A Day In The Life of
Carmel Harrington
Have you ever watched the Oscars and fantasised about one day walking the red carpet one day? Maybe you have stood in front of your mirror with a hairbrush in hand and practised your ‘Gwennie’ acceptance speech!Or of a Friday night, while soaking in your bath do you do a ‘Jimmy Rabbitte’ from The Commitments? Remember that hilarious scene where he practiced his celebrity interview with Terry Wogan? (Ok that’s a few years ago, so now it might be Graham Norton or Alan Carr that you use, but you get the idea!)
If you are sport-mad like my husband, you may have thought about scoring the winning goal for Liverpool in the Champions League Final once or twice. (delete/insert your favourite team here!)
My point here is that for most of us, we all have a day-dream or fantasy ‘what if’ moment in our heads that we never really think will come true, but it’s fun to think about every now and then.Well for me, my fantasy day-dream was to see a book I’d written for sale in a bookshop. Preferably not in the bargain basket! Ever since I was a young girl, a self-confessed book nerd I might add, I would marvel at the beautiful covers that adorned book shelves row after row and wonder what it must feel like for those authors to see their work displayed so magnificently. Over the years, I have spent many a happy afternoon drinking coffee in my local bookshop, flicking through new releases and deciding which book would be my next purchase. And inadvertently I would find myself day-dreaming about one day seeing my own name amongst those heroes of mine. Just thinking about it would make me smile.
November 14th, 2013 was just an ordinary Thursday for most people, but for me it was a day that will stay forevermore in my memory bank of magical moments. It was the day that I saw my book for sale in a bookshop for the very first time. I’d held the paperbook proof already and that was an amazing moment that I’ll never forget, but this was a whole other experience!
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When November 14th arrived I gave up all pretence of make-believing it was an ordinary day and headed to Byrnes Bookstores in Enniscorthy. Luck was on my side, I even got a car-parking space right outside the store!
I stood back and discreetly watched the bookshelf for a few moments, hoping I might get to see someone buy my book. A woman walked over to the new releases and her eyes travelled over the books in front of her. Her hand reached out and touched several titles and all the while I was whispering to myself, ‘Pick mine, pick mine!’ And then oh joy, she reached in and picked up my book! Before I could stop myself I let out of squeal and she jumped at the sound and turned around to see this mad woman smiling from ear to ear and her and thanking her for choosing that book! She looked a little bit worried (understandably!) so she quickly put the book back down and legged it!
In hindsight maybe stalking the bookshelves is not a good marketing ploy, so I shall refrain from repeating that again. Honestly.
Now I have a new daydream. Do you want to hear it? Ok, here it is, I’m walking the red carpet to the world premiere of the latest movie – called Beyond Grace’s Rainbow! A girl's got to dream!
Introducing...
Beyond Grace’s Rainbow
Beyond Grace’s Rainbow
Winner of The
Best Romantic Read eBook 2013 at the UK’s Festival of Romance.
Winner of The People’s Kindle Book Awards March 2013.
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| Paperback HarplerImpulse Amazon.UK Amazon.com |
But with her young son, Jack, to think about, and the return of her ex Liam, Jack’s father, reminding her of feelings she’d thought she’d buried long ago, Grace refuses to give up hope just yet.
With the help of her friends she bravely embarks on a journey of discovery. This search will bring her from her home in vibrant Dublin to the unspoilt beauty of Wexford where she must unravel a web of lies and deceit that has spanned over thirty years.
With a wonderful cast of supporting characters and plenty of charm, this will have you laughing and crying at the turn of a page.
“There were some of the happiest life-affirming moments in this novel which were followed by some of the most devastating moments I’ve ever read.” She Loves To Read
“Beyond Grace’s Rainbow is a bittersweet, quietly brilliant novel that will make you cry, laugh and cry all over again.” Female First Magazine
Her début novel Beyond Grace's Rainbow, was a bestselling eBook and is now released in paperback. It was voted Best Romantic eBook Read 2013 at the UK's Festival of Romance Book Awards. It also won the Peoples Choice Kindle Book Awards in March 2013.
Her second novel Sleep of Dreams will be published by HarperImpulse in February 2013. She is currently working on a sequel to Beyond Grace's Rainbow. Listen to Carmel Harrington chatting about her book on You Tube. She is married to Roger and together with their two small children Amelia and Nate, live in Co. Wexford, Ireland.
Click below for a sneak preview of an excerpt from Chapter 1.
Grace was abruptly pulled back from her
daydreaming by a demand from Gerry. ‘Right Grace, I’m in suspenders here for
too long! Why are we all here? Don’t tell me you’re preggers again!’ Gerry
laughs.
‘Nah couldn’t be that Gerry, the sperm of the
devil hasn’t been around for years now!’ Tara joked.
Tara was talking about Liam. She never
missed an opportunity to have a dig at him, never forgiving him for leaving
Grace on her own.
‘Very funny Tara. When are you going to
stop laying into Liam? He’s guilty of a lot of things, but sperm of the devil
is going a bit far I think. Remember he’s Jack’s Dad.’ Grace responded a bit
sharply.
Seeing Tara’s hurt face made Grace feel
instantly guilty for snapping at her. She was only joking after all. She smiled
lamely to try to take the sting out.
‘Gerry is right thought. I’ve put off
telling you my news for long enough now. I did get you guys around here for a
reason.’ Making sure everyone had a full glass, Grace figured it was now or
never.
‘No getting anything past you lot! I’m not
sure how to start.’ Grace faltered. ‘This is harder than I thought.’
‘Are we talking ‘It could happen to you’
kind of news? Gerry interrupted with a smile. ‘Nicholas Cage, Rosie Perez
winning the lotto. Nick gives half his winnings to a waitress played by Bridget
Fonda. Rosie goes frigging nuts!’ With every word Gerry’s voice had raised a
pitch with excitement.
‘Jaysus Gerry, you don’t have to give a
synopsis of every movie you quote – we have been to the cinema on occasion too
you know!’ Tom quipped.
‘Fraid’ not, Gerry. No lotto wins here. No
Nick Cage either for that matter! I suppose it’s more of a Terms of Endearment
moment actually.’ Grace responded.
Gerry loved it when his friends played
along with him. With a big grin he started his narrative.
‘Jack Nicholson, Shirley McClaine, Debra
Winger. God Jack was gorgeous in that movie. As for Shirley, she was simply
divine. Can you guys remember that scene in the hospital? I swear I needed
Valium because I was crying so much.’
And with that Gerry stopped. The meaning of
what Grace had just said hit him and for everyone else too. Four pairs of eyes
turned away from Gerry and looked at their friend.‘Right, I need you guys to be
strong. No tears, OK?’ They all nodded silently, so Grace continued. ‘It’s a
bit of a bitch, but I’ve got cancer.’This was the first time that Grace’s
friends had all been silent. Tom found his voice first of all. ‘Grace, this is
one sick joke. Not even a good one. See, nobody’s laughing.’ He gestured
maniacally around the room.
Grace thought this was the first time she’d
ever seen Tom look scared.
‘It’s not a joke though, is it?’ Abby asked
Grace.
‘No pet. It’s no joke. Or at least if it
is, the joke is on me.’ Grace answered softly.
Sean then spoke quietly. ‘If you guys have
any questions, I’ll answer them for you.’
Tara jumped up then, angrily pointing at
Sean, barely able to get the words out, ‘You knew about this Sean? You knew and
didn’t tell me.’
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