Beachcombing . . . for readers of women’s fiction

I love to read novels about feisty, middle-aged women who tackle life head on, and when I complained there weren't enough of them, a friend challenged me to write one of my own. This is the result ... a story of new beginnings, of a fierce and unexpected love that hits without warning, and the consequences of that improbable love.

 

Jillian hunter treasures her independence. She’s raised two sons by herself, launched a small business, and restored a tumbledown beach cottage in Connecticut. Finally, at fifty-two, she's ready for another shot at love, but soon discovers most single men her age prefer women in their twenties. Then a trip to London reunites her with Colin – an old flame she hasn’t seen in thirty-five years – and Jill falls for him all over again.

This could be her chance for a new beginning, one she never expected, and certainly not at her age. But Colin isn’t quite the boy Jill remembers and she ends up risking everything she’s worked for – her business, her home, and her two closest friends – to make a life with him. And when faced with the risk of losing Colin as well, Jill is forced to take an uncomfortably close look at the woman she’s allowed herself to become and figure out a way to win herself back.

 

Funny, sophisticated, and wise, Beachcombing is a coming-of-middle-age story about girlfriends when you’re no longer a girl, about growing up when you’re already grown up, and the price you’re willing to pay for the love of your life.

 

Reviews for Beachcombing

Beachcombing is a sparklingly attractive novel written with humour, brio, and a refreshing unsentimentality.

Elizabeth Buchan, author of Wives Behaving Badly

A wonderfully uplifting story about a woman on her way to fulfillment.

Katie Fforde, author of Wedding Season

Beachcombing seduces easily and satisfies completely. Rich, funny, and loving, reading this book is akin to sharing a perfect meal with old friends. I never wanted the story to end.

Jeanne Ray, author of Julie and Romeo

With clear-eyed affection, sumptuous prose, and indomitable wit, Beachcombing examines loss, sorrow, and redemption. Maggie Dana’s first novel is proof that middle age offers no protection against vulnerability when it comes to love and lust. Fifty-something Jill Hunter is as vital, lively, and as optimistic about the future as any twenty-year-old.

Carrie Kabak, author of Cover the Butter

 

 

Beachcombing, published by Macmillan New Writing, June 2009.

Available in U.K. bookstores and online at Book Depository and Amazon.

In the U.S., order at Book Depository for free shipping from the U.K.