Struggling to evacuate Savannah as a Category Four hurricane bears down, Ramona, along with her entourage, navigates police check points, bathroom emergencies, demands from her boss, torrential downpours and calls from her cheating ex, while wishing for the days when her life was like a Prince song. - (Baker & Taylor)

Perfect for fans of Maria Semple and Jennifer Weiner, this smart and witty debut novel follows Ramona through the forty-eight hours after her life has been upended by the discovery of her husband’s affair and an approaching Category Four hurricane.

Ramona’s got a bratty boss, a toddler teetering through toilet training, a critical mom who doesn’t mind sharing, and oops—a cheating husband. That’s how a Category Four hurricane bearing down on her life in Savannah becomes just another item on her to-do list. In the next forty-eight hours she’ll add a neighborhood child and the class guinea pig named Clarence Thomas to her entourage as she struggles to evacuate town.

Ignoring the persistent glow of her minivan’s check engine light, Ramona navigates police check points, bathroom emergencies, demands from her boss, and torrential downpours while fielding calls and apology texts from her cheating husband and longing for the days when her life was like a Prince song, full of sexy creativity and joy.

Thoroughly entertaining and completely relatable, None of This Would Have Happened if Prince Were Alive is the hilarious, heartwarming story of a woman up to her elbows in calamities and about to drive off the brink of the rest of her life. - (Simon and Schuster)

Carolyn Prusa has written for Savannah Magazine, The Charlotte Observer, and other publications. She lives in Savannah with her husband, two sons, and giant rescue dog, Dale, who looks like a Wookie and sings like an angel. Find out more on Twitter @CarolynPrusa. - (Simon and Schuster)

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Prusa's engaging debut chronicles two days of upheavals for a Savannah, Ga., working mother as Hurricane Matthew closes in, in 2016. Ramona, a Prince fan and 38-year-old mother of two, catches her husband, Desmond, cheating on her. Already overwhelmed by potty training their younger child and dealing with her unreasonable boss, who expects her to report to work during the category four storm, Ramona heeds evacuation orders and heads to a friend's home in Augusta with her two kids and Baily, a neighbor's kindly teenage son who has been left at home alone. After Ramona learns her headstrong mother, Adelaide, won't evacuate because she doesn't want to leave her pets behind, Ramona and company return to Savannah to ensure Adelaide's safety. There, she learns more about Bailey's precarious home situation and confronts Desmond as the storm makes landfall. Ramona proves to be an amiable narrator, with her musings about the death of Prince ("Prince has been gone six months, and the world already feels less sparkly") mixed with reflections on what it takes to be a good mom. There's a lot to enjoy in this thoughtful outing. Agent: Maggie Cooper, Aevitas Creative. (Nov.)