One Year

Ewan and Suzie #1

by Marion Macdonald

When Suzie’s husband Andy is killed by a suicide bomber in Syria, she is left devastated and virtually homeless. She discovers that he has re-mortgaged their home in Edinburgh to buy twenty properties in El Paraiso, an almost deserted Spanish golf resort, and she can't afford the repayments.While in Spain, trying to decide what to do with this legacy, she meets and is attracted to the mysterious Josh, who appears to be living illegally in one of the apartments. To complicate matters, Andy's friend, Ewan, delivers a suitcase to Suzie and the contents suggest that Andy may have been involved in refugee smuggling.Determined to uncover the truth, Suzie embarks on a journey of discovery, but what will the truth reveal?This intriguing contemporary romance is a page-turner that keeps the reader guessing right up until the final chapter.

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2017

About the author

I developed an interest in creative writing when I retired from my job as director of a housing association and enrolled in a course with the Open University. It opened a whole new world when I found I loved writing. My writing journey began with short stories and poetry which I collected in my book Wherever You Go for my husband’s 70th birthday. You can get a copy of this for free when you sign up for my reader newsletter.

I then tried my hand at a novel. The result was One Year which I self-published in 2017. In March 2020, it received second place in The Scottish Association of Writers' competition for a self-published novel. I haven’t looked back and have now written six novels and am thinking about my seventh.

During Covid, I researched my family tree and, arising from that, wrote a historical novel, No Song in a Strange Land, the first in The Uist Girl Series. The fourth book and final book in the series was published on 26 January 2024.

I enjoy writing about contemporary issues, about family dynamics and about coincidences. In One Year, the financial crash and the refugee crisis were the backdrop to a romantic mystery about a woman searching for the truth about her husband after his death. The contemporary themes of coercive control and the #MeToo Movement set the backdrop for my first psychological novel, The Circle. Family themes and coincidences are woven into a story about how actions can have repercussions, even after twenty-five years. Information I found when I researched my family tree inspired No Song in a Strange Land. Again, contemporary issues of the era play a part in the story of a young woman’s journey from North Uist to Canada and back. Her story continues with past secrets coming back to haunt her and her family in His Bitter Seed, Sons and Brothers and A Love Worth Fighting For. However, I do like to end my stories on a positive note despite the dark content. All novels are available on Amazon in paperback and eBook.

I was born and educated in Scotland and live in Glasgow with my husband Charlie. My interests include reading, travelling, scrabble, knitting, playing the ukulele and, of course, writing.

If you would like to keep up to date with my writing journey, you can sign up for my reader newsletter at www.marionmacdonaldwriter.com

Reviews

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good holiday read - that tries to draw in some very current themes. However felt that each of the difficult themes could have been developed further - maybe worthy of their own books? 😊

[Joan Somers · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great first book. Loved Marion's writing skills. Very entertaining and couldn't put the book down - always a good sign! Well done and look forward to reading your next book.