Two Fridays in April (41 page)

They’re all looking ahead now. They all have everything to hope for now.

Huge thanks to all who contributed in any way, big or small, to the making of this book. In particular I want to give a mention to my very attentive and encouraging editor Alison Walsh and all the usual (and lovely) suspects at Hachette Books Ireland; my agent Sallyanne Sweeney of Mulcahy Associates who was there giving support at every turn; my copy editor Hazel Orme and my proofreading brother Aonghus Meaney, who both performed their usual miracles; the wonderful Tyrone Guthrie Centre in County Monaghan, which took me in for a week of final tweaking; my computer-savvy brother Ciarán Ó Maonaigh, my accountant friend Agnes Keane, marketing guru and pal Sharon Noonan, Helena Carey in Kerry and Mike O’Connor in Clare, who all helped me with my research – and most of all, a big thank you to you, kind reader. Without you, I’d be a bit redundant!

Roisin xx

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It’s a week before Christmas, and all is calm on the small island of Roone. The summer tourists are little more than a distant memory, the place has been reclaimed by the locals, and everyone is looking forward to a peaceful festive season.

But things rarely go according to plan on Ireland’s quirkiest island. As storm clouds gather on the horizon, a stranger packs a bag on the other side of the world, and before the old year is out, Roone will have been thrown into turmoil, and facing its biggest challenge yet …

The Perfect Christmas Book

This summer on the island, anything is possible …

Nell Mulcahy grew up on the island of Roone – playing in the shallows and fishing with her father in his old red boat in the harbour. So when the stone cottage by the edge of the sea comes up for sale, the decision to move back from Dublin is easy. And where better to hold her upcoming wedding to Tim than on the island, surrounded by family and friends?

But when Nell decides to rent out her cottage for the summer to help finance the wedding, she sets in motion an unexpected series of events.

As deeply buried feelings rise to the surface, Nell’s carefully laid plans for her wedding start to go awry and she is forced to make some tough decisions.

One thing’s for sure, it’s a summer on the island that nobody will ever forget.

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Getting married was the easy part …

After a bumpy start, Nell and James have finally said ‘I do’ and everything seems to be falling into place. Nell is getting comfortable in her new role as stepmother to James’ sixteen-year-old son Andy, she’s finally mending fences with her father and she’s ready to look to the future.

Then Nell’s ex-fiancé Tim – her husband James’ brother – comes back to Roone, a place he’s never liked, and she begins to feel uneasy. As the summer days roll by, and Tim seems in no hurry to return to his wife and daughter, Nell is finding it more and more difficult to enjoy her new beginning.

But when the little island of Roone is rocked by the disappearance of a young child, Nell realises that life can change in a single moment. Will happiness be restored before the autumn comes?

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The friendship starts with a letter … from aspiring writer Sarah to blunt but witty journalist Helen, complaining about Helen’s most recent book review. And there begins a correspondence that blossoms into a friendship which spans over two decades.

As the years pass, the women exchange details of loves lost and found, of family joys and upheavals. Sarah’s letters filled with thoughts on her outwardly perfect marriage and her aching desire for children, and Helen’s on the struggle of raising her young daughter alone.

But little do they realise that their story began long before Sarah penned that first letter – on one unforgettable afternoon where, during a distraught conversation on a bridge, Sarah changed the course of Helen’s life forever.

This is the story of Helen and Sarah, and the friendship that was part of their destiny.

Available now in print and ebook