I have published 34 books since my first, A Barrow in the Broadway, came out in 1989. Click on a title in the list below to find out more about each book.
A Brighter Day Tomorrow (May 2018)
When they're not working in a West London munitions factory, Liz Beck and her best friend Marg find time for fun and laughter at the local ice rink. Then a couple of handsome American servicemen sweep them off their feet and Marg's dream of becoming a GI bride looks like it might come true.
Liz's sister Dora is jealous of the romance that blossoms between Victor and Liz but nothing can spoil Liz's happiness. Then tragedy strikes and Liz makes a discovery that causes a rift in her family. With almost nothing left to lose, she finds love and support where she least expects it and, as the war comes to an end, she hopes for a brighter day tomorrow...
Find out more about A Brighter Day Tomorrow
Dance Your Troubles Away (April 2017)
When Polly Pritchard learns that her husband has been killed in action, she brings up their young daughter Emmie alone. To make ends meet she gets a job at the Cherry Ballroom in West London and it is here that she meets James, a Canadian airman, and they fall in love. But then Polly's husband turns up, very much alive...
Life is even harder for Polly after the war; James has gone; her husband is involved in a criminal gang; and their daughter suffers from an illness that leaves her deaf. But Polly's spirit remains strong and with courage and determination she find the happiness she and her daughter deserve.
Find out more about Dance Your Troubles Away
When the Lights Go Down (September 2016)
It is 1938 and the threat of war looms on the streets of London. But, when the lights go down in the cinema aisles, usherette Daisy Blake is transported to a world of glamour and romance. Among the staff there is much merriment and Daisy soon falls in love with the handsome organist, Al Dawson. Then war is declared and, just after Al leaves for the frontline, Daisy discovers she's pregnant. Her mother is distraught; she doesn't think Al is right for her daughter and when Daisy's letters to him go unanswered, her mother encourages her to marry John, the cinema's projectionist, to spare her further heartache.
As the blitz rages over London and disaster strikes, Daisy's morale is boosted by her work and her young son, Sam, brings her comfort and joy in the troubled times ahead...
Find out more about When the Lights Go Down
A Mother’s Joy: A Short Story Collection In Celebration Of Mother’s Day (Feb 2015)
Including the short story The First Strawberry by Pam Evans. Bombs are falling over London and times are hard for Rose and her family. That is until six-year-old Sydney and a little miracle restore all hope...
Find out more about A Mother’s Joy: A Short Story Collection In Celebration Of Mother’s Day
The Apple of her Eye (March 2015)
It is February 1945 and April Green and her cousin Heather wonder if the war will ever end. Then the local pub in Chiswick takes a direct hit and April's father is killed in the blast. Life without him is hard to bear and April and her brother do all they can to help, particularly when their mother announces she is pregnant. Volunteering to tend her father's allotment, April discovers a passion for growing vegetables.
Meanwhile, Winnie Benson is coming to terms with her husband's spinal injuries. He may never walk again and, until their son, George, returns from the Merchant Navy, Winnie must run their greengrocer's on her own. Once the war is over and George is home, things start to improve but rationing remains in force and fresh vegetables are hard to find. April's supply of home-grown produce couldn't be more welcome. And, before long, George can't help wishing he was the apple of her eye...
Find out more about The Apple of her Eye
On Her Own Two Feet (October 2014)
In the middle of a party to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935, Mollie Fisher's good-for-nothing husband walks out on his wife and baby girl. Luckily, Mollie has a loving family to turn to for help. Mollie's mother, Marge, is delighted to look after baby Esme while Mollie goes out to work. Meanwhile, her nan, Nora, encourages Mollie to join a local keep fit class, which opens her eyes to a whole new world.
Determined to better herself, Mollie qualifies as a fitness instructor and starts to run her own classes for the local community, where she befriends a group of women she would never have known existed. But with the outbreak of the Second World War and the ever-present danger of losing her loved ones in the London bombings, it takes courage for Mollie to stand on her own two feet...
Find out more about On Her Own Two Feet
A Distant Dream (2013)
It is 1936 and, having endured the worst of the Depression, May Stubbs and her family hope for a brighter future. Finding a derelict cricket pavillion near their home in West London they convert it into a bustling cafe. Then May contracts the dreaded tuberculosis and she is sent away to the country to recover.
