Olivia Lockhart
16 Lighthouse Road
Cedar Cove, Washington

Dear Reader,

You don't know me yet, but in a few hours that's going to change. You see, I'm inviting you to my home and my town of Cedar Cove because I want you to meet my family, friends and neighbors. Come and hear their stories#nbsp;— maybe even their secrets!

I have to admit that my own secrets are pretty open. My marriage failed some years ago, and I have a rather…difficult relationship with my daughter, Justine. Then there's my mother, Charlotte, who has plenty of opinions and is always willing to share them.

Here's an example: I'm a family court judge and she likes to drop in on my courtroom. Recently I was hearing a divorce petition. In Charlotte's view, young Cecilia and Ian Randall hadn't tried hard enough to make their marriage work#nbsp;— and I agreed. So I rendered my judgment: Divorce Denied.

Well, you wouldn't believe the reaction! Thanks to an article by Jack Griffin, the editor of our local paper (and a man I wouldn't mind seeing more of!), everyone's talking.

Cedar Cove#nbsp;— people love it and sometimes they leave it, but they never forget it!

See you soon…

Olivia

Dear Reader,

If you've been to Cedar Cove before we've probably met. You can usually find me either at home or at the public library, where I work. I've lived in this town all my life and raised two daughters here. But my husband and I#nbsp;— well, about six months ago, he disappeared. Just...disappeared. Where's Dan? Why did he go? Who's he with? Will I ever find out?

My hometown, my family and friends, bring me comfort during this difficult time. Comfort and a sense of shelter. I'm continually reminded that life can and does go on. For instance, everyone's been discussing weddings and babies lately. Justine#nbsp;— the only daughter of my best friend, Olivia Lockhart#nbsp;— impulsively got married a little while ago. My own daughter Kelly recently had a baby. Unfortunately, she refuses to accept that Dan might not return to see his first grandchild. My older daughter, Maryellen, is more realistic. I think she's seeing a new man, but for some reason she won't tell me who it is.

Then there's Jack, who's been pursuing a romance with Olivia, and his son, Eric, and Eric's girlfriend, Shelly (I think she's pregnant), and Zach and Rosemary Cox, whose marriage is reputedly on the skids and... Well, just come on over and we'll talk!

Grace

Lynn Blanchett's Steps to Happiness:

Step 1: Find a job. (Done! I'm doing PR for hotshot young designer Muriel B.which I'm totally unqualified for.)

Step 2: Find a man. (Check! There's a rich, gorgeous man chasing me…so what if I find him infinitely less appealing than my charming, possibly gay, French coworker?)

Step 3: Find a translator. (Hmm? I do have that French-English dictionary…but it so doesn't help with the language of love.)

Step 4: Find a shower. (I did just fly in from New York.… I can't be fabulous all the time!)

Dropped into a ridiculously cushy job in Paris by her distant fashion-icon mother, all Lynn has to do to prove she's not a fraud (which she is!) is figure out what exactly her job entails, how she got involved in something that can only be described as fashion treason and how to untangle her love life in time to make Muriel B.'s next runway show the event of the season. With time running short and expertise running low, Lynn has little to guide her but a self-help manual that promises twenty steps to happiness.

Written by a fashion insider, 21 Steps to Happiness is a dishy must-read whose narrator boldly and hilariously goes where no young American in Paris has gone beforebehind the seams.

Rosie Cox


311 Pelican Court


Cedar Cove, Washington

Dear Reader,

One thing about Cedar Cove#nbsp;— people sure are interested in what other people are doing. Take me, for instance. Everybody in this town knows that my husband, Zach, and I recently got a divorce. Everybody also knows that Judge Olivia Lockhart decreed a pretty unusual custody arrangement. It won't be the kids moving between my place and Zach's. We're the ones who'll be going back and forth!

Olivia isn't immune to gossip herself. Will she stay with Jack, the guy who runs our local paper, or will she get back with her ex? Inquiring minds want to know!

