Sheila O’Flanagan emailed us to let us know about her book, and so of course we had to share it with you all! It’s to be called Stand By Me and will be published in September 2010. When we know more, we’ll let you know!
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The Perfect Man tells the story of Britt and Mia McDonagh, two sisters who have totally opposite opinions when it comes to love. Britt, whose debut novel The Perfect Man was an instant success, doesn’t believe in romance since her marriage broke up but Mia, single mother to Allegra, believes in The One and is still in love with her ex, Alejo.
The two sisters go on a cruise, a ship named Aphrodite, to speak about Britt’s book and meet Leo, who is hiding a heart break and Steve, who works on the ship. Nothing seems to happen until they all go home (to Dublin and Spain) and they all have to take risks if they want a happy future.
Here are the September releases. See Part II here.
SHEILA O’FLANAGAN - THE PERFECT MAN - 3RD SEPTEMBER (REVIEW)
Two very different sisters, Mia (still in love with Alejo, the married father of her daughter) and Britt (the ice maiden, who has ironically written a romantic bestseller), join a luxury honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean where Britt is the guest lecturer. Also on board are recently widowed Leo, still reeling from the discovery of his wife’s betrayal just before her death, and Steve, a ship’s officer who’s soon looking for more than a holiday romance with Mia.
Can Steve replace Alejo and is there any chance that Britt and Leo can see that they really should get together? When the characters head for home – Mia to Spain, the others to Dublin – it seems that all romantic options are off, especially as Leo rashly got engaged to glamorous, man-eating Pippin while at sea. But love has a way of triumphing in Sheila O’Flanagan’s novels, even if it takes till the very last page…
NINA BELL - SISTERS IN LAW - 3RD SEPTEMBER (REVIEW)
Sisters-in-law Kate, Helen and Olivia all have one thing in common – they’re hiding something. It’s not easy being part of the high-achieving Fox family: the expectations and demands of their husbands and children; the jealousies and rivalries; and the endless Sunday lunches where somehow everything feels like a competition.
So when mysterious Sasha enters their lives, bloodied from the battlefield of a painful divorce, buried frustrations rush to the surface. Why is Kate’s husband Jonny working so late at the office, and how will she cope at home alone? Can army-wife Heather trust Jack to come back to her next time, or is he drawn by temptations in a foreign field? And will Simon’s explosive secret blow Olivia’s marriage apart once and for all?
Three sisters-in-law. One devastating divorcee. Whose husband is about to play with fire?
LOUISE PATTEN - BAD MONEY - 3RD SEPTEMBER
Mary Kersey, the breadwinner in her family, juggles her job as a high-flying management consultant at Lock Chase with trying to be a good mother to her 8-year-old daughter Grace and keeping Trister, her husband’s ancestral home in Suffolk, in a decent state of repair. It is enough to challenge the most organised of women. When the headmistress of Grace’s boarding school calls to say that Grace is acutely homesick and should come home, the demands on Mary’s time and energy become almost overwhelming. Dr Alan Dove is CEO of biotechnology company, Pneumatech. He wants to buy a competitor who specialises in cosmetics, F-ACE.
They’d be a perfect fit if only he could afford them. Enter Ivan Strawe, evil genius head of M & A at Wolkenbank, who’ll find a way to lower the F-ACE share price with the help of a hedge fund that’s only too happy to help. Of course there’ll be a nice little cut for all of them once the deal goes through. Meanwhile Mary, who surprisingly retains a conscience in this dog-eat-dog world, is recruited by the Treasury to investigate dodgy dealings at hedge funds. Her world and that of Dove and Kona are set on a collision course…
EMMA BURSTALL - NEVER CLOSE YOUR EYES - 3RD SEPTEMBER
Evie, Nic and Becca are wannabe writers. The three friends are members of a creative writing group and they decide to enter a national competition. But while they ponder their plots and agonise about their characters, their own lives are going far from smoothly.
Evie’s still pining for the husband who left her for a younger woman and is relying increasingly on clairvoyant Zelda. But who is Zelda really? Nic’s battling a drink problem and is in despair about her workaholic husband who is addicted to his laptop. A shocking discovery shakes her to the core, but will she realise in time that she must stop protecting him? Becca’s a City highflyer who seems to have everything – until a childhood friend turns up, threatening to expose the secret she’s kept buried for nearly thirty years.
How will her marriage, her children, her friendships survive it? And on top of that there’s a deadline. The women have just eleven months to complete their manuscripts. Who will win the competition – and can there be any real-life happy endings?
MELANIE LA’BROOY - BABYMOON - 3RD SEPTEMBER
The countdown to mummydom has started …Isabelle and Jack are expecting their first child. And Isabelle is the very model of a calm Earth Mother-to-be. Or she would be if she wasn’t consumed by anxiety about finding her pelvic floor, watching birthing videos or being accepted into the yummy mummy parade with a very practical mobility system.
Even worse, as Isabelle’s tummy grows, so does the distance between her and her adored Dr Jack who, it seems, has quite different priorities. But with the support of a host of new mothers and friends all full of the worst possible advice, just maybe Isabelle can make it through pregnancy and childbirth with her dignity, her relationship and some more private bits intact. Then again, maybe not.
