Books by Valerie Norris

Loneliness.  It can lead to out-of-character behaviour.  The solitary figure who sits confined in a small room, hunched over a table and writing feverishly, knows this only too well.Young Susan Smith’s world was shattered when a freak accident killed her mother and nothing was ever the same for her again.  With this shocking event begins Susan’s struggle with insecurity, crippling shyness and guilt. Then, unexpectedly, she is given a chance to escape from these troubles.  Yet even now she feels there is something lacking.Years later another life-changing event resurrects ghosts from her past. Will she be able to untangle her past and confront her shadows? The outcome surprises Susan as much as it will the reader.  

For Kitty, getting a place in the 1992 London Marathon is a dream come true. When by chance Kitty meets Malcolm, another new marathoner, they decide to train together. And so begins an unlikely alliance that not only affects them but also draws in Kitty's husband Rob, who is the landlord of the local village pub, and Malcolm's unhappy wife Celia.The relationship and emotions between these two couples, separated by class, age and life-experience, becomes more complex as the marathon training builds, escalating to the climax of Marathon day itself and its aftermath. Key elements of each person's struggles are exposed and brought to a head as the story unfolds: Kitty's dissatisfaction with her role in the pub, Rob's ingrained deference to his overbearing mother, Malcom's and Celia's grief and breakdown of communication.