Wendy Skorupski

Once Upon a Thousand Hills Wendy Skorupski

"For me this book is 'thinking woman's chick-lit' in the best way, a truly contemporary romance and a terrific read on many different levels. Definitely one to pack in the summer holiday suitcase." - Amazon reader review

Naomi Lieberman has flown the nest of her hometown in Liverpool to seek the bright lights of London. Despite having aspirations and a degree in forensic science, Naomi finds herself working as a sales assistant at a sex shop in Soho. This is just one of many shameful secrets she has to hide from her Orthodox Jewish family and childhood sweetheart, Ephraim. Facing up to the disappointing realities of her life Naomi is desperate to find meaning and purpose. On a whim she signs up as a volunteer at a local refugee centre where her path soon crosses with that of John Paul Chambers.

John Paul is head of English at a private college and the manager of the refugee centre. He is arrogant, aloof, and still trying to free himself from the emotional curse of the genocide in Rwanda that orphaned him twenty years earlier. When John Paul interviews the centre's latest flighty volunteer, neither he nor Naomi has the slightest idea that their lives are about to change forever.

Wendy Skorupski's debut novel is an unlikely and uplifting love story exploring the depths of human experience and the life-changing moment when two paths cross.