Book details

Book description

A romping chick-lit with heart-ache, misunderstandings, travel and love. No one knows 'happy endings' like romance novelist Darrell Kincaid. She's delivered eight of them to her readers with pleasure. But it's not to be with book number nine. In the act of adding the final full stop, Darrell has a revelation: it's not the ending that really matters but what comes next. Darrell now sees that when her husband Tom died (twenty-one months and three days ago, but who's counting?) she lost more than the man she loved. She lost her own 'happy ever after'. The life she expected to live has gone, vanished forever in a puff of fickle, unfair smoke. Darrell knows she has a choice. She can stay in New Zealand and live a half-life, or she can leave in search of something - perhaps someone - else. So Darrell decides upon London, the least romantic capital she knows (why set yourself up for disappointment?). Armed with Nancy Mitford's Love In A Cold Climate as her guide to proper Englishness and the ideal romantic hero, she sets out to live the sweet second life she deserves. Catherine Robertson, writer of bestselling chick lit novels, was born in Wellington and attended Victoria University of Wellington. She left New Zealand for a while to live in San Francisco and Buckinghamshire, but is now back home. She lives in a house by the sea with her husband who sheds bicycle bits, a black labrador who sheds hair, a cat who sheds bits of whatever ità  s just eaten, and two sons who shed all of the above. Owning and running a marketing business with her husband, she also teaches budding entrepreneurs through Grow Wellingtonà  s à  Activateà  programme. Her debut novel, The Sweet Second Life of Darrell Kincaid, hit the New Zealand bestseller list immediately, making its way to number one. She quickly followed this novel up with The Not So Perfect Life of Mo Lawrence. Hailed as à  a new national treasureà  , Catherine was a featured author at the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair, and both of her books have been published in Germany. Kerre Woodham wrote of The Sweet Second Life of Darrell:à  This is the novel I wish I had written à Â- a warm, laugh-out-loud, funny romantic comedy. Fans of Marion Keyes, who is the benchmark for clever, witty chick lit, will love this . . . Robertson is a refreshing new writer in the chick lit genre and deserves to be an international success. I just wish Ià  d written it.à  Reviewing the follow-up novel, The Not So Perfect Life of Mo Lawrence, Woodham declared: à  An earthy, authentic tale of love and loss, Roberston has built on her reputation as a writer of great romantic comedy.à  The Dominion Post Weekend heralded it as à  Chick Lit meets Lake Wobegon à Â- that is, the men are good-looking and the women are strong.à Â