Welcome to Kilmurrin: Meet the Hartigans

If you've followed me through the locked doors of Vale House, first of all: thank you. Second: bring sunglasses. My next series is a lot brighter.

The Hartigans of Kilmurrin is a five-book romantic comedy series set in a small seaside village where heather climbs the cliffs, gorse lines the harbour wall, and nobody (and I mean nobody) minds their own business. Each book follows a different member of the Hartigan family as love turns up at the least convenient moment possible.

First up: The Inn at Last Chance Bay

Nell Hartigan has seventy-four days to save the Salt & Heather before the bank takes the keys. She has a plan, a spreadsheet for the plan, and no time for anything that isn't on it.

Then Callum Vance arrives: the architect sent by the developer who wants to buy the inn. Sharp-suited, relentlessly practical, and far too interested in every crack, leak and questionable bit of plumbing in the building.

Saving the inn was supposed to be the hard part.

Add a storm that strands him there, a broken boiler, a leaking roof and one deeply unhelpful goat, and you have a very good idea of the kind of chaos Kilmurrin runs on.

What to expect from the series

• Warmth first. These are feel-good books with big hearts and guaranteed happy endings.
• Banter. Lots of it. The Hartigans argue the way other families say hello.
• A village you'll want to move to. The harbour, the inn, the weather with a personality of its own.
• Five standalone romances, one connected family. Each book has its own couple, with familiar faces popping up throughout.

Meet all five Hartigans

The covers are here, and so are the titles. In reading order:

1. The Inn at Last Chance Bay: Nell and the architect sent to knock her inn down.
2. Fake It Till You Bake It: Róisín, a fake engagement, and the vet who has loved her since he was fourteen.
3. Across the Harbour: Aoife, the TV chef across the water, and the annual stew competition.
4. Where the Puffins Nest: Declan, the woman he let go at Shannon Airport, and a very seasick skipper.
5. The Last Hartigan: Tess, the Salt & Heather guestbook, and the shy village postman.

Books 1 and 2 are out now on Amazon Kindle. Release dates for the rest go to newsletter readers first. If you want to hear before anyone else (and get the occasional goat update), the sign-up is just below.