Vanessa Lafaye – författare

'Exquisite' Veronica Henry*****Before A Christmas Carol there was… Miss Marley. Orphans Clara and Jacob Marley live by their wits, scavenging for scraps in the poorest alleyways of London, in the shadow of the workhouse. Every night, Jake promises his little sister ‘tomorrow will be better’ and when the chance to escape poverty comes their way, he seizes it despite the terrible price.And so Jacob Marley is set on a path that leads to his infamous partnership with Ebenezer Scrooge. As Jacob builds a fortress of wealth to keep the world out, only Clara can warn him of the hideous fate that awaits him if he refuses to let love and kindness into his heart… A spellbinding, Dickensian tale of ghosts, goodwill and hope – a perfect prequel to A Christmas Carol. *****Praise for Miss Marley:‘A spellbinding Dickensian tale of ghosts, goodwill and hope’ Mail on Sunday‘Redemptive… a fitting legacy for a writer who is so sadly missed’ Red‘Evocative’ Heat‘Delightful’ Sunday Mirror‘A reminder of the power of kindness and love’ StylistA ‘gem of a tale’ Sunday Express‘A beautifully written Dickensian tale’ Candis‘Captivating … A beautiful and tender fable’ Daily Express‘Fantastic’ Good Housekeeping‘Ghosts, goodwill and hope on every page’ My Weekly‘Lafaye masterfully brings the setting of 19th-Century London to life’ Woman‘Love, disappointment, kindness and greed all play their parts in this delightful companion piece to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol’ Woman & Home‘A seasonal tale of kindness and goodwill that captures the atmosphere of Dickens’ Yours‘Exquisite’ Veronica Henry‘A beautiful, warm, rich hug of a story and bittersweet reminder to embrace life and enrich others as you go’ Liz Fenwick

‘Exquisite’ Veronica HenryBefore A Christmas Carol there was… Miss MarleyA seasonal tale of kindness and goodwillOrphans Clara and Jacob Marley live by their wits, scavenging for scraps in the poorest alleyways of London, in the shadow of the workhouse. Every night, Jake promises his little sister ‘tomorrow will be better’ and when the chance to escape poverty comes their way, he seizes it despite the terrible price.And so Jacob Marley is set on a path that leads to his infamous partnership with Ebenezer Scrooge. As Jacob builds a fortress of wealth to keep the world out, only Clara can warn him of the hideous fate that awaits him if he refuses to let love and kindness into his heart…In Miss Marley, Vanessa Lafaye weaves a spellbinding Dickensian tale of ghosts, goodwill and hope – a perfect prequel to A Christmas Carol.Praise for Miss Marley:‘A spellbinding Dickensian tale of ghosts, goodwill and hope’ Mail on Sunday‘Redemptive… a fitting legacy for a writer who is so sadly missed’ Red‘Evocative’ Heat‘Delightful’ Sunday Mirror‘A reminder of the power of kindness and love’ StylistA ‘gem of a tale’ Sunday Express‘A beautifully written Dickensian tale’ Candis‘Captivating … A beautiful and tender fable’ Daily Express‘Fantastic’ Good Housekeeping‘Ghosts, goodwill and hope on every page’ My Weekly‘Lafaye masterfully brings the setting of 19th-Century London to life’ Woman‘Love, disappointment, kindness and greed all play their parts in this delightful companion piece to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol’ Woman & Home‘A seasonal tale of kindness and goodwill that captures the atmosphere of Dickens’ Yours‘Exquisite’ Veronica Henry‘A beautiful, warm, rich hug of a story and bittersweet reminder to embrace life and enrich others as you go’ Liz Fenwick

Tensions simmer as a small town, already divided by race, is torn apart by the deadliest of hurricanes . . . THE HELP meets TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD in this powerfully emotional and gripping debut novel.In the small town of Heron Key, where the relationships are as tangled as the mangrove roots in the swamp, everyone is preparing for the 4th of July barbecue, unaware that their world is about to change for ever. Missy, maid to the Kincaid family, feels she has wasted her life pining for Henry, who went to fight on the battlefields of France. Now he has returned with a group of other desperate, destitute veterans, unsure of his future, ashamed of his past. When a white woman is found beaten nearly to death, suspicion falls on Henry. As the tensions rise, the barometer starts to plummet. But nothing can prepare them for what is coming. For far out over the Atlantic, the greatest storm ever to strike North America is heading their way...

Meet Alicia Cortez: survivor, healer...murderer?1993, Key West, Florida. When a Ku Klux Klan official is shot in broad daylight, all eyes turn to the person holding the gun: a 96-year-old Cuban woman who will say nothing except to admit her guilt.1919. Mixed-race Alicia Cortez arrives in Key West exiled in disgrace from her family in Havana. At the same time, damaged war hero John Morales returns home on the last US troop ship from Europe. As love draws them closer in this time of racial segregation, people are watching, including Dwayne Campbell, poised on the brink of manhood and struggling to do what's right. And then the Ku Klux Klan comes to town...Inspired by real events, At First Light weaves together a decades-old grievance and the consequences of a promise made as the sun rose on a dark day in American history.