Andi, lead baker, is a divorced single mom of a five-year-old daughter. She's OCD when it comes to kitchen safety, strong-willed, and a dreamer who wants more than anything to prove she will not fail... again. A date with Jake Hartman wouldn't hurt either!

Rachel, shop promoter, is Andi's best friend, a flirtatious party girl on the outside,  a people pleaser, who longs for connection but rarely lets anyone see beneath her carefully hidden mask. Can Mike Palmer, aka Mike the Magnificent, be the exception?

Kim, cupcake decorator, is Andi's younger sister, a quiet and aloof talented artist, who hides her desire for love and adventure within her paintings and clings to a passport she fears she will never have the guts to use. Until she meets...Nathaniel Sjölander.

Darlene has written several short stories and novellas (see Books page), but her career launched when her novella, THE BET, was picked by Avon Books and NY Times best-selling author Debbie Macomber to be published inside Debbie's
Family Affair.

"Darlene reminds me a lot of myself when I was attempting to get published many years ago. Eager and energetic, willing to sacrifice to pursue her dream. I am honored to have played a small part in her success."  —Debbie Macomber