Being separated from her best friend, Betty Lane, and her childhood sweetheart, George Bailey, is hard for May but she makes new friends who encourage her to fight off her illness. It is only on her return home that the enormity of what has happened while she's been away hits her. There are times when May's happiness seems nothing but a distant dream and when war breaks out she must learn to forgive and forget in order to survive the heartache that lies in store.
Find out more about A Distant Dream
Whispers in the Town (2012)
For West London girls Sal and Ann Storey, 1957 should have been one of the happiest years of their lives. Instead, the sisters' world is turned upside down when two family tragedies strike in quick succession. Left to run the family's sweetshop with their grandmother, Sal discovers she has a flair for business - but it doesn't make up for everything she and Ann have lost. When Sal meets handsome taxi driver Bob Beck and falls deeply in love, it seems that her luck is changing. Bob becomes her one constant as she struggles to keep the business afloat, and as Ann finally uncovers the guilty secret she's been carrying for so long; a secret which could have explosive consequences for the sisters. The last thing Sal needs is for Bob's scheming ex-fiancee Kate to reappear in his life - especially as Kate is preparing to make a stunning revelation; one which could destroy their relationship for good...
Find out more about Whispers in the Town
The Other Side of Happiness (2011)
For typist Sadie Bell, the 1960s promise a decade of mini-skirts, pop music and endless possibilities. Young and carefree, she lives happily with her parents and older brothers in Hammersmith.
When Sadie meets Paul Winston at a Cliff Richard concert, it marks the beginning of a new chapter in her life. Falling head over heels in love, the couple can't wait to be married and move in to Paul's parents' home in a beautiful Surrey village until they can afford a place of their own. Despite the disapproval of her mother-in-law, Sadie is deeply happy with her new husband. But Paul and Sadie's joy is tragically short-lived and Sadie returns to London alone and pregnant.
Although heartbroken, Sadie finds support in her family and close friend Brenda, and a new sense of purpose with the birth of her baby girl, Rosie. But life has more surprises in store for Sadie, and a terrible secret threatens to take everything away from her once more...
Find out more about The Other Side of Happiness
Harvest Nights (2010)
It's 1920, and ex-land girl Clara Tripp is back home in West London with her family. Despite her engagement to local boy Arnold, Clara is feeling trapped in her dead-end job and longs to return to the countryside. An unexpected meeting with old flame Charlie Fenner leads to a temporary job at his family's orchard in Kent. Clara is finally content, but the longer she spends with the Fenners, the more she begins to suspect that all is not what it seems. What is the dark secret that hangs over them all? As Clara's feelings for Charlie grow, she realises she has an enemy on the farm who wants her gone at any cost...
Find out more about Harvest Nights
Under an Amber Sky (2010)
A heartrending London wartime saga from much-loved author Pamela Evans.For the Porters and the Mills, family and friendship are the glue that binds everything together. So when the Porters' home is destroyed in the Blitz and only seventeen-year-old Nell and her little sister Pansy survive, all their lives are shattered. Peg Mills is determined to look after her best friend's daughters. And, in time, the girls begin to thrive - Pansy, evacuated to the countryside and Peg's loving mother, and Nell in her new job at the local newspaper. But trouble is on its way. Nell discovers her handsome suitor Gus Granger is hiding a dangerous secret. And, just when she needs him the most, her closest confidant Ed Mills is declared missing in action. Nell suddenly realises that Ed means much more to her than just a friend. But will she ever see him again to tell him her true feelings?
Find out more about Under an Amber Sky
The Tideway Girls (2009)
It’s 1912, and, like all fisher folk in the village of Tideway, the Bow family live a simple life. Edie Bow loves her children dearly: handsome Henry, sensible Bessie, spirited May and little Sam. But one night tragedy strikes, and Henry is lost at sea. And when May falls pregnant out of wedlock, shamed Edie sends her daughter to London for an abortion. Determined to keep her child, May stays on in the city, away from her beloved sister Bessie. Torn apart, the girls must face their own struggles without each other, but through even the darkest night, a light burns strong: the love of a sister...
