Margins
Seaside Seasons book cover 1
Seaside Seasons book cover 2
Seaside Seasons book cover 3
Seaside Seasons
Series · 5 books · 2001-2011

Books in series

Spring Rain book cover
#1

Spring Rain

2001

In this first book of the Seaside Seasons series, Leigh Spenser, a young teacher and the single mother of ten-year-old Billy, is thrown into conflict. Clay Wharton, the boy's estranged father, comes home to Seaside, New Jersey, to await his twin brother's death from AIDS. Threats against Billy's life ratchet the tension tighter, as Leigh wrestles with both tough and tender feelings for her old flame. Clay's own conflict, as he seeks to come to grips with his brother's lifestyle choices and the needs of the boy he fathered, underline the issue of God's forgiveness in the hearts—and lives—of this modern-day family. An emotionally gripping read!
Summer Shadows book cover
#2

Summer Shadows

2002

The car accident that killed Abby Patterson's husband and daughter has left her with a limp and chronic pain. Still, Abby strikes out, determined to build a new life for herself away from her overbearing parents. Her perfect cottage home on the beach has one tiny Marsh Winslow, her landlord. But when Abby witnesses a hit-and-run accident and events make it clear that Abby is now a target, she and Marsh join forces to uncover a dangerous secret. Together they discover that God is in the business of putting broken lives back together so that they are more beautiful than ever.
Autumn Dreams book cover
#3

Autumn Dreams

2003

The third book in the Seaside Seasons series, Cass' mother, father, and nephew all need her—but have Cass' dreams gotten lost in the crunch? The proud proprietor of her own bed-and-breakfast in sleepy Seaside, New Jersey, Cass Merton is intrigued by Dan Harmon, who arrives at SeaSong for an extended stay. After witnessing the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City, the godly finance specialist is rethinking his life, career, and relationships—or lack of them. Meanwhile, Cass is questioning her consent to care for her easygoing nephew and feisty teenage niece for a whole year while their parents work in the Middle East. Add in Cass’s four brothers, who don’t take Dad’s compulsive contest entries and Mom’s increasing dementia one bit seriously, and her emotions swirl like the quickly rising hurricane that’s fast approaching Seaside. But everyday cares aren’t Cass’s only problems. And when a troubled, young employee unknowingly endangers her, and Cass is taken hostage by a gunman, Dan will have to look urgently to the Lord for help .
Winter Winds book cover
#4

Winter Winds

2004

In Winter Winds, Gayle Roper concludes her delightful Seaside Seasons series with a tale of romance, crime, startling mix-ups, and a few hard hearts that just might get a much-needed midwinter thaw. After his guardian's severe illness, pastor Paul Trevelyan returns to his congregation in Seaside with a big surprise - a wife he's been estranged from for seven years. It was the old man's ailing wish that Dori and Trev return to each other, and they agree, as long as they can sleep in separate bedrooms. The dangers of a sinister luggage mix-up are compounded by discord within the church, as a highly opinionated elder proves he will stop at nothing to see Trev gone. This blizzard of difficulties leaves just a snowball's chance of a thaw between the stubborn spouses. Bitter winds... After a tragedy-riddled early life, Dori MacAllister has made a quiet place for herself on the West Coast, far from the landscape of her earlier heartbreaks. When she receives word that the man who raised her is gravely ill, she is drawn back to a place full of love and longing—and betrayal. Winds of love... Pastor Paul Trevelyan hasn't seen the woman he loves in six years. When he's given a second chance with her, he longs to make it work this time. The trouble is, if he doesn't win her back, it could cost him his job—and his happiness. Winds of danger... The charming town of Seaside now has its very own crime boss, and Officer Maureen Galloway would love to be the one to make charges stick. her investigation leads to Dori MacAllister, but is Dori an accomplice or a victim? And why is pharmacist Phil Trevelyan so bent on getting in Maureen's way?
Shadows on the Sand book cover
#5

Shadows on the Sand

A Seaside Mystery

2011

She serves him breakfast at her caf� every morning ... but he never seems to notice her. Carrie Carter's small caf� in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals ... although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He's recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her. When Carrie's dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries ... and into her life. But when Carrie's own painful past becomes all too present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink. Will the fragile relationship she's building with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?

Author

Gayle Roper
Gayle Roper
Author · 23 books
Gayle Roper rejoices every day that she gets to be a writer because she's in love with story. Even on the days that words rebel and have to be coerced onto the paper, there is nothing else she'd rather do. When readers like her work, it's like God says, "See? I knew what you were wired to do." When her books win awards like the Carol Award (Caught Redhanded) or the RITA Award (Autumn Dreams), the Holt Medallion (The Decision, Caught in a Bind, Autumn Dreams) or the Reviewer's Choice (The Decision), it's icing on the cake. And she gets to teach others how to write at conferences too. She spends a lot of time smiling. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America and is the best-selling author of Hide & Seek and more than forty other books.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved