books in order

Gil McNeil Books In Order

Beach Street Knitting Society Books In Publication Order

  1. The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club / Diva’s Don’t Knit (2007)
  2. Needles and Pearls (2008)
  3. Knit One Pearl One (2011)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. The Only Boy For Me (2001)
  2. Stand by Your Man (2004)
  3. In the Wee Small Hours (2011)
  4. A Good Year for the Roses (2014)

Short Story Collections In Publication Order

  1. Journey To The Sea (2005)

Anthologies In Publication Order

  1. Magic (2002)
  2. Summer Magic (2003)

Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. Mums (2007)
  2. Dads (2008)
  3. Grandparents (2009)

Beach Street Knitting Society Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Short Story Collections Book Covers

Anthologies Book Covers

Non-Fiction Book Covers

Gil McNeil Books Overview

The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club / Diva’s Don’t Knit

‘Funny and sparkling a profoundly moving study of motherhood and true love.’ Ruth Rendell ‘Warm and wonderful.’ Cosmopolitan UK ‘It is now official: knitting is the acme of cool.’ Good Housekeeping UK ‘A believable, warm and funny novel with a touch of romance I’m already looking forward to the sequel.’ Knitting Magazine For every woman who has ever dreamed of starting over, or being a better mother, or just knitting a really nice scarf…
When her husband dies in a car crash not long after announcing he wants a divorce Jo Mackenzie packs up her two rowdy boys and moves from London to a dilapidated villa in her seaside hometown. There, she takes over her beloved Gran’s knitting shop a quaint but out of date store in desperate need of a facelift. After a rough beginning, Jo soon finds comfort in a ‘Stitch and Bit*ch’ group; a collection of quirky, lively women who share their stories, and their addiction to cake, with warmth and humor. As Jo starts to get the hang of single parent life in a small town, she relies on her knitting group for support. The women meet every week at the shop on Beach Street and trade gossip and advice as freely as they do a new stitch. But when a new man enters Jo’s life, and an A list actress moves into the local mansion, the knitting club has even more trouble confining the conversation to knit one, purl two. The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club is an uplifting, winning tale about the healing power of friendship and new beginnings. It’s a charming novel that will delight all passionate knitters and win over befuddled, would be knitters, too.

Needles and Pearls

The warm and witty sequel to The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club Slip one…
Two weddings and a year after her husband’s funeral, Jo Mackenzie is finally starting to get the hang of being a single parent. The boys are thriving, the yarn shop is doing well thanks to Jo’s improvements and she’s just about keeping her head above water. Knit two together…
But a man from Jo’s past and a new romance with the hunky local carpenter come along and make life a whole lot more interesting. Cast off…
Can Jo cope when things get really complicated? Because if knitting really does keep you sane when life starts to unravel, Jo’s going to need much bigger needles. Praise for The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club ‘Smart novels about starting over don’t get any better than this sweet treat.’ Publishers Weekly starred review ‘A warmly winning second chance novel…
Smartly written, Beach Street is also very, very funny.’ Christian Science Monitor

Knit One Pearl One

Knit one…
&;ampnbsp;It’s been a busy few years since Jo Mackenzie lost her husband.&;ampnbsp;Life has brought adventure, surprises, unexpected pleasures, and, of course, lots of knitting. Jo’s seaside yarn shop, with a brand new caf?, has taken off, keeping her busier than ever.&;ampnbsp;And being a single mum to two boys and headstrong toddler Pearl is just as exhausting and enchanting as she thought it would be. On top of all that, celebrity diva Grace has a secret; Jo’s firecracker best friend Ellen is launching a new television series; and lovable but hapless Martin continues his oft misguided attempts to woo Jo.&;ampnbsp;Just when Jo thinks she has about all she can handle, Daniel, Pearl’s globe trotting dad, turns up out of the blue…
&;ampnbsp;Purl one…
But with a little help from her friends, and her beloved Gran, Jo is building a new life for herself by the sea, stitch by stitch. Warm and witty, Knit One Pearl One will delight new readers to the Beach Street series and give the legions of existing fans a chance to visit the British seaside again, without having to worry about the weather.&;ampnbsp;Praise for Gil McNeil and the Beach Street Knitting Society&;ampnbsp;series SPAN style=’FONT FAMILY: ‘Calibri’,…

