A fanny full of soap - Nichola McAuliffe

Following its successful launch in hardback, A Fanny Full of Soap comes out in paperback in October 2007.

Leading lady and one-time telly star Eleanor Woodwarde's life is collapsing around her exquisitely turned ankles. Her career has hit the skids, her husband is chasing a chicken-eating spider up the Amazon, and her son has forgotten she exists.

As an alternative to suicide, she takes the lead in an overblown West End "salsa" musical. However, she soon discovers the producer's volatile incompetence is matched only by the length of his cigar, a rival actress is after the number one dressing room, and the director can't keep his hands to himself. Eleanor fears for her sanity, but as top turn, she knows that, at fifty quid a skull, the show must go on.