SHEILA NORTON
MY BOOKS
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My Daughter's Keeper
'My Daughter's Keeper' was published on 21 August 2025 by Boldwood Books.
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How would you feel if the only way to survive on your own with your child, was to swallow your pride and leave her with your ex's new partner? This is what Tasha has to do, when her little daughter Daisy's father leaves her for the rich, beautiful and so magnanimous Kirsty. Tasha isn't happy about it, but needs to work full-time and the arrangement ticks all the boxes - except that, while Ruby makes friends with Kirsty's younger daughter, she's nervous of the older one, Amelia, and starts to report worrying incidents. Tasha can't prove anything, and Kirsty says it's just that Amelia's at that 'difficult, moody pre-teen stage'. Daisy seems happy to go there. But is she going to be safe?
IF I LOST YOU Published on 2 March 2025 by Boldwood
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Jo's life is a mess. Her marriage is in trouble, she works in a dead-end job for a horrible boss, and worst of all, her little son George has asthma which is getting worse and worse - nothing seems to help. And his older sister, Molly, is becoming jealous of all the extra attention he gets because of it. Then, suddenly, Jo's birth mother - a complete stranger to her - turns up. Jo would love a relationship with her, but is she going to help her - or not?​
NOT YOUR CHILD Published on 23 September 2024 by Boldwood
All it takes is one message for Gemma’s life to fall apart. Jack was supposed to be preparing for their new start in Australia, building their new life together. And now he's gone. Leaving their perfect world – all that their two-year-old daughter, Poppy, knows and cherishes – shattered. Crystal comes into Gemma’s life at the opportune moment. This new friend, who’s been through it before, knows how it feels and wants to help, will do anything. Crystal loves Poppy. And Poppy loves Crystal. But what starts as a small kernel of jealousy soon grows into a larger sense of unease. Who is this woman who’s so obsessed with her daughter? A powerful and emotional women’s fiction novel about motherhood and friendship.
A GOOD ENOUGH MOTHER Published 13 March 2024 by Boldwood
My little daughter, Mia, has been telling me some worrying stories about Helen, my new neighbour. But Helen has been good to me and, more importantly, she’s amazing with the children, looking after them when I am struggling as a single parent, having escaped an abusive relationship. Surely this is just another story of Mia’s, just make believe?
But if it’s not, what if my own father was right, and I was never good enough to be a mother in the first place? I tighten my grip on my sweet, trusting little girl’s hand. And vow I will do whatever it takes to protect her…
A heartbreaking and uplifting story about the choices a mother makes for the sake of her children
ONE WEEK IN WINTER
Published by Amazon on 5 October 2023
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Julia and Lauren are sisters, but they've never got along well. When they're thrown together for a week in the wilds of Dartmoor in the middle of winter, they suddenly find themselves confronting their past. Can they survive a whole week together? Who is the 'Wise Woman of Deepcombe' and can she finally bring the sisters back together?
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THE SECRET OF ANGEL COVE
Published by Piatkus in December 2022
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Joy and Sara are neighbours living in the only two houses at beautiful Angel Cove. Despite being at different stages of their lives, both are at turning points and both need a friend. They also share a curiosity about the origin of the name of their cove. Who or what was the Angel of the Cove? Joy sets out to uncover the secret - with some unexpected results.
WINTER AT CLIFF'S END COTTAGE
(WINNER of the RoNAs award 2022 for the Christmas and Winter seasonal novel of the year). Published on 9 December 2021 by Piatkus
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Cliff's End Cottage is a local landmark. Perched on the South Devon coast, its garden has begun slowly toppling into the sea, yet the elderly and infamously stubborn owner Stella refuses to leave her home. When Holly, a young journalist and single mum struggling to make ends meet, decides to interview Stella about her life, at first she's given short shrift. However, helped by a slice or two of cake and a couple of friendly cats, a tentative friendship begins to develop between the two lonely women. Stella and Holly may live different lives, but during the cold days of winter, as Stella shares her story, the two women discover more and more in common. Time is running out for the house on the edge, but perhaps, together, Stella and Holly can find a new way forward.
