Clare Swatman Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Clare Swatman
Before Clare Swatman became a writer, she spent twenty years writing for women’s magazines such as Bella and Best and Take a Break in the United Kingdom. She has been a writer and journalist for more years than she cares to remember.

She was born in Essex in the year 1975, however she doesn’t believe that its rubbed off on her too much. She studied Spanish and French in Newcastle however can barely speak a word of either these days, to her shame. She also finished up a post-graduate magazine journalism course with PMA Media Training.

Clare lives in Hertfordshire in the UK with her two boys and husband. Even the cat’s male, which means that she is destined to forever be outnumbered.

“Before You Go” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2017. When Ed, Zoe’s husband, dies, her world caves in. However what if she can get Ed back? You can find your soulmate.

Some people stare love right in the face for years before they end up finding it. Ed and Zoe fumbled their way into adulthood, each on different paths, yet always in the same direction. Years later, after having navigated dead-end jobs and chaotic house shares, a romance between them blossoms finally. Their future looks set, but then the unthinkable happens.

Ed gets knocked off of his bike and dies one morning while he’s on his way to work. Now Zoe has to figure out a way to survive. However she is not ready to just let go of all their memories. How can she possibly forget all of the happy times, their first kiss, and everything that they built together? Zoe decides to tell Ed all of the things that she never said. Now it is too late. Or is it?

“The Mother’s Secret” is the second stand alone novel and was released in 2018. This is a powerful story about devastating lies, family, and secrets.

Love keeps us together. Sisters Georgie and Kate are the best of friends. As Kate was traveling the world, Georgie stayed at home in order to care for her mom. Now Georgie’s got her own family, she has decided that it is her time to begin finding that there’s a world out there for her to explore.

Love can tear us apart. Jan, their mom, loves both of her daughters with all her heart. So what if she kept Georgie and Kate indoors when they were young? She just cared so very much for them.

What if your life was all based on a lie? Maybe there was another reason that Jan wanted to keep her daughters so close. If the girls ventured too far afield, it might destroy the facade of the world that Jan created. The family is soon going to learn that while lies can cause pain, the truth is able to destroy all of them.

“Dear Grace” is the third stand alone novel and was released in 2021. The most unexpected of consequences, and the most unlikely friendships.

When Anna’s husband cheats on her, she is certain that she will never be happy ever again. However she then meets Grace, age ninety-four. Despite an age gap stretching over fifty years, the two set out together on a life changing journey halfway across the country to find some answers.

Sometimes the one and only way to move on is to revisit the past. However will Grace and Anna be ready for what they learn?

A story about female friendship, love, learning to forgive, and heartbreak.

“Before We Grow Old” is the fourth stand alone novel and was released in 2022. When Fran, age seven, first met Will they knew they were made for one another immediately. For eleven years they were inseparable, however then, Will (when he was eighteen) just upped and disappeared.

Twenty-five years later and Will has returned. Is fated attempting to give them another chance? Fran, who’s still nursing the heart break from all those years back, is still reluctant to give Will the time of day. The price Will’s gotta pay is to tell her the truth, the truth about why he’s back, and the truth about why he left. And Fran’s got secrets of her own to hide. The time has come to decide what Will and Fran truly want out of life, before it is too late.

“How to Save a Life” is the fifth stand alone novel and was released in 2022. One night in December, Ted Green (twenty-two years old) makes his way to Waterloo Bridge determined to end his own life. Despairing and lonely, it seems to be the only choice.

Marianne Cooper, that same night, is running away from this party. Having discovered her boyfriend in a passionate clinch with somebody else, Marianne cannot get away quick enough, however while she makes her way along London’s South Bank, a figure catches her eye up on top of the bridge. Then she sees him, this man ready to jump.

When she saves Ted’s life, this December night becomes one neither one of them is going to forget, and what should be the beginning of a love story to last them both a lifetime. However while Ted watches Marianne leave in a black taxi, all that he can think is that he should’ve really asked her what her name is.

In a tale that spans twenty years, follow Marianne and Ted while they navigate life’s turns and twists, heartbreaks and joys, as they spend the time wondering if fate is ever going to bring them back together again, and is true love going to save them in the end.

This is a beautiful love story which vividly evokes place and time, transporting the reader to one snowy night in London and one chance encounter which changes two people’s lives irrevocably. It takes you on an emotional and nostalgic trip through the past two decades, and leaves you rooting for everybody that’s brave enough to follow their own heart and not their head. It’s a beautifully written story about enduring love.