College Club, Boston

Nancy Thayer is the author of twenty-one novels, including Summer House, The Hot Flash Club, Beachcombers, and her latest, Heat Wave, due out in June.

Nancy Thayer’s work has been translated into many languages, including German, Finnish, Hebrew, Russian, Turkish, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Serbo-Croatian, Swedish, Danish, and Polish.

Her books concern the mysteries and romance of families and relationships: marriage and friendships, divorce and love, custody and step parenting, family secrets and private self-affirmation, the quest for independence and the normal human hunger for personal connections.

Her novels have been condensed or excerpted in several literary reviews and magazines, including Redbook and Good Housekeeping, England's Cosmopolitan, Holland's Viva, and South Africa's Personality. She has published a commissioned three-part mystery novella in Redbook, and short stories in literary reviews in the United States, Canada, and Spain. Her first novel, Stepping, was made into a 13-part series for BBC Radio. Her novel Spirit Lost was made into a movie by United Image Entertainment.

Nancy Thayer has a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She was a Fellow at the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference. She has lived on Nantucket Island year-round for twenty-six years with her husband Charley Walters. Her daughter is the novelist Samantha Wilde.

DEAR READER,
Summer on Nantucket is party time! We have beach parties, gallery openings, benefits for charities, celebrations for our many historic organizations, galas and dances.

We have Daffodil Weekend in April, the Fourth of July with the Boston Pops on the beach, the Cranberry Festival in October, and the romantic Christmas Stroll. And every month on the island, the women of Nantucket’s Petticoat Row celebrate women in business with parties and inspirational talks.

In my new novel, Heat Wave, Carley Winsted has little to celebrate. She is thirty-two, with two daughters, when her husband dies of a heart attack. Suddenly she finds herself in a large house with no money. She has two best friends, Maud and Vanessa—but just when she needs them, one of her friends does something truly terrible to the other, and Carley is caught in the middle.

Carley is not without determination, creativity, and gumption. She decides to turn her historic old Nantucket home into a B&B. In the process, she discovers how happy it makes her to provide pleasure for her guests. Carley knows that sometimes we all need a little vacation in a magic place, to renew and refresh our minds, bodies, and souls. The Seashell Inn becomes just such a place.

For those of you who loved Moon Shell Beach, you’ll be glad to know that Lexi Laney shows up in Heat Wave, so you can find out about her there.

I loved writing this book, my twenty-first! I love living on this island, surrounded by sparkling blue water, connected by the sparkling mysteries of the Internet to my readers. I love hearing from you all. Soon there’ll be a Fanpage on Facebook where you can discuss my books with each other. Also, look for all the fun promotions from my publishers, Random House.

Best Wishes,

With affection from Nantucket,
Nancy EMAIL ME at nancy@nancythayer.com!!

About Beachcombers

Abbie Fox hasn’t seen her father or two younger sisters in almost two years. But now Lily, the baby of the family, is sending Abbie urgent emails begging her to return home. Their middle sister, Emma, has taken to her bed, devastated after losing her high-powered job and breaking up with her fiancé. Also, Lily is worried that the beautiful, enigmatic woman renting their guesthouse has set her sights on their widowed father. The Fox sisters closed ranks years ago after the haunting, untimely death of their mother, but seeing their dad move on with his life forces each of them to take stock.

Over the course of the summer, the sisters’ lives grow as turbulent as the unpredictable currents off the New England coast: Abbie breaks her own rules in the name of love, type-A Emma learns a new definition of success, and strong-minded Lily must reconcile her dreams with reality. At summer’s end, these unforgettable women will face profound choices—and undergo personal transformations that will surprise even themselves.

Now available as a trade paperback and eBook Read an excerpt!

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A Nurturing Novel
" Nantucket novelist Nancy Thayer offers an enchanting read with her latest novel, Beachcombers. . .Thayer's emotionally charged writing brings readers to the characters' world on the island, sprinkling romance, humor, and depth onto each page."

Linda Heartlein, Cape Cod Life

Recommended as a "Great New Read" in the August 2010 Woman's Day and as "Brain Candy" in the July Arizona Daily Star!