Every Waking Moment

Novak's personal experience with juvenile diabetes puts a poignant spin on this tale of a mother's daily struggle to care for her diabetic son while on the run from her wealthy, abusive boyfriend, Manuel. Emma Wright is armed with a new identity, a teaching degree and a couple of thousand in cash when she leaves Manuel's California mansion with her five-year-old son, Max. Unfortunately, Manuel is hot on her heels, and he has the help of powerful and shady connections. After Emma's car is stolen while she's picking up supplies at a Nevada Wal-Mart, Emma throws herself on the mercy of Preston Holman, a man she'd met briefly at a motel where she and Max were staying. Preston wants nothing to do with the pair; he's still hurting from his divorce as well as the sudden illness and subsequent death of his own young son. Inevitably, Novak's reluctant hero comes to Emma's rescue—and becomes emotionally entangled in the process. Anyone who has seen the movies Sleeping with the Enemy or Enough will anticipate every plot twist, but Novak (A Home of Her Own , etc.) knows how to relate a suspenseful tale. When Emma isn't reeling from a near brush with Manuel, she's frantically trying to keep her son's blood sugar levels stable, and her almost palpable fear fuels this gripping tale. (July)