Too many of my friends have become widows. Their sadness is mitigated by an intense urge to carry on with a full life. I admire their courage enormously. In The Space Between Alice Lightfoot is widowed very young – in her early forties, although she’s already been made a grandmother by her rebellious teenage daughter. I wanted to write a book about a woman starting again, looking for a new life and a new love. It turned out to be more of a comedy than I expected as lovers presented themselves in perhaps slightly unlikely numbers.

‘The detail is acute, the prose polished and the pages turn effortlessly… The Space Between is told with wit and insight.’ Independent

‘An unusual and affecting love story… suffused with real emotional warmth.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Billington’s warm portrait of life at a crossroads will strike a chord with all those determined to forge their own path.’ Red

• 
  Lies and Loyalties
• 
  Loving Attitudes
• 
  One Summer