Helen Aitchison – författare

Kitty Cook may be a great school teacher, but learning the lessons of online dating is a harder subject than she first thought.Finding herself alone again in her thirties, she decides to take her friend Sophie's advice and sign up for an online dating site. After recently leaving a failed five-year relationship, Kitty is hesitant to get her hopes up.All she wants to do is graduate from the school of love, but will she ever find someone who will make the grade?The Life and Love (Attempts) of Kitty Cook is an emotional yet heart-warming read that takes you on an unforgettable journey through the highs and lows of online dating and looking for love in your thirties.

Five people. Five secrets. Each needing healing, support and acceptance. Derek's life has changed suddenly. His wife of the past few decades has left him, unable to live with his secret anymore. Inspired by a TV show, he decides to start a dinner club to make new friends, the kind that might accept him if he can be brave enough to tell them the truth. Eddie is grieving, a widower, struggling as a single parent. The void in his life slowly destroying him and his relationship with his young daughter. Florence, supported by her carer Jessie, craves one more adventure to round off the last 80 odd years. Violet needs a focus, a new identity, until she has the confidence to escape her grim reality with abusive husband, Ben. Cara is lost, with nowhere to call home and no one to go home to, now she's aged out of the care system. Will this mishmash group fill each other's souls as well as their plates?

In the wake of a devastating family loss, 24-year-old May finds herself adrift, her belief in love and happiness shattered. Struggling to navigate her new reality, May grapples with the persistent sensation of being a misfit in a world where she never quite belongs.But just as she begins to resign herself to this feeling of isolation, tragedy strikes once more, propelling May into action. Determined to shield herself from further heartache, she concocts a radical scheme to safeguard against future abandonment.That is until May meets Mr. Parsley, a charming retiree who becomes May's unexpected neighbour. As May meticulously executes her plan, the presence of Mr. Parsley and his grown-up son, Sam, threatens to disrupt her carefully laid out path. Will May stick to her meticulously crafted schedule, or will the warmth and kindness of the Parsley family lead her down an unforeseen, life-altering path?Join May on her poignant journey of resilience, love, and the transformative power of human connection in the face of life's most profound challenges.