Erica James

Beth King is facing empty-nest syndrome as her only son prepares to leave home for university. So when she hears about a new creative writing group, it seems the perfect time to try something different.

The group, Hidden Talents, attracts an unlikely mix of people. There's Jack, rebuilding is life after his wife left him for his best friend; Jaz, an intensely private seventeen-year-old who writes as a refuge from her large, boisterous family; and Victor, the know-it-all who is convinced he's writing the bestseller every publisher will be clamouring for.

What they all have in common is a need to escape. Even Dulcie Ballantyne, who leads the group, has a secret of her own, something she has deliberately kept from her closest friends and family...

First published January 1, 2003