MAY PUBLICATIONS

Thank you, Sheila Riley, for compiling another wonderful selection of members books due to be published during May.

TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED

Fiona Harper

The Other Us

Print & e-book

HQ

4th May 2017

If you could turn back time, would you choose a different life? Maggie’s worried her twenty-year marriage to Dan has gone stale. With a college reunion Maggie’s worried her twenty-year marriage to Dan has gone stale. With a college reunion approaching, she can’t help wondering about Jude Hansen, the old flame who asked her to run away with him the same night Dan proposed. When she wakes up one day in her twenty-one-year old body, she has the chance to find out. A glitch in time has given her the opportunity to live her life again. Now she stands on the threshold of two very different possible futures –- but does she only have one chance at happiness? Perfect for fans of One Day, The Versions of Us & Miss You

Carol MacLean

Heart of the Mountain

Paperback

Thorpe  (Linford Romance series)

May 2017

Burnt out emotionally from her job as a nurse, Beth leaves London for the Scottish Highlands and the peace of her aunt's cottage. Here she meets Alex, a man who is determined to live life to the full after the death of his fiancee in a climbing accident.

Despite her wish for a quiet life, Beth is pulled into a friendship with Alex's sister, bubbly Sarah-Jayne and finds herself

increasingly drawn to Alex.

Gwen Kirkwood

Moorend Farm

Large Print

Ulverscroft

April 2016

William and Emma Sinclair have settled at Moorend Farm in Yorkshire.

They have found happiness together with their growing family and believe they have left the shame of their past behind them.

William works hard, determined to improve the run down farm and to provide a secure inheritance for his family, and so prove himself without any help from his embittered mother. When Emma takes Jamie and Meg to Scotland to visit all the family welcome them warmly, except Grandmother Sinclair. She takes the opportunity to sow seeds of doubt and insecurity in Jamie's young mind by telling him he is not a Sinclair. Does she really intend to cause the worry and unhappiness which causes Jamie to run away from home?  

Mary Wood

Tomorrow Brings Sorrow

Paperback & e-book

Pan Macmillan

May 18th 2017

You can’t choose your family

Megan and her husband Jack have finally found stability in their lives.

But the threat of Megan’s troubled son Billy is never far from their minds.

Billy’s release from the local asylum is imminent and it should be a time for celebration. Sadly, Megan and Jack know all too well what Billy is capable of . . .

Can you choose who you love? Sarah and Billy were inseparable as children, before Billy committed a devastating crime. While Billy has been shut away from the world, he has fixated on one thing: Sarah. Sarah knows there’s only one way she can keep her family safe and it means forsaking true love. Sometimes love is dangerous. Twins Theresa and Terrence Crompton are used to getting their own way. But with the threat of war looming, the tides of fortune are turning. Forces are at work to unearth a secret that will shake the very roots of the tight-knit community . . .

Will Sarah have a chance at a future, and what will become of Jack and Megan? One thing’s for sure: revenge will be sweet.

Ellie Holmes

The Spanish Galleon

F.A. Thorpe Publishing

1st May 2017

A centuries’ old mystery waiting to be solved …

Broken-hearted Madison Morley hopes Cornwall will be good for her soul what she isn’t expecting is to be pitched into a centuries’ old mystery: the hunt for the treasure of a Spanish galleon. Accompanying her on her quest is Cornishman Luke Ryder who is as handsome as he is exasperating. Can the couple work together to solve the clues and locate the galleon’s fabled cargo? And will Madison discover something more precious than gold and silver along the way – a new home for her heart?

Elaine Everest

The Butlins Girls

Paperback and e-book

Pan Macmillan

4th May

They escaped their pasts, for the adventure of a lifetime . . .

'Molly Missons gazed around in awe. So this was Butlins. Whitewashed buildings, bordered by rhododendrons, gave a cheerful feeling to a world still recovering from six years of war. The Skegness holiday camp covered a vast area, much larger than Molly expected to see.’

