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The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook received the 

Literary Titan silver award on 1/8/25

"Overall, an enjoyable, light read with a few raucous moments and a satisfying ending."

The remote village of Didsbrook is thrown into turmoil after its best-known resident, the former actress turned best-selling novelist Jocelyn Robertshaw, is found dead under mysterious circumstances.

Villagers are appalled to learn that the charismatic Jocelyn died from Hemlock poisoning. Police claim she shot and ate a quail that had ingested hemlock. A theory disputed by all who knew her well. The animal-loving Jocelyn would never kill anything, but due to the lack of forensic evidence, police rule death by misadventure.

Jocelyn’s young protégée, Lucy Fothergill, determined to discover the truth about what happened to her mentor, discovers a hidden stash of Jocelyn’s notebooks, revealing jaw-dropping secrets from Jocelyn’s past. The impression Jocelyn gave the world that she lived a near-perfect life was an Academy Award-winning performance.

Believing the events from Jocelyn’s past may have led to her death forty-eight years later, Lucy begins to piece together the clues that lead to the truth.

The sleepy village of Didsbrook is about to wake up!

The humour shines through in this bittersweet family drama!

Just Say It is the debut novel by Tessa Barrie and was released in June 2021. It received the Readers’ Favourite award on 10/24/2021

'A bittersweet family drama about what it means to love unconditionally and grow 

from the past.' Lauren Jones of Turning Another Page

Turning forty, Lisa Grant is broke, alone and living in rural Gloucestershire, hurtling towards an inevitable midlife crisis.

Romantically, she pushes people away. She cannot say, "I love you." Jack, the only love of her life, put the Atlantic Ocean between them after they fell out the last time and now lives in New York.

Fearing for her sanity, she addresses the problem she has carried with her for the past forty years - her narcissistic mother, Elizabeth.

When Lisa was six years old, her father disappeared, and her mother kept the truth about why he left the family home hidden. When starting her journalistic career, Lisa reconnects with her father and discovers grim truths about her controlling mother.

After four decades of sparring with her impossible mother, Lisa cultivates a more rational and sympathetic approach to discovering why her mother lacks empathy. Believing childhood trauma may be responsible, Lisa harnesses her journalistic skills to investigate her mother's past and is shocked by what she finds.

Nostalgic look back through the life and career of a pioneer

Brian Trubshaw was the chief test pilot for BAC before he became the chief test pilot for the British prototype Concorde 002 during its development phase, and I was proud to say he was my stepfather.

He was regarded as one of Britain's most famous names in aviation. As a test pilot for Vickers-Armstrongs, he test-flew the Viscount, the Valiant, the VC10 and Super VC10. 

I believed it was important for Brian to record his lifetime achievements in aviation, and I take all credit for persuading him to do it. It wasn’t an easy task because, despite his exceptional career, he was a very modest man. 

Once he agreed to do it, the least I could do was offer to help him put it together, which I took tremendous pride in doing, and I miss him every day. 

In Brian Trubshaw - Test Pilot, Brian describes his early days as an RAF bomber pilot in World War II, followed by service with Transport Command and the prestigious King's Flight. Brian’s career took off after he left the RAF in 1950 to join the Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) staff at Weybridge as a test pilot. 

During the following years, Brian was closely involved with the flight test programmes for the Vickers Valiant nuclear bomber and the BAC 1-11 and VC10 airliners. 

In 1965 he became Chief Test Pilot for BAe and later piloted Concorde 002 on her maiden flight on 9th April 1969. 

Brian's descriptions are interwoven with insights into the manoeuvrings of politicians, industrialists and trade unions, ultimately leading to the decline of the British aircraft industry in the 1970s.