Sometimes the best things in life happen when you dare to get out of your depth.

“Dust off those what-ifs and get ready to glow on.”—Book Perfume “This is exactly the book I needed right now.”—Looking on the Sunnyside “Filled with inspiring quotes and strategies.”—New York Journal of Books Packed with fun ideas and solid, practical strategies for reconnecting with your creativity and making the rest of your life the best of your life. Ditch all those worries about getting older and embrace what can be the most vibrant and empowering chapter of your life. Equal parts creativity guide, mood boost, midlife manifesto, self-help salve, and breath of fresh air. 100% witty, wise and generous Claire Cook, who shares everything she’s learned on her own journey that might help you in yours. Filled with great stories and insider tips. If you’re a forty-to-forever woman who’s interested in making your life glow on, don’t miss this inspiring and motivating book. "Whether you’re a writer, artist, or crafter in need of a boost, or someone who (incorrectly!) tells yourself you’re not creative (you are!), this book is a much-needed balm to the soul."—Book Perfume “It's a how-to 'Cook-book' filled with wonderful ideas to help you locate that spark and use that new-found innate creativity to keep yourself busy, productive—and happy—during difficult times like pandemic shutdowns and post-shutdowns.”—Pamela Kramer “From one reader to another, you can never go wrong reading one of Claire Cook's books.”—Vicky G. “Life Glows On gave me the encouragement I needed when I desperately needed it. I don't usually read nonfiction, but the great stories make this book feel as if you're reading a novel.”—Donna H. “[Cook’s] poignancy and sassy humor resonate with readers; her theme of reinvention uplifts and inspires.” —Savannah Magazine “A beach tote couldn’t ask for more.”—Kirkus “Claire Cook has an original voice, sparkling style, and a window into family life that will make you laugh and cry.”—Adriana Trigiani “Charming, engagingly quirky, and full of fun, Claire Cook just gets it.”—Meg Cabot “Claire Cook is wicked good.”—Jacquelyn Mitchard “Cook’s humor and narrative execution are impeccable.”—Publishers Weekly “Cook has a light, fun voice and always infuses her stories with great wit and heart.” –Cape Cod Times “Cook’s penchant for hitting the emotional sore spot and combining it with humor hits the mark.”—New York Journal of Books “It is never too late to find your place in the world.”—San Francisco Book Review

"The Wildwater Walking Club is a quick smart read that will get you thinking about walking, friendship, and making time for the things you love."— Book Reporter After losing her boyfriend and her job in one fell swoop, Noreen has no idea what her next step is. So she puts on a new pair of sneakers and a seriously outdated pair of exercise pants, and walks. Before long she's joined by two neighbors as lost as she is and figures out time flies and fitness is actually fun when you're walking with friends. Throw in a road trip to Seattle for a lavender festival, a career-coaching group that looks like a bad sequel to The Breakfast Club, some terrific romantic comedy twists and turns, a quirky multigenerational cast of supporting characters, and the result is a tribute to female friendship that will inspire you to pick up the phone and call all your old friends--or maybe even start your own walking group. Join Noreen, Tess and Rosie as they walk and talk, talk and walk, tally their steps, share their secrets, and begin putting their lives back together. You'll be lacing up your own sneakers in no time. By the New York Times bestselling author of Must Love Dogs, a fun and inspiring novel about women and friendship—and how even big changes happen one step at a time. Don't miss Book 2, The Wildwater Walking Club: Back on Track and Book 3, The Wildwater Walking Club: Step By Step! Walking Group Guide and Book Club Questions included. "Lively and inspiring!"—Hartford Courant "A great feel-good story."—Philadelphia Examiner "Readers who enjoy a celebration of friendship will want to walk the beach alongside the Wildwater trio."—Midwest Book Review "The Wildwater Walking Club reminds us of what's important in life - the joy of friendship, the power of a brisk walk, and of course the importance of a good book. I couldn't put it down.—Anisha Lakhani "The woman of The Wildwater Walking Club are a delightful trio, full of heart and determination. As they - literally - put one foot in front of the other, the three new friends find unlikely paths that point them toward more fulfilling lives. Their journey left me genuinely inspired (and with the curious urge to go out and buy a clothesline).”—Jean Reynolds Page

From the acclaimed bestselling author of Must Love Dogs comes a winning and witty new novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself “dancing with the stars.” Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the around-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound. Then Deirdre’s sometime boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deirdre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag’s expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing with the Stars replacement. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre’s fifteen minutes of fame have begun. Irresistible and offbeat, Wallflower in Bloom is an original and deeply satisfying story of having the courage to take a leap into the spotlight, no matter where you land.

This Alpha's gonna take a bite out of his brother's fake fiancée. Sheltered Lucia is determined to find a new life and love. No wonder she falls for the first guy to flash her a wolfish smile her first day in the big city. After rescuing the charming shifter from certain death, she's sure he feels the same way about her, and will tell her so — just as soon as he wakes up from his coma. To stay by her instalove’s side in the hospital, Lucia pretends she's his bonded mate. This twist of the truth takes a turn when she meets her fake fiancé’s sexy older brother and wonders if she was a bit too hasty in declaring love-at-first-sight the first time. For months, Jackson has sensed that his fated mate was near. When he enters his brother's hospital room, he instantly pounces on the beautiful, curvaceous woman there. He’s ready to mark her as his own until he discovers his brother may have gotten there first. The more Jackson gets to know Lucia, the more his doubts about the engagement grow. She has nothing in common with his wayward, lone wolf brother. But she sure does check every one of Jackson's boxes. Lucia longs to explore her feelings for Jackson, but how can she turn her back on the comatose wolf she lied about being engaged to? Jackson's fighting a losing battle with his wolf to claim the woman who should be his. When he finds proof that Lucia isn't who she claims to be, can he still trust her with his heart? And what will happen when his brother, her fake-mate, wakes up? Moonrise is the first in a paranormal romance series full of alpha men and the strong, capable women that bend them to their knees. If you like a touch of magic in your romance novels, then you’ll love the witches, fairies, and wolves in the dystopian world of the moonkind. Buy Ines Johnson’s Moonrise today and find yourself caught in the moonglow of this paranormal romance filled with instalove gone hilariously wrong, overbearing families who’ll warm your heart, and the sensuous heat that only happens between fated mates.

An indispensable guide for anyone who runs or participates in a book group, this title provides the structure and fun facts needed to examine the genre of women's fiction. Women's fiction covers numerous topics of importance in the lives of women—friendship, love, personal growth, and familial relationships. For this reason, the genre is a hotbed of engaging subjects for book group discussions. Reading Women: A Book Club Guide for Women's Fiction brings together information on over 100 women's fiction titles, providing everything a book group needs to encourage focused, stimulating meetings. Reading Women marshals information that has been, up to this point, either nonexistent or scattered in book club guides. Readers will learn the difference between women's fiction, romance, and chick lit, as well as why these genres provide a rich trove of discussion topics for book groups. Specific entries cover titles from all three genres, offering an author biography, a book summary, bibliographic material, discussion questions, and read-alike information for each book. An additional 50 titles suitable for book group discussions are listed with brief summaries.

“A beach chair worthy read."—New York Times "A hot summer beach book."—USA Today "Bestseller Cook charms again in this lively, warm-hearted look at changing courses mid-life."—People Magazine Just when Jill Murray has finally figured out how to make it on her own, her husband Seth is back, proving he can't even run away reliably. Now Jill has to face the fact that there's simply no way she can be a good mom without letting her ex back into her daughter Anatasia's life. They say that every seven years you become a completely new person, and it takes a Costa Rican getaway to help Jill make her choice - between the woman she is and the woman she wants to be. From Claire Cook, New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author of the much-loved novel turned romantic comedy movie starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, Must Love Dogs. "A beach tote couldn't ask for more."—Kirkus Reviews "Claire Cook told us we 'Must Love Dogs." But must we also love ex-husbands?…Cook takes a closer look at a complex situation."—New York Post “Roll out your beach blanket for this sweet summer read about making mistakes and moving on.”—Publishers Weekly "A lot of fun to read? Definitely!"—Redbook "With wit and tenderness, Claire Cook sweeps us into the life of Jill Murray, a feisty single mom trying to stitch together a future after being abandoned by her husband. This is a delightful story of love, loss, and the surprising events that healed her heart. I cheered for Jill the entire way."—Beth Hoffman "A perfect beach read. Claire Cook once again demonstrates that she's a master in creating funny, warm, relatable characters you root for from the very first page."—Allison Winn Scotch "Smart, truly hilarious, and entirely sympathetic. Like a hot bubble bath or a holiday at the beach, you won't want it to end."—Cecily Von Ziegesar Join Claire’s newsletter list to receive your free welcome gift and stay in the loop for new releases, giveaways and insider extras at ClaireCook.com.

