Liz Eeles: A Summer Escape and Strawberry Cake at The Cosy Kettle

Romantic comedy
Bookouture
Ebook and paperback
July 1st

When Flora finds out about her husband’s secret fling, she escapes to the one place she feels safe: her beloved café, The Cosy Kettle, in the charming village of Honeyford. Serving up cream teas to her café regulars is the perfect way to soothe her broken heart, and although she’s never lived in the area, the little community welcome her with open arms.
She’s soon lodging with local eccentric Luna in her remote and beautiful Starlight Cottage, snuggled between rolling green hills. Luna’s handsome son Daniel lost his wife several years ago, and as Flora gets to know him, sharing walks through the blossom-scented woods, they both slowly begin to heal… and she realises that behind Daniel’s quiet exterior, there’s a passionate nature that makes her forget all about her ex-husband. As she settles into her new life, hosting a baking competition for the village’s summer celebration seems like a great idea… but with Daniel’s mysterious silences leading Flora to believe he’s hiding secrets, she can’t help but wonder if she can really trust him. And when the race to bake the perfect Victoria sponge stirs up old rivalries between locals, Flora starts to feel like she’s bitten off more than she can chew. After her new start, will Flora ever truly belong in Honeyford? And, this summer, can she risk opening up her heart again?

AnneMarie Brear: Millie
Historical saga
Format ebook & paperback
Publisher AnneMarie Brear
1st July 2019

The Great War is over, and Millie is ready to leave her loving family home and be a wife to Jeremy, but will the events of the past destroy everything she wished for?

Rhoda Baxter: Girl On The Run
Romantic Comedy
Linford Romance
Large Print Paperback
01 July 2019

A job in a patent law firm is a far cry from the glamorous existence of a pop star’s girlfriend. But it’s just what Jane Porter needs to distance herself from her cheating ex and the ensuing press furore. In a new city with a new look, Jane sets about rebuilding her confidence – something that she intends to do alone.
That is until she meets patent lawyer Marshall Winfield. But with the paparazzi still hot on Jane’s heels, and an office trouble maker hell-bent on making things difficult, can they find happiness together?

AnneMarie Brear: Nicola’s Virtue

Historical Saga
audio and large print
Ulverscroft (Aurora Imprint)
1st July 2019

She crossed the world to start again, only it was harder than she expected.

Sharon Booth: Fresh Starts at Folly Farm
Romance
Paperback
Ulverscroft Linford Romance Library
01.07.19

Rachel and her son Sam have moved back to the farm where she grew up – now a shadow of its former self, all livestock gone. Then a horse appears in the stables overnight! The culprit is Xander, an actor seeking an anonymous holiday in Bramblewick, who has rescued the horse from his cruel owner. Soon word gets around that Folly Farm is taking in old and unwanted animals, and the menagerie grows – as does the mutual attraction between Rachel and Xander …

Jane Lovering & Rhoda Baxter: How to Write Romantic Comedy

E-book, paperback
Juxtaposition Press
01 July 2019

Do you want to write Romantic Comedy, but struggle with the comedy element of it?
Award-winning authors Jane Lovering and Rhoda Baxter have over twenty books between them (where they make a great defensive wall) and extensive experience of cramming laughter into literature. They will show you how to put comedy into your romances, and make you laugh while they do so.
This book will teach you:
The different types of comedy. The anatomy of a joke. How to make things funnier. Different uses for comedy in a novel. A simple trick to translate timing onto the page. Specificity explained through the medium of biscuits. If you’re looking for an easy, accessible How-To guide to writing romantic comedy* then this is the book for you. *Contains confectionery. Bring tea.’

Leah Fleming: IN THE HEART OF THE GARDEN.

Historical Saga
Head of Zeus.
4th July 2019.

