Sarah Connell – författare

Christine wakes up one morning to discover that her husband, Ray, did not come home from his evening out with a friend. She waits to hear from him but has no message or news. The friend she thought he had arranged to see has left a phone message to say that he is sorry they did not meet. Ray's work believe he has gone away on sabbatical and the police are sympathetic but unhelpful.Ray is gone and there is no reason to think he might come back again soon.From being settled and content, Christine's life lies in tatters. Until she encounters a young man tending a cat injured by a speeding car. Against her instincts, Christine is drawn to the young man and strange, fragile association grows between them, one which gradually alters Christine's life.

This is not the Garden of Eden, but it is my patch of heaven. Steal my apples. Come and get them.When an asylum seeker is discovered sleeping rough at an allotment site, the plot-holders are alarmed and hostile. However, in secret, Walter begins to leave out food for Osama. Thus, a friendship begins on a garden bench, between a grieving widower and an asylum seeker on the run from the authorities.Walter is rooted in his home city; Osama belongs nowhere. Walter has a safe and routine life; Osama’s life is uncertain, risky and vulnerable. Walter feels powerless to help him, while at the same time he struggles to understand his own daughters and their lives. Then, one day, Walter discovers Osama is not who he says he is…