Happy publication day to Beth Miller! It’s really an honour to be touring with you today, on publication day for the wonderful book that is The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright.
This book is an absolute delight! From the bright, eye-catching cover (I’ve told you before, I do judge books by their covers), to every single life-affirming message encapsulated in its pages. It’s a real little gem, and the perfect way to start off 2020!
Kay Bright has been married to rather dull Richard for 29 years. Their life is ordered, neat and routine. They run their stationery shops – businesses that they’ve built up over the years – with care and proficiency. Their two adult children seem to finally be establishing themselves in their own lives and now should be the time that Kay and Richard are able to take some time out for themselves; splurge a bit, maybe? But Richard is quite happy to plod along, oblivious to Kay’s desperate need to ‘live a little’.
For years, