Wendy Francis Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Joel Frederick Short Story Collections

Wendy Francis
Wendy Francis once worked as a senior editor in book publishing. Her writing has appeared in local magazines, like The Improper Bostonian. Her work has also appeared places like The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Salon.com, Yahoo Parenting, Redbook, and WBUR’s Cagnoscenti, as well as others.

Wendy grew up in the Midwest and moved east to attend both high school and college. After she graduated from Harvard, she went to law school for a short time before she realized that she was a lot more interested in rewriting cases than actually studying case law.

As a book editor she worked for almost fifteen years for Da Capo Press and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. When she was home with her infant son, she wrote her first novel.

Besides having a son, she is the stepmother to two college-aged kids, and lives outside Boston with her family.

Wendy’s debut novel, called “Three Good Things”, was released in the year 2013. Her work is from the romance and general fiction genres.

“Three Good Things” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 2013. Ellen McClarety, recently divorced, just opened up a new bake shop in her tiny Midwestern town, hoping she can turn her life around by dedicating herself to the traditional Danish pastry known as the kringle. She no longer has to be saddled with her ne’er-do-well husband, however the past still haunts her, and sometimes it shows up on her doorstep.

Lanie, her younger sister, is a successful divorce lawyer with a baby at home. Lanie is starting to feel that her perfect life is not nearly as perfect as it seemed. Both women yearn for their mom’s guidance, who died many years prior but left them both with lasting memories of her love as well as her wonderful advice, that no matter what, you can think of three good things that happened.

Ellen and Lanie are about as close as two sisters can be. Until one of them begins to keep a secret that might change their lives forever.

Readers found this to be a heartwarming and wonderful read with some well developed story lines and characters and some unexpected twists in it. Lanie and Ellen had a great relationship between them, and readers liked seeing how they weathered all the ups and downs of life with each other. They feel like people that you actually know and care about quickly.

“Summer of Good Intentions” is the second stand alone novel and was released in the year 2015. Summers in Cape Cod are supposed to stay reassuringly the same, however, it all falls apart when three sisters and their families come together for their yearly summer vacation. And they bring with them more secrets than suitcases.

Maggie is the eldest. She feels as though she is responsible for the management of the summer house and ensuring it all is as it always has been. She is hurt that her parents’ divorce destroyed the comfortable routines of the family, and her children appear to be growing up rapidly. Could it be too late to have another kid?

Jess is the middle child. She isn’t passionate about her marriage, however loves her job. She is unsure she is able to gather the courage to tell Maggie what she has done, much less discuss it with her husband.

Virgie is her dad’s favorite and the youngest. She has always been the career woman, however there is now a man in her life. Her television job on the west coast is beyond stressful, and it takes a toll on her, both physically and emotionally. She is counting on this vacation to get rid of the symptoms she is not talking about.

The Herington girls are together once more, with their kids and husbands, for one more summer in the family’s old Cape Cod house. When their mom, Gloria, says she is coming for an unscheduled visit, with her new boyfriend, nobody is more surprised than their dad, Arthur, who still hasn’t quite gotten over his divorce. Still, everybody manages to navigate the challenges of living their grown-up lives in close quarters. That is until one accident reveals a brand new secret that brings everybody together in heartbreak at first, then healing.

Each of these characters are likable and make you want to share a whole month with them. This is a nice and breezy read for when you are in the mood for family bonding, family drama, as well as a well-written tale. The sibling relationships felt entirely real, and the story of the three marriages that face their personal challenges was wholly engrossing. Some readers fell into the story, finishing it in just two sittings.

“The Summer Sail” is the third stand alone novel and was released in the year 2018. Three college friends that reunite aboard a cruise ship experience one unforgettable vacation.

Three college roommates are celebrating a twentieth wedding anniversary as they take a cruise to Bermuda. As the ship pulls away from the pier, everybody looks forward to lounging by the pool, sipping sunset cocktails, and reminiscing.

Abby, the group’s mother hen, is going to be celebrating her anniversary in style, even while she and her husband keep it a secret from the rest of the group. Lee, a single mom who was annoyingly beautiful and irresistibly popular during college, hopes that she will win back the affections of Lacey, her previously sweet daughter. After her first year in college, has become a bit of a monster in inexplicable fashion. Caroline, an ambitious career woman, is happily anticipating several days without stress away from the magazine job with Javier, her boyfriend who might just be inspired enough to propose.

While the balmy pink shores of Bermuda start coming into view, old jealousies begin flaring, tensions simmer, which sends the temperature from soothing to scorching. All in this story of three best friends on a vacation that they aren’t going to forget any time soon. Just not for the reasons they expect.

Wendy Francis does a great job of making each character come alive with most of them being likable.