St. James Road

The saga continues. In book number two of the Somerville trilogy, the period from 1945 to 1962 is covered. Where ''Willow Grove Abbey'' ended, ''St. James Road'' begins, drawing the reader back into the imperfect orbit of the Somerville family. Sophia has begun a new life.

The war has ended, it is 1945, and England has begun the healing process, after five years of tumult. This second novel in the Somerville trilogy delves into the aftereffects of World War II, and focuses attention on those who are left to carry on, as England struggles to recover. The world is changing rapidly, and so is Sophia''s life. Leaving behind her beloved childhood home, Willow Grove Abbey, Sophia and her dearly beloved husband, Dr. Spencer Stanton set out on a new adventure, with a move to Tunbridge Wells, and a lovely old Victorian house on St. James Road, along with a new way of living.

It doesn''t take long for Sophia to realize that just because the war has ended, the turmoil and heartache have not. She may not be living at Willow Grove Abbey any longer, but the mayhem and chaos persist. Her parents, the Earl and Countess Somerville, discover that not all woes can be erased with money and power; Sophia realizes that as she develops meaningful values of her own, manipulation and lies will cause her to fight to maintain her own identity. Sorrow and anguish abound, and as soon as one misery is behind, new distress appears. Edwina has moved to New York, but she has not disappeared from Sophia''s life. Nor has her son, Kippy. Sophia continues with her journey of growth, and Isabella has become an adult. Can Sophia save ''Willow Grove Abbey'' from the unscrupulous intentions of Edwina''s family? Old secrets once again come to the surface as Edwina casts her shadow upon Sophia''s existence. Written in the first person, the reader is led further down the road through more serendipitous happenings'', and the now familiar characters are stunned by the Fate that may lay in store for them. ''St. James Road'' is definitely a page-turner, and a must-read for anyone who loved Willow Grove Abbey.

About the Author

Mary Christian Payne is an accomplished business woman, who has held high ranking, management positions with Fortune 500 companies, in New York City, St. Louis, Missouri, Orlando, Florida, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is a recipient of the Mayor''s Pinnacle Award in Tulsa, for directing a highly successful program at The Women''s Resource Center at the University of Tulsa. All of these positions involved significant amounts of writing. She has also acted as a speech writer for high profile political figures, and for executives of major corporations.

She is now a retired Career Psychologist. She was the founder and President of Transitions Counseling Center, in partnership with her father, the retired CEO of a four billion dollar retail organization. She has taught seminars throughout Oklahoma. Mary Christian is a world traveler, and has spent extensive time in England, thus creating an excellent foundation for writing novels set in Great Britain. The era of World War II has always held tremendous appeal for her, and she is a committed Anglophile. The daughter of an Army Major during World War II, she grew up hearing countless stories of that tumultuous and romantic time.

She lives with her husband, Jim, who is a Pharmacist, and their two beloved Maltese Terriers in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. She is also the mother of two, adult children, and three grandchildren. All three books in the trilogy are now available:

Book 1: Willow Grove Abbey -- amazon.com/dp/B00GGLZIEU Book 2: St. James Road -- amazon.com/dp/B00HWG8S2C Book 3: Serendipity -- amazon.com/dp/B00IHK04II