Molly Missons hasn't had the best of times recently. Having lost her parents, now some dubious long-lost family have darkened her door - attempting to steal her home and livelihood...

After a horrendous ordeal, Molly applies for a job as a Butlins Aunty. When she receives news that she has got the job, she immediately leaves her small home town - in search of a new life in Skegness. Molly finds true friendship in Freda, Bunty and Plum. But the biggest shock is discovering that star of the silver screen, Johnny Johnson, is working at Butlins as head of the entertainment team.

Johnny takes an instant liking to Molly and she begins to shed the shackles of her recent traumas. Will Johnny be just the distraction Molly needs - or is he too good be to be true?

Annie Groves

The Mersey Daughter

All Formats

Harper Collins

6 April 2017

Third in the Empire Street Series

Rita Kennedy has finally seen through her good-for-nothing husband, Charlie, who has gone AWOL with his fancy woman and left Rita at the mercy of the local gossips. With her future full of uncertainty, the only thing that keeps her going is knowing that her children are safe from the Luftwaffe - and the letters that she receives from Jack Callaghan, her childhood sweetheart, but a life together is just a distant fantasy.

Meanwhile, Kitty Callaghan has joined the WRENS, and it's opened up a whole new world. But despite finding romance with a handsome doctor, she still can't forget Frank Feeny, the brave officer from Empire Street who still inhabits her dreams. As the bombs rain down on Liverpool, Rita and Kitty must face heartache and sorrow as they pray for the sun to shine on the Mersey once again.

Anna Jacobs

One Quiet Woman

e-book and hardback editions  

Hodder & Stoughton        

4 May 2017

1930, Lancashire:

Leah Turner's father has been killed in an accident at the laundry, and since her mother died years ago it falls to her to become sole provider for her little sister. But women's wages are half those of men and pawning the few belongings she has left will only keep their vicious rent collector at bay for a few weeks, so even if she finds a job, they'll lose their home. Out of the blue Charlie Willcox, the local pawnbroker,

offers her a deal. His brother Jonah, an invalid since being gassed in the Great War, needs a wife. Charlie thinks Leah would be perfect for the job. The idea of a marriage of convenience doesn't please Leah, but she finds Jonah agreeable enough and moving with him to the pretty hamlet of Ellindale may be the only chance of a better life for her sister. But other people have plans for the remote Pennine valley, and the two sisters find themselves facing danger in their new life with Jonah. Can the three of them ever look to a brighter future?

Zara Stoneley

Summer with the Country Village Vet

HarperCollins (HarperImpulse)

Paperback and e-book

26th May 2017

Fall in love with a brand new cosy romance series from bestselling author Zara Stoneley. When Lucy Jacobs is made redundant from her inner-city teaching job she fears her career is over. Teaching is all Lucy knows and she's determined to get back in the classroom as fast as she can. Except the only job on offer is at an idyllic village school in the middle of nowhere – Lucy's idea of hell. Where are the disadvantaged kids who need saving, where is the challenge? But as Lucy finds herself welcomed into the warm-hearted community of Langtry Meadows, she begins to realise new challenges await – like frogs in the classroom, a rather difficult donkey, and a very brooding local vet…

Local boy Charlie Davenport has his own issues about living in the close-knit village of Langtry Meadows. His private life is already fuel for the well-meaning gossips and the very last thing he needs is to get close to the new school teacher… no matter how lovely she is. But as summer days drift away Langtry Meadows weaves its magic, Charlie and Lucy both get the chance to turn over a new leaf and start anew… maybe with each other? A fun, romantic story to make you smile and long for your own country escape.

Samantha Tonge

The New Beginnings Coffee Club

HQDigital, HarperCollins

E-published

Jenny Masters finds herself living the modern dream. Wife to a millionaire, living in a mansion and mother to Kardashian-obsessed ten-year-old April, there isn’t anything missing. Until, her whole world comes crashing down, forcing Jenny and April to leave behind their glittering life and start over with nothing. With village gossip following her wherever she goes, she finds refuge and a job in the new coffee shop in town. As the days pass Jenny fears she doesn’t have what it takes to pick herself back up and give April the life she always wanted to. But with the help of enigmatic new boss Noah, and housemate Elle, Jenny realises it’s never too late to become the woman life really intended you to be!

