You don’t have to look
further than your
immediate neighbours to,
see how things really are
Is there anything you’d change about
your life?
I don’t feel nostalgic for my youth, but I do feel nostalgic for the years when I was a young mum. I didn’t anticipate how I’d feel when the boys left home. I just couldn’t believe they’d gone and I still miss them being around although I’m very happy that they’re happy.
Are friendships important to you?
Vastly important. I always stay with Margaret when I visit Liverpool and we email each other two or three times a week. Old friends are the best sort as you have shared with them the ups and downs of your life. I have other friends in Liverpool that I have known all my adult life. I have also made many new ones who send me things that they think will be useful when I write my books.
Have you ever shared an experience with
one of your characters?
Richard’s son from his first marriage recently got in touch with us. It was quite a shock as he’s been in Australia for most of his life and we’ve never known him. He turned out to be a charming person with a lovely family. I’ve written about long-lost family members returning in Kitty and Her Sisters and The Leaving of Liverpool so it was strange for me to find my life reflecting the plot of one of my books.
Describe an average writing day for you.
Wake up, Richard brings me tea in bed and I watch breakfast television for a bit. Go downstairs at around 8 a.m. with the intention of doing housework. Sit and argue with Richard about politics until it’s midday and time to go to my shed and start writing. Come in from time to time to make drinks and do the crossword. If I’m stuck, we might drive to Sainsbury’s for a coffee and read all the newspapers we refuse to have in the house. Back in my shed, I stay till about half seven and return to the house in time to see EastEnders.
Don’t miss Maureen’s bestselling novels:
Stepping Stones
Lights Out Liverpool
Put Out the Fires
Through the Storm
Liverpool Annie
Dancing in the Dark
The Girl from Barefoot House
Laceys of Liverpool
The House by Princes Park
Lime Street Blues
Queen of the Mersey
The Old House on the Corner
The September Girls
Kitty and Her Sisters
The Leaving of Liverpool
Mother of Pearl
1939. Amy was just eighteen when she met Barney and they fell deeply in love. Their romantic, passionate marriage was a match made in heaven – and then war came. Barney volunteered to fight, and when he returned to Liverpool after VE Day, everything began to change. But what was it that made Amy kill her adored husband –and what happened to their five-year-old daughter, Pearl?
1971. Amy has been released from prison. But her freedom changes the lives of everyone – not least Pearl. Now twenty-five, she was brought up in a very happy home by her aunt, and has no idea of the terrible secret hidden in her past. As the truth unravels, both Amy and Pearl are caught up in the shocking fall-out of one family’s tragedy.
£6.99
ISBN:978-0-7528-9381-5
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Stepping Stones £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-1726-2
Lights Out Liverpool £5.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-0402-6
Put Out the Fires £5.99
MAUREEN LEE
78-0-7528-2759-9
Through the Storm £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-1628-9
Liverpool Annie £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-1698-2
Dancing in the Dark £5.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-3443-6
The Girl from
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MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-3714-7
Laceys of Liverpool £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-4403-9
The House by
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MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-4835-8
Lime Street Blues £5.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-4961-4
Queen of the Mersey £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-5891-3
the Corner £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-6575-1
The September Girls £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-6532-4
Kitty and her Sisters £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-7818-8
The Leaving of
Liverpool £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-8192-8
Mother of Pearl £6.99
MAUREEN LEE
978-0-7528-9381-5
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Have you read them all?
Curl up with a
STEPPING STONES
Lizzie O’Brien escapes her dark Liverpool childhood when she runs away to London – towards freedom and a new life. But the past is catching up with her, threatening to destroy her dreams . . .
There’s a party on Pearl Street, but a shadow hangs over the festivities: Britain is on the brink of war. The community must face hardship and heartbreak with courage and humour.
PUT OUT THE FIRES
1940 – the cruellest year of war for Britain’s civilians. In Pearl Street, near Liverpool’s docks, families struggle to cope the best they can.
THROUGH THE STORM
War has taken a terrible toll on Pearl Street, and changed the lives of all who live there. The German bombers have left rubble in their wake and everyone pulls together to come to terms with the loss of loved ones.
LIVERPOOL ANNIE
Just as Annie Harrison settles down to marriage and motherhood, fate deals an unexpected blow. As she struggles to cope, a chance meeting leads to events she has no control over. Could this be Annie’s shot at happiness?
DANCING IN THE DARK
When Millie Cameron is asked to sort through her late aunt’s possessions, she finds buried among the photographs, letters and newspaper clippings, a shocking secret . . .
THE GIRL FROM BAREFOOT HOUSE
War tears Josie Flynn from all she knows. Life takes her to Barefoot House as the companion of an elderly woman, and to New York with a new love. But she’s soon back in Liverpool, and embarks upon an unlikely career . . .
LACEYS OF LIVERPOOL
Sisters-in-law Alice and Cora Lacey both give birth to boys on one chaotic night in 1940. But Cora’s jealousy and resentment prompt her to commit a terrible act with devastating consequences . . .
THE HOUSE BY PRINCES PARK
Ruby O’Hagan’s lif
e is transformed when she’s asked to look after a large house. It becomes a refuge – not just for Ruby and her family, but for many others, as loves, triumphs, sorrows and friendships are played out.
LIME STREET BLUES
1960s’ Liverpool, and three families are linked by music. The girls form a successful group, only to split up soon after: Rita to find success as a singer; Marcia to become a mother; and Jeannie to deceive her husband, with far-reaching consequences . . .
QUEEN OF THE MERSEY
Queenie Todd is evacuated to a small town on the Welsh coast with two others when the war begins. At first, the girls have a wonderful time until something happens, so terrifying, that it will haunt them for the rest of their lives . . .
THE OLD HOUSE ON THE CORNER
Victoria lives in the old house on the corner. When the land is sold, she finds herself surrounded by new properties. Soon Victoria is drawn into the lives of her neighbours – their loves, lies and secrets.
THE SEPTEMBER GIRLS
Cara and Sybil are both born in the same house on one rainy September night. Years later, at the outbreak of war, they are thrown together when they enlist and are stationed in Malta. It’s a time of live-changing repercussions for them both . . .
KITTY AND HER SISTERS
Kitty McCarthy wants a life less ordinary – she doesn’t want to get married and raise children in Liverpool like her sisters. An impetuous decision and a chance meeting twenty years later are to have momentous repercussions that will stay with her for ever . . .
THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL
Escaping their abusive home in Ireland, sisters Mollie and Annemarie head to Liverpool – and a ship bound for New York. But fate deals a cruel blow and they are separated. Soon, World War II looms – with surprising consequences for the sisters.
MOTHER OF PEARL
Amy Curran was sent to prison for killing her husband. Twenty years later, she’s released and reunited with her daughter, Pearl. But Amy is hiding a terrible secret – a tragedy that could tear the family apart . . .