The story of one garden over a thousand years and the women who tended it from Saxon times, Crusades, Civil war and beyond. Seen through the eyes of Iris Bagshott who can’t decide whether to sell her plot of land which has held secrets for each generation

Lesley Eames: The Brighton Guest House Girls
Aria Fiction/ Head of Zeus
4 July 2019
Ebook, paperback, POD

Thea’s loathsome stepbrother is trying to trick her out of her inheritance of her parents’ house in Brighton by means of a Will which Thea believes to be forged. He gives her three months in which to leave. Afterwards, she will face destitution. Pregnant and grieving for a fiancé lost at sea, Anna has nowhere to go after being rejected by her violent father and her fiancé’s upper-class relatives. Daisy is running from a man she doesn’t want to marry. Together the girls set up Thea’s home as a guest house and embark on a mission to outwit her stepbrother by proving his fraud. In a race against time, nothing will turn out to be quite as it seems.

Jenni Keer: The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows
Commercial Women’s fiction (humour with heart)
Ebook 8th July (Paperback 19th Sept)
Avon Harpercollins

When Maisie Meadows finds herself single and jobless on New Year’s Day, she resolves that this will be the year she focuses on bringing her scattered family back together. Romance is all very well, but it’s the people you grew up with that matter the most.
But a new job working at an auction house puts her in the path of Theo, a gorgeous but unattainable man who she can’t help but be distracted by. As their bond begins to grow, Maisie finds herself struggling to fulfil the promise she made to herself – but the universe has other ideas, and it’s not long before the Meadows family are thrown back together in the most unlikely of circumstances…
Can dealing with other people’s treasures help Maisie to let go of the past, and teach her who she ought to treasure the most?

Victoria Cornwall: The Daughter of River Valley
Historical Romance
Choc Lit
Paperback
9th July 2019

Cornwall, 1861
Beth Jago appears to have the idyllic life, she has a trade to earn a living and a cottage of her own in Cornwall’s beautiful River Valley. Yet appearances can be deceptive …
Beth has a secret. Since inheriting her isolated cottage she’s been receiving threats, so when she finds a man in her home she acts on her instincts. One frying pan to the head and she has robbed the handsome stranger of his memory and almost killed him. Fearful he may die, she reluctantly nurses the intruder back to health. Yet can she trust the man with no name who has entered her life, or is he as dangerous as his nightmares suggest? As they learn to trust one another, the outside threats worsen. Are they linked to the man with no past? Or is the real danger still outside waiting … and watching them both?

Gill Stewart: Lily’s Just Fine

Young Adult

Paperback
Sweet Cherry Publishing
11th July 2019

Sail away this summer with Scotland’s most determined teenager. Lily couldn’t have planned life better herself. She lives in the best house in town and she’s dating the most popular boy. Everything else she can fix. Mum’s apathy? On it! The stuffy gala committee? Watch this space! Tom has enough on his plate without trying to drag Newton St Cuthbert into the 21st Century. His sister is sick and there’s nothing anyone can do. Not doctors, not his parents, and certainly not Lily Hildebrand.’

Sue Fortin: THE DEAD WIFE
Romantic Suspense
E-book Paperback
Harper Collins
12th JULY

SINCLAIR WIFE DEAD! HUSBAND CLEARED!
Police have ruled out suspicious circumstances in the investigation into the death of Elizabeth Sinclair, wife of charismatic entrepreneur Harry Sinclair, found drowned in the lake of the family’s holiday park.
It’s been two years since the Sinclair case closed but when reporter Steph Durham receives a tipoff that could give her the scoop of the year, she’s drawn deeper and deeper into the secretive Sinclair family.
Elizabeth’s death wasn’t a tragic accident. And the truth will come at a deadly price…

Kitty Wilson: The Cornish Village School – Second Chances
Romantic comedy
Paperback
Canelo Escape
15/07/2019

Ex-ballerina and single mum Sylvie is in trouble. Juggling her ballet classes in the nearest town, preparing shy Sam for his first day at Penmenna Village school and trying to finally move out from the farm she shares with her cantankerous Uncle Tom means life is anything but easy.
Television Journalist Alex is facing challenges of his own. Seeking a calmer environment for his newly adopted daughter, Ellie, he’s swapped reporting in war zones for the school PTA in quiet Penmenna, where his best friend Chase has persuaded him to start laying some roots.
Fireworks ignite when Sylvie and Alex meet but as Ellie and Sam become instant best friends, will they be able to keep things strictly platonic for the sake of the children?

