Catherine Carson

From debut poet Catherine Carson comes an examination of everyday life, as seen through the lens of a mentally ill young woman navigating her twenties. Full of persistent optimism and honesty, this collection celebrates the tragedy and beauty to be found, not only in the world around us, but in the worlds we carry within ourselves.

Being born of mixed ethnic cultures Jasmine Mitchell had always known she had been abandoned by her biological parents. At eighteen she discovered her birth mother had never revealed the name of her father but when she was twenty-two the loving couple who had adopted her advised it was time for her to find some answers to her many questions. Travelling to the last known address of her birth mother Jasmine meets Fergus Donaldson and discovers she is not the only person seeking answer...

Reina Pearson had been forced to change her name to Ann Liddle and flee to the Scottish Border town of Larkwell in the guise of a nanny to escape the wrath of a Russian Mafia Boss who sought revenge for the destruction of his plans in the Highlands of Scotland. Now three years later she again finds herself in the Highlands, only to discover her life is still in danger. The enigmatic Russian who is staying in the Highland house is something of an enigma to Ann but when Flint Sutherland turns up to further complicate matters she soon realises her change of name is no protection from a vengeful Russian Mafia Boss...

After almost eighteen years of marriage Katie Cameron is left by her husband Brogan as he apparently feels he has been trapped into a life he is not ready to accept. Their twin son and daughter, Mitchell and Libby, take matters into their own hands when it appears Katie and Brogan are drifting towards a permanent break-up. Will they succeed in a reconciliation...or is it too late?

Tori Ingles has something of a reputation for having a sympathetic ear and a soft shoulder to cry on and is asked by her boss Libby Cameron to use her skills to comfort and restore the self-esteem her brother Mitchell recently suffered by the defection of his fiancee. Contrary to being the betrayed fiance Mitchell Cameron, is in fact, the ultimate playboy and is aware that his sister has once again hatched a plot to bring him to heel. Tori soon discovers all is not as it seems with Mitchell (Mitch) Cameron and takes him to task but soon finds she has fallen victim to his playboy image...

Leah Griffin gave up a promising career in academia to care for her elder sister when she was paralysed in a car accident which killed her fiance Philip Harrington. Their son Milo is left orphaned when her sister succumbs to her injuries eighteen months later, leaving Leah as his sole guardian. When Philip's parents demand that they be given custody of the child as biological grandparents Alex Petersen promises to help them fight Leah; but it does not take him long to discover he has not been given the full story, or, that Leah is not the gold digger portrayed by them.

Joe Forrest's successful application finds her flying out from Head Office to the Caribbean Island of St Marcos to be the PA to the Managing Director of Wolf Cruise Line part of Wolf Holdings. Still feeling the effects of betrayal Grey Wolf is angry to find his new PA is not the expected male but an argumentative redheaded woman and determines to send her back to Head Office as soon as possible.

Whilst trawling through CCTV footage in an attempt to find a burglar who has been breaking into the apartment building he owns, Prentis Gregory discovers a young woman regularly leaving the lift to gain access to the Fitness Club without actually using a key card. Selina Bryant first entered the Club to win a bet with her best friend but enjoys the thrill of sneaking into the building to use the Club so much she continues her illegal entry, totally unaware her actions are captured on the hidden cameras. Determined to find out if the girl is part of a gang of thieves Prentis strikes up a friendship with Selina but when she discovers Prentis is not the hard working lorry driver he purported to be, Selina feels hurt and angry by his deception

Maggie Gregory has known James Henderson all her life as he lives and owns Craiglachan Castle which lies next to the estate belonging to her family. When James became engaged to Margot Archibald, she valiantly hid the fact she is totally and hopelessly in love with him. Maggie resigns herself never to be anything other than a surrogate sister to him, as she is often accused of poking her nose into affairs which do not concern her. Discovering his fiancee is cheating on him with his cousin Euan Bartholomew, Maggie keeps her own counsel without realising Euan's conscience has driven him to confess his betrayal. Maggie finds herself the brunt of hurtful rumours as the local community blames her for James' broken betrothal. As a result he bans her from ever setting foot on Craiglachan land again.

Alice James became PA to the Managing Director of Stuart Fashions at the age of eighteen and had immediately fallen head over heels in love with her handsome boss. For three years she kept her feelings firmly behind the steel wall she had built to protect her heart. Cal Stuart drove himself hard to keep the company his mother founded running smoothly and expected the same high standard from the staff. When he discovered Alice was responsible for a leakage which cost the company a loss of revenue and reputation he felt he had no option but to accept her resignation. Meeting again two years later Alice realises the steel wall she had built is in danger of cracking as Cal enlists her help to extricate himself from a difficult situation.