Find out more about The Tideway Girls
When the Boys Come Home (2007)
As German bombs wreak havoc on West London, for Morgan’s Dairy it’s business as usual. But when owner Dai Morgan is killed in an air raid, his daughter Megan is determined to continue in her father's footsteps and she braves the ravaged streets alone to do his milk round by horse and cart. Megan finds comfort in the knowledge that her twin girls are tucked away in a Welsh village, but she worries about her husband, Will, abroad with his platoon. And when Will's best friend, Doug Reynolds, returns, wounded and disfigured, she doesn't hesitate to take the poor man in. However, Doug is not the man she thinks he is. And when the boys come home, Megan has battle scars she can't allow Will to see...
Find out more about When the Boys Come Home
In The Dark Streets Shining (2006)
When Rose Brown’s husband is killed at Dunkirk in 1940, she feels as though she’s lost a part of herself. Rose can’t imagine the future without Ray, but she’s certain he would have wanted her to start again. She decides to volunteer as a postwoman in West London, and when she courageously rescues a young boy from a bombed-out house and takes him home, she finds a new sense of purpose. Traumatised from losing his mother in the ruins, seven-year-old Alfie is also rebellious and withdrawn. However, he touches the hearts of Rose's family, and with kindness, patience and love, they eventually win his trust. But then a handsome stranger, Johnny Beech, turns up on the doorstep, looking for his son, and everything changes...
Find out more about In The Dark Streets Shining
The Sparrows of Sycamore Road (2005)
Through the good times and bad, the Sparrow family has always stuck together. But as the Blitz ravages London in 1940, each of the Sparrows has their own battle to fight. Nancy finds herself volunteering as a porter at busy Paddington station - a world away from the smart West End dress shop where she used to work. Young Mickey is sent to the front line, while little Leslie suffers as an evacuee. Nancy must summon all her strength to support her loved ones, but they are unaware the woman they rely on hides a painful secret...
Find out more about The Sparrows of Sycamore Road
Second Chance of Sunshine (2004)
No one would blame Molly Hawkins if she envied her best friend Angie Beckett. Blessed with financial security and a loving husband, Angie has everything that Molly lacks. Brian Hawkins is too idle to seek regular employment, and there’s never enough money to provide for Molly’s six-year-old daughter Rosa. What’s more, Brian believes his wife’s place is in the home, and, although it’s 1956 and women are doing jobs they’d never dreamed of before the war, Molly is forbidden to go out to work. But when Angie’s father dies suddenly and leaves Molly a share in the Beckett pottery, it’s on the condition that she takes a job there. Seizing the chance to bring in much-needed income, Molly gains strength from her new-found independence – a strength she will need to take her through the tragedy that lies ahead...
Find out more about Second Chance of Sunshine
The Pride of Park Street (2003)
When Jess Mollitt gains a place with the famous Burton Girls dance troupe, appearing on the West End stage, it seems her dreams have finally come true. But then a family outing ends in tragedy, leaving her mother dead and her father a broken man, and Jess is forced to give up her career to look after her younger siblings, as well as manage the newsagents her father is no longer capable of running.
Unable to contemplate a life without dance, its not long before Jess is also running a hugely popular Saturday dance class for local children and this, combined with her blossoming friendship with neighbour Don Day, provides Jess with the saving grace she needs. But when the brother Don hates arrives on the scene, it seems Jess's problems may be only beginning...
Find out more about The Pride of Park Street
Always There (2002)
In 1930s London, two little girls are lonely and bewildered after the tragic death of their mother. Daisy and June are now destitute and must go to the local orphanage. Once there, they take comfort in each other but they are robbed of even this consolation when they are parted because June is taken away for adoption. Years later, although out of touch and worlds apart, both share a disturbing childhood memory which will connect them forever. A memory that takes on a ghastly significance when June discovers the reason they were abandoned...
Find out more about Always There
Close to Home (2001)
1950s Shepherd's Bush: Ellie Scott's life seems complete when she and husband, Tom, are blessed with a daughter. But their world tumbles around them when a car accident leaves Tom brain damaged. With her husband institutionalised, Ellie slowly learns to live without him. But when she falls in love with the notorious Ray Brent, who has a conviction for alleged murder, her life is thrown into chaos once more. Only when the shocking truth of the real murderer becomes known can Ellie leave her pain behind her and find happiness once more.
