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.
“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.
READER VIEWS 5-STAR Review
by Joan Kirschner
“Three Guesses…is a unique and charming novella, a contemporary take on the time-honored epistolary format...The author makes her characters come alive through these letters. They feel vivid and real…a highly imaginative and appealing work, cleverly written.”
Humorous and heartbreaking, soulful and breathtaking, Three Guesses celebrates love, friendship, hope, and the life-changing power of human connection.
Recipient of Regal House Publishing’s 2023
Fugere Book Prize for Finely Crafted Novellas
Available at Regal House Publishing, Burke’s Book Store-Memphis
and anywhere books are sold!
Southern Literary Review
by Tamatha Cain
“quietly spellbinding novella”
“Lyrical passages, sprinkles of poetry, and illustrative stories add to the experience, but those who share the voyeurist urge to
devour those dusty boxes of letters and postcards in the local antique store will find themselves captivated by the deliciously generous slices of life these characters
share via personal letters.”
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.