New book: And Then There’s Margaret by Carolyn Clarke

Hi, Brian.

I’ve been waiting a long time to be able to tell you the news that And Then There’s Margaret (which all started in your Creative Writing class – August 2016) is being released on July 21, 2022!

Thanks to your very first comments on Chapter 1 and all those that followed, you gave me the encouragement and motivation to continue and complete it.

I’m just getting started and look forward to sharing with the world!

Thank you, Brian!

And Then There’s Margaret

For fans of Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go Bernadette or Marion Keyes’s The Break comes And Then There’s Margaret. Take a relatable and often hilarious ride with our heroine as she realizes the only way to survive the angst of family is to let go…and let be.

Marriage and midlife can be difficult. But when you add a controlling, manipulative, and self-absorbed mother-in-law into the mix, things can get worse—much worse. Toxic even. Especially when Allison Montgomery’s beloved father-in-law, and long-time confidant, George, passes away and her mother-in-law, Margaret, ‘temporarily’ moves in.

From rearranging the furniture and taking over the kitchen to embarrassing and undermining Allie at every turn, including funding her daughter’s escape and throwing hissy fits in public, Margaret turns Allie’s life upside down.

Allie bounces between a sincere desire to be supportive of her grieving mother-in-law and the occasional, intense urge to push her out the nearest window. Feeling annoyed, trapped and even a little childish, Allie struggles to avoid a complete meltdown with help from her fearless and audacious best friend, a plan for reinventing herself and, yes, a few glasses of Chardonnay. 

Can Allie survive her mother-in-law, all while navigating the trials and tribulations of midlife, the anxieties of parenting adult children, and a twenty-two-year-old marriage? Maybe…

You can love your mother-in-law,

doesn’t mean you have to like her…

Carolyn Clarke is the founder and curator of HenLit Central, a blog focused on life and lit for women over 40. And Then There’s Margaret is her first novel. She has been an ESL teacher for over sixteen years and has co-authored several articles and resources with Cambridge University Press, MacMillan Education and her award-winning blog ESL Made Easy. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her partner, Tony, her two daughters and a bulldog, Sophie.

You can pre-order your book now at Black Rose Writing and use the promo code: PREORDER2022 to receive a 15% discount.

 See Brian Henry’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.