Charlie Cochrane: Love in Every Season
Gay romance
E-book
The Right Chair Press*
22nd July 2019

Four seasons, four stories, one connection – finding love.
Two men who hate Valentine’s Day discover they might have been wrong.
A Paralympic swimmer gets an unusual incentive to win gold.
Love and lust flourish under desert skies, but nature’s cruel.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night gets a new twist.

Marie Laval: A Paris Fairy Tale
Romantic Suspense
e-book
Choc Lit
23rd July 2019

Is Paris the city of happily ever after?
Workaholic art historian Aurora Black doesn’t have time for fairy tales or Prince Charmings, even in the most romantic city in the world. She has recently been hired by a Parisian auction house for a job that could make or break her career. Unfortunately, daredevil journalist Cédric Castel seems intent on disrupting Aurora’s routine.
As Aurora and Cédric embark on a journey across France, they get more than they bargained for and they find themselves battling rogue antique dealers and personal demons, not to mention a growing attraction to each other. But with the help of a fairy godmother or two, could they both find their happily ever after?

Rosie Hendry: Victory for the East End Angels
Saga
Little, Brown, Sphere
Paperback and ebook
25th July 2019

The war is almost over – and it’s up to the East End Angels to keep the home fires burning! Frankie’s fiancé, a doctor, is away looking after the troops in Europe – will he return home safely? Winne has a happy secret – but can she carry on at Station 75 when she’s going to have a baby?
Bella is intrigued by her new friend, a Polish airman.

As the war ends and victory is in sight, what next for the girls of Station 75?

Annie Burrows: A Marquess, A Miss, and a Mystery
Romance
Mills & Boon
ebook and paperback
July 25th

A staged seduction… to solve a murder mystery!

After one disastrous season, Miss Horatia Carmichael avoids the ton—her mind and her tongue are too unfashionably opinionated for her to land a husband! But to find her brother’s killer she must join forces with incorrigible rake Lord Devizes and allow the Marquess to pretend to seduce her for all to see! Horatia knows it’s not real—she’s a plain spinster after all—but as the danger grows so does their desire…

Sheryl Browne: The Marriage Trap
Psychological Thriller
e-book and print
Bookouture
30th July 2019

My husband has been keeping secrets for a long time. He thinks I don’t know what he does outside of this house. But I know everything…
You may think you know what Karla will do next. But you’ll be wrong. Because Karla isn’t who you think she is. Only she knows what’s about to happen. And you will never see it coming.
An absolutely gripping psychological thriller for readers who loved The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Other Woman. With twists you’ll never see coming, you will not be able to put this one down!

Jan Jones: A Rational Proposal
Regency Romance
Linford Romance Library
Large Print
June 2018

When spirited Verity Bowman is left a sizeable legacy by her uncle on condition that she “spends six months in a wholly rational manner”, neither she nor her long-suffering attorney Charles Congreve has any idea where it will lead them. They certainly don’t expect cads, card-sharps, lost sisters and a possible lead into the criminal underworld. Set in Newmarket and London, ‘A Rational Proposal’ is the fifth Newmarket Regency and the first in the Furze House Irregulars series featuring women of spirit, women of courage, women who don’t see why, in this male-dominated Regency era, they should not also play their part in bringing wrong-doers to justice. ‘A Rational Proposal’ was shortlisted for a RoNA in 2018.

Gilli Allan: BURIED TREASURE
Women’s Contemporary Romantic Fiction
Indie
June 14

BURIED TREASURE Is not always what it seems
Their backgrounds could hardly be further apart, their expectations in life more different. And there is nothing in the first meeting between the conference planner and the university lecturer which suggests they should expect or even want to connect again. But they have more in common than they could ever have imagined. Both have unresolved issues from the past which have marked them; both have an archaeological puzzle they want to solve. Their stories intertwine and they discover together that treasure isn’t always what it seems.

