Publication Date: October 6, 2026
For readers of The Calamity Club and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, this Depression-era historical novel follows a young woman who opens a pie shop in small-town Ohio while building the family she never had.
Lila Young arrives in Lima, Ohio, determined to leave heartbreak behind and create a future of her own. More than a successful pie shop, she longs for something she’s never truly had-a place to belong. As customers gather over coffee and homemade pie, friendships with Agnes and Maggie become the sisters she never had, and quiet, dependable Vern earns her trust one daily bank deposit at a time.
Then Lila discovers that hidden mob money begins flowing through her pie shop without her knowledge. As hidden loyalties surface and the people she loves are forced into impossible choices, she’ll have to decide whether protecting the life she’s built means walking away from those who’ve become her family-or risking everything to fight for them.
A hopeful historical novel about found family, resilience, forgiveness, and second chances, Cutie Pies by the Slice blends small-town charm, the dangers of Prohibition-era crime, and the comfort of a neighborhood pie shop into a story that celebrates the families we build when life doesn’t go as planned.
Following the death of her mother, Lila Young yearns for a place to belong.
Author Kimberly Nixon delivers a heartwarming story of found family set during Prohibition in Cutie Pies by the Slice.
The time period offers a bit of nostalgia through Lila’s telephone operator role, while also highlighting the gangster element. Lila’s personality blossoms as she gains confidence and makes friends.
Her true passion, though, is baking. When she opens her own pie shop, it allows her to feel close to her late mother while creating a cozy atmosphere for customers.
However, when she discovers gang money funneling through her business, she must make a choice that could destroy everything she has built.
Full of friendship, sweet romance, and a spark of danger, Cutie Pies by the Slice delivers a satisfying blast from the past.
Award-winning author (2024 International Firebird Award for Fiction and 2024 Runner-UP Category fiction in the BookShelf Award) Kimberly Nixon is passionate about family stories. Her mother passed on a plethora of family tales, featuring strong, determined—and sometimes wild—characters. Kimberly wrestles these personalities into strong female characters in her works of fiction. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writing Association, several writer’s groups, and the Writer’s League of Texas. Kimberly lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Paul and prescribes to the motto ‘Live a Great Story,’ seeking adventures whenever she can. Her upcoming release Cutie Pies by the Slice is a historical fiction novel inspired by her mother’s best friend in a mob-filled city in northwest Ohio in the 1930s.
4 things to know about me:
1. I read a book a week, mixing it up between literary fiction, nonfiction, and historical fiction.
2. Take me on a hike or give me a book to read and we’ll be friends for life.
3. I won a county-wide writing contest in first grade based on a new corn popper that a father brought home for his family. I still have the ribbon.
4. We used to call my mother “Look-it-up-Mary” because she lived at the library to find ALL the answers. That weekly early encounter at the library gave me the love of books.
