This gripping novel shows with insight and compassion how the consequences of an act of infidelity have shaped the lives of three generations of women.
“ Certainties are shattered as past and present
inexorably unfold - a deeply moving and unusual novel ”
Crysse Morrison, author of Frozen Summer and Sleeping in Sand

After a phone call from her younger brother, Ann travels to Hong Kong in search of the truth about their scandalous mother, Vivienne. Here, she discovers a series of letters and journal-entries which reveal a secret about her beloved grandmother’s early life that challenges her most deeply felt convictions. Ann must also face up to her own part in an event which took place just before her sixteenth birthday, and caused the break-up of the family.

Hong Kong itself, with its exotic mix of old and new in the bustling urban districts, and the quiet charm of beautiful Lamma Island, plays a key part in Ann’s reappraisal of her own life and marriage, and the unexpected dilemma that confronts her.

“A vivid and absorbing tale of family secrets and illicit love, observed with the keen eye of a poet. You can almost smell and taste Hong Kong. Recommended for fans of Margaret Forster and Penelope Lively”
Linda Gillard author of Star Gazing, Short-listed for Romantic Novel of the Year 2009

MORE NOVELS

So far, I’ve written three novels for adults, and one for children. The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society is the first one that I’ve had published.
(There is a fourth, ‘A Head for Heights’, but I’m not including that one - you’ll understand why not, if you read the post of 15th May 09, headed, ‘Hunting for an Agent‘)

The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society
(Transita 20005 ISBN 1 905175 18 3)

“Agnes Borrowdale, seventy-five years old a week on Tuesday, hoisted herself onto the window sill and perched astride it, gripping the wooden frame.”

After her escape from an old people’s home where her son, Jack, and his new partner, have placed her, Agnes’s quest to find her grandchildren is complicated by unexpected encounters. These new friends include: Joe, the helpful lorry driver; Molly, the garrulous hotel-owner; Gazza, the student; and Felix, the retired barrister’s clerk, whom Agnes pulls back from attempted suicide.

Hoping to rekindle Felix’s desire to live, she invents the Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society, but soon fears that this falsehood, having acquired a momentum of its own, will end in tragedy.

This is me at my book launch - one of the most exciting evenings of my life!

A few of the numerous reviews:

‘Delightful, enormous fun and surprisingly original.’
Sara Maitland, The Literary Consultancy

‘This book is both wonderfully titled and brilliantly inventive. Telling the story of one woman’s search for a reason to live, it manages to be piercingly accurate about our daily lives while very funny indeed.’
Jonathan Davidson, The Orange Birmingham Book Festival

‘A surprisingly original story – gripping stuff.’
The Oldie

‘A funny and poignant story about life beginning at seventy five! Great stuff for anyone planning to grow old disgracefully!’
The Pitshanger Bookshop, London

‘I loved how Ms. Coleman addressed some serious issues in such a clever and entertaining way. The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society is a gratifying and uplifting testament to living life to the fullest, regardless of age.’
Sharon Goforth, Exlibris
‘…big issues within an “easy” read and some lovely characters.I loved the whole premise of the Society’ Lynne Hatwell, Dovegreyreader

‘A terrific girls own adventure with a most unusual heroine who will steal your heart.
The Nottingham Evening Post

‘Dangerous Sports has all the hallmarks of conventional chick lit. It’s a light read, irreverent, improbable and focused on a strong female character. That’s where the similarities end.’
Lillian Kennet The First Post.co.uk

Click on this link to see more reviews from readers

My first ‘proper’ novel, In The Lamb-White Days was started when I was on my M.A. course at Nottingham Trent.
I’ll be writing more about this in my posts.

You can find out a bit more about my (unpublished) children’s novel, The Tide Machines of Mermaid’s Rock, by clicking on , ‘Influences on my Writing’