SHARON GRIFFITHS - THE LOST GUIDE TO LIFE & LOVE - 7TH SEPTEMBER
Follow food writer Tilly Flint as she discovers her roots, her sense of adventure and the secret to happiness in this timeless, inventive tale for fans of Eva Rice and Kathleen Tessaro. Do the answers to Tilly Flint’s future lie in her past? In a nightclub full of the rich and famous, a glamorous model leaps from a window and escapes into the night. Food writer Tilly Flint – on a rare date with boyfriend Jake – is sole witness to her flight. Little does she know the chain of events set to unfold!
The following week, Tilly and Jake have the last of many arguments, leaving Tilly alone in the wild Pennines landscape where she’s on assignment. Terrified yet strangely exhilarated, she investigates the area – and finds more than a few surprises. Intrigued to learn that, as an only child, she has family in the area, Tilly starts to dig deeper, discovering her great grandmother’s past and the eerie parallels with her own life. As she explores the treacherous moors, she stumbles across mysterious pieces of cherry-red ribbon. What do they signify? And who is the strangely familiar face in the local pub?
Then a chance encounter with celebrity Clayton Silver leads Tilly into a high-octane world that spells danger. Can the ribbons from the past be a lifeline in the present?
This week’s pick for our Author of the Week is none other than Sheila O’Flanagan. We posted our Author Interview with the lovely Sheila yesterday, and we felt she also deserved to be highlighted in our Author of the Week spot due to her brilliant contributions to the “chick-lit” genre! In 10 years, Sheila has written 15 books, with the latest of these, The Perfect Man, due out in September in the UK. I’ve read 2 of Sheila’s books, Someone Special and Anyone But Him and loved, and I know my mum highly recommends her work as well, so Sheila is another that appeals across the age ranges. Here’s a bit about Sheila:
“Sheila O’Flanagan pursued a very successful career in banking, foreign exchange dealing and treasury management before becoming a full-time writer based in Dublin. She also writes a weekly business column for the Irish Times and in her spare time plays badminton at competition level.”
Sheila’s 14 published books have all been huge sellers, and I am determined to read some of her older books as I’ve been told they are just as good as her newer book! For more information on Sheila and her books, visit her website at www.sheilaoflanagan.com
Sheila O’Flanagan, one of Ireland’s best authors, has been writing books since 1999 when her first title Suddenly Single was published. 10 years and 15 books later, Sheila’s new book The Perfect Man is due for release next month in the UK (September 2009), and the paperback of her 14th novel Someone Special (which I loved!) shot to the top of the UK bestseller’s list! We had a chance to ask Sheila some of our burning questions, and she was lovely enough to answer them for us. So here is the our author interview with the lovely Sheila O’Flanagan!
Q1. Tell us about your latest book in a sentence.
Romy is very happy working in Australia and away from her difficult extended family, but having to come back to Ireland to take care of her mother after an operation means that the problems she’d left behind have to be dealt with.
Romy Kilkenny loves her job as an archaeologist - she gets to travel the world, and best of all she gets to stay away from her family. She doesn’t get on with her mother Veronica who is obsessed with staying young and looking good, her brother Darragh who manages the family company and thinks he knows it all, and sister Kathryn, who lives in New York and is just perfect. But when Veronica becomes ill and needs help, she’s called back home to Ireland to tend to her, despite not wanting to. As Romy starts to look after her ailing mother, her family has its own issues to tackle, and some serious secrets are about to be unravelled as well. Is Romy going to give up her life to look after her mother, or will she take a chance and find love, and also that someone special??
According to The Bookseller, Sheila O’Flanagan has achieved her first ever UK number 1 book! Someone Special sold a massive 34,776 copies in just 7 days, and is now top of the charts in both the UK and Ireland! Here’s the synopsis in case you fancy picking up a copy:
“Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia she has her dream job, lots of mates, and a best friend in Keith, who understands her better than anyone. Best of all, she couldn’t be further from her family. But when her brother rings to say she’s needed back in Ireland right away, Romy’s world is turned upside down. Flying home to see her mother and her half-siblings, Romy doubts she’ll fit in better now than she ever did, and she’s still not ready to forgive her mother for her truly disgraceful behaviour a few years earlier. Romy also worries that the accidental half-kiss with Keith at the airport may have brought their easy friendship to a sudden end. Whatever lies ahead, it’s not what Romy’s expecting - even the people we grow up with can surprise us, and if love is to be found, it will find a way.”
I have only read one of Sheila’s novels, Anyone But Him which is a few years old and I loved it so I must definitely get a copy of this one, it sounds great!
Congratulations on your number 1, Sheila!
From The Bookseller
Amazon.co.uk has put up the cover of Sheila O’Flanagan’s upcoming novel, The Perfect Man. I really like the cover. The book is out on September 3rd. The blurb says:
Two very different sisters, Mia (still in love with Alejo, the married father of her daughter) and Britt (the ice maiden, who has ironically written a romantic bestseller), join a luxury honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean where Britt is the guest lecturer. Also on board are recently widowed Leo, still reeling from the discovery of his wife’s betrayal just before her death, and Steve, a ship’s officer who’s soon looking for more than a holiday romance with Mia. Can Steve replace Alejo and is there any chance that Britt and Leo can see that they really should get together? When the characters head for home - Mia to Spain, the others to Dublin - it seems that all romantic options are off, especially as Leo rashly got engaged to glamorous, man-eating Pippin while at sea. But love has a way of triumphing in Sheila O’Flanagan’s novels, even if it takes till the very last page…
It sounds like a great read.
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