Find out more about Close to Home
Where We Belong (2000)
One day in 1964 Rachel West's husband walked out on his wife and two young sons, leaving them nothing but pain and heartache. Now, two years later, struggling in a poorly paid job, Rachel feels her luck will never change. So when she finds herself the new owner of her late Uncle Chip's Hammersmith boat-building business she wonders if it's too good to be true. Why would Chip have left it to her when he has a son himself? The business is only just afloat - thanks to the hard work of Chip's charismatic assistant, Ben - but Rachel is determined to restore it to its former glory for the sake of her sons. And before long, she realises that she's falling in love with kind-hearted and handsome Ben. But her good fortune doesn't last for long - someone is maliciously plotting to sabotage her plans...
Find out more about Where We Belong
A Smile For All Seasons (1999)
In 1963 Eve Peters has it all: young, beautiful and fashionable, she also has a gorgeous husband, Ken. She dreams of owning a house in Ealing where they can start a family. But a horrific tragedy leaves Eve a widow, with Ken's baby on the way.But then Eve meets Meg - blonde, vivacious and also single. Meg's baby is due soon after Eve's and the two women strike up a deep friendship. Meg owns a successful boutique and when she learns that Eve is also passionate about clothes, she offers her a job and they become business partners. And when handsome Bart Baxter walks into her life, Eve starts to believe that once again she can find love and happiness. But then Meg reveals a devastating secret that has the power to destroy one of the most rewarding relationships in Eve's life...
Find out more about A Smile For All Seasons
The Carousel Keeps Turning (1999)
Covered with bruises, Maddie Brown can only think about getting as far away as possible from Barking and her violent husband. Richmond, at the other end of the District Line, seems as good a place to go as any. It's a hot bank holiday in 1960 and Maddie, clutching her five-year-old daughter, follows the Richmond crowds swarming towards the river where a vibrant fairground is in full swing. The noise and fun do little to soothe her pain but an encounter with a fairground owner's daughter is to change her life for ever. Janice is a kind, warm-hearted single mother who, seeing their distress, determines to help them. Before long, Maddie is working for the Fenners, revelling in the spirit of the fairground. But an ugly past, when it is left unresolved, has a habit of catching up with the present and Maddie eventually realises that she must fight like never before to keep hold of all that she loves...
Find out more about The Carousel Keeps Turning
A Song In Your Heart (1998)
When Gill and Arnie marry in the summer of 1957, rumours fly round the community of Maisie Road, Fulham. But the couple are too in love to care, and when their son is born their happiness seems complete. Then Arnie becomes a professional footballer. But fame comes at a price, and a terrible accident ends his sporting career.
Find out more about A Song In Your Heart
Town Belles (1997)
Teenage sisters Faith and Zoe Hodge want very different things from life. Faith longs for a career and dreams of the day when she will run her own hairdressing salon in London's West End. Zoe, on the other hand, is much more homely - marriage, babies and a semi-detached house in Ealing are what she aspires to. But their dreams are shattered when the Coronation Day celebrations of 1953 end in disaster...As time goes by the sisters find themselves growing further apart. Faith, still scarred by the past, cannot commit herself to a relationship, and Zoe, caught up in her own dramas, resents the bond that has developed between Faith and her daughter Sally. It takes another twist of fate many years later for them to be reunited and to learn that love and understanding can be shared in many different ways...
Find out more about Town Belles
Near and Dear (1997)
Jane and Mick have worked hard for their home and children. Their wonderful lifestyle comes to a dramatic end when, the husband's business runs into trouble and he disappears. Faced with poverty and homelessness, Jane discovers she has unexpected strengths and is capable of being more than a housewife.
Find out more about Near and Dear
Yesterday’s Friends (1996)
One blissful night of romance at an end-of-term party in the summer of 1951 changed the course of Ruth Brooks' life for ever. The brightest girl in her class, Ruth had planned to attend college but the realisation that she was pregnant forced her to abandon all hopes of a career. Now, five years later, she still lives in Shepherd's Bush with her parents, twin brothers and daughter, Jenny. Conscious of a need to make ends meet, Ruth works as a shop assistant at the local chemist while her mother looks after Jenny. Ruth's best friend Kitty bitterly resents what has happened, but never once does Ruth regret the outcome of that magical night. And the joy that Jenny brings is ample reward for the sacrifices she has made. Ruth meets someone new and tries to put the past behind her, but yesterday's friends have an uncanny way of catching up with her and when her father turns up unexpectedly, Ruth's world is thrown into confusion once again...
