I am so happy to be welcoming Laura Briggs back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with her novel, The Girl of Lost Petals and Possibilities.
On holiday in Egypt with Sidney and Dean, young writer Maisie is—in her mind—on top of the world. Her long-labored manuscript is finally going to be published, she and Sidney are deeply in love, and the future looks bright on every level.
In one moment, however, it all changes. Tragedy leads to overwhelming loss that Maisie can’t even begin to process. As the world itself turns upside down, there’s no solace for Maisie from the growing sense that her wonderful future is finished.
No dream about to come true. No certainties of new chances in life.
No Sidney.
Even if the first two did not break her, the last one is determined to. It’s up to Maisie to find her strength and determination to find a new future, even if—unthinkably—it may be nothing like the one she dreamed of.
Laura has shared an extract from The Girl of Lost Petals and Possibilities with us today. Enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Thanks so much to Laura for this chance to have my book featured on Novel Kicks. Titled The Girl of Lost Petals and Possibilities it continues the adventures of Maisie Clark, the aspiring young novelist who finds inspiration working at a quirky Cornish hotel. The scene below finds Maisie dealing with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has left her fiance Sidney facing a long road to recovery. With Sidney’s wealthy but distant mother determined to seek rehabilitation for him in London, Maisie must try to convince herself—and their mutual friend Dean—that it’s the only option, despite the hardships it will bring.
At Dean’s cottage, Callum switched on the lights and the stove’s eye beneath the teakettle, while Dean wheeled himself closer to the stereo. I put the tin containing Mrs. Graves’s biscuits on the table, a future snack for the birds in Dean’s garden. With my back still to Dean, I gathered my courage and spoke.
“Dean, you should know. Adele is taking Sidney home with her when he’s released,” I said, quietly. “She told me so a few days ago.”
It only took a second for what I said to sink in. “What?” Dean’s voice sharpened. He stopped studying the records laid out by the stereo and wheeled to face me. “Did you tell her that notion was ridiculous?”
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