The Child Comes First

Elizabeth Ashtree

Jul 2012 · HarperCollins Australia

About this ebook

Trial attorney Simon Montgomery rarely loses a case. But when an eleven-year-old girl stands accused of murder, the courtroom superstar faces his toughest challenge. The child's social worker, Jayda Kavanagh, thinks it's open and shut: her client didn't do it. And Jayda will stop at nothing to prove her innocence. Jayda isn't the only one who's bonding with the young girl. While he fights to win her freedom, Simon moves ahead with plans to adopt her. It means dredging up his own painful past. Coming clean about his growing feelings for Jayda. But Jayda's harbouring a secret of her own a secret that could affect their future together. And the child's.

About the author

Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology and a law degree from the College of William and Mary. After graduating from law school, she served as an officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, which provided the background for her stories she sets in the military. She is currently working as a civilian attorney for the Department of Defense.

Elizabeth first began writing in high school, and throughout college and law school never stopped writing fiction. She says, "I wrote for fun and to take brief vacations from reality, but I had a secret hope of one day sharing my stories with others as a published writer."

Elizabeth lives in Maryland with her husband, Robert, and one of her two sons, Nathan. Her oldest son, Daniel, recently enlisted in the U.S. Air Force — and will soon be regaling her with tales that will surely serve as fodder for additional stories about the military. Her miniature pinscher, Buddy the Wonder Dog, serves as her writing partner, forcing better plotting through the frequency of the walks he demands.

When she isn't writing, Elizabeth has a book in front of her face, usually an historical romance. Although she hopes to write historical romance novels someday, she also wants to continue writing about the military as her admiration for our men and women in uniform seems to keep on growing and the romantic plots involving them keep on forming in her head.