She is addicted to the feeling of being on stage, looking out at expectant, up-turned mouths, waiting for the first laugh to hit. A first laugh that will not happen unless she creates it. But Brenda is clueless. The on-off girlfriend of a prolific comedian, it is only after she realises his best stage material consists of recycled versions of her own restless, smart-arsed energy that she begins to wonder whether she might be better off keeping her jokes for herself - and so she finds herself making her very first walk to the mark on stage in front of a bare brick wall, with just a spotlight and a PA system for cover, wondering what we all wonder from time to time: am I funny? A book as much about the thrill of performance as it is about what goes on when the microphone is switched off, Brenda Monk is Funny is a blackly humourous and devastatingly candid snapshot of the reality, the brutality and fragility of the comedy industry from an exciting new voice in fiction.

    

     Do you love books that touch your heart? Then you will love this intriguing love story collection with enough twists to keep you turning the pages. These stories of hope, fear, romance, suspense and true love will warm your heart and your soul. If you enjoy heartwarming Western romance with a focus on action, suspense and plot twists, be sure to check out other books by Morris Fenris. Scroll up to the top of this page and hit the orange ‘Buy now with 1-Click’ button to grab this Box Set!

    They can spend all day on the beach, or not. Cruise the dusty beach roads, or never leave their deck overlooking Long Island Sound. Fill their itinerary with excursions on the Connecticut shore, or while away the hours in a shingled cottage. Every decision this week is theirs to make.Until it's not. Until life as they know it changes -- and suddenly the Martinellis have to face only each other. Face each other in The Beach Cottage and see what they have, or don't have, between them.

    As the daughter of an alcoholic mother, and niece of an abusive uncle, she dreams that one day she and her baby sister will escape their rotten surroundings.Alice’s father, Jack Keiver, works day and night to provide for his family. But his hopes for a better life are dashed each time he returns home to find the money-jar raided and his feisty wife Tilly collapsed drunk in the corner.In the room below, Alice's downtrodden Aunt Fran spends most of her days nursing the injuries inflicted on her by her cruel husband Jimmy – but this time he's pushed the family too far and they're not going to let him get away with it.Revenge is going to be sweet.

    She had forfeited university, parties, boyfriends, summer jobs - all the usual preoccupations of a woman her age - in order to care for Arlette in their dilapidated, albeit charming home on the English island of Guernsey. Her will included a beneficiary unknown to Betty and her family, a woman named Clara Pickle who presumably could be found at a London address. Now, having landed on a rather shabby street corner in '90s Soho, Betty is determined to find the mysterious Clara. She's ready for whatever life has to throw her way. Or so she thinks . . . In 1920s bohemian London, Arlette De La Mare is starting her new life in a time of postwar change. Beautiful and charismatic, she is soon drawn into the hedonistic world of the Bright Young People. But two years after her arrival in London, tragedy strikes and she flees back to her childhood home and remains there for the rest of her life. As Betty navigates the ups and downs of city life and begins working as a nanny for a rock star tabloid magnet, her search for Clara leads her to a man - a stranger to Betty, but someone who meant the world to her grandmother. Will the secrets of Arlette's past help Betty find her own way to happiness in the present? A rich detective story and a captivating look at London then and now, "Before I Met You" is an unforgettable novel about two very different women, separated by seventy years, but united by big hearts and even bigger dreams.

    But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be?At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been the one taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again.But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant and hopeful portrait about womanhood, love, and the challenges of family life.

    See why readers rave about the writing, the plot twists, and the characters. NELL LILLINGTON is a spoiled, headstrong 16-year-old when she finds herself pregnant after letting a flirtation with handsome Cousin Jack get out of hand. More willing to bear the consequences of an illegitimate pregnancy than marry, she refuses to name the father and agrees to give birth in a Poor Farm and give the baby up for adoption. At the Poor Farm she meets Tess O’Dugan, a woman the world calls an imbecile but who soon becomes the sister Nell never had. MARTIN RUTHERFORD, Nell’s childhood friend, only learns of baby Sarah when Nell seeks to escape from the Poor Farm—with the child. His own aversion to marriage stems from his dark, unhappy childhood, and despite his attachment to Nell he makes no objection to her plan to move to Kansas, away from prying eyes, with Tess and Sarah. Martin, now free of family ties, has his own plans—he wishes to build a grand department store in Chicago and become one of that growing city’s merchant princes. But Nell and Martin’s plans are steered off course by the secrets and lies of other people, and their paths to happiness are strewn with murder. Nell’s story will take you from the Illinois prairie, to frontier Kansas, and back to a Chicago teeming with opportunistic new Americans and ruthless hardmen.

     After the untimely death of her husband, Esther Wilmington must choose between pauper's life as a poor widow in Philadelphia or a marriage of convenience to her late husband's son. However, she is presented with a third option she couldn't have imagined: moving west as a mail order bride. Elias Jones likes the idea of a wife but quickly discovers how complicated it is to share his home, his bed, and his life with someone. Perhaps he was hasty in marrying. But he soon realizes he cannot imagine a life without his new bride.

