Bøger af Gil McNeil

First published in Great Britain as Divas don't knit in 2007 by Bloomsbury.

Life hasn't been a bed of roses for Londoner Molly Taylor lately. Newly divorced and struggling to find a new home and a way to support her three boys, she's stunned when her beloved Aunt Helena dies and leaves her Harrington Hall, a three-hundred-year-old manor house on the Devon coast, where Molly grew up. But does Molly really want to run a bed-and-breakfast in an old house where the only thing that doesn't need urgent attention is Aunt Helena's beautiful rose garden? Or care for Uncle Bertie, an eccentric former navy officer with a cliff-top cannon? Or Betty, his rude parrot that bites whomever annoys it? Yet Molly's best friend Lola is all for the plan. "My heart bleeds. Your very own beach, the beautiful house, and Helena's garden. All you have to do is grill a bit of bacon."But with Molly's conniving brother running the family hotel nearby, the return of a high school flame with ulterior motives, and three sons whose idea of a new country life seems to involve vast quantities of mud, this is not going to be easy. And then Harrington Hall begins to work its magic, and the roses start to bloom...Warm, witty, and chock-full of quintessential British charm, A GOOD YEAR FOR THE ROSES is a story for anyone who has ever dreamed of starting over...with or without bacon.

For every woman who has ever dreamed of starting over, or being a better mother, or just knitting a really nice scarf . . . When her husband dies in a car crash--not long after announcing he wants a divorce--Jo Mackenzie packs up her two rowdy boys and moves from London to a dilapidated villa in her seaside hometown. There, she takes over her beloved Gran's knitting shop--a quaint but out-of-date store in desperate need of a facelift. After a rough beginning, Jo soon finds comfort in a "e;Stitch and Bitch"e; group; a collection of quirky, lively women who share their stories, and their addiction to cake, with warmth and humor. As Jo starts to get the hang of single-parent life in a small town, she relies on her knitting group for support. The women meet every week at the shop on Beach Street and trade gossip and advice as freely as they do a new stitch. But when a new man enters Jo's life, and an A-list actress moves into the local mansion, the knitting club has even more trouble confining the conversation to knit one, purl two. The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club is an uplifting, winning tale about the healing power of friendship and new beginnings. It's a charming novel that will delight all passionate knitters--and win over befuddled, would-be knitters, too.

Gil McNeil's hilarious and heartbreaking new novel is about family life, celebrity and knitting.

Imagine what might happen to Bridget Jones if she'd grown up a bit, got married, had a kid and still wasn't quite ready to give up her boozy nights out with the girls.

Containing miracles, mystery, romance and humour, this work features eighteen of Britain's authors who have written stories especially for this collection. From Louisiana mud-swamps where enchantment is for sale to a bra-making workshop where dreams come true, it is British fiction at its fizziest, least predictable and best.

Knit one . . . It's been a busy few years since Jo Mackenzie lost her husband. Life has brought adventure, surprises, unexpected pleasures, and, of course, lots of knitting. Jo's seaside yarn shop, with a brand new cafe, has taken off, keeping her busier than ever. And being a single mum to two boys and headstrong toddler Pearl is just as exhausting and enchanting as she thought it would be. On top of all that, celebrity diva Grace has a secret; Jo's firecracker best friend Ellen is launching a new television series; and lovable but hapless Martin continues his oft misguided attempts to woo Jo. Just when Jo thinks she has about all she can handle, Daniel, Pearl's globe-trotting dad, turns up out of the blue . . .Purl one . . . But with a little help from her friends, and her beloved Gran, Jo is building a new life for herself by the sea, stitch by stitch. Warm and witty, "Knit One Pearl One" will delight new readers to the "Beach Street" series and give the legions of existing fans a chance to visit the British seaside again, without having to worry about the weather."

Whether it is memories of childhood holidays or exotic fantasies of faraway places, a sea and its coast forms the most evocative of landscapes. Combining elements of romance, danger and mystery, it provides the perfect inspiration for this unique collection. The finest writers from our water-bound nation, including Alexander McCall Smith, Ruth Rendell, Joanne Harris, Joseph O'Connor and Libby Purvis, give us their accounts of adventures and chance encounters, short stories and non-fiction pieces representing the many facets of the sea's power that will haunt and inspire. The collection also includes gripping accounts of real-life adventures on the ocean from such experienced sailors as Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West and Tracy Edwards.A literary tribute to the last earthly frontier - the ocean.