Three Guesses
Recipient of the 2023 Fugere Book Prize Recognizing Finely Crafted Novellas
Regal House Publishing, Burke’s Book Store-Memphis, novel. Memphis, Bookshop.org, and anywhere books are sold
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The Tour continues…
Mon, July 21, 2025, 9-10am - WYXR Memphis 91.7 FM > Songs That Move You, Three Guesses playlist LIVE with Willy Bearden
Sat, July 26, 2025, 10-11am - Tark’s Storied Brew - Marion, AR - Book & Coffee Talk
Thu, August 7, 5pm - Lemuria Books - Jackson, MS - In Conversation with Gerry Wilson
Sat-Sun, August 16-17, 1-3pm - Central Arkansas Women’s Expo with WordsWorth Books -
Little Rock, AR - Author Meet & Greet and Book Signing
Books available for purchase at all onsite events.
Check News & Events frequently for tour events.
The Story…
Three strangers from Memphis, Phoenix, and New York City, connected only by a mesmerizing painting named Three Guesses, embark on an extraordinary journey of friendship in this charming epistolary novella. Over the years, their letters reveal intimate details about their lives and loves, dreams, trials and triumphs, and a shared desire to find their places in the world—deepening their bond without ever having met in person. Then, as each contends with critical turning points, the unlikely trio considers breaking their mail-only pact to meet at the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Humorous and heartbreaking, soulful and breathtaking, Three Guesses celebrates love, friendship, hope, and the life-changing power of human connection.
“Original, eloquent, engaging, and an entertainingly memorable read from cover to cover.”
—Midwest Book Review
I’m in love. I’m in love with the characters in this book, with the structure of this book, with the gorgeous, surprising, poetic, intimate, riveting prose that Chris McClain Johnson seems to effortlessly unravel as if it were the telling of a beautiful dream...What an unforgettable and astonishing book!”
—Diane Wald, award-winning author of My Famous Brain and The Bayrose Files
“This quirky wonderful book is a paean to friendship and love and creativity. I couldn’t put it down. I felt uplifted on every page. For readers who loved 84 Charing Cross Road, Three Guesses is a delightful successor.”
—Martha Anne Toll, author of Three Muses and Duet for One
Sharp, eccentric, engaging and refreshing, every letter in Three Guesses is a story all its own.
The Author…
Award-winning Southern writer Chris McClain Johnson grew up in Mayfield, Kentucky, graduated from Murray State University in Kentucky, and has lived in Memphis, Tennessee, for almost 40 years.
At age 60, Chris fulfills the lifelong dream of having her first book published. Three Guesses, recipient of Regal House Publishing’s 2023 Fugere Book Prize Recognizing Finely Crafted Novellas, released June 17, 2025. Her debut epistolary novella has received wide praise for being “intensely clever” and “wildly entertaining and smart” with “intimate, riveting prose” and “a fascinating look at modern friendship.”
See A Self Interview to learn more about Chris and the quirky characters in Three Guesses.