Find out more about Yesterday’s Friends
Part of the Family (1995)
Lizzie Smith has practically become part of the Carter family, and it is only fitting that she should eventually marry Stan, one of the Carter boys. But, as much as she loves Stan, Lizzie senses a darker side to him that his mother cannot see. It isn't long before his bitterness causes Lizzie to question her relationship, and ultimately leads to tragedy...
Find out more about Part of the Family
The Willow Girls (1994)
Tilly and her daughter Nina have managed the Willow pub throughout the war. But when the war is over they find themselves faced with new problems, not least of which is Baz Paxton, whose ambitions extend beyond the pub. Nina falls for his charms, but there's heartbreak ahead when she discovers she is pregnant with Baz's child...
Find out more about The Willow Girls
The Tea-Blender’s Daughter (1994)
Henry Slafer is the owner of a successful tea-trading company, and his family never want for anything. But he is a cold man, with little time for his children, Dolly and Ken. Dolly works for the company and is set to marry her father's deputy, Frank Mitchell. But during the General Strike, Dolly is rescued from a dangerous riot by factory hand Bill Drake, and the pair soon fall in love. But Henry Slafer is displeased by the match, and does everything in his power to destroy their relationship.
Confused and alone, Dolly agrees to marry Frank and Bill, heartbroken, takes a job elsewhere. Will Dolly and Bill ever see each other again? And can Bill forgive her for turning her back on him?
Find out more about The Tea-Blender’s Daughter
A Fashionable Address (1993)
The Potters of Kensington take for granted all the comforts of their position. Cyril Potter is a secret gambler whose debts have become so crippling that he can see no way out, and he commits suicide. Left to clear the debts, his family are forced to sell everything the own. As daughter Kate labours in a hat-making factory to support the family, she catches the eye of the wealthy factory owner. But tragedy strikes the family once more when unmarried Kate is left pregnant...
Find out more about A Fashionable Address
Star Quality (1991)
Young Tess Trent works at Emerson's department store in London's West End, its affluence a far remove from her own ordinary, respectable home in Briar Park in Hammersmith. But unlike her parents, Tess does not believe the fine and beautiful things she sells each day will be beyond her reach for ever.
The son of a Sheffield miner, Max Bentley wants to earn his living as a musician in a dance band in London. His parents are horrified. Meeting at a dance one Saturday night, Tess and Max are instantly attracted, and soon discover they share the same dreams. But Max's ambitions drive them apart. Feeling betrayed and desperate, Tess does her best to find fulfillment in marriage and her dream of opening a shop. Years later, Tess's nineteen-year-old daughter Judy falls in love with a musician. His name is Max Bentley...
Find out more about Star Quality
Maggie of Moss Street (1990)
The Brightwells live in Moss Street in a shabby area of London's Shepherd's Bush. Maggie Brightwell's father was killed in the Blitz by a bomb that also injured her brother Tom. Yet Maggie is a lively, warm-hearted girl. She works as a typist in central London and becomes good friends with Chloe Anderson, the spoilt daughter of her rich boss. When her boss begins to take a more than paternal interest in Maggie, she is horrified and quickly changes jobs, becoming an assistant in a run-down flower shop in Moss Street. She soon falls for the happy-go-lucky owner Jack Radford and they marry. But their happiness is threatened by a developing relationship between Maggie and her best friend Chloe's new charismatic husband. Maggie is determined not to hurt those closest to her and provide a better life for her family, but can she resist temptation?
Find out more about Maggie of Moss Street
A Barrow in the Broadway (1989)
From playing in the backyard to being taken in by Queenie when her own mother was killed in an air raid, Rosie Goodson has been part of the Gordillo family for as long as she can remember. She watched their business grow from a fruit and vegetable street barrow to a chain of supermarkets - and as soon as she was old enough, she went to work in the head office. But passion, bitterness and her unhappy marriage to the selfish Mickey Gordillo alienate her from them; for in her heart Rosie carries an undying love for a man she can never marry...