A wealthy business man with a tragic past and a passion for painting water colours finds friendship and passion – but will it last for his new lady friend has had her heart broken before?
Plain, down-to-earth Amy Maitland can't help but notice the sad and handsome stranger who spends every Tuesday at the local caf -- an artist who puts his heart and turbulent emotions on canvas in vivid, powerful paintings. No stranger herself to the pain of loss and betrayal, she is drawn to this haunted man, his kindness, and his mystery.But Luke Hammond is more than he seems. A wealthy factory owner in financially depressed Blackburn, he seeks a haven from his guilt and tragic past -- an escape he seems to find in Amy's warm smile and gentle spirit. Yet Amy Maitland is not of his world, and there is no place for her in Luke's shattered life -- unless they can both open their wounded hearts to a promise each believed long dead ... and find the courage to embrace the most glorious dream of all.
Josephine Cox was born in a cotton-mill house in Blackburn, one of ten children. At the age of sixteen, Josephine met and married her husband Ken, and had two sons. When the boys started school, she decided to go to college and eventually gained a place at Cambridge University. She was unable to take this up as it would have meant living away from home, but she went into teaching - and started to write her first full-length novel. She won the 'Superwoman of Great Britain' Award, for which her family had secretly entered her, at the same time as her novel was accepted for publication.
Josephine has now given up teaching in order to write full time. She says 'I love writing, both recreating scenes and characters from my past, together with new storylines which mingle naturally with the old. I could never imagine a single day without writing, and it's been that way since as far back as I can remember.'
Josephine Cox was given a Lifetime Acheivement Award by the Romantic Novelists Association in March 2011. At the awards ceremony Cox said: "I am thrilled and delighted to be receiving such a prestigious award. It's something I never expected and I would like to thank all those concerned for thinking I am deserving of it."
