Books
The Starnberg Series
If Time Were Not A Moving Thing - Book One
Set in the glamorous world of opera, the book charts the tempestuous and
passionate relationship between the world-famous soprano, Marie Nyman, and
Arabella Cooper, a young pianist and aspiring conductor. Marie is married and deeply
in the closet, Arabella out and proud. Can Marie overcome her fears and
acknowledge the love of her life, as Arabella’s career takes off? Two beautiful women
battle their demons in locations as diverse as New York, London, Vienna, and
Munich.
You Don’t Own Me - Book Two
Juliette Simon is married, more or less unhappily, and is the most popular folk/pop
singer in the German-speaking world. She is Marie and Arabella Cooper-Nyman’s
new neighbour, and lives in her purpose-built villa on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria.
She meets and falls in love with one of her backing singers, Jodie Sanchez. Their
story is one full of trials and tribulations. Juliette must confront the homophobia
rampant in the folk music world. Jodie must decide: her solo career in the USA, or
Juliette?
Give Me Time - Book Three
In Give Me Time, the story unfolds around Leonie Brandt, a nineteen-year-old
aspiring artist and theatre designer, daughter of the Cooper-Nyman’s housekeeper.
Her life takes an intriguing turn when she meets the accomplished young director, Pia
Hartmann. Despite an undeniable attraction, Pia hesitates, finding Leonie too
youthful for romance.
As Leonie starts her career, their paths cross intermittently, sparking a tumultuous
mix of longing and frustration. Leonie’s journey into romantic relationships between
women begins under the mentorship of an older companion, leading her into a
passionate affair with the enchanting opera singer, Thea Doukas. Meanwhile, Pia,
trapped in a lackluster relationship, yearns for the bond she once shared with Leonie.
As Leonie matures and becomes entrenched in the world of theatre and opera, both
women navigate the complexities of their desires and careers. Pia finds herself
struggling to break free from her unsatisfactory relationship in hopes of rekindling
what she and Leonie once had. With emotions running high and ambitions at stake,
the question remains: Have they missed their moment, or is a shared future still
within reach?
This third installment of The Starnberg Series delves deep into the emotional
whirlpool of sex, love, and ambition, capturing the essence of youthful aspiration and
the trials of the heart.
How Can I Be Sure - Book Four
Thea Doukas is on a downward spiral, attempting to recover from a broken heart
after her lover Leonie Brandt marries Pia Hartmann. On the rebound, she goes from
affair to affair, until she finds some peace staying with Suzanne Weigl and her wife
Beth in their house on lake Starnberg.
A dilapidated house next door is up for sale and Leonie suggests they buy it together.
Thea is doubtful she can ever live so close to Leonie and Pia, until she meets
Leonie’s best friend Emma Stoiber. Winter sport dominates the area, and Emma is
on the German biathlon A Team. Thea is immediately infatuated, but Emma has a
boyfriend. A full-blown crisis erupts when an intimate photo appears in a scandal
newspaper. They separate, their expectations too difficult to reconcile.
A slow-burn romance between two women from very different worlds.
This is the fourth book in the Starnberg series.
All I See Is You - Book Five
Lennie Adams is a stage manager and aspiring director working in London’s West
End. While employed on a dubious revival of Noël Coward’s nostalgic play Private
Lives, she meets renowned classical actress Melanie Blaine. The beautiful woman is
imprisoned in an unhappy marriage to a TV soap star.
Their mutual attraction leads to a tour romance. Back in London and struggling to
maintain their affair, reality intervenes and a dramatic traffic accident triggers
Melanie’s repressed guilt. She spirals into a breakdown.
Lennie wants to help Mel heal, if only she’ll allow it. Or will Melanie’s anguish
overwhelm them both?
Join this stirring backstage drama of two creative spirits grappling to overcome
ghosts from the past.
Stay Awhile - Book Six
With the enchanting backdrop of Lake Starnberg as its setting, the novel features
Alexandra ‘Sasha’ Strauss, a young woman of Japanese and German descent, who
finds herself on the cusp of love and career. As she tutors the challenging daughter
of Marie Nyman and Arabella Cooper during her last year of university, Sasha’s path
unexpectedly crosses that of the enigmatic French-Canadian film producer,
Dominique Thibault.
Dominique, a woman with a mysterious past, is collaborating with the renowned
director Juliette Simon on a film located in a run-down hotel on the south side of the
lake.
