As many of you already know, I'm a fan of Suzy Turner and her fantastic YA paranormal novels. So I was excited when I found out she'd written her first chick lit novel, Forever Fredless. Here's a little bit about it, plus I managed to wangle an excerpt!
Kate Robinson has spent the past two decades yearning to
find her soul mate, the boy she found and then lost during a family holiday.
Shortly after her twenty-eighth birthday, however, she
inherits a fortune from an old family friend and becomes something of an
overnight celebrity. Can her new-found fame lead her to him after all this
time?
EXCERPT:
Thank God for anti-perspirant, I thought as I sat on
the couch and waited for the countdown to begin. I clutched at my hands until
they were white and looked across at the two people sitting opposite, both
completely at ease in front of the cameras.
Five, four, three, two, one...
'Welcome back to this morning's edition of Good Morning GB,'
announced Ireland Rothschild, the blonde-haired, blue eyed darling of morning
TV. 'I'm here with Fergus O'Reilly and we've a special guest
with us this morning. None other than Britain's love-struck multi-millionaire,
Kate Robinson. Welcome, Kate,' she said with a dazzling smile aimed more
towards the camera than at me.
As my cheeks began to heat up, I was so grateful to the
make-up artist, who had insisted on caking on the foundation before the show
had started. In fact, I had so much make-up on that I was hoping once I'd
removed it, nobody would recognise me when I headed to the airport in my now
rather stupidly chosen car. I couldn't exactly blend in driving a pink Mini
could I?
'Good morning,' I whispered shyly.
Fergus grinned back at me, tilting his head as if he was
about to speak to a child. 'Now, tell us, Kate dear, how does it feel to never
have to worry about money ever again?' he asked, his toothpaste advert teeth twinkling beneath the heat of the
studio lights.
'Erm, well, I guess it's... erm, kind of... erm,' I felt so
bloody stupid. Great time for my brain to stop working. 'I - erm. Great,' I
nodded. 'Great, really great.' Idiot.
Ireland glanced across at her grey-haired colleague and
pouted before nodding. 'Tell us how you knew this man. This,' she glanced down
at the iPad on her lap and continued, 'Samuel?'
I cleared my throat and lifted my head, feeling like my
brain was back in action. 'He was a very good friend of the family, some years
ago,' I answered.
'Just a friend? Why did he leave you all his money and his
property?' asked Fergus.
'He didn't have any family and I guess you could say that my
mother and I were the closest he ever had to a family.'
'Isn't that lovely?' pouted Ireland. 'You certainly are a
lucky woman. But what about your mother? Didn't she receive any of his
inheritance?'
'No,' I said before swallowing hard. 'My mother lives a
rather... nomadic lifestyle, in Africa. She doesn't want any of it. All she
asked of me was to donate a sum to charity which, of course, I have done.'
'She lives in Africa? A nomadic lifestyle? That sounds
intriguing. Perhaps we should interview her one of these days,' laughed Ireland
and Fergus together.
'Have you splashed out on anything since receiving your
inheritance back in June?' they asked, leaning forward eagerly awaiting my
answer.
'Yes I have actually. I bought a car and a new house.'
'Well good for you, Kate. But now, most of us are curious
about this boy you lost. Tell us about him?'
Oh no. Why did I agree to this?
Taking a deep breath, I knew I had no choice. Several articles
had been printed since the one in Liberty; everyone wanted to know more
and nobody was going to leave me alone until I told them everything. 'He was just a boy who I had a connection with when I was
much, much younger. It was at Skegness. At an afternoon disco for kids. I was
dancing and I felt someone touch my back and when I turned around there he
was. The most beautiful boy I'd ever
seen,' I said, stopping and smiling as I reminisced. ‘It was one of the happiest
memories of my life.'
Sighing, I continued, 'We just looked at each other and it
was like everything else just disappeared into the background. We stood
staring, for what seemed like ages. I could barely move. And then, almost as
soon as it had begun, my dad appeared and took me away. I couldn't do anything
as we walked to the car. I looked around for the boy but he was gone. And then,
just as we were driving away, I turned around in my seat and there he was. He
had a daffodil in his hand. I always assumed he'd gone to pick it for me, but
that's just a childish fantasy, I guess. The whole thing is probably nothing
but a childish fantasy, really.'
Ireland was very carefully dabbing at her eyes with a
tissue, pretending to be moved, while Fergus smiled sadly.
'What a beautiful story, Kate. I don't believe for one
second that this is a childish fantasy. It's romantic and beautiful,' Ireland
said.
'Now, tell us, Kate. Why did you call him Fred?' asked
Fergus.
Smiling, I explained about the Right Said Fred song, just as
the music began in the background.
'What a wonderful tale. Thank you, Kate, for joining us
today. It's been a pleasure having you with us to share your story,' said
Fergus.
'Thank you,' I whispered before the camera moved back to
Ireland as she straightened her skirt and looked alluring. 'Do you remember
this moment in time?'she asked. 'Are you the elusive Fred? We'd love to hear from
you. You can contact us at...'
Before I could hear anything else, I was ushered off the
couch and back behind the scenes where Jo stood, waiting patiently for me, with
open arms.
~
Want to read more? Course you do. Here's where you can pick up a copy:
Coming to more outlets very soon.
Suzy Turner has worked as a journalist, assistant editor,
features editor and magazine editor. Early in 2010 however, she began writing
full time and has since completed six books for young adults (the Raven Saga
and The Morgan Sisters series) and one chick lit novel, Forever Fredless.
Although Suzy is a Yorkshire lass at heart, she left her
home town of Rotherham, UK, to move to Portugal with her family when she was
ten. The Algarve continues to be her home, where she lives with her childhood
sweetheart and husband of 15 years, Michael, and their two neurotic dogs and a
cat who thinks she's a princess.
For more details about Suzy and her books, visit:
Website: http://suzyturner.com
Chick Lit Blog: http://www.fictiondreams.com
YA Blog: http://suzyturner.blogspot.com
Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/suzyturnerbooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/@suzy_turner
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/suzyturnerbooks
