought you knew about your life, your relationships, and your future.

Asking me if there’s something I haven’t written about that I’d like to explore is like asking a child in a toy store what she’d like to play with next. Answer: Everything. A struggling single mom. A wounded ex-cop. A cave diver. A hundred-year-old man with a secret. A skipjack captain on the Chesapeake Bay. A woman fleeing for her life . . . all of the above, and more.

What’s one thing about you your readers would never guess?

SW: This answer will probably send you into a diabetic coma, but it’s from the heart—readers would probably never guess how incredibly grateful I am that they are in the world. The love and joy a reader brings to a writer is a unique blessing.

As I write this out, in long-hand, in peacock blue fountain pen ink, it’s 7:00am on the shortest day of the year—the winter solstice. I have a sleeping Chihuahua snuggled against my leg, a snoring Doberman pinscher at my feet, and a husband roasting organic green coffee beans on the patio (yes, he does that).

I’m watching the sun rise over Puget Sound, its rays struggling through a bank of clouds to illuminate the flat, calm waters of high tide, and I take a deep breath of gratitude for the people who might set aside time in their day to journey into a world I’ve created.

When I was a little girl, my Uncle Tommy used to take me, along with my brother and sister, to the sugarhouse on his property high in the snow-clad hills. There, the maple trees grew wild, and we could commute back to the house on a toboggan that fit all three kids in a row, crash landing more often than not.

My uncle was deaf from birth, and he always felt most at home in nature, where the communication did not demand words. He loved working the land year round, raising game birds, Irish setters, cattle, and crops—but the tail end of winter was a slack time, when everything lay dormant.

Or so we think. People in sugarbush country know that the earth is just waking up from the long cold winter. In late February or March, the daytime temperature creeps above freezing, and the thaw begins. Deep within the heart of the sugar maple, the sap comes alive and runs—at first a trickle, followed by a steady flow, and when the conditions are just right, almost a gush.

I used to get in trouble for climbing the maple trees, because my clothes would get sticky with sap—but tree climbing never bothered my uncle. He collected the sap in the old way, by drilling a spile (hollow metal spout) into the tree and hanging a bucket to catch the drips. It was probably cold, muddy, miserable work, but I don’t remember that part. I just remember riding through the woods on a stone boat behind the tractor, bringing the tanks of collected sap to the sugarhouse.

That was where the magic happened. A roaring woodfire under the big evaporator pan performed an act of sweet alchemy, transforming the clear, sweetish, watery substance into gorgeous amber maple syrup, bottled in tin quart drums labeled Tee Jay Farms. When the temperature reached its zenith—219F—my uncle would treat us to “sugar on snow”—a splash of syrup on a mound of fresh snow. It would harden instantly into the purest candy you can imagine.

The flavor of maple brings memories of family favorites—iced maple bars, fried doughboys, oatmeal swimming in syrup, and maple creme brulee. And memory, any writer will tell you, gives rise to inspiration. I imagined a woman far from home, nearly destroyed by disaster, coming home to a place like Switchback, Vermont to reconnect, to remember, and ultimately to heal.

My childhood took a turn when my father’s career sent the whole family to live in far-flung places overseas. Those early memories, then, are gilded by nostalgia. In my writing, it’s the backdrop to the deepest and strongest themes—family, friendship, romance, hope, and healing. It’s the terrain of the Lakeshore Chronicles and now Family Tree.

I’ve spent summers on the beaches of Rhode Island, renting a clapboard house with terrible insulation, a faulty propane tank, and a dead-on view of Narragansett Bay. Easy friendships revolved around food—lobster rolls from Aunt Carrie’s, clam bakes on the beach, beer and awful music at Schiller’s bar. Readers of Summer by the Sea and Passing Through Paradise will recognize the salty, scenic locale in my fiction.

Somerville, Massachusetts was my home while I was in graduate school. My landlady was a fiery Irish American woman serving a term in the statehouse, and the neighborhood teemed with Italian bakeries and delis—thick, square cuts of pizza, fresh cannoli stuffed with cream, and fried scrod served in paper cones. Steve’s Ice Cream was my decadent splurge. On a chilled countertop, they kneaded the flavorings right into the heart of the scoop. While living in a postage-stamp-sized apartment with a golden retriever and a manual Olivetti typewriter, I had the kind of creative energy only a twenty-year-old possesses. I held down a teaching job, finished my master’s degree, learned to cook gourmet meals on two burners, knitted Fair Isle sweaters . . . and I wrote my first novel.

