The Runaways are back…
For Layla Lewis, life is finally back on track. After her “runaway year” in Cornwall, another year has passed—an idyllic year spent with sexy new love, Joseph Scott, in the sultry heat of Florence. For best friend Penny, life has also changed. Having recently given birth to a baby girl, she’s busy embracing motherhood.
But, for The Runaways, life is never that easy…
A chance encounter with Joseph’s ex-girlfriend, Tara, has explosive consequences for the new lovers, and all three are forced back to Cornish shores. There’s a secret between them, and Layla can’t help but fear that they’re rekindling their past. Meanwhile, motherhood is not the joy Penny thought it would be—she’s heading for a breakdown, and fast!
All too soon the bubble is burst, the idyll shattered.
As Penny seeks sanctuary in Cornwall too, loyalties are stretched to the limit and relationships are challenged. When Tara’s secret is revealed, it threatens to tear them all apart. Can Layla hang on to new love with Joseph when his past keeps pulling him away?
Facts about The Runaway Ex
By Shani Struthers
The Runaway Ex was never meant to be! The Runaway Year was meant as a standalone but then I got to thinking… what if the happily ever after hits a blip? What if someone from the past turns up, out of the blue, with a secret in tow – a secret she’ll only share with her ex? Voila! A sequel was born!
Certain songs inspire me when I write; I have a song for each book I write. For The Runaway Year, Toploader’s ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ was the one – I wanted to capture that same happy, carefree feeling. The Runaway Ex is grittier though and Rhianna’s ‘Stay’ suits it perfectly. The lyrics and the heartfelt way it’s sung sums up just what the book is all about.
We see a different side to Joseph and Layla in The Runaway Ex, a side perhaps not so palatable, is controversial even. Penny too is not reacting in the way everyone ‘expects’ a new mother to react. And the interesting thing is the characters themselves are shocked at their own behaviour.
Penny was pregnant by the end of The Runaway Year and in The Runaway Ex she has had the baby. But Penny is finding motherhood more of a challenge than she cares to admit. PND is a subject close to my heart and writing her part felt very cathartic indeed.
There’s a third and final Runaway! Oh yep, I think after you’ve read The Runaway Ex, you’ll agree a certain character needs a bit of a break.
Born and bred in the sunny seaside town of Brighton, one of the first literary conundrums Shani had to deal with was her own name – Shani can be pronounced in a variety of ways but in this instance it’s Shay-nee not Shar-ney or Shan-ni – although she does indeed know a Shanni – just to confuse matters further! Hobbies include reading, writing, eating and drinking – all four of which keep her busy enough.
After graduating from Sussex University with a degree in English and American Literature, Shani became a freelance copywriter. Twenty years later, the day job includes crafting novels too. She is the author of contemporary Cornish romance – The Runaway Year – published in 2013 by Omnific Publishing. The Runaway Ex is the second in the Runaway series.
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