The Unexpected Guests: A Novel

"Hint by artful hint, Stevens pulled me into the masterfully intertwined stories of her ensemble cast, and I was hooked." -Marsha Jacobson, award-winning author of The Wrong Calamity

Hes lost his words. Shes losing her patience. And now... theyve got company.

Charlie Kittredge is a bestselling novelist with a problem-he cant write a single word. As his deadline looms, so does the strain on his relationship with Margaret, the woman he loves but may be slowly losing.

Margaret has her own challenges-starting with her unpredictable mother, Gwendolyn, whose flair for drama leaves chaos in her wake. And then theres Sunny, their loyal friend, whose life is unraveling faster than she can hold it together.

When Gwendolyn is unavoidably stranded in Los Angeles and Sunny is suddenly homeless, both women land on Charlie and Margarets doorstep... and dont leave.

What begins as a temporary arrangement quickly spirals into emotional upheaval, clashing personalities, and long-buried secrets. At a disastrous family gathering, everything comes to a head-and the fallout threatens to tear them all apart.

Now, separated and searching for answers, each must confront their past, their choices, and what truly matters in midlife and beyond... before its too late to make things right.

By turns witty, heartfelt, and deeply human, The Unexpected Guests is a page-turning celebration of love, second chances, and the complicated ties that bind us.