Abbie's Rival

Abbie Palmer is obsessed with her beautiful rich French pen friend, Colette, who she has always wanted to meet, but when Colette tells her she is coming to England in the summer holidays to visit, Abbie panics: she hasn't been entirely truthful about her home life and she's afraid Colette won't want to have anything more to do with her if she finds out she's been lying. Abbie invents a story to put Colette off, but Colette doesn't get the message and one day she turns up unexpectedly on her doorstep. Abbie's best friend Shireen is jealous of Colette and they don't get on. It's not long before Abbie herself realises what a let-down Colette is: she's arrogant and selfish, and even worse she's attracted the attention of the young man Abbie fancies, her new student French teacher, Richard. In only a few days Colette has gone from beloved pen friend to bitter rival for Richard's affections.

I was inspired to write this book because of a real life encounter with a pen friend in my teens. When I met her for the first time she didn't turn out as I expected and suffice to stay we never stayed in touch! Although this book focuses on a teenage crush, it is aimed for readers aged 9-12.

Abbie's Rival is available worldwide in paperback and on Kindle.