A writer’s path is filled with unexpected twists and turns, much like a well-plotted novel. Yet ultimately, we return to the places of our heart— a seaside village, an urban enclave, a moment in time, or a mountaintop clad in sugar maples, with the sugarhouse in the center, maple-scented steam rising from the roof vents, and a warm fire burning deep into the night.

INTO THE SUGARHOUSE by Susan Wiggs

PRAISE for Susan Wiggs

“Clever, creative, and ingenious, this is Susan Wiggs at her best. I devoured the book, turning the pages so fast I got a papercut!”

—Debbie Macomber

“Susan Wiggs paints the details of human relationships with the finesse of a master.”

—Jodi Picoult

“Wiggs, a consummate storyteller, has few equals when it comes to evoking deep emotion in readers. . . . It’s her observations about our modern lives and times that really stand out.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Wiggs’s storytelling is heartwarming.”

—Publishers Weekly

“A human and multi-layered story exploring duty to both country and family.”

—Nora Roberts on The Ocean Between Us

“Incredible . . . sweet, crisp, and juicy.”

—Elin Hilderbrand on The Apple Orchard

“Susan Wiggs delves deeply into her characters’ hearts and motivations to touch our own.”

—Romantic Times

“Wiggs is one of our best observers of stories of the heart. She knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book.”

—Salem Statesman-Journal

“Susan Wiggs writes poignant, unforgettable stories of every woman’s hopes and dreams.”

—Susan Elizabeth Phillips

“Susan Wiggs creates fresh, unique, and exciting tales.”

—Jayne Ann Krentz

William Morrow Celebrates First Hardcover Publication with #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

SUSAN WIGGSSometimes the greatest dreams start

with one key ingredient . . .

Often, the most poignant journey is coming home, and no one else can evoke all the uncertainty and joys of those life passages quite like #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs. Susan is celebrated for “unforgettable stories of every woman’s hopes and dreams” (Susan Elizabeth Phillips); and never has her storytelling prowess shone as brightly as in FAMILY TREE, her debut hardcover with William Morrow. A moving tale of a woman finding herself through tragedy, FAMILY TREE is emotionally complex, funny, sad, and wise. Written in Susan’s trademark clear-eyed and big-hearted style, FAMILY TREE is the portrait of a woman who seemingly has it all, but in losing it all and starting from scratch, she discovers the true measure of her heart and soul.

Annie Rush is a successful television cooking show producer. She and her husband, Martin Harlow, live in a glorious home along the California coast, and are the creative force behind The Key Ingredient, America’s most popular culinary program. Annie’s career is a legacy from her grandmother, a native Vermonter who taught Annie that every recipe has a key ingredient–the ingredient that defines the dish. Each episode brings the texture, flavor, and quintessence of that essential component from colorful locales around the world into viewers’ kitchens. And though the concept is Annie’s, the camera is focused on Martin and his gorgeous co-host, Melissa, who have popping chemistry onscreen.

It seemed as if life was Annie’s oyster, the richness only compound-ing with the discovery of an unexpected pregnancy. Rushing from an interview to the production set to break the news to her hus-band, Annie witnesses a stunning act of infidelity that torches the tenets of her world. She leaves one catastrophe to be immediately beset by another: an on-set accident that hurtles Annie into a coma for a year.

When she wakes up, it’s only to find herself home in Vermont, divorced, with gaping holes in her memory. Her family is gathered around: her mother, whose art lines the walls of Annie’s room in the rehabilitation facility, her father, who deserted his wife and

children when Annie was young, her brother, his wife, and their brood of kids. They become Annie’s anchor to her new world as she learns to begin anew on her family’s maple farm in Switchback, the town she left behind.

No family comes without its drama, and it is these interpersonal actions that force Annie to rejoin the world. In doing so, she reconnects with Fletcher Wyndham, the capable, responsible (and utterly gorgeous) man who was her hometown sweetheart. From the pages of her grandmother’s cookbook, she takes comfort and inspiration, finding contentment and delight in the preparation of the flavors of her youth: the seductive indulgence of cheddar beer soup, the buttery sugar rush of maple shortbread. In Fletcher’s arms, she finds security and a true passion that has simmered for years, unwatched.

As Annie struggles to define her new path in life, she must choose between the present and the past, her heart or her ambition. FAMILY TREE is the story of one woman’s triumph over betrayal. It is the story of how she comes to terms with her tragedy and personal history and achieves emotional liberty. It is the story of blessings unrealized and opportunities regained. It is the must-read book of August 2016.

