Alexandra lives for her successful business. She knows what she wants in life and, more importantly, what she doesn't want. Four-legged best friend Max is the only man she is willing to commit to.On a winter morning, she stops to help at the scene of a car accident, and her well-laid plans take a collision course with a man who will challenge her limits.Truck driver Mike is straight-laced and down to earth with strong family values--everything Alex isn't. After his brush wi...

Gillian thought she would never see Jackson Cooper again, yet here he is, larger than life, back to claim what he thinks is his. But Gillian has a few surprises for him, including the fact that she's not just going to fall back into his arms as though he had never left.They were teenagers when Jackson abandoned her. Now Gillian has a successful business, children, and a life she worked hard for. She doesn't need extra complications in her life.Can she finally douse the flame ...

Travelling to Blenheim, Kathryn is apprehensive about the family drama that will surround her sister Megan's wedding. It is no secret that Kathryn moved to Christchurch five years ago to escape a failed marriage and everything her life had become up to that point, so a family gathering means facing some of those demons.Distraction arrives in the form of hitchhiker Gabe, who is both charming and cocky in equal measures. When car trouble leaves her stranded in Kaikoura, the two are t...

Kirsten is a long way from home when she takes a job in the idyllic Kenepuru Sound, caring for seven year old Sarah. Despite having lost her mother when she was a baby, she is a bright and bubbly child and Kirsten warms to her almost instantly, but rich and sophisticated grandmother Beth has ideas for her upbringing that Kirsten doesn't agree with. Being a fiery redhead, Kirsten has always had trouble keeping her opinions to herself, and now is no different.Kirsten is also faced wi...

**Previously published under pen name Helen McNicol**Meet Jess and Stephanie. Two very different women, both fiercely independent, but one whose history with men is cluttered with catastrophe, while the other seems to cruise through life without a care in the world, moving from one relationship to the next.When Irish band Punch Drunk comes to town, Stephanie finds herself in the middle of a fiery fling with the overly charming bass player, James. Soon after, Jess is pursued...

After her daughter leaves home for university, Cassie finds the courage to run away from her abusive husband. Now in a strange city, alone, she wonders if she made the right choice. She's never been independent before.But a new day brings a new attitude, and Cassie decides to explore. Years ago she was a skilful painter, but being in a controlling marriage killed her creativity. Now, submerged in the surroundings of the garden city, she has the urge to paint once again. Seeking out...

Briley has had a rough couple of years. Her marriage is falling apart—has been since she discovered her husband Mark was unfaithful, more than once over the duration of their relationship. If it wasn't for daughter Samantha, she would be long gone.But tonight she plans to pull it all together for her best friend Juliana, who is celebrating her 30th birthday. Briley has done everything in her power to make the night special. She has her brave face on and she's ready to party.

Sent back to a repopulated earth for her fertility, Adrienne is far away from everything she knows. Trying to build a life for herself and the small community of people around her, she has big dreams for a future without Trapper, the man who bid the highest for her hand.When she is abducted by a man hellbent on revenge against Trapper, Adrienne is terrified. Jacob Donnelly Princeton has a reputation as a tyrant, but Adrienne soon learns that the man they call Jaydee could do more f...

Although secretly impressed by their new home, Crystal is still mad her father uprooted her from the city, leaving behind friends and precious memories of her mother.She finds solace in new neighbours, but when bad dreams continue to plague her nights, Crystal learns that the family who sold them the house left somebody behind.Why does Daniel's spirit linger? Can Crystal help him find peace enough to move on?Approximately 14,000 words.