ESCAPE TO RIVERSIDE COTTAGE​​
Published on 4 March 2021 by Ebury.
​After the sudden death of her estranged husband, Clare is shocked to discover she has inherited a dog and a small fortune. Convinced by her adult children to finally do something for herself, Clare embarks on a coast-to-coast adventure - until she stumbles upon an unmarked location on the fringes of South Devon. When Clare finds herself driving down a narrow road to the tiny village of Little Sorrell, she is met with distant, cold, and rude locals. But as she falls in love with a cottage she wishes to call home, can Little Sorrell truly be the place of second chances?...
WHAT I DIDN'T TELL YOU
Published 20 August 2020 by Amazon
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A story of bittersweet memories, teenage friendship and betrayal. When Judith hears that an ageing British rock star has been charged with retrospective abuse crimes dating back to the 1960s, his name doesn't just ring bells - it brings back floods of memories. She knew Ricky Gold, when she was a teenager growing up in Southend, before she emigrated with her family to New Zealand. And she wonders if she, or Trish, her best friend from back then, might be able to get to the truth of the matter. Why does Judith care enough about it to make the long journey back to England, on a complex quest for answers? And what other memories will her trip stir up - quite apart from stirring up an unresolved relationship with her first boyfriend, Eddie, with whom she parted back in 1965? Was Ricky Gold really guilty? Is someone holding back the truth? Or perhaps it's just the problem of trying to look back fifty years into your past.
THE LONELY HEARTS DOG WALKERS
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When Nicola’s marriage falls apart and she’s left broken-hearted, she decides to move back home to the idyllic village of Furzewell. But her fresh start isn’t everything she hoped it would be – daughter Mia is struggling to fit in at school and she’s finding it challenging living with her overbearing mother.
But when she joins the local dog-walkers group, Nicky finds the support she’s been looking for – The Lonely Hearts Dog Walkers never fail to be there for each other in a crisis. When their local park is threatened by developers, they are determined to rally together to save it. Can Nicky fight to protect her new community and find her happy furever after?
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THE PET SHOP AT PENNYCOMBE BAY
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When the going gets ruff, it’s time to make a change…
In need of a fresh start, Jess has moved to the beautiful Devon seaside town of Pennycombe Bay. However it isn’t the new beginning she was hoping for – she enjoys her new job at the local pet shop but feels like she’s treading on eggshells living with her moody cousin Ruth.
When she meets handsome stranger, Nick, on the beach, she thinks she’s made a new friend or something more. Although her hopes of romance are quickly dashed when she finds out he’s seeing another woman…
Can Jess make Pennycombe feel like home?
THE PETS AT PRIMROSE COTTAGE
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This book was serialised first in four digital instalments, starting with Part 1 , 'A Place to Hide', and from March 2018 is now also published as a complete story in both paperback and ebook editions.
​Emma Nightingale needs a place to hide away. Pursued by the demons left by her ex-boyfriend, she takes refuge in quiet Crickleford, a sleepy town in Dartmoor, where she can lie low.
Life in Crickleford is quiet and peaceful, but it won’t be for long if people discover the truth about Emma’s past. Not wanting to make too much of a fuss, she ends up lying about why she's there - she's looking after some cats, she says - then suddenly the town’s new ‘pet-sitter’ is in high demand!
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​THE VETS AT HOPE GREEN
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Published by Ebury in June 2017 in paperback and ebook editions, as well as previously in four digital instalments.
​Sam has always dreamed of working with animals...
But her receptionist job in a London vets is not hitting the spot. Unsure of whether a busy city life is for her, she flees to her Nana Peggy’s idyllic country village.
But despite the rolling hills and its charming feel, life in Hope Green is far from peaceful. On first meeting Joe, the abrupt and bad-tempered local vet, Sam knows she must get him on side, but that is easier said than done...
With her dream close enough to touch, will she get there, or will events conspire against her...?
​​CHARLIE, THE KITTEN WHO SAVED A LIFE
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Charlie's story is a sequel to OLIVER, THE CAT WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS, my first 'cat' story. It was published in paperback and ebook editions by Ebury on 11 August 2016.
