Sheila Roberts

There's nothing like a wedding

The joy, the fun, the memories––the stress. As a wedding planner, Anne Richardson has seen mothers of the bride turn into Momzillas, and she's determined not to do that when it's her daughter's turn to get married. But once Laney gets engaged, all bets are off. Anne becomes obsessed with giving Laney the perfect wedding she herself never had. And that wedding needs to be held in Icicle Falls at Primrose Haus, the perfect setting.

Roberta Gilbert, owner of Primrose Haus, has been hosting events at her charming Victorian for thirty years. She's an expert on weddings, but not on mother–daughter relations. When her daughter, Daphne, comes home and decides to help with the business, the receptions become truly memorable––and not in a good way. Then there's the added complication of Roberta's gardener, who seems more interested in Daphne than he is in planting primroses...

Tying the knot is a business that has everyone tied up in knots

Join USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts this Christmas as she returns for the final installment in her treasured Icicle Falls series 

When Muriel Sterling released her new book, A Guide to Happy Holidays, she felt like the queen of Christmas. She's thrilled when the new tree she ordered online arrives and is eager to show it off – until she gets it out of the box and realizes it's a mangy dud. But rather than give up on the ugly tree, Muriel decides to make a project out of it. As she pretties up her tree, she realises there's a lesson to be learned: everything and everyone has potential. Maybe even her old friend Arnie, who's loved her for years. Except, she's not the only one seeing Arnie's potential… 

Meanwhile, Muriel's ugly–tree project has also inspired her friends. Sienna Moreno is trying to bring out the best in the grouchy man next door, who hates noise, hates kids and hates his new neighbours. And while Olivia Claussen would love to send her obnoxious new daughter–in–law packing, she's adjusting her attitude and trying to discover what her son sees in the girl. If these women can learn to see the beauty in the 'ugly trees' in their lives, perhaps this might turn out to be the happiest holiday yet.

Icicle Falls is the place to be at Christmas…

Everyone's getting ready for Christmas in Icicle Falls, especially on Candy Cane Lane, where holiday decorating is taken very seriously. Tilda Morrison, town cop, is looking forward to celebrating Christmas in her first house…until she discovers that she's expected to “keep up” with the neighbours, including Maddy Donaldson, the inspiration behind the whole extravaganza. But this year, someone's destroying Maddy's precious candy canes! Thank goodness for the cop in their neighbourhood.

Tilda already has her hands full trying to sort out her love life and fix up her fixer–upper. Oh, and won't it be fun to have the family over for Christmas dinner? Not really… Then there's her neighbour, Ivy Bohn. As a newly single mom, Ivy can sum up the holiday in two words: Bah, humbug. But she's determined to give her kids a perfect Christmas.

Despite family disasters, irritating ex–husbands and kitchen catastrophes, these three women are going to find out that Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!

More Than Words: Bestselling authors & Real–life heroines

Each year, the Harlequin More Than Words award is given to three women who have worked hard to change people's lives for the better. Inspired by their accomplishments, three bestselling authors have written stories to honor these real–life heroines.

In Good Neighbors, Meredith Lange hopes that she and her son can start over in Icicle Falls, Washington. Her family's cabin is the only thing she's got left after settling her late husband's gambling debts. But on the first night in her new home, Jed Banks shows up, claiming to be the cabin's rightful owner. Then her son, Leo, starts getting into trouble at school.

Jed offers to help Leo adjust to life in Icicle Falls. His charitable organization, Youth Power, pairs up troubled kids with a responsible teen mentor. But how can Meredith accept Jed's help? He may be a devoted advocate for young people and a very attractive man, but he's also trying to take away her home...

Look for all three ebooks inspired by real–life heroines: Good Neighbors by Sheila Roberts, Just Joe by Carla Cassidy and Light This Candle by Cindy Dees. Visit the Harlequin More Than Words website at www.HarlequinMoreThanWords.com or your favorite ebook retailer to download these free novellas today.

Home is where the love is… 

Colin Wright and Mia Blair grew up in Icicle Falls, but they left years ago–and not on good terms. Now Colin's grandmother, Justine, has died, and they've come home to honour this woman they both loved. That's when they get some unexpected news. They're about to inherit something. Jointly. They just have no idea what. It turns out that Justine's designed a treasure hunt for them, like the ones they enjoyed when they were kids and best friends. 

But they're not kids anymore, and they sure aren't best friends. As for that young love they once shared? Well…it's complicated.  

On the trail of Justine's treasure, they follow a series of clues that take them down memory lane–ending up at the orchard on Apple Blossom Road. What will they find there? And what did Justine know that they didn't?

Time for a Change–or Three!

Stefanie Stahl has a husband with renovation ADD. He can't seem to finish anything he starts and her house is littered with his “projects.” If he doesn't smarten up, she swears she's going to murder him and bury him under the pile of scrounged lumber in the backyard. 

Her friend Griffin James is suddenly single and thinking maybe she needs to sell her fixer–upper and follow her career bliss up the ladder of success, even if that scary ladder is clear across the country. Getting her place ready to sell proves harder than she originally thought. She needs help. 

She's not the only one. Cass Wilkes, their neighbor, has an empty nest–with a leaking roof. When her ceiling crashes in, she knows it's time to do something. When Grant Masters offers his handyman services at a fund–raiser auction, the three women go in together to outbid the competition and win their man. (Cass's friends think she should win Grant in a different way, too!) Now it's time to make some improvements…in their houses and their lives.

