‘The tide of Christmas visitors washed me down the High Street.’
Eva Glyn is celebrating the release of the paperback edition of The Missing Pieces of Us on my blog today. The Missing Pieces of Us is one of those novels that will gain a special place in your heart. I have invited Eval Glyn to introduce her novel and present an extract.
The Missing Pieces of Us tells the story of Robin and Izzie, who meet twenty years after their brief affair, only to discover their memories of it are completely different. Here we meet Robin for the first time, a homeless man and a far cry from the young graduate Izzie would remember:
The tide of Christmas visitors washed me down the High Street. The Salvation Army band was gathered near the Buttercross, the trumpet player’s scales rising into the air and mingling with the scent of roasting chestnuts. Further on, the traffic lights glowed into the leaden morning – red, yellow, green. The colours were coming back.
The paperback of this book is released on 14th October.
Opposite the bus station tourists streamed from a coach. I pressed myself against the railings of the park but in truth I need not have bothered. I seemed to have perfected the art of creating an empty space of at least a yard around me. Despite being invisible. One day I’d laugh about it – I hoped.
The Itchen was in full spate. A drake huddled on a flat rock, hunkering down to avoid the wind but finding himself splashed by the freezing waters instead. The gardens rising up on the other side of the river were stripped for winter, naked branches shivering. A single holly bush stood out, glossy green, a miserly few berries left by the birds. Red and green… Colours again. They pierced the fog in my mind, even as my body battled the cold.
I knew when the colours had started. I was on the steps of the Buttercross, nursing the empty paper cup. I turned it in my hand, royal blue with a firmament of Christmas stars. Izzie. A heart-stopping moment of joy, confusion, then shame. But all the same I couldn’t tear myself away. I waited for her there every morning, just in case. I could still taste the coffee – bitter, hot, and strong.
Although Welsh by birth, Eva Glyn now lives in Cornwall with her husband of twenty-six years. She loves to travel, and more often than not her books are inspired by a beautiful place and the secrets it could hide. The Missing Pieces of Us is her first book for One More Chapter, an imprint of Harper Collins. and is set in Hampshire. Her second, The Olive Grove, was inspired by a heart-breaking story she was told while on holiday in Croatia.
Eva Glyn on her travels.
Eva also writes as Jane Cable and can be found on Twitter @JaneCable and on Instagram as @evaglynauthor.
Reading this book is like delving into a large slice of Tiramisu: a pick me up dessert with a bitter sweet balance of perfection.
Embark on a series of adventures with Mavis and Dot but prepare yourself for a roller coaster of emotions. Humour and adorable, eccentric characters present a commentary on modern Britain. Reading Angela Petch’s ‘Mavis and Dot’ is like delving into a large slice of Tiramisu: the pick me up dessert with a bitter sweet balance of perfection.
Like a quintessential seaside town, Mavis and Dot have Britishness stamped through their charming identities. Though they are as different as builders’ tea and Lapsang Souchong, they are both women of a certain age from the same generation. The contrast between this couple of friends makes them so endearing you don’t want to leave them. Beneath the façade of flamboyant Mavis and straight-laced Dot, there are secrets and loneliness. Loneliness is a cruel companion who can be banished with the warmth of a cuppa and chat. Peel away the faded glory of Mavis and Dot to reveal their secrets and warm hearts. I guarantee this story will warm your heart.
‘Mavis and Dot’ celebrates the eccentricities of Britishness but appeals to everyone.
Wonderful humour is presented through the characters and the author’s powers of observation. I was drawn into the story with Mrs Gallsworthy whose ‘cameo necklace dangled like a climber hanging on for dear life over a precipice.’ We have all met these characters, yet only Petch could capture this personality so beautifully. Humour is contrasted with pathos to form a vivid impression of the characters’ lives. Mavis’s only photo of her lover is a framed photo of an image cut out of the funeral order of service, but she manages to search for some joy in the sadness. Her penchant for Italian men, fuelled by her liaison with her lover, takes Mavis on a challenging journey of discovery.
‘Women of a certain age from the same generation.’
Dot describes Mavis as ‘the salt of the earth’. Mavis’s kindness opens a new world for Dot. Though Dot has her own eccentricities such as sleeping on cushions with the windows open: an eccentricity that is both funny and sad. Dot’s reflections on love made me giggle when she compares falling in love to catching mumps. She explains, ‘… it’s fine catching mumps when you’re young but it’s tricky when you’re older. It hits you harder.’ Hilarious observations hit you throughout the narrative but digging deeper often creates a lump in your throat. For instance, the scene where Mavis models for a group of artists captures the combination of humour and poignancy perfectly.
The unlikely friends enjoy shopping in charity shops while seeking sanctuary in the various tea shops. It was comforting to settle in ‘the cosy fug’ of the cafés while they search for a ‘a large helping of happiness’ as they shelter from the storm of loneliness. Both ladies are from an era that ‘learned to keep their feelings buttoned up’. One hopes they will help each other to find out more about themselves. The house doesn’t have to be ‘too quiet’ if you open your door to others.
This clever, touching and powerful writing leaves you thinking. Life can’t be all fairground rides and candyfloss: visiting the seaside is different in the mature years, yet it is possible to make the most of it. Happiness can be sought in the company of others, but when alone we must comfortable with ourselves. Reading this book will provide the comfort of nostalgia, cake and a good old fashioned giggle with these characters. I loved this celebration of life painted with vivid brushstrokes of humour.
Angela Petch is a #1 bestselling author who also writes for People’s Friend. All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to a cancer charity. ‘Mavis and Dot’ celebrates the eccentricities of Britishness but appeals to everyone.
Meet the author who is going in search of more adventures for Mavis and Dot.
I’m an award-winning writer of fiction – and the occasional poem. In 2018, I was contracted by Bookouture with a two-book deal. The first, a slightly amended version of “Tuscan Roots”, will come out in June 2019. A brand new second Tuscan novel is scheduled for Spring 2020.
Every summer I move to Tuscany for six months where my husband and I own a renovated watermill which we let out to holidaymakers from across the globe. When not exploring our unspoiled corner of the Apennines, I disappear to my writing desk at the top of our converted stable.
In my Italian handbag or hiking rucksack I always make sure to store notebook and pen, for I never know when an idea for a story might strike and I don’t want it to drift away.
The winter months are spent in Sussex where most of our family live. When I’m not helping out with grandchildren, I catch up with writer friends and enjoy walking along the sea, often quite moody in the winter months but inspiring. I’ve lived abroad for most of my life, including several childhood years in Italy. After graduating with honours in Italian at the University of Kent at Canterbury, I worked for a short spell for The Times, before moving to new employment in Amsterdam. The job relocated to Sicily, where I met my half-Italian husband. We married near Urbino and then went to live for three magical years in Tanzania. Wherever I travel I store sights, sounds and memories for stories I feel compelled to record.
