A new UK paperback edition of NAPKINS AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS by M. A. Wardell is out today! Published by Penguin, it’s the third novel in the author’s acclaimed Teachers in Love series. Here’s the synopsis…

Kent Lester is proud of the joyful, thriving learning community he’s created as principal of Lear Elementary School. But seven years after his divorce, he’s ready to focus on his personal life and spread his bisexual wings. Things get off to a rocky start when Kent’s first date is an uptight control freak – although that doesn’t stop them tangling some sheets.

Vincent Manda never seems able to move past the friend zone, and besides, he’s not sure anyone can handle his OCD. But that night with the bearded, older Kent revealed a side of Vincent he’d never experienced before. And he’s equal parts scared of and desperate for a repeat.

When Lear’s test scores take a nosedive, Kent finds himself under the microscope. Forced to implement new software to monitor and collect school data, he’s horrified to discover that Vincent is working on the project. With his last install ending less than ideally, Vincent’s job depends on this one succeeding – and butting heads with the principal won’t help.

Vincent and Kent need to view each other in a new light, but that could change their futures forever.

The first two novels in the series — TEACHER OF THE YEAR and MISTLETOE AND MISHIGAS — are out now, also published by Penguin. The fourth novel, HUSBAND OF THE YEAR, is due to be published by Penguin in the UK, on November 20th.

‘M.A. Wardell’s stories are sweetness and spice wrapped into a big warm hug.’ — Alice Oseman, author of Heartstopper

‘Wardell’s writing is filled with tenderness, delectable heat, and characters so real they feel like friends.’ — Adib Khorram, USA Today bestselling author of It Had to Be Him

The Teachers in Love series is published in North America by Forever.