Jess Croft, heroine of Lynda Stacey‘s new novel, House of Christmas Secrets has her say on my blog today. House of Christmas Secrets, available for pre-order now and published by Choc Lit on 5 December 2017, is the sequel to House of Secrets where we followed Madeleine and Bandit’s story, but now one year later we turn to Jess, Madeleine’s sister and to her story.
Welcome Jess …
“It’s almost a year since last Christmas, a Christmas where our whole lives fell apart. The hall burnt to the ground, both Madeleine and I were kidnapped and her ex-fiancé almost killed us both, the memories are still so very raw. It’s only now that I feel that I have the opportunity to rebuild my life, and it’s a time when I can put the nightmare behind me.
Every time I close my eyes, I see Liam. I see his burned, disfigured face glaring back at me and I feel the cramp tear though my body as though it were still enclosed in the cage that he’d locked me in. It’s on these nights that I wake up terrified. My breathing is erratic, my body hot and my mind spins with the memories. I have no choice but to leave my bed, leave Jack to sleep and I walk through the hotel, and make my way down the stairs and into the Grand Hall, where more often than not I find Emily where she sits on the upholstered fender within the inglenook, where she stares into the flames.
Each night she sees me wandering without purpose, she gives me the same concerned look and says the same comforting words, ‘Come on my beautiful child. Sit down, tell me all about it…’ She always pats the seat beside her, and together we stare into the flames until I feel the need to talk, and even though it’s a story I’ve told her a hundred times before, she still listens with compassion in her eyes. But on other nights we don’t talk at all, some nights we just make tea, or pour the brandy and we just sit while the fire dances in the grate.
At ninety-two-years old, Emily is a lady whose life has been inspiring beyond belief and I’ve taken great comfort by just being with her, by listening to her and by learning all the wisdom she has to offer and now I take that wisdom forward in the hope that I can pass it on to my own baby, growing within me.
But, I have to be honest, I’m afraid. I see how frail she’s become, and I selfishly wonder what my life might be like without her there to guide me and I just hope that she lives long enough to see Christmas and to be there at my wedding, shortly after the new year.
Because this year, we’re just going to have a nice, normal Christmas.”
Thank you, Jess. I truly hope things work out for you in this new book – I guess I’ll have to read it to find out. The book has a beautiful cover.
About House of Christmas Secrets by Lynda Stacey:-
This year we’re just going to have a nice, normal Christmas…
Last year’s Christmas at Wrea Head Hall didn’t quite go to plan which is why Jess Croft is determined this festive season will be the one to remember, for the right reasons. And she has plenty of reasons to be hopeful, she’s going to marry the man of her dreams, Jack Stone, seven days after New Year’s Eve.
However, as family secrets are revealed in hidden letters and two unexpected guests turn up on the doorstep, Jess is left wondering whether her life will ever be the same again.
Can Jess and Jack still experience a peaceful festive season that they had imagined or are there some problems that even Christmas can’t fix?
Buying links for House of Christmas Secrets :-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Christmas-Secrets-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B07771T7S5/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Ebook at: GetBook.at/ChristmasSecrets
About the Author – Lynda Stacey
Lynda grew up in the mining village of Bentley, Doncaster, in South Yorkshire,
Her own chaotic life story, along with varied career choices helps Lynda to create stories of romantic suspense, with challenging and unpredictable plots, along with (as in all romances) very happy endings.
Lynda joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association in 2014 under the umbrella of the New Writers Scheme and in 2015, her debut novel House of Secrets won the Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks Search for a Star competition.
She lives in a small rural hamlet near Doncaster, with her husband, Haydn, whom she’s been happily married to for over 20 years.
Link to Lynda‘s author page at Choc Lit here
Buying links for Lynda‘s other books :-
HOUSE OF SECRETS
HOUSE OF CHRISTMAS SECRETS
https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Christmas-Secrets-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B07771T7S5/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Links to contact Lynda Stacey:-
Facebook www.facebook.com/lyndastaceyauthor
Twitter @Lyndastacey
Website www.Lyndastacey.co.uk
Thank you for visiting my blog – Morton S. Gray – Author. I hope you enjoyed this post. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. My novel The Girl on the Beach published by Choc Lit is available from all ebook platforms – Amazon, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Google Play. The Girl on the Beach will be available as a paperback from 10 April 2018 – pre-order now at Amazon.
Morton S. Gray - Author 