Books

  • Summerlands

    Sixteen year old twins Rosalie and Millicent are glad to be reunited after growing up in very different lifestyles, but they have endless questions. Why now? Who is this father they've never known? Why did he bring them back to the vast crumbling mansion called Summerlands, where they were born? What happened to their mother and who was she really? The two girls have to get to know each other and their father while researching the mystery of their mother's disappearance, all while someone is mailing them pages from their mother's old diaries. Their own pasts and secrets come back to haunt them as well. In the end, the two girls must fight for a home and a family they can call their own.

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  • The Nerve

    Ariel only started college to get away from her perennially disappointed and controlling mother, Julie. Ariel loves playing all the instruments Julie made her learn, but she is never going to be a prodigy on any of them. But when Ariel messes up a band t-shirt art assignment, rather than admit her mistake, she creates the music of an imaginary band to go with her silk-screen t-shirt. With the help of her scary hacker roommate, Molly, the music takes off and gets hugely famous. Ariel becomes an online sensation and ends up making her mother’s dreams come true—but is that what she wants?

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  • Leaving Thrushcross

    Harriet’s parents devoted all their time and energy to the upkeep of Thrushcross Grange, their ancestral mansion, so she grew up living with her Uncle Harry. Everyone knew she would inherit his millions. When he dies suddenly, his estranged wife claims the inheritance instead. Harriet finds herself under pressure from her parents to disprove Aunt Ivy’s identity, but instead she and Aunt Ivy bond, leading to intense conflicts in all areas of her life—friends, family, boyfriend. Harriet gradually learns to stand up for herself and seek what she really wants, rather than being the pawn of her family and boyfriend. Ultimately, Harriet must decide whether to free herself from the property at last and go out into the world to seek her fortune on her own terms.

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  • The Icarus Triptych

    Withdrawn small town painter Harriet suddenly has to earn her own way in Los Angeles, but the art department P.A. job her aunt found her on a film shoot isn’t going to pay the rent. Harriet is determined to make her own way—but she only gradually understands the damage her childhood has done to her.

    Harriet unravels painful family secrets while negotiating the highs and lows of a real relationship for the first time. She manages to keep herself and her new friend Colette above water, all while painting increasingly complex and interesting artwork that auctions for higher and higher prices, without losing sight of what really matters.

    Burning the candle at both ends pushes her to her limits, but in the end, Harriet deals with her past and makes the hard choices in order to become someone who can determine her own future.

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  • Mazewood

    In this conclusion to the Thrushcross trilogy, Harriet must build a whole new life for herself. That means navigating the complexities of adult relationships, becoming a true professional, resolving her difficult relationship with her parents, and above all, figuring out what it is that she really wants out of life.

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  • The Thrushcross Chronicles

    This is the complete Thrushcross Chronicles trilogy.

    In Leaving Thrushcross, Harriet deals with the fallout from her beloved uncle’s death. Her parents devoted all their time and energy to the upkeep of Thrushcross Grange, their crumbling ancestral mansion, so she grew up living with her Uncle Harry. Everyone knew she would inherit his millions, which her parents planned to use to save Thrushcross Grange. When Uncle Harry dies suddenly, his estranged wife claims the inheritance instead. Harriet finds herself under pressure from multiple people, leading to intense conflicts in all areas of her life—friends, family, boyfriend—that reveal the truth underlying the façade. Harriet gradually learns to stand up for herself and seek out what she really wants, rather than being the pawn of her family and boyfriend.

    In The Icarus Triptych, Harriet's new life expands her horizons and she has to earn her own way, but complications ensue as the people she was relying on leave her high and dry, forcing her to find her feet and make new connections. Harriet is determined to make her own way—but she only gradually understands the damage her childhood has done to her and has to fight through a psychological minefield in order to survive and to rescue her beloved forest land back home before it’s bulldozed. Harriet unravels painful family secrets while pursuing an art career and negotiating the highs and lows of a real relationship for the first time. Burning the candle at both ends pushes her to her limits, but in the end, Harriet deals with her past and makes the hard choices in order to become someone who can determine her own future.

    In Mazewood, the final installment of The Thrushcross Chronicles, Harriet returns to Thrushcross Grange with plans in progress with her beloved to develop the property into a film studio, but her friends are going through serious crises and the long-term issues with her parents are threatening to blow up and ruin everything. Harriet navigates the complexities of real commitment and acceptance while she and the most important people in her life renegotiate their difficult childhoods from an adult perspective. In the process, Harriet finally builds herself a real and permanent home.

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  • Landslide

    Annamarie turns eighteen locked into her mother’s anxieties, not allowed to go to college or have a regular job. She can’t even use a toaster without dire warnings. But when she gives a ride to a certain Appalachian trail hiker, she starts learning about her mysterious father and begins to break free of the rules that have controlled her life. But at what cost?

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  • The Worst

    A collection of short stories.

    The mandate was to tell the truth about my mother. I told the truth by coming at it in a lot of different ways. These short stories range from realistic to science fiction to fantasy but all come back to that essential truth. If you had a difficult (or impossible) relationship with your own parent, these stories might help you come to terms with that. They might also be a springboard for you to tell your own stories and come to terms with your own truth.

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  • The Last Word

    Ceci Finnegan has always lived in the shadow of her famous ancestor, Eleanor, her little town’s answer to Agatha Christie. But when Ceci comes back to town after two years away, she finds that there is a mystery in Eleanor’s life that is still tearing families apart today. Ceci must unravel this century-old mystery and incidentally untangle her own past in order to secure a future for herself and her once and future love, Haven. Centered on the old family mansion and the secrets it hides, this story tracks relationships past, present, and future and sorts them into one compelling family saga.

    Coming soon!