It’s Christmas again today – well, I did warn you about how much I love those gorgeous covers! Today I’m delighted to be joining the blog tour for Christmas at the Log Fire Cabin by Catherine Ferguson, published as an e-book by Avon Books on 2nd October, with the paperback to follow on 30th November. And it looks thoroughly lovely…
Curl up by the fire this Christmas with the eBook bestseller Catherine Ferguson.
When Poppy’s boyfriend Harrison proposes the week before Christmas and gives her twelve days to decide, she doesn’t know what to do. With the festive season in full swing, it’s make or break time for the couple and the clock is ticking…
Meanwhile, Poppy’s best friend Erin is desperate for the pair of them to fulfil their dream of setting up a dinner party catering company – and when an opportunity arises at a luxury log fire cabin, the girls take their chance to impress.
But they hadn’t bargained on the owner of the cabin being quite so attractive – or having quite such a sexy voice. As the twelve days tick on, will Poppy realise that Harrison is the one for her? Or will it be love in the lodge when the new year comes?
Lose yourself this Christmas in the new novel from the brilliant Catherine Ferguson, perfect for cosying up with by the fire.
Fancy an extract? My pleasure…
‘Hello there!’ says a cheery voice. ‘Thank you so much for rescuing me earlier.’ With a sinking heart, I turn round and there’s Clemmy, beaming at me with those friendly dimples.
‘I’m pretty accident-prone,’ she says. ‘But I’m not usually in the habit of throwing my tampons all over the place.’
I laugh. ‘Hey, I was pleased to help.’ I glance anxiously behind her. Her two companions are bringing up the rear and I’m getting palpitations at the thought of Jed recognising my voice.
‘Actually.’ I lean in with a confidential whisper. ‘I’ve got this weird, er, tonsil ailment thing.’ I touch my throat and swallow painfully. ‘Trying not to talk.’
‘Oh, you poor thing.’ Clemmy’s face is a picture of concern. ‘That’s awful. Are you taking anything?’
I nod. ‘Antibiotics.’ Jed and the other man are almost upon us, so I whisper, ‘Better go. Nice to meet you, though.’
Clemmy takes my arm. ‘Listen, my gran always swears by lemon and honey in a glass of hot water for sore throats, with a slug of whisky if you have any kicking around.’
‘Fab! Thank you.’ I stick up my thumb and edge away. ‘I’ll give it a go.’
‘But you have to drink it really slowly – oh, Jed, Ryan.’ She turns and greets them, and my smile freezes. Again. ‘This lady helped me rescue my handbag contents. Long story.’ She frowns. ‘Oh, but I don’t even know your name.’
All three are looking at me expectantly.
Panicking, I touch my throat (actually, ‘grab’ would be nearer the mark) and Clemmy says, ‘Oh sorry, you can’t speak, can you?’
I swallow and wince dramatically for good measure.
She turns to the other two. ‘Horrible tonsil thing.’
They nod in sympathy and I whisper, ‘It’s Pamela. My name’s Pamela.’
She holds out her hand and we shake. ‘Pleased to meet you, Pamela.’ Her smile is so warm and genuine. I feel terrible for lying to her.
I smile back, whispering hoarsely, ‘And you too, Clemmy.’
She blinks in confusion.
Shit! Bugger! I’m not supposed to know her name!
Then I spy a visitor’s badge on her blouse under the green coat. I point at it and her face clears. I raise my hand and smile at them, walking backwards and doing another Oscar-worthy throat clearing as if I might be about to croak my last.
‘Poppy Ainsworth? Is that really you?’ booms a voice at my shoulder a second later, and I spin round to see an old ‘frenemy’ from school who I haven’t clapped eyes on in years. We were friends until she copped off with my boyfriend, Leslie. We were only ten, mind you. I really should have got over it by now.
‘Heather Connelly, hi!’ I greet her, rather too loudly. Wincing, I glance back at Clemmy, who’s looking understandably confused at the sudden name change. Luckily, Jed has taken a call on his mobile and definitely didn’t hear me.
My shoulders sink with relief and I prepare to swap stories about school days.
‘Are you all right?’ Heather asks, her beady eyes scouring my face for signs of how I’ve aged in the past decade or so. ‘You look a bit flushed.’
‘Yeah. Bit of a tricky situation there, actually,’ I confide in a low tone, keeping an eye on Jed. He’s still busy on his phone, thankfully. ‘Some people I wanted to avoid.’ I laugh awkwardly. ‘If you know what I mean.’
‘People like me, you mean?’ says a voice right behind me. A deep, velvety voice with a hint of gravel that I’d recognise anywhere …
Jed?
But isn’t that Jed over there, talking into his mobile?
I spin round and find myself staring up into the amused face of the much taller man with chestnut hair who got off the train.
Looks rather good, eh? My thanks to Sabah at Avon Books for inviting me to be part of the tour for this one – here are the other blogger stops…
About the author
Catherine Ferguson burst onto the writing scene at the age of nine, anonymously penning a weekly magazine for her five-year-old brother (mysteriously titled the ‘Willy’ comic) and fooling him completely by posting it through the letterbox every Thursday.
Catherine’s continuing love of writing saw her study English at Dundee University and spend her twenties writing for various teenage magazines including Jackie and Blue Jeans and meeting pop stars. She worked as Fiction Editor at Patches magazine (little sister to Jackie) before getting serious and becoming a sub-editor on the Dundee Courier & Advertiser.
Moving south in her thirties, she set up Surrey Organics, delivering fresh organic produce to people’s homes – and this experience provided the inspiration for her first attempt at writing a full-length novel. She now lives with her son in Northumberland. Do follow Catherine on Twitter.
This sounds like a lovely festive read.