Can a book change your life? Yes, when it's Simplicity, Muriel Sterling's guide to plain living. In fact, it inspires Jen Heath to leave her stressful, overcommitted life in Seattle and move to Icicle Falls, where she rents a lovely little cottage on Juniper Ridge. And where she can enjoy simple pleasures–like joining the local book club–and complicated ones, like falling in love with her sexy landlord, Garrett Armstrong.

Her sister Toni is ready for a change, too. She's got a teenage daughter who's constantly texting her friends, a husband who's more involved with his computer than he is with her, and a son who's consumed by video games. Toni wants her family to grow closer–to return to a simpler way of life.

Other women in town, like Stacy Thomas, are also inspired to unload their excess stuff and some of the extra responsibilities they've taken on.

But as they all discover, sometimes life simply happens. It doesn't always happen simply!

How Santa gets his Christmas spirit back…

James Claussen has played Santa for years, but now that he's a widower, he's lost interest—in everything.

So his daughter, Brooke, kidnaps him from the mall (in his Santa suit!) and takes him to Icicle Falls. She's arranged a special Christmas at the lodge owned by long-widowed Olivia Wallace and her son, Eric. And yet…Brooke wants Dad to be happy, but she's not ready to see someone else's mommy kissing Santa Claus.

Single mum Missy Monroe brings her kids to the lodge, too. Lalla wants a grandma for Christmas, and her brother, Carlos, wants a dog. Missy can't provide either one. What she'd like is an attractive, dependable man. A man like John Truman… But John's girlfriend will be joining him in Icicle Falls, and he's going to propose.

Of course not everything goes as planned. But sometimes the best gifts are the ones you don't expect!

When it comes to men, sisters don't share!

After a fake food poisoning incident in L.A., Bailey Sterling's dreams of becoming a caterer to the stars collapse faster than a soufflé. Now Bailey's face is in all the gossip rags and her business is in ruins. But the Sterling women close ranks and bring her back to Icicle Falls, where she'll stay with her sister Cecily.

All goes well between the sisters until Bailey comes up with a new business idea–a tea shop on a charming street called Lavender Lane. She's going into partnership with Todd Black, who–it turns out–is the man Cecily's started dating. It looks to Cecily as if there's more than tea brewing in that cute little shop. And she's not pleased.

Wait! Isn't Cecily seeing Luke Goodman? He's a widower with an adorable little girl, and yes, Cecily does care about him. But Todd's the one who sends her zing–o–meter off the charts. So now what? Should you have to choose between your sister and the man you love (or think you love)?

Three friends, three wishes–one Christmas! 

When three friends visit a shopping-mall Santa on a lark, the jolly old elf is full of mysterious predictions about the thing they're all wishing for: the perfect man. Or at least men who are perfect for them. 

Riley Erickson's fiancé turned out to be a dud, dumping her for her bridesmaid three weeks before the wedding. But Santa says that she's soon going to meet her ideal man in a memorable way. 

And he predicts that a new man is about to come into Jo's life. What on earth does that mean? She's pregnant and already has her hands full with the perfectly stubborn husband she's got. 

Noel has given up completely on ever finding her perfect match. But apparently Noel is going to get a good man to go with that house she's trying desperately to buy. 

These friends are about to discover that Christmas wishes can come true, because in spite of romantic setbacks and derailed dreams, this truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts returns with a brand–new series set on the charming Washington coast

Once happily married, Jenna Jones is about to turn forty, and this year for her birthday – lucky her – she's getting a divorce. She's barely able to support herself and her teenage daughter, but now her deadbeat artist ex is hitting her up for spousal support…and then spending it on his “other” woman.

Still, as her mother always says, every storm brings a rainbow. And when she gets a very unexpected gift from her Great–Aunt Edie, things seem to be taking a turn for the better. Aging aunt Edie is finding it difficult to keep up her business running The Driftwood Inn, so she invites Jenna to come live with her and run the place. It looks like Jenna's financial problems are solved!

Or not. The town is a little more run–down than Jenna remembers, but that's nothing compared to the ramshackle state of The Driftwood Inn. Aunt Edie is confident they can return it to its former glory, though Jenna feels like she's jumped from the proverbial frying pan into the beach fire.

But who knows? With the help of her new friends and a couple of handsome citizens, perhaps that rainbow is on the horizon after all. Because, no matter what, life is always good at the beach.

Featuring all the warmth, romance and trademark humour of Sheila Roberts's writing, this new series will delight longtime fans and welcome a generation of new readers.

USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts takes readers on a wintry trip to the harbor in her latest holiday novel…

The town of Moonlight Harbor needs to convince tourists that the beach is still the place to be — even when the sunshine goes south for the winter. Jenna Jones, new proprietor of The Driftwood Inn, has the perfect idea: a holiday festival called Seaside with Santa.

Jenna is happy to throw herself into planning the event. With all the decorating, preparation and extra reservations at the inn because of the festival — and with two wonderful but very different men hoping to claim more of her time and her heart — Jenna is busy. Busy, but happy. Even with her troublesome ex in the picture, life feels as close to perfect as she’s ever known.

Until the weather turns her festival into a farce. Suddenly Mother Nature is not only raining on Jenna’s parade, the old bat’s trying to blow the floats and their princesses out to sea. Soon everyone is without power and the road out of town is blocked. And Jenna has a full motel.

After the generator conks out, she’s not so sure she and her guests will make it through to the New Year in one piece. But with a little pulling together and a lot of holiday spirit, everyone might find that life — and Christmas — is always good at the beach.