Heidi Swain

Bio on the Nightingale Square series I had written previously.

Heidi Swain doesn’t recall when she decided to become a writer mainly because she can’t recall when she didn’t want to write. For several years, Heidi was buying notebooks with the intension of filling them with the stories she planned to write. It just never happened.  

Ms. Swain will admit that she was too afraid. She didn’t have the courage to get those initial words down. Down the line, she took a creative writing course which gave her skills to work with but more importantly, the class of fellow writers gave her the support and encouragement she needed to jump in.  

Her fellow group of writers formed an online community that gave them the chance to share their short stories. The experiments and trial results were worth the effort as they gave her the feedback and encouragement to get down to writing her first novel.  

One of Ms. Swain’s first efforts, The Cherry Tree Cafe, was published by a major publishing company. It was well received and she was asked to write further stories!

The Nightingale Square series by Heidi Swain is set in the countryside in the quiet little village of Norwich, England. These romantic stories may be read as stand-alone stories, but there is a publication chronological order with many characters going through each story. This series has a connection to her previous Wynbridge series and has some character crossovers.

Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square is the first romantic story in the Nightingale Square Series. Our heroine is Kate Harper. The story starts with newlyweds Kate and David Harper.  

David has a past with a reputation that made him less than desirable to be married to. He swears he’s a changed man and Kate believes him. As she walks down the aisle to David waiting at the front to finally be married, her mother’s words are ringing in her ears from that morning. “You’ll never last six months. He hasn’t changed that much.” Kate was so sure he had changed. Eight years later… 

Now Kate, nearly divorced, is getting away from David. It has broken her heart to leave him but staying just wasn’t going to make things better.  

He is not willing to give her up that easily and has been aggressive about trying to change her mind. Kate is in hiding far from their old home and her old life in London.  

Norwich is tiny, cozy, and remote. Her neighbors are friendly, very friendly and they won’t take no for an answer. Soon she has friends and neighbors who are supportive of her.  

Kate isn’t there but a few days before she is pulling into the local politics and is campaigning with her new friend and neighbor, Lisa. They are urging the local council to turn over the town green for a community garden.  

As they work toward that goal they are soon horrified to hear the old, Victorian mansion has been purchased and tagged for demolition to make room for development. All seems lost until Luke, a handsome stranger, comes to town and there’s hope he can turn things around for them.

The third novel of this charming, romantic series is The Winter Garden. It has a sparkling, warm, holiday theme with the kind of romance we want from a Christmas story.

The English are well known for their expansive, colorful, lush gardens and many are considered heirlooms and national treasures. In The Winter Garden we are introduced to Freya Fuller, a lovely young woman who is an absolute artist in the garden.  

Freya has been living in Suffolk on an old Victorian estate managing and working the large garden that, under her care, has become a garden of some acclaim. Eloise Thurlow-Forbes, a pleasant octogenarian and the estate owner, has become good friends with Freya.  

When Eloise passes away her estate passes to a distant relative in the United States. He comes to review the property and is thoroughly rude, making condescending remarks about his dead aunt, and shows zero interest or care for the grounds and legacy of the property.  

He is oblivious to the open grief Freya has for the loss of her dear friend and has turned into an obnoxious owner, belittling Freya and her work.  

Fortunately Freya’s life makes a turn for the better when she is offered a new position as the head gardener of a large estate in Nightingale Square. The owners are a young family who cares deeply for the heritage of their home and gardens and for their community.  

They are thrilled Freya has agreed to come and make the many improvements needed. One of the additions they are excited about is having sculptures around the soon to be redesigned gardens.  

Finn has been asked to create the sculptures. He’s a builder during the day and does his artistic sculpting endeavors at night. He doesn’t have an entirely supportive father who rather wants him to be doing something steadier and more respectable and substantial.  

Finn is determined to follow his dream of being a professional sculptor. When he and Freya are put together to work on the designs for the garden they clash from the beginning.  

Running under the tension between the two is a current of attraction that neither wants to acknowledge. However they must find a way to work together so they can get the winter gardens ready for the Christmas season and the public.