Beyond the Tree House
Page 23
Still, we all think Amadeus is cool. He’s strong like a bear and you don’t want to get on the wrong side of him. I don’t. I keep well out of his way. He scares me a little.
I feel Elise’s energy getting closer. About time too because I’m fading. My job was to do the funeral. Nothing more. She took off before we entered the church. I guess the funeral was too emotional for her. Elise doesn’t do strong emotions. That’s how she can stay around for the everyday activities, be the good girl, do the dishes and hang the washing on the clothesline.
Don’t ask me to do the cleaning, cooking, or making the beds. I’ve never done it, and I’m not interested in learning how to.
Acknowlegements
A special Thank You to the amazing women and men who allowed me to be part of their recovery journey. You shared your amazing inner worlds with me and taught me so much about what it meant to be expert dissociators, resilient survivors, and incredible human beings.
To my group of Wellington Romance Writers – Leeann Morgan, Moira Jeen, Anne Buttar, Tracey Alvarez, Sofia Grey, Kris Pearson, and Janet Elizabeth Henderson, I swear most of what I know about writing and self-publishing I’ve learned from our monthly meetings. I’ve never been part of a group of professionals as eager as you are to share your time, knowledge, and support and have fun in the process. You guys are the best.
Special thanks go to Mihiteria King, Sue Beresford, Linda Brown, and Charlotte Charonne for reading a beta copy and giving me feedback. That includes Steve Taylor who did a great job proofreading my first draft and gave great advice and Svea Berling, who did a famous job of editing.
Last but not least there are my husband and children who keep reminding me that there is more to life than writing. Their support and interest is keeping my spirits up when the dreaded writer’s block raises it’s ugly head.
About the Author
I spent my childhood on a small, dreamy fishing island close to Hamburg, Germany. From there I spent years in Switzerland and The Netherlands. For the last thirty years, I’ve called New Zealand my home. Once my three children were grown, I studied psychotherapy and worked for 25 years as a trauma specialist and started writing. Over the years I’ve learned that life is a bumpy ride full of highs and lows.
It’s having friends and loved ones to celebrate with that makes the highs special, and knowing one isn’t the only one who struggles makes the lows tolerable. I’m bringing those bumpy-ride-experiences to my books and sprinkling a fair bit of romance, wishful thinking, and beautiful dreams onto the stories I tell. After all, life is not a dress rehearsal. We might as well make the best of it.
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Also by Gudrun Frerichs
THE GIRL FROM THE TREE HOUSE
https://mybook.to/Girltreehouse
is the first of a series of psychological thrillers set in current day New Zealand. It describes how Elizabeth, a forty-two-year-old woman with multiple personalities (Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID), fights for her sanity and freedom. Four core personalities tell the story from the inside out, giving a touching insight into the workings of the dissociated mind.
There are no graphic descriptions of abuse.
A Tuscan Affair
https://mybook.to/AnnaGG1
Who needs a millionaire daddy for her adult children?
Anna King isn’t even dreaming of a new man in her life. Not after a holiday romance went all wrong thirty years ago. Who needs a man if you have fantastic friends? Not this well respected Auckland lawyer.
Vineyard owner Antonio Falcone has only one goal. Fly to Auckland, help his elderly father getting divorced, and zap back home in time for the harvest. That’s it. Women? No, no, amore mio, not for this charming Italian. Once bitten, twice shy.
But when the past catches up with them things unravel with lightning speed, and some nasty people raise their heads. And Tuscany? Oh, yes…Tuscany…rolling hills, azure-blue skies, full-bodied wine, delicious food, and a love that will succeed.
https://mybook.to/TheaGG2
A Case For Love
…Trust him, the wind whispered…
Thea Cameron is used to cooking up a storm in her café Cinnamon but her husband’s accidental death creates a storm she’s not prepared for. Dealing with thugs, hidden money, jewels, and illegitimate daughters is the stuff of movies and doesn’t happen to ordinary people. Right? She sure isn’t amused about the cocky PI who thinks she needs his help. Trusting him? Not in a million years.
But widower Mark Cheltham isn’t scared away by a stroppy cafe owner. As an ex-police officer he knows, Thea needs his help. As a man who is still in love with his late wife, he finds himself on a slippery slope. When bullets fly, the hunt for the truth turns dangerous… even nature throws the unlikely team a curve ball and Mark has to make a difficult decision.
Daring to Love
http://mybook.to/claudiaGG3
… sometimes you have to jump to cross a chasm…
Nurse Claudia copes with her husband leaving her for another man by working hard and stop dreaming. Her farm, the nine-year-old orphan she adopted, and now nursing the crazy American who crashed into her fence keeping her busy around the clock.
Connor Anderson leads a charmed life. Men want to be him, women want to be with him, and Hollywood simply wants him. He knows exactly where he’s going. Crashing his car in the backwaters of New Zealand changes everything. When Hollywood stardom collides with down to earth Kiwi common sense, sparks are flying. Everything spins out of control and the past proves to be a formidable enemy.
Tides of Love
https://mybook.to/christine
Take my hand and never let me go…
Christine Barnard has been searching for the last thirteen years for her husband whose plane went missing over the Pacific. Unwilling to accept he’s dead, she avoids serious relationships at all costs. After all, giving your heart away only ends up in loss and pain.
Plantation owner and dedicated bachelor Jason Stone knows a thing or two about loss and pain. Not even getting stranded on a remote Pacific Island is helping when you’re running away from your past.
As these two sworn bachelors meet things start to happen that throws their well-thought-out plans into disarray. When the Lali drums call and the volcano erupts, life will never be the same again.