Jane Cable joins my Christmas Countdown!

A HUGE welcome to my good friend and fellow Apricot Plotter, Jane Cable, as she joins my Christmas Countdown!

It’s lovely to welcome you to my blog, Jane. With Christmas fast approaching, your post and novel offer a timely reminder that, for some, this can be a difficult time of year …

The Faerie Tree opens at Christmas and it’s a desperately sad time. Izzie is newly widowed and she and her daughter are facing their first Christmas alone. But when Claire takes her mum for a festive latte to cheer her up, Izzie bumps into a tramp and is sure she recognises him.

“So who do you think he is, Mum?”
“Someone I knew before I started my teacher training. I was filling in time selling stationery and he was the office manager at one of the big firms of solicitors.”
“Office manager? Wow – I wonder what happened to him?”
I shrug. “People’s lives change. The last time I saw him he was wearing a suit.” But it’s a lie and I know it; Robin was naked – his face buried in a pillow, our duvet twisted around his legs.

Robin spends Christmas on the streets and Izzie spends it thinking about the past. So on Boxing Day she sets out to find him.

I’ve read The Faerie Tree and this emotive scene has stayed with me since. For those who would like to know more, here’s the blurb:

In the summer of 1986 Izzie and Robin hold hands under the Faerie Tree and wish for a future together, but hours later tragedy rips their dreams apart.

In the winter of 2006 Izzie spots a down-and-out on the streets of Winchester – a man who looks very familiar.

The Faerie Tree pieces together Robin’s and Izzie’s stories as they try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of their brief affair so different? And which one of them is right?

Buying links: Amazon

It’s been fascinating for me (and I hope the followers of my blog) to discover how the authors stopping by will be spending Christmas, so I have to ask you, Jane, how will you be spending this festive season?

Since moving to Cornwall we always spend Christmas at our beach house on the north coast. We never let it out over the festive season because it’s so wild and wonderful we just want to be there.

For the last few years we’ve had friends to stay, but this year we’ll be on our own so we can have a leisurely start to the day. But at eleven o’clock we’ll be on the beach, cheering on our neighbours who brave the sea for a festive swim. Every year I say I’ll join them and (so far) every year I’ve found an excuse not to.

After that we’ll pop back home to put the joint (usually rib of beef) in the oven, then it’s off over the cliffs to the pub. It’s normally packed to the rafters for a couple of hours and it’s great to catch up with everyone. We’ll have our meal in the late afternoon and then will probably curl up on the sofa at watch a Christmas favourite, like Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather.

I don’t blame you for avoiding the dip in the sea, and I love the sound of the festive catch up in your local (great picture). Before you go, I must ask you to answer five of my festive selection of quick fire questions:

Black forest hot chocolate or gingerbread latte? Gingerbread latte – every time. We even buy the gingerbread syrup from Starbucks so we can make them at home. I haven’t forgotten I’ve promised you a Black Forest Hot Chocolate though 😉 I forgot to claim this on our recent meet up – you know that means we’ll have to do it again!

Must read Christmas book? Heidi Swain’s. Her Wynbridge novels are so stuffed full of Christmas they’re addictive and over the last few years have become an important seasonal tradition for me.

Favourite Christmas song? Fairytale of New York – it’s festive yet subversive, sentimental and cynical, all at the same time. It’s the only song I’d ever attempt at karaoke – Shane MacGowan’s part, of course.

Who did you play in the school nativity? I was almost always the narrator, and when we progressed to nine lessons and carols I normally read the last lesson. I remember being an angel once when I was very small, but I think I bent my wire coat hanger halo.

Angel, fairy or star on top of your Christmas tree? Owl.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, and though I am sure we will chat again before Christmas arrives, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a very merry festive season. xx

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