The Perfect Blend by Trish Perry
Steph Vandergrift left everything to elope with Middleburg attorney Rick Manfred, who then stood her up at the altar. Too embarrassed to return home, Steph hopes to earn enough to get by until she can decide what to do next. Tea Shop owner Milly Jewel hires her and appreciates the extra help at the tea shop.
Also appreciative of Steph is Kendall James, one of the kindest, most eligible bachelors in the area. But by the time Steph feels able to consider dating again, her run-away fiancé returns and tries to win her back. Steph is wary, but she and Rick always blended so well.
Christie Burnham, the frank-talking equestrian from whom Steph rents a room, and her frillier sister Liz become fast friends and confidantes to Steph. Between the two sisters, there isn't much any man is going to pull over on Middleburg's newest bachelorette and tea shop employee.
About Trish: I started writing seriously about sixteen years ago. Up until then I thought I had finally figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up: I went back to school and got a degree in Psychology. I was drawn to how our minds and emotions work. But while writing for my classes, I found myself drawn to how we relate to one another's minds and emotions.
Hey, guess what? That's what stories and novels are all about (good ones, anyway)!
I started writing short stories—pretty bad ones. And I started taking creative writing courses to round out my degree. So I was in classes full of people just like me—lousy writers. But we were learning!
Then the Lord led me to a local writers' group, Capital Christian Writers, and the contacts and friends I made through CCW enriched my personal life and my writing life more than I can measure. Through CCW and through reading just about every book and magazine ever published by Writer's Digest, I started catching on. Now I'm writing full time and man oh man do I love it.
Before the writing began, I worked for attorneys in Washington, D. C. I worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission. And I was a stockbroker. A horrible stockbroker. How do people do that? Take responsibility for other people's financial futures? Yikes. I'm perfectly happy to take responsibility for the amount of time any one person wants to spend reading my books. If you enjoy the experience, then know that we both enjoyed it together. I love that about books.
In the midst of all that fretting over other people's money and writing about other people's lives, I racked up a few personal experiences myself. Some good, some bad, but all part of God's plan. Now I live in Northern Virginia with my brilliantly funny son. I have a savvy, gorgeous grown daughter, a charming son-in-law, and an amazing grandson. For more info about Trish and her other books, visit her website at www.trishperry.com.
Books 3 & 4 in The London Confidential series by Sandra Byrd
London Confidential, Book #3
Don't Kiss Him Goodbye
It was just a kiss. A simple kiss, a quick kiss, an innocent peck because they were saying good-bye and no one was watching. But someone was watching them–me. Not that I'd meant to. I didn't know why the kiss troubled me, but it did. I hid it well, though. Or so I thought.
Now established in her quirky British village, Savvy works hard to get an article with her own byline published in the school newspaper. When an attractive and mysterious boy asks her for help with his school work, Savvy is slowly pulled into his circle and soon finds out that the wrong set of friends-boys and girls-can influence her own behavior. Following her own advice to cut ties with a charming bad boy would mean abandoning her dearest wishes, and it just doesn't seem as wrong as it feels. Is it? Read on for surprise twists throughout the book!
London Confidential, Book #4
Flirting With Disaster
If you forward this to 10 friends within 2 hours something good will happen in your life 2day and 2morrow. But if you don't then something bad will happen 2day and 2morrow. For sure.In a shocking turn of events, all writers for the Wexburg Academy Times will cast their votes for next year's editor – and it looks like Savvy's vote will be the tie breaker! She must choose between a nasty-girl-turned-nice, with a sudden interest in letting Savvy get what she wants, and the prickly Hazelle, who promises nothing at all. Savvy then finds herself wrapped up in a new, seemingly innocent but potentially dangerous activity. It's all at risk in this book: her position on the paper, the boy she likes, the ministry she wants to go well. At a critical moment, Savvy must figure out how to rely on God rather than luck and to overcome temptation before it is too late.
About Sandra Byrd: After earning her first rejection at the age of thirteen, bestselling author Sandra Byrd went on to publish three dozen books including her widely-acclaimed adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, and her recent 4-book young adult fiction series, London Confidential.
A former textbook acquisitions editor, Sandra is also an accomplished non-fiction writer and author. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications such as Radiant, Focus on the Family's Clubhouse Magazine, Christian Parenting Today, Pockets, Decision, and Guideposts. During the past seven years, Sandra has mentored hundreds of students through the Christian Writer's Guild.
Sandra resides in Seattle, Washington with her husband Michael, a chaplain, their two teenagers, and a circus dog named Brie. For more info about Sandra and her other books, please visit www.sandrabyrd.com.