by Debbie Young
Hector tutted. “I don’t know why you value his opinion so much. He’s clearly got no judgment, or he wouldn’t have let you go.”
For a moment, we gazed at each other in astonishment, each taking in the implications of what he had just let slip. This was turning out to be quite a morning, and we hadn’t even touched the cream.
Hector caved in first, clearing his throat and turning aside to rummage around in the paperwork on his desk. Then I remembered he’d mentioned another prize.
“So what else did I win? I didn’t enter any other categories in the show, apart from the carnival.”
“Ah, well, I took the liberty of entering one on your behalf: the Writers’ Weekly magazine’s annual Book Title and Subtitle Competition, using the clever suggestion that you casually dreamed up at your interview: Eat My Words: The Confessions of an Encyclopedia Salesman.
He passed me a print-out of an email confirming my win and giving details of the prize: a week-long writers’ retreat on Ithaca the following spring. I had to read the email several times before I could take it in.
“I can’t believe it! I don’t deserve this.”
“I think you do. And of course, where better to launch the writing career that May so wanted for you than a small remote Greek island, home to the father of storytelling and all-round extraordinary chap, Homer?”
“Oh, Hector, how can I ever repay you for your kindness!” I honestly did wonder, because he was my boss, not my boyfriend. Perhaps I should just shake his hand in a business-like manner, or kiss him on the cheek, as if he were my favourite uncle.
Before I could decide, Hector took a step towards me, almost treading on my toes. Setting his hands gently but firmly on my shoulders, he locked his green eyes on my blue ones for a moment. Then, in what felt to me like slow motion, he bent down to press his lips against mine in a long, firm kiss. It was not the kiss of a favourite uncle.
For a few blissful moments, we stood embracing as if there was nothing in the world but us, our bodies so close together that I could feel the mobile phone in the front pocket of his jeans. At least, I think it was his mobile phone.
I was just wishing we could stay there for ever when the shop door creaked, and who should walk in, but Billy.
“I reckons you’ve got a case there for that sexy harassment, girlie, and no mistake,” said Billy, making his way to his usual tearoom table.
“Or a pay rise,” murmured Hector, letting me go. He spun me round by the shoulders and gave me a little shove in the direction of the tearoom. “Go on, go and do your stuff.”
“So I’m guessing that means I’ve passed my trial period?” I grinned at Hector over my shoulder as I washed my hands under the cold tap, ready to assume my waitressing duties. I splashed a little water on my flushed face, too, to cool it down.
Hector settled on his stool behind the counter and rolled up his sleeves, ready to get back to typing his latest manuscript.
“Yes, I think you’re here to stay.”
I was certain he was right. I had come home.
Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to thank the entire population of the small Cotswold village, Hawkesbury Upton, that has been my home since 1991. Living here has taught me the value and importance of community in rural life. My many years’ experience on various village committees has made me realise how fascinating, funny and rewarding English village life can be.
Although my home village has many of the features of Sophie’s beloved Wendlebury Barrow – a thriving village primary school, a shop (though sadly not a bookshop though we do have a separate Post Office and a hairdressing salon), not one but two pubs, a WI, a drama group, a writers’ group and a fantastic village show, and even a resident magician - all the characters and situations that Sophie Sayers encounters are entirely fictitious and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or to any place or incident, is pure coincidence rather than intention.
Only one institution mentioned really does exist: the children’s reading charity Readathon, which does great work encouraging children to read for pleasure and giving free books to children in hospital. I’m an ambassador for the charity, hence their appearance as the beneficiary of the Wendlebury Writers’ equivalent of a swear box for clichés.
Moving beyond the village, I would like to thank Jessica Bell for persuading me on her Writers’ Retreat in Ithaca that despite years of writing short stories, inside me there really was a novelist waiting to get out.
Four other authors around the world have been tremendously helpful and supportive as I drafted this first novel and developed plans for a series of Sophie Sayers Village Mystery novels
Irish novelist and poet Orna Ross gave me sound advice and moral support from the minute I told her I was writing a novel, bravely offering to read the first knowing that it could have been complete drivel, and driving me forward when she decided it wasn’t.
