It’s routine. It gets her out of bed every morning.
While she and her husband, Mark, had dreams of operating their Old Louisville B&B together, her drinking put an end to that dream—and their marriage. And while Mark still shares in the business venture, the running of the inn is Julia’s responsibility.
And all goes well until it doesn’t.
Despite therapy, Julia still wrestles with the cause of her drinking—her difficulty coping with the loss of their stillborn child, months of bourbon binges covering up her grief. But now that she’s sober, grief surfaces in other ways.
Her father pressures her to return to the family law firm. A friend from AA dies of an overdose. She hears a baby crying in the attic and is certain her Victorian era home is haunted. She craves the sweet oaky taste of bourbon and caves to a night of binge drinking. She doesn’t get up to fix breakfast the next morning.
Mark gives her an ultimatum—get her act together or he’s taking over the B&B.
Julia decides her best therapy is the beach, and heads to Tuckaway Bay for solace, healing, and her girlfriends. A secluded cottage at the end of the Sea Glass Inn Resort becomes her sanctuary, where she lets very few people into her life for weeks—except for the older man who fishes in front of her cottage every day.
Madeleine Jaimes is a contemporary women’s fiction author whose emotionally charged novels explore the real-life social issues affecting women today. Her stories reflect powerful themes like addiction and recovery, domestic violence, LGBTQ+ identity, and family struggles. Her characters remind us that healing is never linear—and that strength comes in many forms.
She believes the most important stories we tell are the ones we whisper to ourselves.
Set against emotionally rich backdrops, Madeleine’s stories invite readers to pause, reflect, and feel seen. Her popular Tuckaway Bay series reflects her passion for writing layered characters and small-town stories where every woman’s journey matters.
Madeliene also writes contemporary romance as Maddie James.