Amidst the chaos of war, this spitfire girl will soar.As Europe edges closer to war, Bella’s world is focused on avoiding a future like her mother’s. She doesn’t want to go to secretarial school to become another proper young lady; standing by prettily waiting to be chosen as a wife by her employer or another suitable man.Bella wants more than that life can give. And like many women, her first opportunity for a different future comes when war is declared an...

Summer, 1916Despite the misery of war in the air, some things in the small hamlet of Strawbridge remain unchanged. The strawberry harvest is nearly ready and friends Leah, Alice and Dora still have each other.Before the war, the three women had found a tentative happiness but now war has torn their lives apart. Each woman must learn to live with their new life at war, dealing with the absence of th...

A wartime family saga, perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Val WoodShaftesbury, 1936.Mansfield House Hotel has been a refuge for Emily ever since she was orphaned at the age of 16. Not only did they give her employment as a chambermaid, but it’s also where she met her fiancé Tom.When theatre agent Roland stays at the hotel and hears Emily singing, he is determined to take her away...

‘A compelling saga that will hold you fast from the first page to the last. Loved it’ VAL WOOD, author of The Lonely WifePerfect for fans of Dilly Court and Gracie Hart, The Dressmaker’s Secret is a moving and heartfelt family saga from the talented author of The Shop Girl’s Soldier.Dorset, 1876. When young Beatrice Cullen shows up in the local church with her illegitimate child in her arms, Rever...

The strawberry harvest is finally ready. The delicious fruit make up the main source of income for the small hamlet of Strawbridge. Good friends Leah, Alice and Dora are ready to spend their summer months working in Isaac Whitworth’s farm.But when Leah takes a fancy to young farm hand Harry and Alice catches the eye of the curate’s son the two girls find themselves falling fast. This leaves Dora on the outside, struggling with the ...

Between the earth and the sky, between the past and the present, between the musical notes and the silence exist universes. Millions of them. The eighth volume of Fiction River presents fourteen universes, all different, all powerful. From a planetary survey ship moored in an alien ocean to a comic book convention near a strange Louisiana town, each of these universes go somewhere familiar and strange at the same time. Come visit the universe of Fiction River, which Amazing Stories called ...

Despite recent advances in gender equality in education, the workplace and the home, in practice many women and girls still find it a challenge to speak up and be heard. Assertiveness – defined by psychologist and assertiveness trainer Anne Dickson as clear, honest and direct communication – is an art that can be learned. Instead of being governed by the desire to please – the Compassion Trap – assertiveness teaches us to manage our feelings without blaming others. In her pioneering audiob...