Liz Eeles

Annie's Lovely Choir By The Sea

Bookouture

e-book and paperback

18th May

Annie Trebarwith has no family to tie her down, and she likes it that way. But, when a letter arrives, unexpectedly inviting her to visit her great-aunt Alice in her family’s ancestral home, curiosity gets the better of her and she travels down to deepest Cornwall to meet the family she’s never known. Salt Bay is beautiful and Tregavara House imposing – but there’s no phone signal and some of the locals, like the gorgeous but brooding Josh, are incredibly grumpy. But Alice’s poor health compels Annie to stay, so to keep herself busy she relaunches the Salt Bay Choral Society.

Annie is surprised to see how much the choir means to the community, and she even starts to break through Josh’s surly exterior. As she begins to put down roots in Salt Bay, Annie soon realises that there’s a lot to be said for finding the place where you belong after all.

Jan Ellis

French Kisses and A London Affair

Paperback

Waverley Books

4 May 2017

French Kisses: When Rachel Thompson moved to France in her early twenties, little did she suspect she would stay, become a successful artist and marry Michael. Life is peachy until Michael hits 40, discovers his inner love-rat and runs off with the kids’ young, skinny, dance teacher. Determined to rebuild her life, Rachel recruits friends and neighbours to help transform the family home into a cosy guesthouse that soon attracts an eclectic collection of visitors – and two quite different admirers.

A London Affair:

Kate leaves the countryside for a job in a posh London deli where she finds herself at the centre of a delicatessen dating adventure. Along with the job come new flat-mates, including the fun, exasperating Imogen and her long-suffering boyfriend, Freddy.

Kate thinks she’s doomed to early spinsterhood, but Immy has other ideas and sends her friend out into dating land with unexpected consequences for them all. This is a fun romance that takes the reader from the King’s Road to Cornwall, with an eclectic bunch of characters including an old hippy, a Russian property magnate and an ex-boyfriend who doesn’t know when to give up.

E-BOOKS/ Independently Published

Lesley Field

Dangerous Deception.

Print

Self published on Amazon

May 2017

Second book in the Duchess in Danger series.

Lady Caroline (Callie) Sutton has known Nathan, heir to the Dukedom of Craven almost all of her life. His family’s estate borders that of her family and he is her brother, James’s, best friend. Her childhood has been idyllic brought up away from the regulations and trials of society. As she grows from child to maiden, the feelings between herself and Nathan change. A touch, a smile and a kiss promise future happiness. When he leaves to tour the Americas with James, there is an unspoken agreement between them. But events destroy her idyllic life and snatch her away from that she had expected, and push her into a life she does not want. Unable to fight the forces now controlling her she vows to seek one more moment of the life she was destined to have, before bowing/acceding to the life she must now live. But into that life she takes a secret so dire that if it were discovered her very life could be at risk.

Will she be able to maintain her deception?  Will she be able to re-capture the happiness she once knew, or is she doomed to the fate that was thrust upon her…?

Ros Rendle

Peace of Time

E-book and paperback

Endeavour Press

3rd April 2017

Jen and Mike Lucas are happily married, or so Jen thinks. Recently Mike has been short tempered and cranky, but Jen puts it all down to his stressful job at a finance company.Jen, on the other hand, loves her job as a teacher. She also makes more money than Mike, which he mentions at any given opportunity. As they drift further apart, Jen tries everything she can think of to save their marriage but all Mike wants to do is spend more and more time at the gym.When one of Jen’s students, young Charlie Mayhew, suffers a terrible fall from his bike, Jen lends a helping hand to his father, Christopher, a single parent who lost Charlie’s mother to cancer. Jen does her best to ignore the gossip that Mike was seen getting friendly with a red head at the gym, but a few days later, Jen discovers something that turns her world upside down.

