Today Celia J Anderson returns to my blog as part of her latest blog tour. Why not grab a cuppa, put your feet up for five minutes, and read all about Celia’s new book, Moondancing.
Over to you Celia…
You’re probably reading this on the day after Moondancing jumped out of Amazon’s shelves and became part of the real world. If yesterday felt like Christmas for it, today is its Boxing Day. This fourth book – and my first, initially disastrous attempt to be a writer – is the one that took the longest to write, and took in a whole load of worry, pain and also fun in the process. Life’s been something of a roller coaster for me over the last few years. The loss of both parents and my husband have been character-building, I guess (although with hindsight I might have chosen a smaller character and a bit less angst) but my new marriage gave me the nudge to get on with life and to get this book finished at last.
So, after many, many edits and rewrites, here it is. Initially called ‘Something for Molly’, then renamed ‘Start Again’, it’s now got its final title. Moondancing is a prequel to my earlier book, Little Boxes, and in it we see Molly in the earlier days of her marriage. Her much-loved children are a handful and she often finds herself wanting to shake her husband, Jake. I hope you enjoy the final product and if you haven’t already, have the chance to read Little Boxes to see what happens next!
Extract:
Driving along the narrow country lanes into town, Jake’s anger develops into a huge black cloud of self-pity. Why did Molly have to go off the rails on a school night when they’ve both got a hard day at work to get through?
He sighs heavily, feeling the snatched bowl of Weetabix beginning to churn in his stomach. Being a foreman at the brewery is a steady job, even if it’s not that exciting, but he needs to be alert to do it properly. It’s not his dream job – not even close – but it pays the mortgage. Last night’s broken sleep was as bad as the early days with teething babies. Jake doesn’t need this. He loves Molly and his four kids, his home, his allotment and his prize-winning leeks; in that order, usually. He likes to cook, if somebody else has done the shopping and if he can use his home-grown vegetables.
He looks after his pride and joy carefully – an ageing Range Rover, temperamental but solid. At weekends, he gives a hand with the cleaning, if he’s not at work or on the allotment. In all his thirty-nine years he’s never really wanted more than a quiet life. Is he demanding? Jake thinks not.
The September morning sunshine is breaking through the mist, but Jake’s mood darkens even more as he drives along the winding lanes to Hopton. The early rays warm the freshly-cut grass along the verge, the evocative smell bringing unwelcome memories of a time, years ago, when he lay in the wild meadow at the edge of the sports field, trying to persuade Molly to let him see her new bra.
‘Honestly, Moll, you can’t get pregnant just by taking off your PE shirt,’ he’d said hopefully. Molly’s aertex PE shirt was all that lay between Jake and the wonderful lace and wire construction that kept her chest in order, but there was no way she was letting him do more than stroke the bare skin of her back.
‘Look, it’s all right for you, no one calls you a slag if you let them feel your… you-know-whats…’
‘But I haven’t got any you-know-whats.’
‘Don’t be pedantic.’
‘How can I be pedantic, I don’t know what it means? Anyway, I only want to give them a bit of a rub – over your bra, not even under it.’ He’d shuddered at the wonderful thought of actually being allowed underneath a girl’s bra.
Jake sighs as a sharp pang of nostalgia for such simple times brings a lump to his throat. The radio plays Eva Cassidy – a heartbreaking song about leaving in autumn, leaves turning, and all manner of other sad stuff. Can the day get any worse?
Blurb:
Together since their teens, Molly and Jake have four children, a house in a sleepy village and jobs that bore them to distraction. Their marriage is an accident waiting to happen. When Nick arrives in Mayfield, young, disturbed and in desperate need of mother-love, Molly doesn’t realise that he will be the catalyst that blows everything apart. Add a headmaster whose wife doesn’t understand him and Molly’s unpredictable, frustrated best friend to the mix, and the blue touch paper has been well and truly lit.
Buy Links: http://celiajanderson.co.uk/books/moondancing/
Author Bio:
Celia J Anderson teaches English in a small South Derbyshire town and dreams of living by the sea. Having her previous books published (Sweet Proposal, with Piatkus Entice and Little Boxes and Living the Dream with Tirgearr) has whetted her appetite for the author’s life, but at the moment she is juggling her love of junior drama and writing classes, reading thrillers and drinking too much wine/eating too much cake while she keeps on top of the marking pile. One day…
Website: http://celiajanderson.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeliaJAndersonAuthor/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/celiaanderson1
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GIVEAWAY!
Make sure to follow the whole tour—the more posts you visit throughout, the more chances you’ll get to enter the giveaway. The tour dates are here: http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/celia-j-anderson-4/
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Many thanks for stopping by on your tour Celia. Good luck with your new book.
Happy reading everyone,
Jenny xx