After falling out with his father and leaving the family business, Marcus Barnaby bought Hill Top Farm with the intention of building up a herd of pedigree Hereford cattle which would be much sought after for their breeding potential. His neighbour Charles Trenchard had two fields for sale and when Marcus approached him, he was presented with an ultimatum - marry the man's daughter within a six month period and he would give him the fields - or no deal. Bethan Trenchard had no idea about her father's plan and fell totally under the charismatic spell of the tall handsome man who seemed to be oblivious to her shy nature and plain looks...Until they returned from their honeymoon and the truth brought her world crashing down around her

Leah Olivier Brown is angry when her beloved identical twin sister Mia is cruelly ditched by Ed Scott after a discussion with his brother Jay had left him with serious doubts about their relationship. Determined to uncover Jay Scott's reason for interfering in his brother's and consequently Mia's life, Leah drops her surname and becomes Leah Olivier and applies for a position within the Scott Partnership. Unfortunately Jay Scott is aware of her subterfuge regarding her name but mistakenly thinks she is Mia Brown and plays along in order to discover the motive for her duplicity. How will the situation be resolved...?

After Emma met and fell in love with her best friend's brother Jack Scott, they married, sure that their love was strong and long lasting. Unfortunately within twelve months her life had changed completely as the man she loved had created a new life for himself thousands of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean. Now ten years later he has returned but only to secure a divorce from his estranged wife; but what he did not know was that Emma had been pregnant when he had made the decision to remain alone in the United States. How will he cope when he finds out he is the father of ten year old identical twins boys; but more to the point, how will his sons cope when they discovered the father they love and think is working hard to be with them, knows nothing of their existence?

Peggy Floyd gave up her high-powered city job as an Accounts Manager to return to her hometown of Coveroak to sit in the drawing room of Fordingham Manor pretending to be a simpering Georgian miss who spends her day embroidering or singing a sweet song whilst playing the pianoforte for coach loads of visitors who come to tour a Stately Home and find out about life in the seventeen hundreds. In reality she is a modern young woman who prefers to wear jeans and a T-shirt and whose natural perceptiveness means she is not easily fooled by anyone purporting to be what they were not. Therefore, when Nathan Watson is introduced as a Georgian Gardener her suspicions are aroused and she determines to find out the real reason for his arrival at the Manor.

After being given an ultimatum by his Italian grandfather, Nico Robinson travels to Sorrento in the company of his father's PA, Cat Redcape in the guise of an engaged couple. On the flight from London, Nico realises there is much more to Cat than he thought and he is determined to discover her reluctance to talk of her life prior to leaving the North of England to take up her career in London. Cat's hopes of keeping her past strictly behind her end when Nico's parents arrive at the Conti Lemon Grove determined to expose her to Nico and his Grandfather.

Kirsty Forbes had grown up listening to stories her grandfather told her of their family history. One story in particular had captured her imagination and when she found proof her namesake had left Argyllshire, Scotland in 1892 to marry her betrothed Logan Ferguson she contacted the family still living in Colorado. The answer she received from the Ferguson's opened up a completely new search which led her to leave Central Scotland and travel across the Atlantic to Colorado to meet the descendants of her great, great aunt. Before the mystery of why her aunt married William McPherson rather than Logan Ferguson is solved, Kirsty finds herself thrown in at the deep end between two estranged families.

Brake Bedford returns to the village with the intention of expanding his growing chain of coffee shops not realising his plans will cause upheaval to friends of long standing. Fiona Graham enjoys life in her bakers shop listening to her customers as they chat about the comings and goings in the village, until the return of a local hero turns her life upside down.

Spanning some forty years the lives of three families are held together by love, intrigue and marriage. Freddie Chivington and Toby Marsh are best friends. Toby's younger sister Olivia has always tagged along in their escapades but Freddie and Olivia are no longer children and their feelings for each other have grown into a deep love. Whilst assisting his best friend Freddie to gain favour with Olivia, Toby Marsh meets Philomena Granger, a colleague of Olivia's and so the Marsh family evolve. The Conte and Contessa Baldini, Vincent and Elizabeth, found happiness from auspicious beginnings but became the adoring parents of two sons and a daughter. After a lapse of over thirty years, the families are reunited by the marriage of Antonio Baldini and Lucy Chivington and so begin the ties which will bind them together forever.

Kali Pearce is employed by Hunter Graphics as an encryption coder for the games the company produce but following an unfortunate misunderstanding finds she has become a domestic help for the promotional weekend held at the home of Florence Weston, the grandmother of Dominic Hunter...the CEO of the company. During her time with the company Kali has come to think of Dominic as the White Knight and his PA, Mark Reynolds the Black Knight, because of their contrasting appearance. Over the course of the weekend Kali finds she is drawn to both men and enters a liaison with Mark in order to make the aloof, unfeeling Dominic open his closed heart. In their efforts to help Dominic things become complicated between Kali and Mark and she decides on a new course for her life. Starting a new career which opens new horizons for her Kali meets a new friend, Bernie Ridge, before being once again thrown into contact with the Knights.

Jack Sommerville the new Manager of Hillcrest Estate in the north of England arrives to find his PA Helen Braithwaite occupying his chair and making facetious remarks about him to the computer screen on his desk. After a shaky start their working relationship settles into an amicable partnership until Helen accompanies him south to visit his family and help him untangle himself from a manipulative woman who is trying to trap him into marriage. Helen has to remind herself that they are only pretending to be romantically involved and the weekend ends in disaster when Jack loses his temper threatening to find a replacement for her as his PA. Will they settle their differences and return to an easy working relationship or will emotions take over...?