No Bed of Roses

Jean Gill is a Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with a big white dog, a scruffy black dog, a Nikon D750 and a man. For many years, she taught English in Wales and was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in Carmarthenshire. She is mother or stepmother to five children so life was hectic.
Publications are varied, including prize-winning poetry and novels, military history, translated books on dog training, and a cookery book on goat cheese. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions. jeangill.com

Helen Tanner runs her own business, spends her evenings out with friends, anything to avoid memories of the tragedy she left behind. She lives alone and likes it that way.



Until, that is, a dark-haired vet walks into her shop and into her life. Her first unpromising encounter with Dai Evans turns into a tumultuous affair. As passion grows into love, Helen is forced not only to consider a new future, but to face up to a troubled past.



Should she tell her lover what causes her nightmares? Will this family man still want her when he knows the truth?



Heart-rending and powerful, 'No Bed of Roses' is a story of loss, love and healing. Jean Gill's characters always feel like real people: complex, thoughtful, and with believable histories and motivations. We really want Helen and Dai to be together and all that stands in their way is the human damage caused by loss and guilt. How can they live with Helen's ghosts?



For fans of Kerry Lonsdale, Kristin Hannah, Hilary Boyd.

'A story we all carry with us.' Fiona McClean, From Under the Bed



'The humour frequently has the effect of pointing up the stark reality with which she writes' - Ted Griffin, Pause Magazine



jeangill.com