Goodbye Birdie Greenwing
Great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget ...
Birdie Greenwing has been at a loose end ever since her beloved twin sister and husband passed away. Too proud and stubborn to admit she is lonely, Birdie’s world has shrunk. But then some new neighbours move in to the house next door.
Jane has come to Brighton for a fresh start, away from her ferociously protective mother Min. While Jane finds it hard to stand up for herself, her daughter Frankie has no problem telling people what she does and doesn’t want. Ada Kowalski has come to England to follow her dreams, but her new life is harder than she expected.
When a series of incidents brings their lives crashing together, the three find that there is always more to a person than meets the eye …
Goodbye Birdie Greenwing celebrates relationships in all their quirky, complicated uniqueness. It is a story about the choices we make and how we justify them. About finding out who we are, not who other people think we should be.
Dog Days
George’s wife died suddenly, leaving him with a puppy he did not want, and letters to find telling him how to live without her. All he wants to do is sit in his armchair and sulk, but Betty comes into his life, dragging him back into the world.
Dan is a counsellor with OCD, hiding in the closet. The only person who knows the real Dan is his Labrador, Fitz. When Atticus walks into his counselling room, Dan is forced to admit who he is truly is. But Atticus is keeping secrets too. Dan will have to learn to be brave.
Lizzie is hiding in a refuge with her son Lenny. She refuses to talk about why. When she is tasked with walking the shelter’s dog, Maud, she meets Luke. Slowly, her secrets reveal themselves.
When I wrote Dog Days, I thought it was about dogs. Now I think it’s about grief and friendship and overcoming obstacles. George is based on my friend Maurice, who I lost in the Shoreham Air Disaster. Atticus is based on a friend’s brother. Lizzie represents the idea that women are either ‘mad or bad’ but never allowed to be human. The dogs are a reminder to live in the moment, accept what we cannot change and leave behind what is too heavy to carry.
