Hello all!! Happy Monday!! I get to hand over the Blog today to the lovely ANGELA BRITNELL who is here to share an exclusive extact with you all, to celebrate the release of A LITTLE CHRISTMAS PANTO …. Oh no it isn’t… Oh yes it is!!!!
Over to you, Angela….
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Release Day Post: A Little Christmas Panto by Angela Britnell
Hello again, Karen, and thank you so much for welcoming me to your lovely blog again. I’m always happy to talk about my books and this year’s festive offering, A Little Christmas Panto, is no exception! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this story based around a Cornish village pantomime with Zach, a troubled Hollywood celebrity and Rosey, a former concert pianist now living a quieter life as my main characters. It brought back happy memories of my own, not exactly world-class, efforts on the stage in the junior chorus of the pantomime in the Cornish village where I grew up.
I thought I’d chat a bit today about how some people’s views towards Christmas are shaped and the expectations the season often arouses. In this short extract Rosey is talking to Fred, an older man who is in charge of the pantomime scenery:
‘I s’ppose Christmas will be on us before we know it. Don’t seem possible. The year’s flying by.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Wendy’s already started buying loads of stuff the kids and grandkids don’t need. I’m partial to singing a few carols but don’t care tuppence for the rest of it.’
‘I’m with you but I think we’re in the minority.’ Rosey’s jaundiced view of the holidays came from her mother. There’d been no spare money when Rosey was little so that kept their celebrations simple, and now Anna used the excuse that, with the pantomime starting three weeks after Christmas, she didn’t have time for a lot of fuss. To her mum, the holidays were an irritating disruption to the rehearsal schedule.
‘Wouldn’t do if we were all the same.’ A smile creased Fred’s weathered face.
Rosey’s mother Anna has always been content to rush through Christmas because her mind is laser-focused on the pantomime which takes to the stage in the middle of January. But she takes it to heart when some friends gently tease her about her un-festive house and here we see Rosey’s misgivings about Anna’s attempt to take on other people’s expectations:
Last night her mother insisted they drag out their own feeble box of decorations because she’d taken umbrage when the sewing group had a good-natured laugh at their un-Christmassy home. Now Anna was determined to prove she could do Christmas as well as the next person. Rosey hadn’t the heart to point out that their lame fluorescent pink tabletop tree with its mismatched collection of random ornaments, the single strand of coloured lights hanging in the front window, and sparse sprigs of artificial holly on the mantlepiece were hardly the last word in festive decor.
Of course, Anna is an over-the-top person so she doesn’t stop there:
Rosey ducked to avoid hitting the low-hanging silver garland hitched up across the bottom of the stairs. Her mother never did anything by halves and must have bought every Christmas decoration on sale within a twenty-mile radius of Polcarne. She’d adorned every non-living thing in the house, and no doubt would have done the same to her daughter if she’d dared to stand still for too long. Her mother was decked out brighter than their Christmas tree in a gold jumpsuit.
Will things escalate? Will Anna foolishly attempt to replace their usual Marks & Spencer ready meals with the first turkey she’s ever cooked or will she come to her senses? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
One of the main themes of the book is being true to yourself and several characters go on the journey of discovering what that is for them. I hope you and your readers enjoy A Little Christmas Panto – Oh Yes I Do!
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About the book:
Can a little Cornish village panto convince a troubled Hollywood heart throb to act again?
Oh no it won’t! At least that’s what Zach Broussard initially thinks when the eccentric Anna Teague tries to railroad him into helping out with her community pantomime production in the run-up to Christmas. Zach has his reasons for leaving Hollywood behind, and his retreat to the remote village of Polcarne in Cornwall signals the start of a new acting free life for him.
But when Zach meets Anna’s daughter, Rosey – an ex concert pianist who has swapped Mozart for panto tunes – he starts to wonder whether he could change his mind, and not just about acting.
If nothing else, will the residents of Polcarne ensure Zach has a Christmas he never forgets?
Oh yes they will!
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Grab your copy here….
Kindle link: https://amzn.to/3dY0cj8
About the author:
Angela was born in St. Stephen, Cornwall, England. After completing her A-Levels she worked as a Naval Secretary. She met her husband, a US Naval Flight Officer while being based at a small NATO Headquarters on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. They lived together in Denmark, Sicily, California, southern Maryland and London before settling in Franklin, Tennessee.
Angela took a creative writing course in 2000 and loved it so much that she has barely put her pen down since. She has had short stories and novels published in the US. Her novel Sugar & Spice, won Choc Lit’s Search for an American Star competition and was her UK debut.
www.twitter.com/angelabritnell
www.facebook.com/angelabritnell
Instagram handle: @AngelaGolleyBritnell
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