Sasha, an aspiring professional photographer, seizes the opportunity to intern as a
stills photographer on their set.
Amid the glitz and glamour of the movie world, an undeniable attraction ignites
between the ambitious intern and the aloof producer.
As Sasha and Dominique navigate their growing feelings, secrecy becomes
paramount. However, when Sasha is framed by a malicious individual on set,
Dominique’s response shatters their delicate trust. Can they overcome the pain and
rebuild what they once had, or will their love be lost forever?
Go Softly, Goodbye - Book Seven
Sybilla Frank, fledgling star of the new film, The Jawlensky Trail, based on Emma
Stoiber’s captivating thriller and directed by the talented Juliette Simon, feels her life
is perfect. Happily married to her husband Thomas, and scaling the career ladder,
Sybilla arrives on set for the first day of rehearsals. An immediate confrontation with
her co-star, Hannah Snyman reveals an unprecedented antipathy between the two
actresses. They snipe at each other to the growing irritation of the film’s director, until
a stunt gone wrong unexpectedly brings them closer together. But is the affair merely
a torrid film set romance, or could it be something deeper? Hannah’s commitment
issues threaten to stand in the way of a more permanent relationship when they are
torn apart as filming ends.
Go softly, goodbye is the seventh instalment in the acclaimed Starnberg Series.
Discover the depths of Sybilla and Hannah’s journey in this must-read novel.
This seventh installment of The Starnberg Series delves deeply into the emotional
whirlpool of sex, love, and ambition between the two women.
Yesterday When I was Young - Book Eight
In the eighth and final book of the Starnberg set series, no couple escapes the grip of
misfortune. They find themselves in a true annus horribilis. From a terrifying cancer
scare and a child's meningitis to a life-altering car crash in distant Toronto and the
unravelling of a once-strong love, this year is a true battleground.
As the women confront these challenges, their bonds of friendship and support
deepen, providing a lifeline through the storm. Amid the turmoil, an older love
rekindles: Sybilla's mother, Emmeline Merting, faces a family tragedy and
rediscovers her first love, the formidable divorce lawyer Magdalena von
Reichenbach. The eye of the storm as chaos whirls around the lives of the others.
Will anyone emerge unscathed?
The Westminster Series
In Private
Amber Celeste Reynaud, a young schoolteacher of Huguenot descent, and proud of it, is passionately keen to enter British politics as a member of the Ecology party.
Her bête noir is the rich and famous MP for the Business party, Catherine Fitzwilliam. Daughter of a baronet, she is married to a wealthy banker and lives in a fabulous, listed property. Amber loathes her and everything she stands for.
A chance meeting in a London theatre leads to a far from polite outburst from Amber, for which she is ashamed. But Catherine’s teenage son had, after all, poked her painfully in the back with his umbrella.
Amber teaches sports and English at a state school in the Brighton area. When she is summoned by the head teacher to meet a prospective new entry to her class in the winter term, it is Catherine and her son who she finds sitting in the Head’s study. Sam, who Amber has realised is on the Asperger Spectrum, insists he leave his private school to join Amber’s class. Against the Head’s better judgement, Amber persuades her to give the boy a chance.
Amber lives in a marriage of convenience with her husband Ian. She has never questioned her indifference to sex, believing she needs all her energies to flow into her career ambitions. Now she recognises that the looks the very married Catherine gives her are far from innocent. And strangely, they don’t leave her cold either…
Losing You
Anna Westlake is a jobbing political journalist living in Canterbury with her wife, a successful professor. After jumping in for a TV interview outside the Houses of Parliament to help out a sick colleague, she learns that the head of features is impressed by her performance. She is summoned by the BBC, where she is offered the chance to host a late evening political discussion programme. On the way out of the building, a defective lift literally pushes her into the arms of the beautiful and heavily pregnant sports anchor, Jessie Sutherland. Anna is fascinated by the woman, whose private life is shrouded in mystery. After a lengthy preparation time, the programme Anna Westlake Live goes on the air and is an immediate success. It catapults her to fame, but her home life becomes increasingly problematic. Her wife finds it difficult to cope with the new balance of power in their household. Anna and Jessie work in the same building and inevitably meet again. All is not as it appears in the life of the sports reporter with two children. They grow closer as the cracks widen in Anna's marriage.