"It is the kind of book you will return to again and again, and Claire Cook is the kind of writer you will only want more from.”—Stephanie Burns, Book Perfume Wondering how to get to that life you really thought you'd be living by now? Finally ready to dig up that buried dream? Still trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up? Just looking for the perfect tweak to your existing life? Claire Cook speaks to real women—our fears and obstacles and hopes and desires—and gives us cutting edge tools to get where we want to go. Bursting with inspiration, insider stories, and practical strategies. Filled with humor, heart, encouragement, and great quotes. You'll hop on a plane with Claire as you figure out the road to your own reinvention. She’ll share her own stories, successes, and failures, as well as those of other reinventors, plus tips for getting a plan, staying on track, pulling together a support system, building your platform in the age of social networking, dealing with the inevitable ups and downs, overcoming perfectionism, and tuning in to your authentic self to propel you toward your goals. A little bit memoir, a lot inspiration, Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention (without getting lost along the way) is real, grounded, and just the book you need to start reinventing your life. “Never Too Late is the perfect book for readers who love Claire Cook’s books and wonder how she got to be such a successful author. But the real purpose and accomplishment of the book is the inspiration it provides and the fascinating and amazingly helpful strategies and methods she presents for any women (‘and a few good men’) who really want to achieve what they’ve only dreamed of. The book is about change and opportunity—and how to grab them.”—Pamela Kramer, National Book Reviewer, Examiner.com “Never Too Late resonated with me on a level that I didn’t expect. Still at this moment, I am reviewing all the notes that I took while reading the book.”—Victoria Colotta, ArtBooksCoffee “If you need a personal cheerleader to help you along your road to reinvention, then I highly recommend this book.”—Laurie Nerat, Looking on the Sunnyside “It’s a thought-provoking, inspiring book. If you’ve thought about changing your career and following your passion, Cook’s book just might provide the needed push.”—Lesa’s Book Critiques

New York Times bestseller! Chosen as a best summer read by People, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and Good Morning America! Life's a bit of a beach these days for Ginger Walsh, who finds herself single at 41 and back home living in the family FROG (Finished Room Over Garage). She's hoping for a more fulfilling life as a sea glass artist, but mostly she's babysitting her sister's kids and sharing overnights with Noah, her glassblower boyfriend with commitment issues and a dog Ginger's cat isn't too crazy about. Then a shark movie comes to town, and everyone is clamoring for a close-up. "Midlife love, laughter, sibling rivalry and self-discovery . . . Goes down as easy as it sounds."—People Magazine "A gleefully quirky coming of age story."—Redbook "Laugh out loud."—Good Housekeeping "As always, Cook's delightful way with dialogue and her deft demonstrations of how family members manage to support one another even while driving each other crazy, make reading this book a day at the beach."—Hartford Courant "A funny page-turner."—Fort Worth Star-Telegram "Perfect-for-the-beach summer novel. . . a bumpy delight."—Boston Common "In this lighthearted, breezy read, Cook displays a wry sense of humor and knows how to write realistic characters."—Library Journal "Claire Cook has an original voice, a sparkling style, and a window into family life that will make you laugh and cry. Life's a Beach is filled with hilarity, sister love and sister hate, juicy arguments and hard-won reconciliations, but most of all, heart."—Adriana Trigiani "If I had a sister, I'd want her to be Claire Cook. If I had a summer, I'd want it to be the summer that two sisters sparred over everything from fertility to photography to family. And if I could follow up the wry, wacky poignancy of Must Love Dogs with any book, it would be Life's a Beach. Claire Cook is wicked good."—Jacquelyn Mitchard "Life's a Beach is a delicious coming-of-age novel—about two forty-something sisters who don't quite manage that feat until it's almost too late. I devoured this slice of family life served up in Claire Cook's inimitably warm and witty style. Tender, touching, and terribly, terribly, funny!"—Mary Kay Andrews Go to ClaireCook.com for your free gift, 41 Essential Quotes To Get Your Glow On, exclusively for newsletter subscribers. You’ll also be the first to find out when Claire's next book comes out and stay in the loop for giveaways and insider extras.

Explores the nature and appeal of swimming, from the history of the strokes to aspects of modern Olympic competition, as well as the author's personal experiences and milestones in the sport.