The Lodgers

Lynsey Logan, a London-based novelist, usually keeps the plots of her novels a secret. One evening, her best friend, Emma Carmichael, comes to discuss her list of characters, who Lynsey finds most unpleasant. The worst character is a Broadway ‘hoofer’, a song and dance queen called Lynda Lombardi who is appearing in a Broadway show called ‘Bitches on Broadway’. She has a daughter called Isabel, and a highly objectionable grandson called Peter, whose chief desire is to murder his grandmother, so he, his mum and dad could inherit her house in Beverly Hills.

Lynsey is horrified to wake up the next morning to discover that all her characters have moved into her apartment in Belsize Park and declare they have come to lodge with her. Like a good hostess, Lynsey takes Isabel and Peter to the Tower of London and arranges for Lynda to tour the National Theatre in London. She also arranges for her friend, Emma, to come and meet them all one evening; Lynsey and Lynda cook up a big chilli, and after a heavy meal and too much red wine, Emma decides to stay the night.

Much to Lynsey’s horror, they wake up in New York, in an apartment that Lynda has rented in New York, minus clothes or papers. Emma insists on seeing the sights of New York, and she and Lynsey visit the Tenement Museum in downtown New York where they visit the famous Katz Deli. After seeing Lynda in her ‘Bitches on Broadway’ show, they get arrested for being mixed up in a #MeToo demonstration outside the theatre. Lynda is now keen for them to return to London. Lynda’s agent arranges for Emma and Lynsey to return to Southampton on a Cunard Liner returning after an onboard literary festival if Lynsey teaches some creative writing courses during the return cruise. He also arranges for Lynsey’s neighbour to use her key safe to extract her passport from her apartment and do the same in Emma’s apartment. This works and the three of them return by taxi to London. Lynsey happily packs up all the clothes she has borrowed to post back to New York, then goes to bed exhausted. She is awoken the next morning by the sound of somebody moving around her apartment, is it all happening again?

The Sweetest Days

Gary is an Afghan war vet whose wounds are invisible.
Crossing Canada, he ends up in Montreal, discovering magic, whispering names of mellifluous city streets to himself. Beautiful but lonely ballerina Felicity harms herself, ending in a psychiatric ward, meeting Gary recovering from a breakdown incurred during a failed job search.
When Gary obtains gainful employment and Felicity’s selected to star in ‘The Nutcracker’, they have one sweet date. Gary's in love with this lovely, sensitive girl who understands him and Felicity discovers this struggling, independent loner may just be her ‘Mr. Perfect’.
Felicity is introduced to Dick, the most sought after bachelor in town, who decides she’s to be his trophy wife. Now, Felicity and Gary's love is doomed and forces him to confront demons from the past to remain in Montreal and experience another sweetest day with her again…

The Waterfall

Matthew Beamish was a 36-year-old writer of romantic stories that were widely read throughout Europe and Scandinavia. After being devastated by the wife he had worshipped and adored divorced him, he had completely lost the will to write anymore, even though his publisher was plaguing him to finish his latest novel which had almost been completed before his wife had found someone more exciting to be with and remarry.

Wrongly, he had blamed himself for his wife’s unhappiness, as the people who bought his best-selling romances wanted to see the man who wrote them in the flesh. So invariably this had meant long times overseas on book signing tours. And Jean, his beautiful wife, loved the parties and good times that being with a famous author brought. She soon got bored being alone and searched and found another rich man who would happily spend his money on her.

So Matt, as he liked to be known, had returned to his favourite spot in Norway. A site of the most stunning splendour. A waterfall that cascaded down the mountain that was situated in between a forest of trees of all descriptions, the colours of which any artist could paint a masterpiece from. It had been here that he had found the inspiration to write his stories.

Now he was hoping to get back the will to write once more. But he could not get the picture of his darling ex-wife from his mind and more and more turned to the bottle to escape from that reality.

