Mills & Boon is proud to present a fabulous collection of fantastic novels by bestselling, much loved author
ANNE MATHER
Anne has a stellar record of achievement within the
publishing industry, having written over one hundred and sixty books, with worldwide sales of more than forty-eight MILLION copies in multiple languages.
This amazing collection of classic stories offers a chance
for readers to recapture the pleasure Anneâs powerful, passionate writing has given.
We are sure you will love them all!
Iâve always wanted to writeâwhich is not to say Iâve always wanted to be a professional writer. On the contrary, for years I only wrote for my own pleasure and it wasnât until my husband suggested sending one of my stories to a publisher that we put several publishersâ names into a hat and pulled one out. The rest, as they say, is history. And now, one hundred and sixty-two books later, Iâm literallyâexcuse the punâstaggered by whatâs happened.
I had written all through my infant and junior years and on into my teens, the stories changing from childrenâs adventures to torrid gypsy passions. My mother used to gather these manuscripts up from time to time, when my bedroom became too untidy, and dispose of them! In those days, I used not to finish any of the stories and Caroline, my first published novel, was the first Iâd ever completed. I was newly married then and my daughter was just a baby, and it was quite a job juggling my household chores and scribbling away in exercise books every chance I got. Not very professional, as you can imagine, but thatâs the way it was.
These days, I have a bit more time to devote to my work, but that first love of writing has never changed. I canât imagine not having a current book on the typewriterâyes, itâs my husband who transcribes everything on to the computer. Heâs my partner in both life and work and I depend on his good sense more than I care to admit.
We have two grown-up children, a son and a daughter, and two almost grown-up grandchildren, Abi and Ben. My e-mail address is [email protected] and Iâd be happy to hear from any of my wonderful readers.
CHAPTER ONE
âDIANE HARAN!â
Olivia was stunned. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever expected to be offered such an assignment. To be invited to write Diane Haranâs extraordinary rags-to-riches story was amazing. Diane Haran: screen goddess; model; superstarâand the woman who five years ago had walked off with Oliviaâs husband.
âYes, Diane Haran,â repeated Kay Goldsmith, rather impatiently. âYou have heard of her, I suppose? Well, of course you have. Everybody has. Sheâs world-famous. What is amazing about this is that Diane Haran should have heard of you.â
Olivia took a deep breath and stared at her agent. âWhat do you mean? Diane Haranâs heard about me?â
âWell, it was her idea that you should be the first to be offered the opportunity to be her biographer. Sheâd read your book about Eileen Cusack, I believe, and sheâd obviously been impressed with your approach.â
âReally?â
Olivia knew she sounded cynical, but she couldnât help it. The theory that Diane Haran might have come up with the idea of asking her to be her biographer based on Oliviaâs interpretation of the Irish poetâs tragic existence was laughable. Eileen Cusack had been a heroine in the truest sense of the word, balancing the needs of her family against a crippling bone-wasting disease, and writing some of the most beautiful lyrical verse besides. Sheâd died just a few weeks after her biography was published, but Olivia knew she would never forget her bravery or her sweetness.
Diane Haran was neither brave nor sweet. She was selfish and manipulative and greedy. Sheâd been introduced to Richard Haig at a party his agency had given for the then rising star theyâd hoped to represent And, even though sheâd known he was marriedâOlivia had been at the party, too, for heavenâs sakeâshe hadnât hesitated about seducing him away from his wife.
âLiv?â
Kayâs curious enquiry brought Oliviaâs attention back to the present and she realised she had been staring into space for quite some time. But the idea that Diane Haran should have suggested that she might want to play any part in her biography was ludicrous, and it was time she explained that to Kay.
âI canât do it,â she said, and when Kayâs dark eyes widened in disbelief she pushed back her chair and got up from the desk, crossing the room to stare out of the window. Below Kayâs office window, high in a tower block near the embankment, the city traffic created a constant hum of sound. But it was reassuring to know that life was going on regardless. For a moment, sheâd felt an awful sense of time suspended.