Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel

Book excerpt: Joan has checked into the grand old Duchess Hotel to find herself again after thirty-five years of being who her husband and family have wanted her to be. Frances is distracting herself from getting old by escaping to the Duchess where the staff treat her like the person she still is. Meanwhile, her daughter Alison is trying to manage significant disruptions at home, while hoping to prove she's just as worthy of love as her brother. Hotel maid Kirrily is feeling the weight of a lifetime of responsibility, struggling to balance bills, work and family, and keeping thoughts of how there must be more to life at bay. When Joan picks up a brush and starts painting for the first time in decades, inspiring the others to join her, it could be just the thing to bring the spark back into all their lives.