On this trip, he was to meet Dawn who was on a computer course in Oslo, and on meeting him for the first time she was instantly smitten, although at the time he had shown no interest in her. Thus started a battle between two very beautiful women to claim this gentle giant of a man, who, unaware of his own power to love a woman more tenderly than any other man could, felt that he needed his Jean back to make his life once more complete. And he would be able to write once more. So he planned to return to England just in case she was not happy with her new husband, and try to win her back.

Then follows a battle of wits between the gentle loving Dawn and the devious grasping ex-wife, Jean, who just wanted to divorce her new husband whose business had failed and get Matt back. Good old steady Matt who once more would give her the life of luxury she wanted and had been used to. Dawn, who was determined to make Matt fall in love with her, had learned what Jean was up to and was determined to follow him back to England and claim Matt for her own.

This Is It

Eddy is in a relationship that is crumbling around him. He starts to wonder if it is him that is the fault. He uses this time to reflect, to claw back and try to save against all odds the possibility that two people, himself and Beth-Annie can unite once more, just like they did at the beginning. During his personal search he delves into his past relationships. Thinks about where they went wrong. If he can use any of those failings to make this a success. He then aims to leave. Aims to try to get back on track by disconnecting. Just when he thinks he can do it, his life changes completely. He then starts a different journey. Different people get involved and he starts to look forwards, never back ever again, alone but not alone…

To Have and to Hold

Studies show that colouring can alleviate stress and feelings of anxiety. Acting as a two-fold stress reliever, this wedding-themed colouring book created by a former event planner combines intricate colouring designs with helpful wedding planning tips and information. There are even brainstorming pages on which you can jot down your pre­planning ideas. Whether you are planning a wedding or just love weddings in general, you will enjoy expressing your creativity throughout this book as you colour and plan your stress away!

Valerie

Valerie is the sequel to the book One Chance published in 2019. A young mother, Valerie had abandoned her infant daughter and left her with her parents. June, her daughter, now a grown woman had struggled with her decision to get in touch with her mother, many years had passed and much water under the bridge. There would be joy and sadness in their meeting, all would not be rosy all of the time and many skeletons would be peeping out of the closet. June had been oblivious to the many times her mother had tried to contact her through the years. Birthday cards, Christmas presents, all returned unopened by her grandmother who’d held a grudge against her only daughter that could be seen in her eyes on the odd occasion her name would be mentioned. She’d felt that void in her life that only a mother can fill, her grandparents had been so good to her and she’d loved them dearly and missed them still. Valerie, a story that will make you laugh and make you cry.

Belonging

A young woman’s best friend is killed in a horrific accident, which impacts her outlook on life. At the same time, other events happen that lead her on an arduous journey to find the peace and happiness she longs for. She finds herself criss-crossing the world and nearly loses the understanding of her family and those around her. Just when she thinks that she has everything falling into place, she has another bad knock and has to draw on inner strengths that she didn’t know she had.

The Bittersweet Voyage of the Golden Ship Hatteras

THE BITTERSWEET VOYAGE OF THE GOLDEN SHIP HATTERAS

By Ira David Wood III

A deeply moving love story

set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

A writer’s loving tribute

to a place, its history, and its people.

“An absolutely beautifully written love story! David Wood writes with the grace of the greats in this compelling novel about life on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Every word and page is to be savored in this historically authentic novel that will make you smile, laugh, sigh, cry, and cheer. The characters are colorful and believable, and perfectly placed in the narrative. This is more than a love story. It’s a rich and lively history lesson from an author who has spent much of his life listening to the people who have lived in this magical place.”

Bill Leslie, composer of ten musical albums and author of the 2008 book Blue Ridge Reunion.

“Love should dance,’ an unforgettable woman says toward the end of this powerful book, David Wood’s timeless love song to the Outer Banks, a book where his words dance. Wood, a wonderful director and actor, once again brings his storytelling art to the novel genre in this fine book. It’s the real thing.”

John Railey, author of the Outer Banks top-sellers The Lost Colony Murder on the Outer Banks: Seeking Justice for Brenda Joyce Holland and Andy Griffith’s Manteo: His Real Mayberry.