I've got an extract for you today from Lilac Mills' entertaining, seasonal novel, And a Sixpence for Luck. There is also the opportunity to enter a Giveaway- details on how to do so are at the end of this post.
Daisy Jones has hit rock bottom. Or so she believes.
A cheating boyfriend, trouble at work, having to move back in with her mother, and being forced to compare her brother's loved-up, newly-wed status and brand-new shiny house with her own dire lack of prospects, isn't what she imagined her life was going to be like at thirty. To top it all off, Christmas is just around the corner!
Daisy, bless her, thinks things can't possibly get any worse, but when her ancient great-grandmother persuades her to plant a silver sixpence in the Christmas pud for luck, Daisy is about to discover that they most definitely can.
Excerpt
‘Elsie?’
Daisy sat up.
‘Elsie?’ Gee-Gee’s mournful voice floated down the stairs. ‘Sandra?’
Daisy waited for her mum or nan to get up to see what her great-gran wanted.
‘Anyone?’ The voice sounded desperate.
Daisy let out a sigh and pushed the duvet off. Everyone was obviously fast asleep or, more likely, ignoring Gwenda, in the hope that someone else would see to her. Clearly that someone was going to be Daisy.
‘What is it, Gee-Gee?’ she whispered, pushing open the bedroom door.
Even though the bed was a single, Gwenda looked tiny in it, like a child, and Daisy had a brief flash of how David’s son or daughter would appear in it, when he or she slept over. Without the wrinkles, of course, and the wispy white perm.
‘I really wanted your mother or your nan,’ Gwenda said.
‘They’re asleep, so you’ve got me instead. What do you need, Gee-Gee?’
‘The toilet.’
‘Righto,’ Daisy said, taking a deep breath and letting it out in false bravado. ‘Let’s get you out of bed, shall we?’ This wasn’t a task she particularly relished, and she hadn’t been called on to take her great-gran for a wee all that often, the job usually falling to Sandra or Elsie, but she knew she could do this.
She pulled the duvet back, revealing Gee-Gee’s skinny, wrinkled knees and helped the old lady swing her legs over the side of the bed. Then she heaved Gee-Gee’s top half up until she was sitting upright.
They both paused for a breather for a moment, before Daisy hoisted her great-gran into a standing position, one arm under the other woman’s armpits and thinking David was right, that Gee-Gee did weigh as much as a small pony.
She waited until Gee-Gee had steadied herself, then the pair of them shuffled painfully slowly towards the bathroom.
Here comes the bit I really don’t like, Daisy thought, as she helped her great-gran hike up her borrowed nightie and pull her knickers down. Then she lowered the old lady carefully onto the toilet seat, while trying to keep her gaze averted, as much for Gee-Gee’s dignity as for Daisy’s sanity.
Daisy tore off a couple of sheets of loo paper and handed them to Gwenda.
‘I’m going to need more than that,’ Gee-Gee announced.
‘Oh?’
‘And I’m going to need you to do something else for me.’
‘Anything, Gee-Gee. What is it?’
The old woman still had her dentures in – she probably wanted Daisy to put them in a glass for her, and Daisy tried not to show her dismay at the thought of cleaning another person’s teeth.
‘I’m going to need you to wipe my arse,’ Gwenda said. ‘I’ve got to do a big jobbie.’
Oh, the gods must be laughing at Daisy – could it get any worse, indeed!
It could, and it did, as Gee-Gee let out a tremendous fart, followed by hideous plopping sounds.
Ew.
My Thoughts
This is a feel-good story with a flavour of Christmas. It is full of humour as Daisy lurches from one misunderstanding to another. The tone is set from the beginning when Daisy imagines herself to be on the brink of a marriage proposal. The trouble is, as we soon discover, all is not as it seems with her boyfriend.
There are plenty of smiles to be had from Daisy's friends and family. It took me a while to warm to Daisy as a character but you begin to realise that she is not as self - obsessed as she seems to be at first and she is genuinely fond of her family. You cannot help but sympathise with her and I liked the way she showed that she can change her opinion of people, as she did with her sister-in-law, Zoe.
In short: an entertaining rom com with a seasonal edge.
About the Author
Lilac spends all her time writing, or reading, or thinking
about writing or reading, often to the detriment of her day job, her family,
and the housework. She apologises to her employer and her loved ones, but the
house will simply have to deal with it!
She calls Worcester home, though she would prefer to call
somewhere hot and sunny home, somewhere with a beach and cocktails and endless
opportunities for snoozing in the sun…
When she isn’t hunched over a computer or dreaming about
foreign shores, she enjoys creating strange, inedible dishes in the kitchen,
accusing her daughter of stealing (she meant to say “borrowing”) her clothes,
and fighting with her husband over whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher
Giveaway (International)
For a chance to win a signed copy of the book and a silver sixpence necklace, follow the link below and good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Lilac Mills and Jenny at Neverland Tours for a copy of the book and a place on the Tour.
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