Share in my excitement...

Today has been one of those days...not one of those "bad" days, more one of those "weird" kind of days. It's been long and it's been busy but it has been unbelievably exciting.

First off, I was interviewed by my fellow author friend Chris Smolinski, who I then in turn, interviewed right back! It was really fun and I enjoyed the short, sharp questions. To the point but insightful in a unique way.

I then made my friend cry…don’t worry, they were happy tears and probably a lot to do with the pregnancy hormones, but my friend Katy is one of the people who read my VERY early draft of my story and loved it so much she pushed me to send it out to agents and publishers because she believed it had a place in the world. I might not have had the same level of confidence in my characters and the world I created without her, so I gave her a nod in my acknowledgments, and upon receiving a proof, I showed it to her…cue tears and telling me I’m awful. Like I said…hormones.

Then I approached the lovely folks over at Under the Fable about blogging for them…so you are now looking at their newest blogger! I haven’t been doing it long but there is something about blogging that I just LOVE. It probably has a lot to do with the freedom of it, the fact that I can waffle on about stuff that normally my family and friends shut out (to be fair to them, I do waffle…a lot!) Looking forward to sharing my ramblings with you all!

And finally, I have been given the headline spot for the Sheffield leg of the Verse Case Scenario tour 2016. I am scared, nervous, sick, excited, ecstatic and deliriously happy all rolled into one. I have never done anything like this before, it will definitely be an experience, but it will be one that I am going to enjoy every second of…and it will be great to finally meet some fellow authors in my homeland as the majority of my friends and contacts are from the good old USA.

So with all that being said, all that excitement in one day, I am going to share with you the prologue to my debut novel Grace, which will be released April 15th. This is something I sent out to subscribers as an exclusive bonus but I have had such a good day and I am feeling so incredible, I want you all to read it!

Hope you enjoy!

Prologue

September 1st 1997 18:52

Kings College Hospital. London.

He winced in pain as she dug her nails into his hand. She screamed in agony and the sound sent waves of panic through him. Her face was red and her brow covered in sweat from the effort it was taking. Twenty-two hours in and it was all finally coming to an end. Soon it would all be over and they would finally know for sure.

He had been pacing uncontrollably until she had called for him, needing him for support, though he wasn’t sure he was fit for the job. It seemed such a long time ago that she had sat him down and told him…everything. He had spent a long time in denial, convinced it was some sort of twisted and cruel joke, that it was just her sick way of trying to break up with him or something…but it wasn’t. Such a lot had happened since then and so many decisions had had to be made. He’d still been trying to come to terms with the whole thing when she had made the call…to them.

They’d informed him that as soon as he knew, as soon as anything was confirmed he was to call them and let them know. His hand went unconsciously to the phone that was weighing as heavy as an anvil in his pocket. It felt like it was burning a hole there, like it was a slow ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any second. It added to the nervous tension that filled his whole body.

She screamed again, the sound shaking him from his thoughts. It echoed loudly in the cold, clinical room. The woman in scrubs kept uttering words of encouragement, something he couldn’t bring himself to do. He was worried, sick to his stomach and he was having a hard time hiding it. She gave one last squeeze of his hand and then it was all over.

He wiped the sweat from her forehead and that’s when he heard it. The first gurgled scream of an infant clearing its lungs. The midwife whipped it away to a table and he averted his eyes. She had told him what it was they would be looking for, something so obvious that he wouldn’t be able to miss it and now he found he couldn’t look for fear of it. It wasn’t long though before the nurse tapped him on the shoulder.

She handed him a small bundle, placing it gently into his arms. He cradled it timidly; inexperienced, his breathing shaky. He was so scared of hurting this tiny little being, like it was made of glass and could shatter at the slightest touch. He held his breath and looked down for the first time, into the swollen pink face of the baby.

“Congratulations,” the midwife said. “It’s a girl.”

His heart sank and he choked back a sob. The midwife looked at him like it was nothing new to her to see the father of the baby all choked up, but she couldn’t possibly know the real reasons behind his pain. The blanket fell from around her and he gasped loudly as he took in the head full of soft, fiery red hair. He gulped, tears stinging his eyes and when he looked to the woman that he loved so much, his horror was mirrored on her face.

“I have to go…I should go and…and make the call,” he mumbled, his heart breaking as he handed the perfect little bundle to her mother who nodded absentmindedly, too shocked to say any actual words. He tried his best to conceal the panic that he felt within.

Walking from the room he felt numb. They had known this might happen. Hell it was what was supposed to happen and he had spent nine months denying that fact! Hadn’t she told him all about it?! Wasn’t this exactly what they had been preparing for?! Now though he knew that no amount of preparing or explaining could have prepared him, and now, he needed to let them know.

Once outside he lit a cigarette and pulled his phone from his pocket. His fingers shook and his eyes pricked with tears once more as he dialled.

“Yes”

“It’s over. It’s a girl and…her hair…”

“Thank you for informing us.” He blinked as the call was abruptly ended and sighed, his heart heavy at the thought of what the future would now hold for the little girl with the red hair.

Find out what the world had in store for the girl with the red hair in Grace...coming April 15th