Margaret Mounsdon: The Jade Turtle

Modern Romance/Mystery
Amazon ebook http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8JR3JB
23 June 2019

Alice Fairfax decided it wasn’t worth having her life threatened for a missing Oriental artefact so she sought the help of Mike Preston the brother of Jack Preston, the man who deserted her to marry an heiress and the root cause of all her trouble.

Clare Chase: Murder in the Fens
Mystery fiction
Bookouture

Ebook and paperback (POD)
24th June 2019

When the body of Julie Cooper is found – her pockets stuffed with
wilting flowers – in an iron-age hill fort close to the fens,
Detective Tara Thorpe’s team is sent to investigate. The evidence points to an illicit affair gone wrong… but is there more to the story? As always, the case turns personal. Detective Blake is exhausted after
the arrival of a baby with wayward wife Babette and Tara is keen to
put as much distance between herself and Blake as possible. Charming
rookie officer Jez should help… but is he a little too good to be
true? Then Tara makes a startling discovery: an unsettling family heirloom hidden in the late victim’s bedroom – a golden statue of a sinister-looking cat. As she traces its origins, Tara begins to realise that Julie’s murder was no one-off crime, but a plot with roots in a terrible secret covered up decades earlier.

Louise Allen: Driving Through Georgian Britain
Historical non-fiction
Independent
Paperback
22 June 2019

The great coaching routes for the modern traveller.
Discover the classic coaching routes of Britain – The Great North Road, the Bath Road, the Dover Road and the Brighton Road
Despite motorways and by-passes, the old routes can still be found and this book will take you on a time-travelling journey of discovery. As you follow the directions for driving the old roads today you will discover historic inns, fascinating towns and picturesque villages. Where were the dangerous locations for highwaymen? Where might you find yourself snowed in or perched on the seat to avoid the flood waters? What were the lurid tales the coach drivers would tell? Where would the Prince Regent attend prize fights, Byron visit his publisher or a Transylvanian prince be in danger of his life? A resource for anyone writing about the period and a travel guide for those who simply prefer a more pleasant way of getting from A to B.

SARAH MALLORY: THE HIGHBORN HOUSEKEEPER

Historical Romance
Mills & Boon
Paperback and e-book
27th June 2019

A snowy night, an injured man and a cook who isn’t all she seems… intrigue and romance in Regency England.

Merryn Allingham: The Venice Atonement
Cozy Crime
ebook/paperback
Canelo
27 June 2019

A tragic accident at the opera – or the murder of someone keeping dangerous secrets?
While watching the opera at La Fenice, Nancy Tremayne is shocked to see a woman fall to her death. But how did this tragedy occur?
Newlywed Nancy is accompanying her art professor husband, Leo, on a work trip. As she explores one of Italy’s most beautiful cities, she finds herself compelled to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding the woman’s death. Leo is adamant it was an accident but his assistant, Archie, reluctantly helps Nancy despite his seeming coldness to her. Nancy’s determination to reveal the facts puts her in harm’s way more than once. As she learns more about Venice’s secrets she realises she may be forced to make a choice – the truth, or her life?

Janice Preston: Daring to Love the Duke’s Heir
Historical Romance
Mills & Boon
Paperback and ebook
27 June 2019

She’s totally unsuitable… to be his duchess!
Part of The Beauchamp Heirs: Dominic Beauchamp, Lord Avon, is a powerful duke’s heir and it’s his duty to marry well. His bride must have impeccable breeding, manners and grace. But can anyone meet his exacting standards? Certainly not the irrepressible Liberty Lovejoy, who’s been thrust into society after years of being a provincial nobody. She’s too bold, too bubbly…so why is she the only lady he’s thinking about?

New Publications: Brought to you every month by Sheila Riley.

Her next Liverpool saga: The Orphan Daughter will be published by Boldwood on 5th September. ‘In the heart of a close-knit community lurks a dark soul.’

Sheila is represented by Felicity Trew at the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency.