Reflection and re-evaluation lie at the centre of the thirteen stories of Glenda Beagan's latest volume.

Their characters - mostly women - have reached a point in their lives, sometimes one of crisis, at which they must review what has passed and hazard a guess at what is to come. They are confronted by the dilemma of how to proceed: by boldly cutting free or simply carrying on; self-analysis and revelation are the keys to stories which both move and entertain.

Changes and Dreams reflects a very contemporary world, in which the divorced ponder new relationships; the old contemplate younger lovers; young people in winter-emptied seaside resorts look to drugs for fulfilment. New bearings are sought as frends and family take on new values, or surroundings are changed by uncomprehending forces. Decisions must be made.

Glenda Beagan lives in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire. She was educated at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and at the University of Lancaster. She has published two collections of stories, The Medlar Tree and Changes and Dreams, and a collection of poetry, Vixen (Honno, 1996).