“FAMILY TREE is a glorious entry for Susan Wiggs onto the Morrow list,” says Daniel Mallory, Vice President/Executive Editor of William Morrow. “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Susan into our family by publishing this utterly compelling and deeply affecting novel. Like all of Susan’s novels, this is a joy to read . . . but it has that key ingredient that will surprise and delight

fans and new readers alike.”

Family Treeby SUSAN WIGGS

Publicity contacts:Pamela Jaffee pamela.jaffee@harpercollins.com 212.207.7495

Lauren Truskowski lauren.truskowski@harpercollins.com 212.207.7224

“Susan Wiggs paints the details of human relationships with the finesse of a master.”

—Jodi Picoult

PRESS RELEASE

Fiction/August 2016978-0-06-242543-0; $25.99 ($31.99 Can.); 320 pages; 6 x 9

HarperLuxe 978-0-06-246636-5 | E-Book 978-0-06-242547-8 Unabridged CD 978-0-06-246669-3 | One Day Laydown | On Sale August 9, 2016

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Family Treeby SUSAN WIGGS

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Sweet Greetingsfrom Rush Mountain, Vermont

“Wherever you are, that’s home.”

Family Tree by SUSAN WIGGS

ON SALE August 9, 2016

SusanWiggs.com /susanwiggs @susanwiggs

“Wow,” he said, treading water and

grinning at her. “That was . . . wow.”

Of all the key moments Annie had experienced,

this might be the sharpest and clearest of all. In

that instance, she knew a sense of happiness so

powerful it was almost frightening. She wanted

to hold on to the feeling forever.

Greetings from

Switchback, Vermont

“Wherever you are, that’s home.”

Family Tree by SUSAN WIGGS

ON SALE August 9, 2016

SusanWiggs.com /susanwiggs @susanwiggs

She took his hands, placed a kiss on each

one, and summoned a smile. “I’m not hurt. I’m

the opposite of hurt. This morning, you made

me very happy. Being in this kitchen makes

me happy. We took what we had and we made

something, and it’s going to be delicious.”

Cheddar Beer Soup l 1 Tablespoon butter plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil

l 1 small onion, diced

l 1 rib celery, diced

l 1 carrot, scrubbed and diced

l 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced

l 1 clove garlic, minced

l 1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, diced

l 1-2 potatoes, diced

l 1 sprig fresh thyme

l 1 bottle of beer (use a good microbrew from Vermont)

l 1/2 cup cider, fresh or hard, your choice

l 1 quart vegetable or chicken stock

l 1 cup shredded Vermont sharp cheddar cheese

l 1 cup half-and-half or cream (reserve a small amount for making the creme fraiche)

l Salt and pepper to taste

l Diced apples and creme fraiche* for garnish.

*To make creme fraiche, thin a bit of

Greek yogurt with half-and-half or cream

to get a drizzling consistency.

Warm the butter and olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Saute the

onion for about 5 minutes, followed by the rest of the vegetables,

including apple and thyme. When slightly caramelized, add the

beer and bring to a low boil. Add the stock and bring to a simmer.

Cover and simmer for about thirty minutes, until the vegetables are

tender. Puree in a blender. Safety note–place the blender in the sink

if the cord reaches, and cover the carafe with a plastic bag before

turning it on, so you don’t get splattered. If the carafe is small, do

this in batches. Then, with the blender on low, add the shredded

cheese a bit at a time. Return the puree to the pot and whisk in the

cream. Don’t let it boil. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with finely diced apples and a drizzle of creme fraiche.

Source: Adapted from Hampton Winds restaurant at Northampton Community College

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat 1 cup butter

with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add

brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping

bowl occasionally. Add maple syrup, egg, and vanilla; beat until

combined. Beat in flour until incorporated.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet covered

with parchment paper; flatten with the back side of an oiled spatula.

Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until tops are set.

To make the icing, whisk evaporated milk, melted butter, and maple

flavoring until combined. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar to

make a smooth-textured frosting. Ice the cookies and let them cool

until set.

Source: Adapted from the King Arthur flour bag.

l 1 cup butter, softened

l 1 cup brown sugar

l 1 teaspoon baking soda

l 1/4 teaspoon salt

l 1 cup maple syrup

l 1 egg

l 1 teaspoon vanilla

l 4 cups flour

FROSTING:

l 1/2 cup evaporated milk

l 6 tablespoons butter, melted

l 1 Tablespoon maple syrup

l 3 - 4 cups powdered sugar

Frosted Maple Cookies

Recipes from Family Treeby SUSAN WIGGS