The Chocolatier's Secret (Magnolia Creek, Book 2) (31 page)

Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank a lovely lady called Mary from VANISH in Melbourne. In 2009 she started a search for my own birth mother and her encouragement, support and hard work was invaluable.

Writers need to research even when they are writing fiction and I thank everyone who was willing to be interviewed about the adoption process and their experiences. You all enabled me to write a realistic story from the heart, with layers of emotion that may otherwise not have been possible.

A huge thank you to mother and daughter team, Lucy and Andrea, of Creighton’s Chocolaterie, in Leighton Buzzard. I had a fabulous day with you both, watching you create the most amazing chocolates and talking to me about what it’s really like to be a chocolatier. And of course, let’s not forget the purchases I made before I went home. They were delicious and I’ve been recommending you ever since!

Thanks goes to Belinda Holmes, my lovely editor, whose expertise helped me deliver the best story to my readers, and to Stephanie Box whose editing and proofreading skills are second to none. Also a big thank you to Berni Stevens for designing a cover I absolutely adore. You ladies are awesome!

I know I say it every time, but thank you to the other members of The Write Romantics, ten writers who came together via the Romantic Novelists’ Assocation (RNA) and who are always there to discuss ideas and concerns, celebrate achievements and deal with any obstacles. It’s a pleasure being part of such a wonderful group.

Writing can be a lonely occupation but one that is eased with support from family and friends, so my final and biggest thank you goes to my husband and my two children, without whom I would be lost.

Helen J Rolfe.

About the author

Helen J. Rolfe writes uplifting, contemporary fiction with characters to relate to and fall in love with.

Before she started writing books, Helen J. Rolfe worked in I.T. until she came to her senses and studied journalism and writing.  She wrote articles for Women’s Health & Fitness magazines as well as newsletter content and media releases for a not-for-profit organisation. In 2011 the fiction bug bit and Helen has been writing fiction ever since. 

Helen lived in Australia for many years and it is a place she loves to return to in her fiction. The Chocolatier’s Secret, set in the fictitious town of Magnolia Creek, is her fourth novel.

Find out more at www.helenjrolfe.com, and follow her on Twitter @HJRolfe.

Thank you so much for reading The Chocolatier’s Secret. I hope you enjoyed the story! If you have the time I’d really appreciate it if you could leave an honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

Helen J Rolfe.

What Rosie Found Next

One house, two strangers, one very big secret...

A shaky upbringing has left Rosie Stevens craving safety and security. She thinks she knows exactly what she needs to make her life complete – the stable job and perfect house-sit she’s just found in Magnolia Creek. The only thing she wants now is for her long-term boyfriend, Adam, to leave his overseas job and come home for good.

Owen Harrison is notoriously nomadic, and he roars into town on his Ducati for one reason and one reason only – to search his parents’ house while they’re away to find out what they’ve been hiding from him his entire life. When he meets Rosie, who refuses to quit the house-sit in his parents’ home, sparks fly.

Secrets are unearthed, promises are broken, friendships are put to the test and the real risk of bushfires under the hot Australian sun threatens to undo Rosie once and for all.

Will Rosie and Owen be able to find what they want or what they really need?

Handle Me with Care

Does true love come along more than once in a lifetime?

Maddie Kershaw doesn’t think so. She lost the love of her life in the 9/11 attacks, and since then has hopped from one casual fling to the next. But when she delivers an erotic cake to a one-hundredth birthday party by mistake, she meets Evan and starts to believe in second chances … until she realises there’s a risk of getting hurt all over again.

Evan Quinn is serially single, yet when he meets Maddie he feels an instant connection, so much so that he confesses on their first date that he may have testicular cancer. Was it a mistake to tell her? He wants Maddie more than he has ever wanted any other woman. But he doesn’t want her pity.

With the odds stacked against them both, finding love won’t be easy. But beneath the Australian sun, a Happy Ever After could be worth fighting for.

The Friendship Tree

Is running away ever the answer?

Tamara Harding left the UK to join family in Australia, but more importantly, to put ten thousand miles between her and her ex, Bradley Cox. She is soon drawn in to the small community of Brewer Creek where she becomes the coordinator for an old fashioned Friendship Tree – a chart telling people who they can call on in times of trouble. 

As she vows to start over, she meets Jake Manning – and life gets more complicated than she could ever have imagined. Jake is the direct competitor for the family business, and a man with a dark secret, and Tamara struggles to fight her attraction to him as she deals with secrets of her own and an ex who refuses to give up. 

When danger descends on Brewer Creek in the form of Jake’s own past, Tamara soon realises the Friendship Tree does a lot more than organise fundraising events and working bees; it has the power to unite an entire town. But will Tamara see past the complications and allow herself a happy ending with Jake? Or will she run away again?