Most people would think Annie Baker had it all: an idyllic life in the country and a fabulous job as a film producer. And so would she, if it weren't for the men in her life. Her six-year-old son Charlie gets traumatised if she buys the wrong kind of sausages. Her tempestuous boss Barney is a Great Director, but keeps getting stuck with dog food commercials, and as for Lawrence, well, he just wants to get her fired. And then she meets Mack... Hilarious and poignant, The Only Boy for Me will make you laugh and cry.

Didn't anyone tell you that divas don't knit?Knit-one...Jo Mackenzie needs a new start and jumps at the chance to take over her grandmother's wool shop in a small seaside town. Purl-one...But it's not going to be easy with two young sons to cope with, an A-list actress moving into the local mansion and a knitting group addicted to cake. Stitch and Bitch!Gil McNeil's funny and uplifting novel turns prejudices and assumptions upside down, telling it how it really is in the world of knit-one, purl-one.

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 cafÉ, 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 legion...

Slip one ...A year after her husband's death, Jo Mackenzie is finally starting to get the hang of being a single parent. Knit two together ...The boys are thriving in their new seaside home, the wool shop is starting to do well and despite two weddings, an in-school knitting project and Trevor the Wonder Dog coming to stay, she's just about keeping her head above water. Cast off ...But boys, babies and best friends certainly make life a lot more interesting. Can Jo cope when things get really complicated? Because if knitting truly does keep you sane when your life starts to unravel then it looks like Jo is going to need much bigger needles.

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.

Is it better to forgive and forget, or should you just get even? Is it possible to live in the country and not lose your mind completely? Do chickens really make good pets? And what exactly is a hardy perennial? Alice Mayhew, part-time architect and full-time mother to Alfie, is to gardening what Alan Titchmarsh is to deep-sea fishing. So finding she's been volunteered to design a new garden for the village comes as a bit of a shock, because apart from anything else she's far too busy trying to convince Alfie that wearing green trousers doesn't make you Peter Pan, and that flying is best left to the experts. Molly O'Brien is finding it hard enough coping with Lily (aged four and likes washing up) and Matt (aged thirty two and doesn't) before she discovers she's pregnant. And then there's Lola Barker, who causes havoc wherever she goes, and brings a whole new meaning to the word high-maintenance. Toddlers, jelly, bad behaviour, romance and gardening tips all loom large in Gil...