A novella.
When rich, reclusive, cat-loving Celia Thorsen is forced by her mother’s will to start a no-kill cat shelter and interact directly with the world, her life changes in a big way. As she takes her first reluctant steps, she constantly consults her priest and rails against her unhappy situation.
But it’s not all bad. Celia’s first new employee is handsome Noah Spangler, also a pet lover. When she discovers her Manhattan co-op board intends to oust all the pet owners in the building—including her with her two cats—Celia forges a friendship with another co-op resident, attractive Randolph Whitney, who has a large dog. As they work together to foil the board, friendship becomes something more.
Celia’s Challenge is a novella sequel to Summer in the City and a prequel to A Daughter’s a Daughter.
After Summer in the City: Remember Celia Thorsen, the sulky grown daughter of Senator Thorsen in Summer in the City? Remember how outraged she was that her elderly (he was seventy!) father had taken up with another woman soon after his wife’s death? Celia was a sad case: divorced and alone (except for her cats), without a career and living on a trust fund, and angry at her father for wanting to find happiness late in life. She didn’t present a pretty picture.
Celia was unhappy. In Summer in the City, as long as she got out of the way of her father’s plans and didn’t make a public scene, that was enough. But couldn’t Celia find a better future for herself? Celia’s Challenge is the next chapter in her life story.
Before A Daughter’s a Daughter: Remember Dorothy Duncan? She was Pam Ridgeway’s difficult mom in A Daughter’s a Daughter. Before Dorothy retired from her busy life as a social activist, she helped many people. In this novella, Dorothy is still in her prime, brilliantly mentoring Celia as she navigates starting a nonprofit and fighting the co-op board.
Every life story has an arc. Celia’s is finally on the ascendant in Celia’s Challenge.
Summer in the City
Celia’s Challenge
A Daughter’s a Daughter
This short read features clean language and very mild mention of kissing. This is a women’s fiction novella focused on the way Celia’s life opens up.
