With the Great War still raw in the memory and life in the 1920s mining village of Whitton Grange hard and dangerous, Louie Kirkup dreams of a better future. But with a sick mother and a large family of pitman brothers and father, the daily burdens fall heavily on her young shoulders. She fears becoming a spinster drudge until she sets eyes on 'Red' Sam Ritson – hard, muscled and a natural leader – climb into the boxing ring at the Durham Miners' Gala and determines to marry him. But Sam, wedded to his battle for his fellow miners against the ruthless mine owner Seward-Scott, is no ideal husband. As tensions increase and the General Strike looms, Louie's brother Eb begins an affair with Eleanor, the mine owner's wife. With the miners locked out of work, Louie fears for the fate of her village and her unborn child. As the strain takes its tragic toll, loving and loyal Louie must stay strong for them all. Written with compassion, humour and a vivid immediacy, The Hungry Hills is an unforgettable saga of two very different families living through the dramas of 1920s Britain. The Hungry Hills was shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and is the first in the Durham Mining Trilogy.

Though by nature an optimist, when Sara Pallister arrives in the mining town of Whitton Grange, she cannot help but be appalled by the welcome she receives. Her father having died and left their farm bankrupt, Weardale-born Sara is now the poor cousin, reluctantly taken into the household of her officious, narrow-minded Uncle Alfred whose wife Aunt Ida does little but spoil their unbearable seven-year-old, agree with her opinionated husband and attend endless W.I. socials. Determined to make Sara pay her way, Uncle Alfred hires her out to work in Dolly Sergeant's grocer's shop where she meets funny, bashful young Raymond Kirkup and his warm-hearted aunt, Louie. And it is through Raymond that Sara encounters the family that is to change her life: the Demarcos. Exotic, extrovert and Italian, they are the owners of Whitton Grange's popular ice-cream parlour. Even as the shadows of the Second World War grow more menacing and hostility increases towards the foreign Demarcos, Sara finds herself irresistibly drawn to leather-jacketed, motorbike-riding Joe Demarco...

When Carol Shannon, the unruly daughter of Brassbank's pit manager, falls for young miner, Mick Todd, their defiant relationship causes a storm in the close-knit mining village. For the bitterness between their families runs as deep as the coal seams that are Brassbank's lifeblood. But the hardest battles are still to come for rebellious Carol. With 1984 dawns the year long Miner's Strike that divides the nation and sets communities at war. Hardship not only threatens Brassbank's survival, but pushes Carol and Mick's passionate union to breaking point, leaving tragedy in its wake. Set against the fascinatingly vivid backdrop of a momentous time, Never Stand Alone is an impassioned novel of a woman's fight for her community, her family and the man she loves. 'A tough, compelling and ultimately satisfying novel ... another classy, irresistible read' Sunderland Echo 'She pulls no punches, tells it like it is and taps directly into your emotions. Excellent' Northern Echo 'A vivid picture of courage in the face of injustice...Never Stand Alone ought to increase the author’s growing band of fans' Northern Review 'The gritty, unforgettable story of families torn apart by the conflict that divided a nation...a powerful story' World Books