Readers looking for something a bit different amongst the usual holiday reads will find themselves drawn to this magical tale of recovery and finding unexpected love. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of The Spirit of Christmas Past by Anna Everett and then add it to your bookshelf....
When the holiday of a lifetime turns to tragedy, Caragh fears her life will never be the same again. Her beloved James is missing, she has to learn to live all over again. With the help of her nurse Elspeth, and her new friend Callum, slowly she begins to rebuild. However, not everyone is who they seem, and she fears she will be alone forever...until Christmas brings with it some unexpected magic.
EXCERPT:
Caragh picked up the printed plane tickets for about the 15th time that hour and as she read the details typed neatly on them she grinned again. A large cheshire cat type grin that lit up her whole face and made her blue eyes sparkle and shine. She looked over at James who was, as usual on his evenings off, playing World of Warcraft on the X-Box. His ginger curls bouncing around as he animately hit the buttons on the controller, the concentration on his face was intense, she often laughed at the range of faces he pulled as he took his game a little too seriously.
“I can’t believe it’s tomorrow!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I can’t believe we are really going to New York for Christmas!”
“Umm” he replied distractedly “Just get a takeaway then.”
“James!!” she exclaimed in frustration, picking up the red velvet cushion from the sofa beside her, and launching it at his head. “This is the holiday of a life time, the honeymoon we couldn’t have last year....for goodness sake pay attention and be excited.”
Snapping out of the gaudy, loud, violent graphics based world of his game back to the cosy deep red themed lounge of their three bed semi, James turned to her with a broad grin to match hers.
“Ok, ok,” he replied with a laugh, “Of course I’m excited, it will be amazing.”
Knowing he was beaten and his game playing was over for the evening, he reached over and pressed the off button on the console, and turned to face his wife.
“Just think,” she said, grabbing the cushion he had thrown back at her, and hugging it to her small frame, those blue eyes now dancing with excitement, “We can go to Bloomingdales, Macy’s, ice skating, and the tree, I cannot believe I am going to be in the Rockefeller Centre standing next to that tree.”
Her enthusiasm was contagious and his own excitement was starting to bubble, he smiled as he happily listened to her rave about their destination, in the wonderful soft Irish lilt that had first caught his attention 4 years ago when they met at a surgical resident summer school.
He got up from the black corduroy armchair and crossed to the matching sofa to join her, wrapping her up in the arms of his much larger frame as he sat down.
“It will be perfect,” he said smiling as she snuggled herself into him “perfect because we are going together...I cannot wait either.” he kissed the top of her blonde head and squeezed her closer.
Their first morning in New York dawned crisp and clear. Caragh smiled and stretched in the warmth of the bed and turned to cuddle up to James.
“Our first day of sightseeing, how exciting.” she said squeezing him tighter. “Sounds good to me, but first breakfast, I am starving!” he replied.
“You always think with your stomach” she laughed “just as well we arranged for room service then, should be here anytime now.”
It wasn’t long indeed before the trolley arrived and they sat in the window seat once more enjoying the views below, eating warm pancakes and delicious scrambled eggs, the fresh white china hosting the tasty combination, whilst two large mugs of steaming hot freshly brewed coffee sat on the table cooling slightly.
Once the plates were emptied and the mugs drained, Caragh was itching to get going.
“Right!” she said determinedly, “time for the adventure to begin.”
Within minutes she returned casually dressed in jeans, knee-high boots and a sweater. James smiled at her, thinking once more, as he did most days, what a stunning beauty she was and how lucky he was to have married her.
Grabbing her ski jacket, woolly hat and gloves she chastised him along “Come on slow coach, I have shopping to do!”
“Ok, ok” he replied, grabbing his wallet and slipping it into his back pocket “guess I will need this then.”
“You bet you will!” she laughed and grabbing his hand, dragged him towards the door.
The morning passed in a riot of colour and noise as, in her element, Caragh dragged him from one department store to another. Gaudy christmas decoration overflowed from baskets and displays and cheesy seasonal tunes blared out of the public address systems.
It was heaving with tourists and New Yorkers alike but the hustle and bustle only seemed to add to the seasonal flurry and buzz that surrounded them. It was like nothing they had experienced before but Caragh was in her shopping heaven and clearly loving the chaos.
Around 1pm they decided to have a break from the shopping and to head over to Manhattan for some lunch. The adrenaline of the enjoyment was feeding their energy and they were like giddy school children and they skipped hand in hand to the nearest subway station.
BUY AT AMAZON (UK) here.
AUTHOR INFO:
Anna is an established author with 4 books published across 2 genres. From a background in holistic therapy and freelance writing it is little wonder Anna has an eclectic range of interests and talents to appeal to her readers. First published as a child, Anna moved from poetry writing to self help. Her commitment to her clients led her to create two books on meditation. However as an avid reader in all genres, Anna was drawn to create a series of paranormal romance novellas that offer the reader characters to identify with and root for as they battle adversity in a quest for happiness. Always looking to learn, Anna has over 20 holistic therapy qualifications to her name and when not writing is often found with her head in a textbook. Aside from writing and therapy her biggest passion are her six tiny dogs, who have inspired a new series of detective novellas due for release in 2016.
Anna is an established author with 4 books published across 2 genres. From a background in holistic therapy and freelance writing it is little wonder Anna has an eclectic range of interests and talents to appeal to her readers. First published as a child, Anna moved from poetry writing to self help. Her commitment to her clients led her to create two books on meditation. However as an avid reader in all genres, Anna was drawn to create a series of paranormal romance novellas that offer the reader characters to identify with and root for as they battle adversity in a quest for happiness. Always looking to learn, Anna has over 20 holistic therapy qualifications to her name and when not writing is often found with her head in a textbook. Aside from writing and therapy her biggest passion are her six tiny dogs, who have inspired a new series of detective novellas due for release in 2016.
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