After Mike moves out, Jen realises that she’s reached a crossroads in her life. Does she give Mike a second chance? Or does she take Christopher up on his offer of a date? As the summer draws to a close, Jen has some life changing decisions to make and what she decides will shock everyone, but most of all herself…

Elizabeth Bailey

Knight for a Lady.

E-book

Self-published

May 20th

Brides by Chance Book Three, Regency Romance.

Beset by the menace of her Nemesis, Edith Westacott has no choice but to accept the knight errantry of the new earl.

Once a soldier, Niall Lowrie is more than competent to slay the terrible dragon.

Jane Lark

The Tainted Love of a Captain

E-book

12th May 2017

The last episode in the Marlow Intrigues series:

When a woman is already drowning so deeply in sin she is without any fear of judgement

Louise Allen

An Earl Out of Time: Time Into Time series, Book One

E-book. Independently published.

May 1 2017

The first of a new series of time-slip mystery romances.

Freelance translator Cassie Lawrence volunteers as a Special Constable in her spare time – but an interest in police work hasn’t prepared her for the consequences of an impulse buy in an antiques shop. The portrait of a Regency gentleman sends her spinning back through time to land at the feet of the Earl of Radcliffe – who just happens to be fighting for his life in a London alleyway. If Cassie finds life in 1806 confusing, that is nothing to how Lucian feels, confronted by a 21st century woman

who challenges everything his honourable upbringing has taught him about how a lady behaves. And then there’s the mystery he is embroiled in – if someone doesn’t find the missing Arabella Trenton safe and sound soon his best friend, and prime suspect, is in danger of arrest.Can they find the missing woman before it is too late?

And how can Cassie ever get home? Or does she really want to when she is stranded out of time with a man she is fast falling for?

Vonnie Hughes

Dangerous Homecoming

Originally in hardback from Robert Hale Ltd, now in paperback and e-book

Independently published

Available Now

Both of them are scarred by war; she because of the shattered men she nurses; he

because of the loss of friends and the horrors he must endure daily. Colwyn Hetherington has a chance to put it all behind him and return to England. Juliana Colebrook desperately wants to go to England to seek out her relatives. They

take an almighty chance and travel together, setting in train a series of events that neither could have anticipated. With only their love to sustain them, they clash head-on with the reality of England, 1813.

Janet Gover

Wedding Bells By The Creek

E-book

Independently published

May 2nd 2017

How do you forgive what you can never forget?

Helen Walsh has never stopped searching for the daughter who ran away from home when she was just fifteen. Now, her daughter has found her. Face to face with the woman her child has become, Helen longs to be forgiven for her mistakes. Ed Collins has walked Helen’s path, and he knows that she needs more than her daughter’s forgiveness. He would help her if he could. Ed’s wife Stephanie returns – thirteen years after she deserted Ed and their young son. Now Ed is being asked to forgive. Steph was his first and only love… but are some things impossible to forgive?

In the tiny outback town of Coorah Creek, secrets are hard to keep. What will happen when Ed learns the truth about his wife? And as Helen plans her daughter’s wedding, dare she dream of her own?

Jessica Redland

Bear With Me

Indie

Little Bear Books

1st May 2017

Sometimes love finds us when we least expect it. But sometimes love leaves us, just as unexpectedly. Everything changes for Jemma on the weekend of her 28th birthday. An unexpected proposal from boyfriend, Scott, is overshadowed by her mum’s diagnosis with a life-changing condition. After the weekend, she needs Scott’s support more than ever. So why isn’t he returning her calls?

Everything was meant to be changing for Sam that same weekend. He should have been walking down the aisle with Nikki. But she’s not around anymore and Sam’s struggling to face the future. Did he do the right thing by moving to London to escape

the memories of their life together? When they've loved and lost, can they bear to let love in again? Bear With Me, and all will be revealed …