The Mercury Travel Club

2017 | Fiction & Poetry

'Hi, I'm Angela. My husband ran off with the caterer we hired for our daughter's graduation party. Pleased to meet you.'Meet Angie Shepherd who, after 24 years and 11 months of marriage, finds herself divorced and driven by friends and family to move on. From hangover to makeover, Angie steps firmly away from the sensible knitwear, and launches into every adventure on offer - from baking classes and book groups, to speed dating, and even 'The Granny-Okes', a 1980s tribute act and YouTube sensation.But Angie needs more than a bar of galaxy and a night in with Murder She Wrote...what she dreams of is entrepreneurial success. Channelling her inner Richard Branson, the light bulb moment happens: it's time to take the plunge and invest her divorce settlement into The Mercury Travel Club, an exciting new business venture. But as the Travel Club gets going, things never go according to plan, and in this digital age a little chaos brings the fame she's been looking for.Set in present-day Manchester, this classic mid-life journey features the 1980s soundtrack from Angie's youth, and sees her travel the world whilst coping with life after the Ex.Angie's journey is the catalyst her friends need to examine their own lives; as they start to find their true callings, will Angie find hers?

Witty, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny, this feel-good debut novel shows it's never too late for a second chance.

Helen Bridgett (Author)