Maria Beaumont Books

Stay-at-home mum Fran Clarke is approaching both her thirty-seventh birthday and crisis point. Once a brilliant voiceover artist, she now hasn't worked for years. The talent hasn't deserted her - only her self-belief. She could have it all, if she could only see it. But with her confidence shot and a husband who no longer knows how to help her, most days all she sees is the bottom of a wine glass. Fran knows she has to stop the downward spiral before she self-destructs completely. But she hits rock bottom when she realises she can't even solve the problems of her own two children. And if she thinks she's a hopeless flake, imagine what the other school-run mums think of her. Being a mum can be hysterically funny. But it can also be heartbreakingly tough. That's Motherland.

Amy works at Working Girl, a magazine that tries to glamorize mundane jobs through flashy ads. She spends her days fantasizing about her attractive boss while hiding a monumental secret that could shame her in front of family and friends. After a tumultuous breakup with the charming yet awful Jake, she adopted a pseudonym and penned a novel about the adventurous sexual escapades of Donna Sanderson, dubbed the "Indiana Jones of Shagging." The book, which blends humor with explicit content, received mixed reviews, with some praising its originality while others found it appalling. Despite its lack of initial success, the Daily Mail is now on a quest to uncover the identity of the author behind this controversial work, which is deemed a threat to the youth of the nation. As the pressure mounts, Amy faces a crisis; her parents are unaware of her smoking habit, let alone her authorship of a risqué novel. With her secret hanging by a thread, Amy must navigate the impending fallout while grappling with her own complicated feelings about her life choices and the repercussions of her hidden identity.

Jimmy has big dreams for his daughter Charlie. Well, one big a huge wedding to a rich and handsome Greek. Actually, scrub that. Any Greek will do. Charlie would rather drown in a maggot-infested swamp, but what's new? She's never fitted in with things at home. Work, though, is a different story. Charlie's been promoted. She's now the funky studio manager at The Zone, an exclusive Total Body Emporium (that's a gym to you and me) where pop stars and plebs alike walk in to work out. Things are looking good and with the arrival of Karl, a multi-talented dancer, her love life's on the up too. However, with The Zone about to become the focus of a Channel Four reality show, the pressure is on. Charlie realises she has to raise her game, but she doesn't know the half of it. She may indeed be getting shagged senseless, but she's also about to get screwed something rotten. "MissFit" is a hilarious tale of keeping fit, fitting in, and one massively devious fit-up. Oh, and a fat Greek dad.

Mr. Right aus den ganzen Nullnummern herauszufischen ist auch eine schwere Geburt, denkt Dayna, als die Abstände zwischen den Wehen immer kürzer werden. Wie viele Nieten hat sie dabei nicht schon gezogen: Simon, der eine ungesunde Vorliebe für niedliche Plüschbären hegt und dessen Libido der eines Hasen auf Viagra ähnelt, Chris, der intelligente, sensible Lockenschopf, der eine glänzende Karriere als Rockstar vor sich hat (von wegen ),  der charmante Archie, dessen wahren Charme Dayna erst entdeckt, als es fast schon zu spät ist ... Gabriel, Daynas Blitzbekanntschaft  intensiv aber kurz ... oder Mark  nett zu Kätzchen und kleinen Kindern, fast perfekt, doch irgendwas scheint er zu verbergen. Doch in jedem Los liegt die Chance auf einen Hauptgewinn ...

Sie kam, sah und siegte: Fran hat ein einzigartiges Talent, Stimmen zu imitieren. Als Synchronsprecherin machte sie Karriere und fand die große Liebe. Jetzt imitiert sie Stimmen zur Freude ihrer beiden Kinder - nur was sie selbst bewegt, hat sie verlernt zu sagen. Und es kommt noch schlimmer: Fran entdeckt, dass ihr Gatte eine Affäre mit der Marketingleiterin von Gucci hat. Wenn sie nicht zukünftig als Desperate Housewife Karriere machen möchte, sollte sie vielleicht häufiger ihrem Mann tief in die Augen schauen als den Boden ihres Weinglases zu betrachten. Point of no return? Mitnichten. Nach ein paar Umdrehungen zu viel schafft es Fran, ihr Leben in den Griff zu kriegen und die Konkurrenz liebevoll in die Tasche zu stecken.