Lima Ohio’s Prohibition-era History Inspires New Novel

When Kimberly Nixon’s mother told her the story of how a life-long best friend laundered money for the mob in Lima, Ohio, in the 1930s, Nixon didn’t hesitate before she jumped into researching the story. A Lima native and genealogy researcher, Nixon’s new historical fiction novel, Cutie Pies by the Slice, was released Oct. 6 and draws inspiration from her family’s past and the historical events of the Allen County city during the Prohibition and Depression eras.

“My passion is the family story — it’s the events that happen and how people react to them and the relationships they have,” Nixon says. “That’s why I write.”

Cutie Pies by the Slice follows 20-year-old Lila Young, a character inspired by that same life-long friend who was a grandmotherly figure in Nixon’s life, as she navigates the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. She opens a neighborhood pie shop on Main Street, Cutie Pies by the Slice, and builds a chosen family around it all while her business has unknowingly become entangled with the mob.

“This woman who was like my grandmother, she had a fierce love of pies,” Nixon says. “She would come to our house and turn any ordinary day into a holiday, both by bringing the pies and the laughter.”

Throughout Nixon’s childhood, food remained a mainstay of family gatherings, she says. This is prevalent throughout the story as Young gathers with strangers over shared meals and coffee, forging a deep bond with her friends Agnes and Maggie who become the sisters she never had. 

A story filled with small-town charm and resilience, Nixon’s hopeful historical novel shares a story of Prohibition-era crime, found family and second chances.

For more information and to purchase a copy of the book, visit kimberlynixon.com.

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