Wild Card

"Such an entertaining read right from the start. It made me laugh out loud! I was quickly pulled in. Next thing I know, I'm reflecting on life + love, then I'm crying, then I'm laughing again." "Brilliant debut novel. Well done Mags. Loved (or hated) all of the characters, great story, gritty in parts, a real page turner, I read the book in two sittings on a long plane journey, couldn't stop reading it. Lots of unexpected twists to the story which kept it exciting to read from start to finish. Can't wait for your next one!" "Wonderful read, funny, sad and thought provoking. The story keeps you gripped wanting to read more and more, I read it over two days as I couldn't put it down." Everyone thinks Frankie Stewart’s a lesbian. Born and brought up in a traditional Scottish coastal town, she works on the fish counter in a local supermarket where she spends most of her time trying to avoid the smarmy advances of the Assistant Manager, Wayne. At home she is constantly at logger heads with her chain-smoking mother, her bulimic sister and her beloved Granny—Scotland’s number one Elvis fan. When a family tragedy turns her world upside down, she embarks on a journey of discovery with a handsome stranger—a drifter who lives in a camper van and spends his life surfing the waves. Through various encounters with him, when their paths cross unexpectedly, Frankie sees that there’s more to life than aspiring to work on the Deli counter. Drawn to the mysterious Murray, Frankie plunges head first into the unknown and begins to find her feet for the first time as Murray teaches her how to surf. With help from an unexpected source, Frankie turns her back on the expectation that she will marry and have kids like everyone else in the village and heads off into the sunset with Murray. Showing real talent for surfing, with Murray as her teacher, she trains to compete in a surfing competition which is offering the winner a wild card to enter a national competition in Hawaii fulfilling Frankie’s dream of crossing the ocean to escape from her family and her normal life. As she starts to break free of the boundaries that have tied her to home for years, she learns that breaking the mould can be liberating and fulfilling—but she also finds out that it can be heartbreaking. As her adventure leads her out into the world to find her dreams, she finds out that there’s a price to pay for leaving everything behind.