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‘Anyway, can you put him on, please?’
Yeah right, so her mum could quiz her new fella about his prospects, previous relationships and emotional baggage? Not likely.
‘Now why would I do that?’
‘Because Holly wants to ask his permission to go on a school trip.’
‘What! You knew who it was?’
‘Darling, the only person who didn’t know was you. Until now, apparently.’
Out of the corner of Jo’s eye she saw Patrick grinning sheepishly, Sarah still mooning at her all dewy-eyed and Carrie having a heated conversation with two security men about being unable to get dressed due to her clothes being in tatters, hanging from barbed wire and suspended over Manhattan.
They all knew.
Which in some ways was oddly disconcerting and in others, weirdly comforting.
‘Even Dad?’
‘Your father’s delighted.’
‘I wouldn’t go that far.’ Dad’s voice boomed in the background.
‘Chop, chop!’ said her mother. ‘It’s already past Holly’s bedtime.’
Jo handed over the phone to Patrick, who chucked a shopping bag at Carrie, caught Jo’s hand in his and kissed her fingers.
‘That was fantastic!’ said Carrie, wide-eyed and dress-less. ‘We should make a wish list every year.’
‘Agreed,’ said Sarah, delving into her bra.
‘Please tell me you’re not getting your boobs out again, like the first time we met?’ Jo smirked. ‘Or the ping-pong balls?’
‘Ta-dah!’ Sarah pulled out a tiny pristine notebook with a miniature pen clipped to its side. ‘My bag is so small I couldn’t fit this in. Fire away with your new wishes!’
Carrie pulled an Abercrombie and Fitch T-shirt out of Patrick’s bag. It didn’t quite cover her bikini bottoms, but security ambled off, apparently satisfied. ‘So my next wish, then …’
Jo tuned out of the conversation and gazed at Patrick as he joked with his daughter over the phone and thought she might actually burst with love. How could a face so familiar suddenly be so mesmerizing?
Her fingers found the Tiffany heart at her throat and she smiled a secret smile to herself at her earlier panic when she had thought it was an engagement ring. The necklace was perfect. There was plenty of time for their relationship to get to the next stage.
She blinked away the daydream and felt Patrick’s hand tighten around hers.
‘Jo, what do you want to put on the list?’ Sarah was asking.
She grinned at her friends and then at Patrick. Maybe that was the wish for next year.
The Thank Yous
Thank you to my agent, Hannah Ferguson, who read this book a few years ago and fortunately liked it enough to take me on as her author. Thank you to Joanna Swainson for stepping into Hannah’s shoes when Baby Nell came along in February. To the team at Transworld (awarded Publisher of the Year, no less), thank you as ever for your dedication and creativity in helping to bring my stories to life, especially to my editor Francesca Best, publicist Sarah Harwood and marketing executive Nicola Wright. A special note of thanks to my Writers’ Workshop Self Edit course buddies, who cheered me on many moons ago with this book (and laughed at the funny bits): Debi Alper, Emma Darwin, Jackie Buxton, Britta Jensen, Jo Morgan, Ruth Stalker-Firth, Fiona Macleod, Isabel Rogers and Shell Bromley. Finally, thank you to my family, Mr B and the two Misses B, I love you lots.
Note from Cathy
Dear lovely readers
Just a quick note from me to say how much I cherish your company, comments and support. Writing books can be a bit of a lonely job at times, and so finding an email or a comment on social media from someone saying how much they have enjoyed one of my books can make such a difference to my day. So please do keep on getting in touch!
I am proud of all my books, but this one is a bit special in that it follows the story of not one but three women – complete strangers who meet at a funeral. The idea for it came to me when I overheard a conversation between two people who were mourning the loss of a friend. Life is short, they agreed, seize the day. So that is the theme of the book. We should make the most of every day, every moment, every opportunity that comes our way, because we never know what lies ahead or where life will take us.
And that’s my heartfelt message to you – carpe diem, and I hope you enjoy reading White Lies and Wishes as much as I enjoyed writing it.
With love
Cathy xx
Q & A with Cathy Bramley
White Lies and Wishes is about three women who, one day, throw caution to the wind and decide to make a bucket list for that year. What’s on your bucket list?
I LOVE this question! I’m always saying or sometimes just thinking ‘that’s one for the bucket list’ and half of the time I forget all about it. But these are the ones currently taking up too much of my daydreams: I’d like to own a cape. A big swishy one like Demelza wears in Poldark. I’d like to go to a proper Regency ball and learn all the dances and get dressed up in all the requisite finery. There was one at Chatsworth House recently and I was so sad to have missed it (my husband, on the other hand, was most relieved). I’d like to live by the sea for a while, perhaps rent a house for six months and take long walks on the beach. Finally, did you know that Hotel Chocolat has a real hotel in Saint Lucia? It’s the most gorgeous, decadent retreat and a stay in one of their lodges is most definitely at the top of my bucket list.
Was there any real-life inspiration behind Jo, Sarah and Carrie?
Between you and I, there is a bit of me in all of them. Jo is in charge of a business and is acutely aware of her responsibility to her staff. I used to run my own company and when things were tough, I felt very worried not only for my own livelihood but for those of my team too. Sarah is struggling to cope with a career and motherhood. I took very little maternity leave when my children were small and spent a lot of the time feeling guilty. It was also quite difficult to keep up with breastfeeding when I spent the day apart from them. There is an incident in this book which is taken straight from my own personal experience on that front! Carrie is probably the least like me; for a start, I can’t arrange flowers to save my life! But I have had hypnotherapy and struggled to relax in the chair just like Carrie does.
Describe a typical writing day for you.
My day begins as follows: school run, dog walk, breakfast, more coffee, thick socks on … and then I’m ready to work! I usually will spend seven hours at my desk, punctuated by sneaky peeks at Twitter and Facebook and trips to the kettle. I start by reading through yesterday’s writing and then make a few bullet points about what today’s words should convey. I plot quite extensively before I begin writing a book. Sometimes I stick to my plan, sometimes I don’t, but I need the plan before I can begin. My chapters are around 3000 words each and an excellent day means starting and finishing a whole chapter. But I don’t beat myself up if this doesn’t happen; some days I write faster than others. Arguments are super-fast to write! My daughters arrive home around four thirty, starving, which is usually a good time to stop writing and have a think about what I’m going to tackle tomorrow.
Female friendship is at the heart of this novel. How do your characters help each other develop throughout the novel?
Jo, Carrie and Sarah have such an inauspicious meeting – all outside at a funeral, doing things they’d rather not be seen doing. This throws them together and I thought it would be fun to see how a friendship could grow out of an awkward situation. They start off with such low expectations of each other: Carrie is convinced neither of them will like her; Jo thinks she’s wasting her time; Sarah is intrigued by the other two and initially the most reluctant to make a wish. But gradually they form a support network for each other, at first offering advice but then later, seeking each other out for help and eventually wanting to extend the friendship circle by bringing Abi into it too. They are all happier people for having each other as friends by the end of the book.
Did you al
ways know you wanted to be a writer?
Reading has always been an important part of my life, I can’t imagine not having a book on the go – it just wouldn’t happen. Actually writing one myself didn’t occur to me until I was in my mid-forties, but when I did, I fell in love with it. I hadn’t been planning a career change but after writing three novels I decided to give up my marketing business and write full-time.
At first, Carrie is shy and self-conscious. How does she change throughout the novel?
Carrie begins to contrast her life with that of Jo and Sarah and realizes how much more she could be achieving. Once she identifies what has been holding her back and that she has been comfort eating for years, she is able to begin taking control of her life. This grows her confidence and she starts to plan a brighter, fuller future for herself.
What authors and books have had a strong influence on your writing?
I can’t really distinguish between authors I love and those who influence me, I guess it’s probably one and the same. There are authors whose books I will automatically buy without even reading the blurb, like Lucy Diamond, Jenny Colgan, Miranda Dickinson, Rachael Lucas, Jill Mansell, Katie Fforde and Diane Chamberlain. However, my number one is still Marian Keyes, whose characterization and wit can make me laugh days after I’ve finished the book.
White Lies and Wishes deals with lots of issues modern women experience, including motherhood and work-life balance. How hard do you think it is to seize the day while living a busy life?
Incredibly hard! Sometimes it’s enough just to get to the end of the day without a stiff drink (and/or a little cry!). But at the same time, I think we all make time for the things we really want to do and similarly make excuses for not doing the things we’d rather avoid.
What advice would you give a budding novelist?
Write the best book you can and then go on a reputable course or guided retreat to learn how to critique and improve your work. Some people prefer to go on courses first before starting to write, so whichever works for you, I guess. But think of that first draft as just you telling yourself the story. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to re-tell it for the readers – this can be the tricky part!
White Lies and Wishes is about finding your own happy ending, no matter what your life looks like. What does happiness look like to you?
A family Christmas; baking the perfect Victoria sponge; date night with my husband; a hug from my daughters; a country walk on a crisp, sunny winter’s morning; a glass of Champagne on publication day!
Enjoy another delicious modern love story from Cathy Bramley
Verity Bloom hasn’t been interested in cooking anything more complicated than the perfect fish finger sandwich, ever since she lost her best friend and baking companion two years ago.
But an opportunity to help a friend lands her right back in the heart of the kitchen. The Plumberry School of Comfort Food is due to open in a few weeks’ time and needs the kind of great ideas that only Verity could cook up. And with new friendships bubbling and a sprinkling of romance in the mix, Verity finally begins to feel like she’s home.
But when tragedy strikes at the very heart of the cookery school, can Verity find the magic ingredient for Plumberry while still writing her own recipe for happiness?
Available now
Or the irresistibly charming
Rosie Featherstone loves her high-flying job at a social media firm. So what if she isn’t married and settled like her sister? A relationship would only get in the way of this workaholic’s hectic schedule!
So when she unexpectedly finds herself at a loose end for a month, Rosie keeps busy by helping her Italian Nonna serve espressos and biscotti at the Lemon Tree Café, a little slice of Italy nestled in the rolling hills of Derbyshire.
Worryingly though, the café’s fortunes seem to have taken a turn for the worse since Rosie last went home. But with Nonna blind to the truth and angry at the idea of anyone interfering, the two are soon at loggerheads.
However, just when Rosie decides it’s time to head back to reality, an old acquaintance suddenly reappears, and the prospect of life at the Lemon Tree Café begins to seem more appetizing …
Part One (A Cup of Ambition) is published as an ebook in March 2017 and is available for pre-order now!
To be followed by:
Part Two: A Storm in a Teacup
Part Three: Tea and Sympathy
Part Four: A Fresh Brew
About the Author
Cathy Bramley is the author of the best-selling romantic comedies Ivy Lane, Appleby Farm, Wickham Hall and The Plumberry School of Comfort Food (all four-part serialized novels) and Conditional Love. She lives in a Nottinghamshire village with her family and a dog.
Her recent career as a full-time writer of light-hearted romantic fiction has come as somewhat of a lovely surprise after spending the last eighteen years running her own marketing agency. However, she has always been an avid reader, hiding her book under the duvet and reading by torchlight. Luckily her husband has now bought her a Kindle with a light, so that’s the end of that palaver.
Cathy loves to hear from her readers. You can get in touch via her website: www.CathyBramley.co.uk,
Facebook page: facebook.com/CathyBramleyAuthor or on Twitter: twitter.com/CathyBramley
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
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Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Corgi Books
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Cathy Bramley 2017
Hand lettering by Kate Forrester
Cathy Bramley has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473525078
ISBN 9780552171557
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
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Table of Contents
About the Book
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
&nb
sp; Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
The Thank Yous
Note from Cathy
Q & A with Cathy Bramley
About the Author
Copyright