Lessons In Duck Shooting

When you're a divorced mother of two, finding Mr Right sometimes requires a little help ... 
 
A wonderfully warm and touching debut novel in the bestselling tradition of The Bad Mother's Handbook

The author has a way of conveying break up woes we can all relate to. If you've got the winter blues, this will give you hope

An hilarious look at life as a single mum. Wickedly funny, warm and wonderfully perceptive, it's great for those long, cold, dark winter nights

Literate chick-lit ... Jayne Buxton is a funny writer who knows that humour is in the detail

This is one that you won't want to miss - a wonderful debut novel

Intelligent chick-lit ... This laugh-out-loud debut will captivate readers

This debut novel is a fresh, thoroughly enjoyable read

Jayne Buxton is a consultant and spokesperson in the field of work-life balance. After her non-fiction book, ENDING THE MOTHER WAR, was published in 1998 she became a regular contributor to press, radio and conference discussions about working parents and workplace change. She co-founded Flametree, a specialist work-life balance consultancy and interactive web based community for working parents. She now lives in London with her husband and three children and is currently working on her next novel.

Ally James' life is in dire need of a makeover. Juggling the demands of a neurotic boss, the sudden appearance of her ex-husband's latest arm candy and the endless whirl of school runs and fish sticks seems to have become a mammoth effort of late. And watching The Little Mermaid with her kids is probably the closest she has come to an exciting date in years. So when her best friend Mel persuades, or rather bullies, her into a dating seminar, Ally finds herself reluctantly giving in. Marina Boyd, American relationship guru extraordinaire, claims that all you need is some shrewd self-marketing and a steady stream of trial men -- or, to use her term, 'duck decoys' -- and you're on a sure-fire road to Mr Right. 
 
Ally's not so sure, though. Can packaging and promoting possibly be the same as dating and falling in love? And how on earth would you find the time for a makeover, a direct mail campaign and a branding programme when you're busy putting out fires at home? 
 
Ally is about to find out ...

Jayne Buxton

'The author has a way of conveying break up woes we can all relate to. If you've got the winter blues, this will give you hope

Libby always thought her life was well-ordered, charmed even: three gorgeous daughters, a husband who adores her, friends to see her through thick and thin. But lately, with one daughter in a constant fit of teenage sulks, a ten-year-old questioning everything in the universe and beyond, and a husband who seems to see her mainly as the manager of school runs, ironed shirts and a well-stocked fridge, motherhood is showing some of its distinctly uglier sides. But Libby soldiers on, taking her youngest to an environmental group to find answers to all those pesky universe questions, navigating egg-shells to confront her oldest about that tell-tale silver-foil packet of 21 tiny pills and cramming in some time for rekindling the spark in her marriage after the eight o'clock news. 
 
Until one day, she's had enough. She used to have more to talk about than the PTA and the price of apples at the supermarket; she used to have something to drive her life, a purpose behind things. And she wants that back - or at least some of it. So when she meets Daniel, attractive, passionate and engagingly spontaneous, she knows the turning point has come. But as domestic disaster and emotional calamity descend on the Blake household, Libby soon realizes that it's not simply a matter of starting all over again...

Jayne Buxton

Praise for Take Someone Like Me

'The author has a way of conveying break up woes we can all relate to. If you've got the winter blues, this will give you hope

A charming romantic comedy

A great light-hearted read

'The author has a way of conveying break up woes we can all relate to. If you've got the winter blues, this will give you hope

A charming romantic comedy

A great light-hearted read

'The author has a way of conveying break up woes we can all relate to. If you've got the winter blues, this will give you hope

A charming romantic comedy

A great light-hearted read

Books by Jayne Buxton

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter