Romance, Women's
Fiction
A Seashell Cottage
Book
Release Date: June 23,
2020
Publisher: Wild Quail Publsihing
Jill Conroy is tricked by
her sister into becoming the housekeeper and cook
for the summer at Seashell Cottage where
Greg Campbell and his nephew,
Brody, have been hired to do maintenance
projects on the house. Annoyed at
first, Jill soon realizes how wonderful it
is to be away from her home in
New York and the memories of her deceased,
emotionally abusive
husband.
Soon the magic of the beach
heals Jill enough for her to decide to move to
Florida permanently to make a new life for
herself. Her part-time work at a
summer camp and the promise of a new job as
a third-grade teacher in the
fall make it seem as if her future is set.
But a visit from her sister,
followed by her mother, reveals secrets
that surprise them all. Jill learns
to accept the idea of love not only from
Brody but from his daughter, Kacy,
as the summer brings even more
surprises.
Other
Books in the Seashell Cottage Series:
A Christmas
Star
A Seashell Cottage
Book
Publisher: Wild Quail
Publsihing
Published: November
2018
Two years ago, Noelle
North’s then-fiancé left her waiting at
the church on Christmas—her wedding day and
birthday. Now, she knows
she cannot endure another holiday season at
home in Boston. At the urging of
four women at the assisted-living community
where she serves as health
director, Noelle decides to rent Seashell
Cottage on the Gulf Coast of
Florida for the holidays. She meets Silas
Bellingham, the cutest
seven-year-old boy she’s ever seen, and his
great-grandmother, Althea.
Noelle discovers Althea’s caretaker has
been abusing her and goes into
action, ending up with the temporary care
of both Althea and Silas. Becoming
part of the Bellingham household has an
entirely different series of
challenges when it comes to Althea’s
grandsons, Jake and Brett, who
are having problems of their own with
hotels to run and their parents
missing in a plane crash. But after
sparring with her, Silas’ father,
Jake, realizes Noelle is just what he and
his family need, and when she
finds the perfect Christmas star for Silas,
they both know he’s
right.
Change of
Heart
A Seashell Cottage
Book
Publisher: Wild Quail
Publsihing
Published: June
2019
Emerson “Em” Jordan always
wanted a Valentine’s Day
wedding. But after being dumped by her
boyfriend, she spends the holiday at
Seashell Cottage on the Gulf Coast of
Florida with Devin Gerard, a family
friend who has no interest in her or any
other woman and is instead
concentrating on his pediatric medical
practice and continuing medical
missions in Costa
Rica.
Em, who’s always wanted a
large family, doesn’t mind his
disinterest. At thirty-two, she’s decided
she doesn’t need a
husband to have a child or to adopt one.
First, she’s going to fulfill
her dream of setting up her own landscape
design business in upstate New
York and has promised to continue to help
run her grandmother’s flower
shop.
It isn’t until Em and Devin
become friends that Em realizes she might
want more than friendship from him. But
with his work in Miami and Costa
Rica and her busy life in New York, it’s
out of the question until
something happens that changes everything,
even a couple of hearts.
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
Jillian Conroy listened to
her sister, Cristal’s, voice on her
cellphone and took a deep breath.
A call from her sister was always a
surprise.
“So, start all over again,
Cristal, and tell me exactly what it is
you want me to do.”
“It’s easy, Jill. My
friend, Hope Thomason, now owns the
Seashell Cottage on the Gulf Coast of
Florida, and she just needs someone to
live at the cottage for the summer while we
do our European tour, the one
we’ve been talking about for
years.”
“That’s it?” It didn’t
sound like something
difficult. In fact, it sounded like a great
way to escape the memories of
the past, thought Jill. School would be out
in another week, and she
didn’t have any exciting plans for her
summer break from teaching.
Maybe some extended time on the Gulf Coast
would do her good. But every time
she
tried to do something for her sister, it cost her emotionally, and
often, financially. A requested lunch date
would end up with Jill paying for
it. What was supposed to be a fun event of
shopping turned into a nightmare
when Cristal pouted that the dress Jill
bought was the one she wanted. Their
relationship had always bordered on the
toxic.
“There’s one more thing. A
friend of Hope’s family, Greg
Campbell, is an older man who’s agreed to
do some work on the cottage.
He’s staying in one of the guest rooms for
a few weeks until the work
is done.”
“An older man, you
say?”
“Yes. He and Hope’s father
are friends. They’re the same
age.”
Jill let out a sigh of
relief. Too many friends had been pushing her to
start dating again. She had no interest in
doing so. Not after Jay’s
death two years ago.
“Think about it. I’ll call
you tonight for your answer.”
Cristal cut off the call before Jill could
ask any more questions.
Jill sat in a
chair and stared out the window of the kitchen inside
the small bungalow she called home in
Ellenton, a small town in upstate New
York. She should’ve sold it months ago. The
memories she held of her
life in the house weren’t pleasant. She’d
thought by clearing
Jay’s things out of the house following his
automobile accident,
she’d be able to chase away the unhappiness
she’d known with
him. But now the space just
seemed empty. And lonely.
