Around the Bend: Around the Bend\The Other Wife [Paperback]

Shirley Jump (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 16, 2010

Thelma and Louise they're not.

First of all, Hilary and Rosemary Delaney are not friends--worse, they're mother and daughter. Hilary's a wayward thirty-something running from a marriage proposal, and Rosemary's her disapproving mother, a retired lawyer who can't drive and won't fly.

So they're driving together across country.

In a cherry-red Mustang.

With a potbellied pig named Reginald, and a life-size cutout of Rosemary's late husband.

Should be a fun trip.

As the miles tick by, Hilary ponders why the word "marriage" has her so terrified and finds she's got a lot to learn--about her mother, love and life in general. Together, Hilary and Rosemary will discover what's around the bend...if they don't drive each other crazy, or drive off a cliff first.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (February 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373230877
• ISBN-13: 978-0373230877
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,430,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nationally bestselling author Shirley Jump didn't have the willpower to diet nor the talent to master under-eye concealer, so she bowed out of a career in television and opted instead for a career where she could be paid to eat at her desk'writing.

She started out in journalism, selling her first article at the age of eleven and dreaming of being the next Jane Pauley. After writing 3000 articles and two non-fiction books, Shirley grew too dependent on her robe and fuzzy slippers, though, and decided a career as a freelance writer suited her better.

Then she got married. And had two kids.

Humor became the only thing that got her through the mashed potato flingfests and toilet paper decorating sprees. At first, seeking revenge on her children for their grocery store tantrums, she sold embarrassing essays about her children to anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Working Woman's Soul and Chocolate for Women II. However, it wasn't enough to feed her growing addiction to writing funny.

So she turned to the world of romance novels, where messes are (usually) cleaned up before The End and no one is calling anyone a doodoo head. In the worlds Shirley gets to create and control, the children listen to their parents, the husbands always remember holidays and the housework is magically done by elves.

She sold her first book to Silhouette Romance in 2001. That novel, THE VIRGIN'S PROPOSAL, won the Booksellers' Best Award for Best Traditional Romance of 2003. Two of her subsequent books were finalists in the Golden Quill Awards and two others were finalists in the Madcap Awards for best romantic comedy. She is also a Reviewers' Choice Award winner.

Shirley has sold twenty-six novels and now writes stories for Harlequin/Silhouette and Kensington Books about love, family and food'the three most important things in her life (though, there are many days when the order is reversed), using that English degree everyone said would be so useless.

She found a way to combine all her favorite things in her recipes with her own romantic comedy series from Zebra Books, which launched in September 2004 with THE BRIDE WORE CHOCOLATE. The fourth, THE BACHELOR PREFERRED PASTRY, is a February 2006 release, followed by PRETTY BAD in February 2007. Her next Romances will be a linked duet of BACK TO MR. & MRS. and MARRIED BY MORNING in May and June 2007. She also writes for Harlequin NeXt.

Though she's thrilled to see her books in stores around the world, Shirley mostly writes because it gives her an excuse to avoid cleaning the toilets and helps feed her shoe habit.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!, August 13, 2011

By 

Karen Lenfestey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Around the Bend: Around the Bend\The Other Wife (Paperback)

I really enjoyed "Around the Bend". I was hooked with the opening lines. As always, Shirley Jump creates characters you can see and scenes that make you feel like you're there.

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful mother-daughter story!!, March 23, 2010

By 

Janet Dean (Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Around the Bend: Around the Bend\The Other Wife (Paperback)

Shirley Jump's Around the Bend is a wonderful mother-daughter story of self-discovery and the meaning of love. The humor is great fun with wacky characters and a pot-bellied pig. But, it was the romance that kept me up late turning pages to see if Hilary and Nick would overcome the obstacles standing between them and their happy ending. Jump balances heartache with heartwarming in a story of hope and healing. Don't miss Around the Bend!