The Westminster Series Book 1: In Private

Amber Celeste Reynaud, a young schoolteacher of Huguenot descent, and proud of it, is passionately keen to enter British politics as a member of the Ecology party.

Her bête noir is the rich and famous MP for the Business party, Catherine Fitzwilliam. Daughter of a baronet, she is married to a wealthy banker and lives in a fabulous, listed property. Amber loathes her and everything she stands for.

A chance meeting in a London theatre leads to a far from polite outburst from Amber, for which she is ashamed. But Catherine’s teenage son had, after all, poked her painfully in the back with his umbrella.

Amber teaches sports and English at a state school in the Brighton area. When she is summoned by the head teacher to meet a prospective new entry to her class in the winter term, it is Catherine and her son who she finds sitting in the Head’s study. Sam, who Amber has realised is on the Asperger Spectrum, insists he leave his private school to join Amber’s class. Against the Head’s better judgement, Amber persuades her to give the boy a chance.

Amber lives in a marriage of convenience with her husband, Ian. She has never questioned her indifference to sex, believing she needs all her energies to flow into her career ambitions. Now she recognises that the looks the very married Catherine gives her are far from innocent. And strangely, they don’t leave her cold either…

A Love of Ions

It’s the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones, kipper ties and a sexual revolution; Kay and Paul, two young, gifted research scientists begin to find their way in academia and their distinctive research disciplines. Both bear emotional scars, a burden which seemingly puts a brake on future relationships and any ideas of romance.

Without notice, their lives are disrupted by an intriguing government project clouded in the politics of the time. Two conflicted individuals drawn together by the fervour of innovative research and surrounded by aspiring youthful scientists with clear goals. How will this intense collaboration awaken their emotions? And will it force them to not only assess their careers but the role of their science in the community and the world about them at a time of burgeoning technological advancement across so many continents?

At the nexus of cultural change and momentous political events, their love story explores the ambiguities and over-lapping complexities of science and the scientists that work in the real world. Where thoughtful and dedicated professionals are ravaged by the conflicting forces of ambition, reason and emotion.

A Distant Voice in the Darkness

In 1972 Wales, Eleanor Larsen-Bruun, a headstrong young student with a mind for science, finds herself caught in a smoky university kitchen with Alec Jenkins, a fellow first-year with untamed black hair, large NHS glasses, and a talent for chaos. What begins as a spontaneous attempt to salvage a burnt chicken sparks a surprising friendship – and a tender, complicated romance.

Their story unfolds across vibrant settings, from the mist-covered hills of Wales to the bustling markets of Nigeria and the timeless streets of Rome. As they confront challenges both personal and cultural, Eleanor and Alec navigate family expectations, career ambitions, and the weight of the past. With each new chapter, Eleanor must decide how much of herself to give, and what she may have to leave behind.