Her thoughts settled on her
sister. Three years older than she, Cristal was
the beauty of the family. Their mother had
declared to anyone who would
listen that Cristal got her beautiful
features, naturally blonde hair, and
bright blue eyes from a relative of hers,
while Jillian looked like the
Davis side of the family. The comparison
was painful. Without the highlights
she had to add every few months, Jillian’s
hair was a dishwater tan.
Her hazel eyes held no trace of blue. Worst
of all, Cristal’s tall,
willowy figure seemed to taunt Jill’s
shorter, curvy shape. It was a
bad match-up all around. If it weren’t so
much like a well-known
storybook scenario, it would be almost
comical.
Restless, Jill got up and
paced the kitchen. It wasn’t their
different looks that had made her
relationship with Cristal so difficult. It
was Cristal’s tendency to manipulate others
in order to get her own
way. Jill knew how foolish it was to keep
old wounds stored inside, but
every once in a while, one poked through
the shell she kept around herself.
How could she forget that Cristal stole her
date in college, the one guy
she’d dreamed would be hers forever? It was
just one of the ways
Cristal had hurt her through the years. A
snort of disgust left Jill’s
mouth. She might not have even paid
attention to Jay except Cristal thought
he was a hottie. How was that for stupid
rivalry?
Before she could go any
deeper with that thought, the phone rang. Jill knew
who it was before she even checked Caller
ID. Her mother, Valerie Davis, had
a nose for trouble. No doubt Cristal had
phoned her for support.
“Hello, Mom,” Jill said
without enthusiasm.
“Hi, honey. Cristal called
to tell me that she’s arranged for
you to have a very nice summer break. She’s
so thoughtful that
way.”
“She asked me to do her a
favor so she and her friend can travel to
Europe,” Jill said calmly, still uncertain
as to whether she should go
ahead with the idea or even what it
entailed.
“Well, if you don’t do it,
I’m sure they can find someone
else to stay at the cottage. It sounds
lovely. You should be grateful to
Cristal for thinking of you,” chided her
mother. “A whole summer
to relax.”
It would be useless to
argue. “Maybe you’re right,” said
Jill. “I could use the break to get away.”
The idea suddenly
appealed to her. This change in her normal
routine might give her the
opportunity to think things through, make
some major decisions about her
life, give her a fresh start. God knew
she’d been in an emotional rut
even before Jay had been
killed.
“Splendid,” her mother said
with satisfaction. “I’m
glad you’ll help your sister out. It would
mean so much to her. She
and Hope have been planning this summer
tour for a long time, and poor
Cristal has been working very
hard.”
“You mean as a hostess at
the club in Miami?”
“Now, Jillian, she does the
best she can, and with her looks, she
doesn’t need to spend her time teaching
school.”
“Oh? Because I teach school
…” Jill stopped herself. She
didn’t like the person she became when
dealing with her family. Only
her father had accepted her for who she
was, and he’d died several
years ago.
“I didn’t mean that the way
it sounded, Jillian,” her
mother said with a note of
apology.
“Look, I have to go,” Jill
said. “I’ll let you know
what I decide.”
“Please do. I care about
both of you and hope that someday you girls
will get along.”
Jill sighed. “Goodbye,
Mom.” Though the day was ruined by the
familiar routine with her mother, the idea
of escaping to a place far away
became tantalizing.
Later, while looking up
information online about the Seashell Cottage, Jill
filled with excitement. The pictures of it
were lovely. It was not simply a
cottage; it was a beautiful, three-bedroom,
three-bath house that sat
overlooking a wide, sandy beach. The house
even had a screened-in
pool.
Before she could change her
mind or overwork the thought that something
must be wrong if her sister was involved,
Jill punched in Cristal’s
cell number and, when prompted, left a
message.
“Hi, Cristal. Jill here.
I’ve decided to stay at Seashell
Cottage for the summer so you and Hope can
travel. At the end of next week,
when school is out, I’ll drive down to
Florida. I should be there by
June 8th and can stay until late August.
Let me know if those dates work
with you and Hope.” Hating confrontation,
she paused and took a deep
breath. “And, Cristal, thanks for thinking
of me.”
That evening Cristal
called. The noise of music and partying in the
background made it difficult to hear, but
the message did get through that
Cristal was thrilled Jill would stay at the
cottage. “You’ll
see.
This summer is going to be good for you, Jilly. For both of us,
really.”
“I hope so,” said Jill
honestly. She was more than ready for a
change.
About the
Author
York, and now makes her home in Boise,
Idaho, with her husband and their two
dachshunds, Winston and Wally, and other
members of her family.
While growing up, she was
drawn to the idea of writing stories from a young
age. Books were always present, being read,
ready to go back to the library,
or about to be discovered. All in her
family shared information from the
books in general conversation, giving them
a wealth of knowledge and vivid
imaginations.
A hybrid author who both
has a publisher and self-publishes, Ms. Keim
writes heart-warming novels about women who
face unexpected challenges, meet
them with strength, and find love and
happiness along the way. Her
best-selling books are based, in part, on
many of the places she's lived or
visited and on the interesting people she's
met, creating believable
characters and realistic settings her many
loyal readers love. Ms. Keim
loves to hear from her readers and
appreciates their enthusiasm for her
stories.
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