Jonathan's Promise

by Hans M Hirschi

  He knocked on the door. He heard footsteps. Just like before. The door opened, and a man he’d never seen, yet knew, was standing there, in front of him. At his feet, a dog was standing, looking up at him. He remembered Rascal, and the dog was wagging his tail, happy to see him.

  “You’ve made it! At last.” Sean smiled and beckoned to Jonathan. “Come in, this way, he’s waiting for you.”

  THE END

  or is it?

  Don’t miss the final book of this trilogy:

  Jonathan’s Legacy

  Coming from Beaten Track Publishing, September, 2016.

  www.beatentrackpublishing.com/jonathanslegacy

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  About the Author

  Photo: John O’Leary

  Hans M Hirschi has been writing stories since childhood. As an adult, the demands of corporate life put an end to his fiction for more than twenty years. A global executive in training, he has traveled the world and published several non-fiction titles as well as four well-received novels. The birth of his son provided him with the opportunity to rekindle his love of creative writing, where he expresses his deep passion for a better world through love and tolerance. Hans lives with his husband and son on a small island off the west coast of Sweden.

  Visit Hans online at: www.hirschi.se

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  By the Author

  Family Ties

  Jonathan’s Hope

  The Opera House

  Dads – A Gay Couple’s Surrogacy Journey in India

  Living the Rainbow – A Gay Family Triptych

  The Fallen Angels of Karnataka

  Willem of the Tafel

  Spanish Bay

  Ross Deere – Handy Man

  Jonathan’s Promise

  Jonathan’s Legacy (September 2016)

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  Acknowledgements

  I have dreaded writing this book. How do you follow up a story that wasn’t meant to be followed up? It seemed like a mission doomed to fail, fail miserably at that, and it’s not over yet. There’s another chapter waiting to be added. A final one. I promise.

  So my first thanks go to my characters, particularly Dan and Jonathan, for coming back to me, visiting me in my dreams, telling me more about their lives. As crazy as it may sound to you, that is exactly what happened. I just typed their story, it was theirs to tell me.

  I’ve said this before, and it can never be repeated enough: a novel is not a one-man job. It takes a village. And in this case, I need to start with Kris Kendall, who edited Jonathan’s Hope, and Christopher Allan Poe, who did the cover design and who formatted and proofed that book three years ago. They believed in me, a then unpublished author, and encouraged me to press on.

  Next, a thank you to all the readers, the fans of Jonathan and Dan’s story, all of you who emailed, wrote and told me how much you loved it, only adding to my dread, and—for almost three years—my resolve to never write a sequel. Well, look what that got me: a trilogy…

  Next, a big thank you to Claudine Clarke, my bestie and a great MD, for helping me keep things straight on the medical front. Thank you to Jor Barrie and Andrea Harding for proofing it. Every set of eyes reduces the number of errors. Thank you!

  A huge thank you also to my cover artist, Natasha Snow, for taking Chris’s original design and creating the covers for the two sequels. It takes a great artist to run with an existing theme and make it her own.

  As for my editor, publisher and friend, Debbie McGowan, words cannot accurately describe my debt to her, her amazing love for stories, and the care she has for them, and for the authors in her stable. So I just bow my head in everlasting gratitude.

  Finally, my family: my father and Maecenas, who has made this journey possible, and—along with my husband and son—for their unlimited and unconditional love and support. Always there, always encouraging, and always with a spare hug after a heart-breaking review or the latest sales figures. I love you as much as the characters in this book love each other, and then some, or “to the moon and back” as my son’s children’s book says.

  I am very grateful for each and everyone involved in making this book what I hope to be a worthy sequel to Jonathan’s Hope, and I hope you’ll join me again, when we take a final look at the Jackson family in a few months’ time.

  Hans M Hirschi

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  Beaten Track Publishing

  For more titles from Beaten Track Publishing,

  please visit our website:

  http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com

  Thanks for reading!

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