But the really big gossip has to do with the dead guy#nbsp;— the man who died at a local bed-and-breakfast. Who is he and why did he show up there in the middle of the night? Roy McAfee, our local private investigator, is absolutely determined to find out. I hope he does#nbsp;— and then I'll let you know! See you soon….

Rosie

Corrie McAfee


50 Harbor Street


Cedar Cove, Washington

Dear Reader,

Considering that I'm married to Cedar Cove's private investigator, you might think I enjoy mysteries. But I don't#nbsp;— especially when they involve us! Roy's been receiving anonymous postcards and messages asking if we "regret the past." We don't know what they mean….

On a more positive note, we're both delighted that our daughter, Linnette, has moved to Cedar Cove to work at the new medical clinic. A while ago I attended the humane society's "Dog and Bachelor Auction," where I bought her a date with Cal Washburn, who works at Cliff Harding's horse farm. Unfortunately Linnette is less enthusiastic about this date than I am.

Speaking of Cliff, the romance between him and Grace Sherman is back on. But that's only one of the many interesting stories here in Cedar Cove. So why don't you drop by for a coffee at my husband's office on Main Street or our house on Harbor and I'll tell you everything that's new!

Corrie

6 Rainier Drive
Cedar Cove, Washington

Dear Reader,


As you may have heard, we've recently had quite a shock. My husband, Seth, and I lost our business, The Lighthouse restaurant—to arson. The investigation continues. The prime suspect is a young ex-employee named Anson Butler, who disappeared right after the fire.

So Seth and I are trying to sort out our lives. (And let me tell you, this kind of crisis is not good for a marriage.) In the meantime, life goes on for everyone else in Cedar Cove—with marriages, births, reunions and even the occasional scandal. One of the most interesting pieces of news is that Cal, who works on Cliff Harding's ranch, is now rescuing wild mustangs from Wyoming.

I have to run—I'm meeting an old friend, Warren Saget, for lunch. Let's talk soon, and I'll fill you in on everything that's happening in town!

Justine

Dear Reader,

I'm living a life I couldn't even have dreamed of a few years ago. I'm married to Bobby Polgar now (you know, the famous chess champion who just happens to be the man I love!). And we've got this beautiful house with a view of Puget Sound.

Lately something's been worrying Bobby, though. When I asked, he said he was 'protecting his queen' and I got the oddest feeling he wasn't talking about chess but about me. He wouldn't say anything else.

Do you remember Get Nailed, the beauty salon in Cedar Cove? I still work there. I'll tell you about my friend Rachel, who's got two men interested in her (count 'em, two). And I'll let you in on what I've heard about Linnette McAfee, who left town when her love life fell apart. (That kind of trouble I know all about.) Come in soon for a manicure and a chat, okay?

Teri ( Miller) Polgar

Sitting by the fireside, humming carols and knitting mittens…not! For these stay-at-home moms, the weeks before Christmas are anything but mellow. How can you balance housework, home crises and the husband without losing your mind? Plug in your laptop!

Meet Dulcie, Zelia, Jocelyn, Rosalyn, Veronica and the rest of the women of SAHM I Am. An e-mail loop of stay-at-home moms, they've seen each other through months of domestic drama: babies who won't come, bills that won't leave, kids who won't listen and spouses who won't talk. Now, as the yuletide approaches, the SAHMs are on hand once again, bearing gifts of sisterhood, sanity and the real Christmas spirit.

Eleanor Scarborough has always been looked on askance as "the bossy American" by London society, the very antithesis of British virtue and propriety. Now, at the death of her husband, she has been appointed trustee to his estate, and the proverbial fur is flying. Infuriated, her mother-in-law sends Lord Anthony Neale to put an end to Eleanor's nefarious gold-digging ways.

Anthony and Eleanor clash immediately. He thinks she's a siren who uses beauty to entrap men. She thinks he's a haughty, cold English snob. Despite their initial misgivings, they are increasingly drawn to each other. But someone is threatening Eleanor, and as the break-ins and other malicious activities begin to pile up…it's Anthony who tops the list of probable suspects!