From the USA Today bestselling author of a dozen Viola Shipman novels comes an homage to The Golden Girls, drag, and found family…

A poignant and hilarious story set in Palm Springs, THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR follows four aging gay men who live together in a fabulous pink mid-century home and who belong to a monthly drag tribute to The Golden Girls called “The Golden Gays.” Theodore (Teddy) Copeland is the group’s outspoken leader; Barry is a former actor still clinging to his youth and to the memory of a dream role that killed his career; Ron is an uprooted Christian from the Midwest with a big heart but no one to give it to; and Sid, who came out later in life, has never found love. Despite their flaws and disagreements, they have turned their golden years into a golden era.

When an unexpected and unwelcome visitor from Teddy’s past—his estranged sister, Trudy—shows up on their doorstep with her dramatic teenage granddaughter Ava in tow, the harmony of their desert oasis is disrupted. Teddy can’t understand why his sister, who dismissed him years ago because he was gay, would be here now. What could she possibly want and why would she expect Teddy to help her? While Teddy keeps his sister at arm’s length, he can’t deny a connection to Ava, who seems eager to know him. This unexpected bond ignites something in Teddy, who decides it’s time to share serious news he’s been keeping from his friends. His secret sets off a chain reaction of truth-telling. One by one, the friends reveal their secrets. The last one leading to Trudy, and the real reason for her visit, which is the most shocking secret of all.

Inspired by The Golden Girls, a show that was unafraid of tackling issues, particularly those facing the LGBTQ+ community and a show that helped pave the way for Wade Rouse to come out to those he loved most, THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR celebrates love, aging, acceptance, finding your people, and the art of impeccably timed one-liners. “It’s ferocious and funny, hopeful and heart-wrenching, a story about what so many of us have endured in this life to find friendship, love, and respect in a world that continues to punch us in the gut,” explains Rouse. It’ll make you laugh, make you cry, and make you want to binge-watch The Golden Girls.

Wade Rouse is the USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly and #1 internationally bestselling author of 21 books, including five memoirs, 13 novels and three holiday novellas. Wade’s books have been translated into nearly 30 languages and have been bestsellers across the world. His novels, The Secret of Snow, The Clover Girls and A Wish for Winter, have been optioned for film and TV.

Wade’s books have been selected multiple times as Must-Reads by NBC’s Today Show, Indie Next Picks by the nation’s independent booksellers as well as Michigan Notable Books of the Year. His memoirs and novels have been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today and on Chelsea Lately. Wade was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards in Humor (he lost to Tina Fey) and was named by Writer’s Digest as “The #2 Writer, Dead or Alive, We’d Like to Have Drinks With” (Wade was sandwiched between Ernest Hemingway and Hunter Thompson).  

That’s What Friends Are For (March 3/Mira) – inspired by the classic TV sitcom The Golden Girls – marks the first novel under Wade’s own name. #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult calls the novel, “Hilarious, tender, and devastating. I loved this ode to the family we find!” Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at The Wedding, says, “Wade Rouse has written the most unabashedly joyful novel you’ll read this year, a rip-roaringly funny ode to found family, Palm Springs, drag, and Bea Arthur. But beneath all the wigs and the California sunshine, That’s What Friends Are For is also a poignant study of survival – of what it means to persevere in a world hell-bent on bringing you down, and a celebration of the friends who always have our backs.”

That’s What Friends Are For is being called The Guncle meets The Golden Girls, and this poignant and hilarious story celebrates love, aging, finding your people, and the art of impeccably timed one-liners. Theodore Copeland has created a fabulous life in the desert oasis of Palm Springs, where he shares a fabulous pink mid-century home with three fabulous friends: Barry, a former actor still clinging to his youth, his hair, and the memory of the dream role that killed his career; Ron, an uprooted Christian from the Midwest with a big heart but no one to give it to; Sid, who, after coming out late in life, has never found love. Teddy is the caustic, unspoken leader of “The Golden Gays”—the foursome’s monthly drag tribute to The Golden Girls. Despite their foibles and bickering, they have turned their golden years into a golden era. But the harmony of their desert enclave becomes a carousel of emotional baggage when Teddy’s estranged sister, Trudy, shows up on their doorstep, her dramatic teenage granddaughter in tow. While Teddy keeps Trudy at arm’s length, she manages to wheedle her way into the lives of the Golden Gays, until the real reason for her visit is revealed and the secrets they’ve all been keeping from each other unravel faster than a hastily stitched hemline.  

Wade’s previous novels were written under his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, a pen name he chose to honor the working poor Ozarks seamstress whose sacrifices changed his family’s life and whose memory inspires his fiction.

Wade’s most recent Viola Shipman novel, The Page Turner, was a national bestseller and featured in PEOPLE and Country Living Magazine. The novel is a book that celebrates how books and reading change and save us and takes readers inside the world of publishing today and asks why we judge one another and the books we read by our collective covers.

Wade’s first memoir, America’s Boy – selected as part of the American Library Association’s inaugural “Rainbow List” recognizing outstanding books with significant and authentic LGBTQIA+ content for readers – was recently republished. His memoir, Magic Season – a Michigan Notable Book of the Year about the difficult relationship Wade had with his Ozarks father and how their love of baseball was the only thing to bond them over the years – just released in paperback. Library Journal wrote, “This memoir is equal parts heart-rending and humorous, and at all points filled with love. A story that’s more than just about a conservative father and his gay son, it’s about the power of family and shared experience.”

Wade’s recent novels, The Wishing Bridge and Famous in A Small Town, were both instant national bestsellers as well as summer and winter book picks by Good Morning America, Reader’s Digest and Katie Couric.

A former journalist, magazine writer and People reporter, his writing has appeared in a diverse range of publications and media, including Coastal Living, Time, All Things Considered, Good Housekeeping, Parade, Salon, Forbes, Writer’s Digest and Publisher’s Weekly. Wade earned his B.A. from Drury University (with honors) and his master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. He divides his time between Saugatuck, Michigan, and Palm Springs, California, and is also an acclaimed writing teacher who has mentored numerous students to become published authors.  

Wade hosts the popular Facebook Live literary happy hour, “Wine & Words with Wade,” every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EST on the Viola Shipman author page where he talks writing, inspiration and hope, takes readers on tours of the places that inspire his novels, throws costumed monthly office parties, and welcomes bestselling authors and publishing insiders. For more, please visit www.violashipman.com or www.waderouse.com