McCray County Series by Carolynn Carey

David Adams doesn’t really mind that the TV show he wrote and produced for five years has been canceled and his longtime girlfriend married another man. What he minds is not knowing what to do with the rest of his life. Then inspiration hits. Why not return to his roots and find a place in the country where he can devote himself to writing a novel with real depth? McCray County, where his friend Josh lives, seems like the perfect place to start looking... moreDavid Adams doesn’t really mind that the TV show he wrote and produced for five years has been canceled and his longtime girlfriend married another man. What he minds is not knowing what to do with the rest of his life. Then inspiration hits. Why not return to his roots and find a place in the country where he can devote himself to writing a novel with real depth? McCray County, where his friend Josh lives, seems like the perfect place to start looking. There he sees the cottage of his dreams, a writer’s retreat where he knows he can be creative, if only that attractive female who seems to own the place will let him rent it. When Alicia Martin inherits her late uncle’s farm in McCray County, there’s a condition. She has to live there for eight consecutive months. Knowing she’ll need to sell the farm once she owns it, she tries to avoid participating in county life, knowing she’ll have to leave soon. That works fine until some TV writer named David Adams talks her into letting him rent the old cottage on the property as a writer’s retreat. Because she needs the money, Alicia agrees to rent to him. As the two of them start to clear and clean the cottage, his friends and her neighbors arrive to help. Soon Alicia finds herself immersed in local society and growing increasingly attracted to her renter. Can David and Alicia find enough common ground to make a life together in McCray County, or will their pasts dictate that they go their separate ways? less

When Joy Dawson ends up homeless with her mother and aunt depending on her, she has no choice but to accept her friend Alicia's offer to stay in her guesthouse in McCray County. To her surprise, she discovers that Mark Stevens, the artist she met the year before, is living next door. Although she enjoyed flirting with Mark last year, she’s indignant that he seems to pity her now. Unfortunately, she can’t ignore him when he has set up his easel right outside her back door... moreWhen Joy Dawson ends up homeless with her mother and aunt depending on her, she has no choice but to accept her friend Alicia's offer to stay in her guesthouse in McCray County. To her surprise, she discovers that Mark Stevens, the artist she met the year before, is living next door. Although she enjoyed flirting with Mark last year, she’s indignant that he seems to pity her now. Unfortunately, she can’t ignore him when he has set up his easel right outside her back door. Mark Stevens hasn’t been able to forget Joy Dawson, the outrageously colorful and original woman he met last summer. Unfortunately, now that she’s reappeared in his life, she’s changed from colorful to drab and from flirtatious to surly. What’s a fellow to do when a girl he can’t ignore seems determined to pretend he doesn’t exist? less