    She moves to a lovely Scottish seaside town and opens up a vintage tea shop and bakery selling cakes, bread, scones and tea.It's Christmas time, and although Erith wants a quiet life, baking during the day and sewing her quilts in the evenings in her house above the shop, the local shopkeepers soon involve her in their festive plans.Stuart, who owns the shop that sells everything, flirts with her. Handsome interior designer, Muir, takes an interest in her, but is she interested in him? And what about Zack, the gorgeous bad boy?In this Christmassy romance, Erith bakes everything from chocolate bread to traditional Victoria sponge cakes. She blends her special selection of teas. She becomes friends with the local sewing bee women, Doreen, Millie and Belle. She also realises that when it comes to love, she has to trust her instincts rather than listen to local gossip.Set in a Scottish seaside town in a snowy December, there's baking, sewing, snogging and sexy men in this light-hearted romance novella. It's 22,000 words of Christmas cheer.Amid the chaos of Christmas, will Erith find time for love? Will there be a festive proposal? Who will be Santa and switch on the town's Christmas tree lights? In the busy little town there's only one thing for sure - no one wants to dress up as the reindeer's bum.

    While still in mourning, her unscrupulous father resurfaces after many years’ absence and finds a way to undermine her mother’s will. Without regard for Noel’s welfare, he claims everything is rightly his, and the family lawyer can’t produce documents to prove otherwise. By invitation from her best friend, Noel makes a hard choice to leave her childhood hometown in upstate New York and journey to the friend’s house in Pensacola, Florida. Together they will try to devise a plan for Noel’s future. Fate steps in when a blinding rainstorm causes her to miss a turn, leading her to an unlikely place, and an uncertain destiny. Brought low by circumstances and struggling to make ends meet, she takes shelter in the least desirable location and accepts a graveyard-shift job. The last thing Noel is looking for is romance, but a chance meeting with a handsome, young lawyer named Liam Grant makes her reconsider. Could she accept his dinner invitations and make it through the Christmas holiday without revealing her destitute condition?

    It's 1940 and the threat of invasion hangs over Britain. But in the isolated hamlet of Nun Ainsty it is the arrival of the Army that turns things turned upside down – especially for two young women.Lorna Hatherwood, married to a man ten years older, lives a quiet life. Then she volunteers to read to blind soldiers at the nearby Manor and everything changes – because of a handsome medical officer named Ewan MacMillan. But their relationship could spell disaster…Then there is Ness Nightingale. A Land Girl billeted with Lorna, Ness is trying to forget a disastrous love affair. But when she meets Mick Hardie, a conscientious objector, she has to remind herself that she has vowed never to trust a man again …

    Against her better judgement she offers him breakfast, only to rue the day as she finds herself caught up in the resulting drama of his life. Florence's young and beautiful daughter, Amadea, is immediately suspicious of Edmund, as he appears to be called, fearing that he might be a fraud.Against everyone's advice, Florence enlists friends and neighbours to help restore Edmund's now wandering mind and discover who he might be. As the mystery unfolds, it becomes apparent that Edmund's history is entwined with that of nearby Harlington Hall, but that his real identity is something quite other.Florence and Amadea become united in their quest, an adventure that takes them into many pasts, not least that of the young man whom they are now dedicated to help. In doing so they are finally able to put the tragedies of the past behind them, repair their once disjointed lives, and embrace a new and happy future.

    But she is the only one who can salvage his soul. Fiona Malloch feels completely lost. Only weeks after her forced marriage, the husband she hated dies of old age, and before she can feel relief, another man tries to prey on her! Fiona decides to risk everything and run away, seeking refuge in the nearby Ormond Castle, home of the infamous Laird Bhaltair Douglas.The young Laird has never been the same after the tragic loss of his brother in a fire. The scars on his body remind him daily of the tragedy and his failure to save his own blood. A failure that has alienated him from his family and spread rumors that the once-powerful clan is now weak.When the young lass arrives and asks for shelter, Bhaltair knows that helping her will mean war with the enemy clan she escaped from. They have been waiting for an opportunity, and Fiona has given them the perfect one.Her untamed character brings them into collision, but in an unexpected turn of events, Bhaltair decides to protect her. While staying in Douglas lands, Fiona seems to be the only one who is not afraid to defy the Laird and finds a way to penetrate his soul’s defenses. Bhaltair’s heart begins to heal, and he rediscovers emotions he thought he would never feel again.But by keeping Fiona, Bhaltair is losing the trust of his clan, and with his enemies at the doorstep, it seems that the girl who can save him is about to destroy his clan…

    She shut down and sold the successful movie production company they ran together and fled the country, refusing to hear his excuses. Now she is in hiding, but is she hiding something as well? Her best friend Tracie has undergone a dramatic transformation in order to elude Angelo Gonsales, head of the Internet Crime Division of the FBI. He has discovered her identity, and tracked her location. Will she be convicted of her alleged crimes? "In-Laws and Play Cousins: Three Sides to Every Story," reunites four childhood friends, brings closure to the unfortunate circumstances and renders bittersweet justice for the true villains.