Welsh historical thriller writer David Penny, reading a later draft, shared the benefit of his experience as the author of a successful series of more grisly crime stories, while reassuring me that he liked Sophie so much that he wanted to meet her in person. (Sorry, David, you’re out of luck – read paragaph 2 above!)
English historical novelist Lucienne Boyce put in a generous amount of time to give me detailed and meticulous advice on the plot and the prose.
Contemporary novelist Belinda Pollard gave me valuble input from beyond the UK – all the way from Australia in fact.
My editor Alison Jack was, as always, thorough and wise in her treatment of the final draft. If any errors or idiocies remain, they’re entirely my fault.
While able to draw on my own long experience of village life for some details, for example thirteen years’ service on the Hawkesbury Horticultural Society Committee, six years on Hawkesbury Primary School’s PTA and voluntary shifts in the community-owned Hawkesbury Stores, I sought specialist advice about OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), as I didn’t want to offend anyone with Carol’s over-orderly management style in Wendlebury’s village shop. Helen Barbour, author of the novel The A to Z of Normal, very kindly gave me the benefit of her experience of living with OCD. I would like to make it clear to any doubters that Carol does not have OCD, a disorder which is distressing to the individual concerned. She is just quirky, like so many of the inhabitants of Wendlebury Barrow (and indeed Hawkesbury Upton), and is happy to be so. If you’d like to read more about OCD and OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder), Helen’s excellent novel is a great place to start, as is her blog: www.helenbarbourblogspot.co.uk.
As all the individuals named above have written excellent novels (try them – you’re in for a treat), I feel myself very fortunate to have benefitted from their guidance. The wisdom of all these people made the book far better than it would have been without them.
Finally, I’d like to thank the very talented cover designer Rachel Lawston for coming up not only with the beautiful cover for this book, but also for creating a brand to make future volumes in this series easy to spot.
As this first edition goes to press, I’m very excited to be planning a launch at the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival, a free event open to all, that I founded in the village three years ago to share my love of books and reading. Don’t be surprised if a writers’ retreat and a literature festival creep in to future Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries.
Finally, thanks to you for reading Sophie’s first adventure. Coming next will be Trick or Murder, when the arrival of an eccentric vicar in Wendlebury Barrow upsets villagers’ Halloween plans and introduces more sinister celebrations, adding more mystery and mayhem to Sophie’s life.
To keep up to date with my planned series of seven Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries, visit my website: www.authordebbieyoung.com and join my mailing list.
With very best wishes
Debbie Young
About the Author
Debbie Young writes warm, witty, feel-good fiction inspired by lif
e in the English village where she lives with her husband and daughter.
Her Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series of seven stories cataloguing the course of a year in the village of Wendlebury Barrow will be published during 2017 and 2018.
She also publishes a new themed collection of short stories every year, such as Marry in Haste, Quick Change and Stocking Fillers. She is frequently invited to read her stories at public events and has performed at events such as the Cheltenham Literature Festival and Stroud Short Stories. Her short stories also feature in many anthologies, including those published to mark National Flash Fiction Day.
A regular contributor to two local community magazines, the award-winning Tetbury Advertiser and the Hawkesbury Parish News, she has published two collections of her columns, Young by Name and All Part of the Charm, which offer insight into her own life in a small Cotswold village very similar to Sophie Sayers’ Wendlebury Barrow.
Keep up to date with news of Debbie Young’s book news and events via her website, www.authordebbieyoung.com. To receive announcements of new books, events and special offers, join her mailing list and you’ll receive a free short story as a welcome gift. You can also follower her on Twitter at @Debbie YoungBN.
Copyright Page
BEST MURDER IN SHOW
by Debbie Young
© Debbie Young 2017
Published by Hawkesbury Press 2017
Hawkesbury Upton, Gloucestershire, England
All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-911223-14-6 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-911223-13-9 (paperback)