The Only Boy For Me

Single motherhood has never been so much fun. Annie Baker’s got it made an idyllic life in the country, a part time job in town as a freelance film producer, and a boy who’s crazy about her. The only problem is, he’s six years old. Featuring Annie as its frazzled but tireless hero*ine, Gil McNeil’s endearing first novel turns chaos to poetry. Annie doesn’t remember what it feels like to be pulled in any less than seven directions at once, but that’s the beauty of her life. It seems like everywhere she turns there’s a crisis in the making and a man who needs fussing over whether it’s her son, Charlie, who will only eat sausages for breakfast; her high maintenance director boss Barney, who’s constantly being attacked by his own espresso maker; the crew on her ad shoots, whose work ethics are controlled exclusively by their stomachs; or her work nemesis, Lawrence, who’s simply out to get her fired. And then she meets Mack…
Funny, heartbreaking, truthful, and romantic, The Only Boy For Me is a stunning debut.

Stand by Your Man

Is it better to forgive and forget, or should you just get even? Is it possible to live in the country and not lose your mind completely? Do chickens really make good pets? And what exactly is a hardy perennial? Alice Mayhew, part time architect and full time mother to Alfie, is to gardening what Alan Titchmarsh is to deep sea fishing. So finding she’s been volunteered to design a new garden for the village comes as a bit of a shock, because apart from anything else she s far too busy trying to convince Alfie that wearing green trousers doesn t make you Peter Pan, and that flying is best left to the experts. Molly O Brien is finding it hard enough coping with Lily age four and likes washing up and Matt age 32 and doesn t before she discovers she s pregnant. And then there s Lola Barker, who causes havoc wherever she goes, and brings a whole new meaning to the word high maintenance. Toddlers, jelly, bad behavior, romance, and gardening tips all loom large in this hilarious and heartbreaking new novel that turns prejudices and assumptions upside down with humor and passion, telling it like it really is.

Journey To The Sea

Whether it’s memories of childhood holidays or exotic fantasies of faraway places, a sea and its coast is the most evocative of landscapes. This is a unique collection of the finest, new writing from this water bound nation of ours. Inside are accounts of adventures and encounters, short stories that will haunt and inspire. It is a literary tribute to the last frontier the ocean.

Magic

Eighteen of Britain’s most exciting authors have written brand new stories especially for this spellbinding collection, including Kate Atkinson, Celia Brayfield, Christopher Brookmyre, Lewis Davies, John O’Farrell, Sue Townsend, and Fay Weldon. Miracles, mystery, romance and humor from Louisiana mud swamps where enchantment is for sale to a bra making workshop where dreams come true, this is British fiction at its fizziest, least predictable, and best. 1 for every copy sold will be donated to the National Council for One Parent Families’ Magic Million Appeal.

Summer Magic

This is a fantastic new collection of short stories and much more, with brand new stories from 25 of Britain’s favorite authors including Joanna Trollope, Jilly Cooper, John O’Farrell, Penny Vincenzi, Kathy Lette, Marika Cobbold, Marina Warner, and Toby Young. Totally Magic will raise funds for the charity PiggyBankKids, which supports fundraising efforts for a wide range of British charities who create opportunities for children and young people.

Mums

This glorious celebration of motherhood features stories and personal recollections by popular writers such as. It is sprinkled with wonderfully touching and funny anecdotes from figures such as Jilly Cooper, Arabella Weir, and Jenni Murray and features cartoons by Posy Simmonds, Sally Ann Lasson, and illustrations by Shirley Hughes and Quentin Blake. This rich treasure trove reflects the many voices of motherhood from across the generations.

Dads

They may be your inspiration or your best friend, kind protectors or big on homework and manners, there for the first diaper change or always out at the bar, but there is no one else quite like Dad. In Dads, heartwarming and hilarious anecdotes and personal recollections are found, both about what it is like to be a dad from the shock of looking after a new born to the mixed blessings that are teenagers and their changing relationships with their own fathers. The phenomenal list of high profile contributors includes: Sir Richard Branson, Bill Bryson, Richard Curtis, David Puttnam, Ian Rankin, David Tennant, Alan Titchmarsh, and many more. Hugely entertaining and thought provoking in turns, this celebration of fatherhood explores just what it is to be a dad.

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