Here is some festive reading for you- an extract from The Christmas Miracle by Stephanie Wood.
You are invited to spend CHRISTMAS ON THE CLOSE where each of
the neighbours are celebrating in their own special way.
Diane always enjoys baking special festive treats, which she
happily delivers to her friendly neighbours on The Close as Christmas
approaches.
When she decides to seek closure with a romantic matter from
her past, she unexpectedly finds herself on an emotional journey she isn’t
prepared for.
Her granddaughter, Emma, has all the technical know-how to
assist in the search for answers, but is distracted by an intense - and highly
unsuitable - romance of her own.
The two women must deal with unsettling issues as they begin
to face the reality of their situations, but their familial bond helps to
provide the security and support they need to answer the questions they face.
The sixth standalone episode of ‘Christmas on The Close’
reveals how it may be easier to allow the head to make all the decisions, but
the heart will never stop fighting for what it really wants.
Extract
Diane is reminiscing over a day trip she enjoyed as a
teenager with her friend Joe, which had marked a definite change in their
developing relationship…
When she was around fourteen, they had started to travel
further afield and they had taken the bus to the seaside which was about thirty
miles away. She would have been in huge trouble if her parents had known, but
luckily they never really queried where she was or what she was doing; as long
as she was in the right place at the right time, no one wondered what she did
for the rest of the day and that suited her perfectly.
They spent a lot of the time on the beach, only venturing
into the nearby floral gardens at lunchtime to eat the sandwiches they had made
secretly before anyone else got up and had brought along with them to enjoy
together. Diane had also brought an apple, but Joe had brought half a bar of
chocolate which was a huge treat and they split their goodies to share half
each.
They didn’t have any money to spend on seaside treats as the
bus ticket had taken most of their pocket money, which had been saved from
doing odd jobs around the neighbourhood, so they decided to walk along the
promenade and say what jobs they would have if they worked in each of the shops
they passed.
Diane had been a cleaner in the bank (because what other job
would she be able to do in there?), a change giver in the amusement arcade, a
dog trainer at the pet shop and a baker at the bakery. Obviously.
Joe had been a window cleaner in the bank (because his dad
seemed to enjoy it as his job), a bingo caller in the amusement arcade, a
snake-charmer at the pet shop and a taste-tester at the bakery. Obviously.
When it was time to catch the bus home, they took a short
cut through an arcade and passed a photo booth with an external mirror. Diane
caught sight of herself and realised she had a red nose from spending time out
in the sun that morning. Joe said it was cute and she’d had a sudden thump in
her chest as though someone had punched her. She was quite winded for a second
but when she looked to Joe for answers, she found him checking his change and
was equally confused when he bundled her inside and fed the money into the
machine. She had no time to ask how he had enough cash to pay for the photos as
the warning light was already on, so she simply enjoyed the few moments it took
to pull a couple of funny faces and then cuddle up for a happy memento of their
wonderful day.
That had been just one day of many which they had enjoyed
together, but it had been the first day that Joe had reached for her hand, as
they exited the photo booth and walked to the bus stop. She felt like she was
floating on air but, at the same time, it felt completely natural and not like
there had been any big change in their relationship. They were still Joe and
Diane, as they always had been, but now she realised this was the way it would
always be. Forever.
About the Author
Stephanie Wood writes contemporary fiction in the form of
novels, novellas and short stories and you can find the running order of her
titles on the first page of any book.
She published the AEGEAN SUN series of books as a
fly-on-the-wall vision of life in a Greek resort during the summer season,
using her extensive experience as a holiday rep to bring some unusual incidents
to life on the page. The series began as an exploration of the various ways in
which tourists make the most of their holidays and how they interact with the
locals while they are visiting. The later books in the series have taken a
closer look at the locals themselves and show how their lives and relationships
are sometimes changed by the regular influx of seasonal visitors.
The CHRISTMAS ON THE CLOSE series is set in a British
suburban cul-de-sac over the festive period and visits each house individually
to discover how the neighbours who live there celebrate the season in their own
special way.
Stephanie lives in Lancashire where, apart from reading and
writing, she loves gardening and cycling and is a huge fan of the soaps
Emmerdale and Neighbours.
You can follow Stephanie here: Website | Twitter-Stephanie Wood
| Twitter The Close series | Facebook
Book links: Amazon UK | Amazon US
Thanks to Stephanie Wood and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for the extract and a place on the tour.
Comments
Post a Comment