Suzanne Strempek Shea – författare

Lily Wilk always knew she was destined to be an artist, ever since she pulled a drawing kit from a grab bag on her tenth birthday. Now Lily's work is always in demand around her small Massachusetts town, where she makes her living painting everything from fire hydrants to 'Gulls' and 'Buoys' signs on the bathroom doors at the local seafood restaurant. But when supermarket heiress Mary Ziemba commissions her to paint a family portrait, Lily senses that her lifelong dream of creating a memorable masterpiece is finally within her grasp. What she discovers however, is that dreams often take unexpected twists...and with each small and gentle brush stroke she applies to Mary Ziemba's painting, Lily learns more than she ever imagined about the meaning of friendship, family and love.

Growing up in a small New England town, 14 year-old Donna Milewski had all she needed: a grandmother, Babci, whose fragrant cooking filled their home...her mother, Helen, who lovingly stitched outfits...and Adam, the most wonderful father a daughter could imagine, who dreamed she could one day lead an all-girl polka band. Then came Betty, a tiny and adorable five-year-old, sent from Poland by Adam's destitute brother. Bringing with her only a rubber doll's leg and her old-world charm, Betty became the little sister Donna never had -- and a threat to her father's love. During a long and painful rift, a dance of betrayal and hurt, Donna must look to her beloved polka music for the key to healing.

Advertising to sell her engagement ring after being left at the altar by a man who decided to enter the clergy instead, a young woman meets Randy, a recently engaged prospective buyer who keeps coming back to see her.

Sophie didn't expect to fall in love with the quaint Irish village of Booley. Before she visited, she couldn't even find it on a map! She's there for a vacation, but finds she doesn't want to leave lush, green Ireland - not to mention Liam, the handsome shopkeeper whose store she has been helping to run. Sophie extends her stay and finds herself welcomed into this quirky community with open arms. The villagers bend her ear with gossip and history about themselves. But the story she is most interested in is that of Finola O'Flynn - the namesake of the shop she works in, former tenant of the cottage where she lives, and Liam's ex-girlfriend. She left over a year before, but tales of her time there still flourish throughout town. The elusive Finola is clearly well-loved by everyone and begins to take on an almost-mythical status. Sophie's new mantra becomes WWFD or What would Finola do? She even starts to wear the clothes that Finola left in her closet and speaking in an Irish brogue at the store. With this new philosophy, Sophie's life magically begins to change for the better. She is more centred and more open to other people's affections. And her relationship with Liam is growing serious. But trouble begins when the object of Sophie's adulation makes her appearance--is there enough room in Booley for two Finolas?