With nearly seven million copies of her books in print, critically acclaimed and award-winning author Jill Barnett has long been a reader favorite. Now, in her eagerly anticipated new novel, THE DAYS OF SUMMER ($24.95; ISBN: 0-671-03535-5; Publication Date; June 6, 2006), she gives us a deeply affecting family drama about the power of forgiveness, finding the courage to change, and the grace to rise above tragedy.

In 1957 financier Rudy Banning and his wife Rachel, a famous artist, lead a life of wealth privilege, and domestic unhappiness. Jimmy Peyton is a twenty-six-year-old singing star on his way to becoming a music legend. They have absolutely nothing in common—until the fateful night their cars collide on a Los Angeles street, leaving no survivors. While Jimmy Peyton’s widow Kathryn lives in the shadow of her husband’s fame and struggles to raise their daughter Laurel, young Cale and Jud Banning are sent to live with their rich and aloof grandfather, destined for an upbringing intended to turn them into predators in a dog-eat-dog world. But fate has a cruel surprise for the families when years later both brothers meet the innocent, lonely Laurel. What begins as one idyllic island summer, ends with a trail of broken hearts--when brother is pitted against brother and mother against daughter in a clash of wills that gradually draws them closer to the truth of their tragic connection.

Spanning thirty years and three generations of Peyton women and Banning men, THE DAYS OF SUMMER is an epic drama, called "a novel to be savored" by Romantic Times, that explores the circles of a lifetime, our deepest ties to family and the mistakes we make in the name of love. Set along the sultry California coast, written in a lyrical style with deep insights into a rich cast of characters, THE DAYS OF SUMMER redefines the classic saga for a new generation of readers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
JILL BARNETT is the author of twelve novels and has been published in seventeen languages. A winner of the National Waldenbook Award, she grew up along the Southern California coast and now lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.