Winter Fires at Mill Grange has been out for almost a week – and I’m over the moon with how well it’s selling.
A huge thank you to everyone who has already bought a copy – and to all of you who have supported the series from the beginning.
The first character to be introduced to Mill Grange (in Midsummer Dreams at Mill Grange), is Thea Thomas. Formerly a historian and archaeologist working at the Roman Baths in Bath, she came to Mill Grange to help restore it to its former Victorian glory – at least, that was the plan…
In book one, Thea has yet to meet any of the stalwarts at the Victorian manor on Exmoor. Below I’m sharing an extract from book four, Winter Fires at Mill Grange -if you haven’t read the earlier books and don’t want any spoilers – then STOP READING NOW.
However, if you want to read an extract about Thea from the new book – read on!
EXTRACT
Thea threw her arms around Shaun as he climbed out of his car. ‘You don’t happen to know The Winter’s Tale, do you?’
Shaun’s eyebrows rose. ‘I’ll be honest, that was not the first thing I thought you’d say to me after two months apart.’
‘Would you rather I’d have led with the news that Mabel has made bacon sandwiches for lunch in honour of your return.’
‘Too right. Although a kiss from my gorgeous girlfriend wouldn’t go amiss first.’
‘Before a bacon sandwich! I’m honoured.’ Thea leant in for a kiss, only to have it curtailed by a question.
‘The song by David Essex or the play by Shakespeare?’
‘Sorry?’
‘Winter’s Tale.’
‘Oh yes. The play.’ Thea peered into the back of the car. ‘That isn’t all dirty washing, is it?’
Shaun chuckled. ‘You sounded just like a wife then.’
‘Oh.’ Thea’s cheeks coloured. ‘Sorry, I just meant…’
‘It’s alright, I know. I was joking.’ He pulled her closer. ‘The weather was dreadful. I adore the North East coastline, but I don’t think we had a single dry dig day for the entirety of the filming. At least it’ll show Landscape Treasures’ viewers that archaeology isn’t just a fair-weather occupation.’
‘Did you find it?’
‘The Saxon farmstead?’ Shaun grimaced. ‘Ish. There’s never much to find on Saxon sites. A few traces of hut postholes. Usual stuff.’ He opened the car’s back doors. ‘Why were you asking about a Shakespearean play?’
Thea heaved two overflowing carrier bags of grubby clothes out of the car. ‘Dylan’s stepsister, Harriet, has a role in it. Hermione.’
‘Good for her.’ Shaun hooked his rucksack onto his shoulder before grabbing a third bag of muddy clothes from the boot. ‘It’s a great play. I played Polixenes in an amateur production when I was at university.’
‘No way!’ Thea was amazed. ‘I had no idea you’d trodden the boards.’
‘It was a one-time event. I don’t have what it takes to be in the limelight like that.’
‘What are you talking about? You’re a celebrity archaeologist! A television presenter! You’re always in the public eye.’
Pushing the back door to the manor open with his foot, Shaun laughed. ‘Believe me, it’s very different. You know what it’s like on Landscape Treasures. I only have to remember a few lines at a time, and if I mess up we can reshoot them. On stage, if you mess up, then everyone knows and no one ever lets you forget.’
Thea deposited the bags of washing in the hallway. ‘That sounded like the voice of experience.’
‘There was a tricky speech I had to do midway through the play. I left out one line. It wasn’t major in the grand scheme of things. Didn’t mess up the plot or anything, but the chap playing Leontes, David bloody Clark, would not let it go.’
Thea’s eyebrows rose further. ‘Not still bitter a million years down the line or anything?’
Shaun grinned. ‘It put me off acting for life.’
‘Shame. I bet you were good.’
‘Probably about average, but thanks anyway.’ Shaun inhaled as they walked towards the kitchen. ‘Unless I’m very much mistaken, the sainted Mabel is already on sandwich duty.’
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I hope you enjoyed that little snippet.
If you’d like to read Winter Fires, then you can buy it as a ebook now (or what until 9th December – when it comes out in paperback)
Amazon – http://mybook.to/MillGrangeFour
Waterstones – Winter Fires at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane | Waterstones
Kobo- Winter Fires at Mill Grange eBook by Jenny Kane – 9781801101974 | Rakuten Kobo United Kingdom
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Here are a few of the latest 5 star reviews from Netgalley.
‘Winter Fires at Mill Grange is a wonderful read! …Although I didn’t read the other books in the series, this was a great read on its own. I am anxious to go back and read the rest. Thank you for the read!’
‘A wonderful feel good book for the Christmas season, A welcome return to friends that you will have meet in the previous books. These books are filled with hope, love, happiness and a longing for more. It’s so very sad to read the last book, I’m sure another instalment could be written please.’
‘I’d love to go and stay a while at Mill Grange. Set on Exmoor, the beauty of the surrounding countryside comes across on every page, and being back with Tina, Sam, Thea and Helen again was wonderful. The whole series is so engaging and Jenny Kane has written such brilliant characters – Mabel and Bert are certainly favourites of mine. Being back at Mill Grange in Winter was captivating and magical.’
Winter Fires at Mill Grange is on special offer at the moment.
You can grab it on Kindle for just 99p for a short time.
Happy reading,
Jenny x