When Marianne comes home from work one day to find her husband talking to a glamorous woman in the kitchen, insecurities resurface from a time when she was bullied at school. Jealousy rears its head and her marriage begins to fall apart. Desperate for a solution, she finds herself trying to track down her first schoolgirl crush: Edward Harvey. Even thinking his name made her tingle with half-remembered childlike giddiness. Edward Harvey, the only one from Brocklebank to whom she might write if she found him. Meeting Lydia is a book about childhood bullying, midlife crises, obsession, jealousy and the ever-growing trend of Internet relationships. It will appeal to fans of character-driven fiction and those interested in the dynamics and psychology of relationships.

When archaeologist Edward Harvey’s wife Felicity inherits almost a million, she gives up her job, buys a restaurant and, as a devotee of Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall, starts turning their home into a small eco-farm. Edward is not happy, not least because she seems to be losing interest in him. Taryn is a borderline manic-depressive, a scheming minx, a seductress and user of men. Edward and Taryn don’t know each other but they both know Marianne. When Edward and Taryn’s paths cross, questions of friendship, loyalty and betrayal are played out against a backdrop of mental fragility and the destabilising effects of a large inheritance... Set in Broadclyst and Beckenham, with a chapter on the Isles of Scilly, A Meeting of a Different Kind is the stand-alone sequel to Meeting Lydia, continuing the story from the perspectives of two very different characters. Like its prequel, it will appeal to fans of character-driven fiction, especially those interested in the psychology of relationships.

Former classmates Edward and Marianne, now 55, have lost contact and since suffered painful disruption to their home lives. When Twitter provides an opportunity for reconciliation, old passions begin to stir ... But there are obstacles in the way - not least the threat from twice-widowed Jessica, whose unstable behaviour has alarming consequences. Set in 2012, the extraordinary weather prompts Edward and a former colleague to resurrect an idea to challenge consumerist lifestyles. The Isles of Scilly become a model for sustainability and a filming trip to the islands provides an idyllic backdrop to the unfolding romantic tensions. The Alone Alternative explores the difficulties of starting a new relationship in midlife and is the sequel to A Meeting of a Different Kind. It is the third part of the 'Lydia' series, but also stands alone as a fascinating character-driven read for both men and women.