Delia Ephron to Release New Novel THE LION IS IN, March 29

Acclaimed screenwriter, playwright and novelist Delia Ephron, co-author of the long-running hit playLove, Loss, and What I Wore, is set to release "The Lion Is In" (Blue Rider Press; March 29, 2012; $24.95), her first adult fiction novel in more than a decade, it was announced today.

According to press notes, "Three women-one in a wedding dress-break into a bar on the outskirts of a small Southern town late at night. On the run, each for different reasons, they have no money, no food, not even a change of clothes. They just need a place to sleep after crashing their car.

"They aren't expecting to meet a lion. 

"But 'The Lion Is In'- the latest funny, heartfelt, and honest novel from bestselling author and screenwriter Delia Ephron (Hanging Up; You've Got Mail) - is all about the big, wild, noble things in all our lives locked inside, waiting to break out.

"Lana and Tracee, 26, had no idea where they were going when they sped out of Maryland. And when Rita-50, a timid soul-accepted a ride, she wanted only to escape her life. None of them imagined that barely twenty-four hours later, they'd be working at a down-at-the-heels nightclub whose sole  attraction is Marcel, an old lion retired from the circus.

"For Rita, it's the first time she's ever experienced anything like an adventure. Decades of marriage to a small-minded, humorless minister have convinced her that she has no imagination, nothing even worth saying. She sees a kindred spirit in Marcel-locked up, longing for liberation, quietly regal. So she starts sneaking him out of his cage in the early dawn hours. Once she's gained his trust, Rita and Marcel are the hottest show for miles around, performing nightly at the now-packed bar to the spirited salsa sounds of Julio Iglesias. 

"But their pasts and transgressions threaten to catch up with them.  Lana, a few months sober, is plagued by guilt and shameful memories, and then gets on the wrong side of a local cop after a reckless one-night stand. Tracee, a kleptomaniac, finds herself falling for kindhearted Tim, but she has a criminal past she can't face up to. And Rita, treasured and appreciated for the first time in her life, knows her husband won't let her stay gone forever.   The problems seem insurmountable, but no one has figured on the power of Marcel. 

"As with her other critically adored books and box-office smash films, Ephron brings a delightfully deft hand to 'The Lion Is In,' a blend of humor, pain, and happiness. All of us have had something fierce and strong caged up inside, aching to get free. This marvelous novel is a tribute to that untamable instinct-and to the people and animals who hold the key and help us let it out."

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