Charlie the kitten would do anything for his human. Just having recovered from a debilitating illness, eleven-year-old Caroline isn’t feeling her best, and the arrival of a new baby only makes her feel even more left out.
So when Caroline decides to run away, Charlie follows, vowing to protect her at all costs. But, for such a little kitten, it’s a big and scary world outside the comfort of the cottage – how far will he go to save his greatest friend?
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OLIVER, THE CAT WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS
Oliver's story - the tale of a little cat with a big heart - was published by Ebury Press in hardback and ebook editions on 22 October 2015. and as a paperback on 3 November 2016.
A friend who brings light at the darkest of times...
Oliver the cat is a timid little thing, and rarely ventures from his home in the Foresters’ Arms.
Then his life changes dramatically when a fire breaks out in the pub kitchen and he is left homeless and afraid. But, with the kindness of the humans around him, he soon learns to trust again. And, in his own special way, he helps to heal those around him. However, it isn’t until he meets a little girl in desperate need of a friend that he realises this village needs a Christmas miracle...
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The following six books are available only from Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle editions.
A GRAND THING
'It's a grand thing to be a mother of a mother - that's why the world calls her a grandmother. '
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What’s going on with Nanny Kate? She’s always been there to look after the grandchildren, always so sensible, capable and reliable – the only problems up till now have been the arguments between her son and daughters about whose children she looks after the most! Now she suddenly seems to be losing things and forgetting things. Is it her age? Kate’s children are worried. Will they have to find a new childminder? Whose fault is it that their mum’s losing the plot? Kate just wishes they’d stop arguing. She loves them all and she’s absolutely fine – isn’t she?
TICKET TO RIDE
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This book tells two interwoven stories - one of which is based on the tragedy of the child migrants to Australia, while the other takes place during the music scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
In 1954, two small children arrive in Australia after a long sea voyage, with no idea why they’ve been sent there or what’s going to happen to them. Nearly fifteen years later back in England, promising young musician Jack Hunter disappears abruptly with no explanation to anyone, devastating his girlfriend and band mates. Two journeys – both changing lives forever – lives that eventually become entwined, across the decades and across the continents.
YESTERDAY
​Winner of the Guardian Legend Times Self-Published Book of the Month - November 2014
It’s the early 1960s, the dawn of Beatlemania and Mods & Rockers - and teenager Cathy Ferguson is desperate to be a Mod – if only her mum would let her. When the first burst of fighting kicks off between the Mods and the Rockers at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, Cathy shouldn’t even be there, but the events which follow will haunt her for the rest of her life. Forty years later, as a middle-aged struggling journalist, she needs to revisit her unhappy memories of that time in order to write a story. Forty years is a long time to bury your past, but if Cathy’s going to write this story, she’s going to have to start digging.
THE SISTERS SERIES
These three stories about the Jennings sisters - Sophie Being Single, Debra Being Divorced, and Millie Being Married - are not only available as individual paperback and Kindle editions but also as a combined 'boxed set' of the Kindle editions, which is a real bargain!
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Earlier books : These are mostly now only available as Kindle books from Amazon.
SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGIES
These two books, available only as Kindle editions, are anthologies of short stories - twelve in each book - most of them originally published in women's magazines. TRAVELLERS' TALES s is a collection of stories with holiday or travel settings, while the stories in LET'S GET THE KETTLE ON all explore various aspects of the relationship between mums and daughters.
THE TALES FROM TRILOGY
I wrote these three books - TALES FROM A HEN WEEKEND, TALES FROM A WEDDING DAY and TALES FROM A HONEYMOON HOTEL, for Piatkus between 2007 and 2009, under the pseudonym of Olivia Ryan. The first two are now available only as Kindle editions from Amazon, but the third is still available in both paperback and Kindle editions. Although these three books have the common theme of weddings, they are entirely separate stories about different characters.
FIRST NOVELS
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These are my first five romantic comedy novels, originally published by Piatkus between 2003 and 2006. They are now only available as Kindle ebooks from Amazon.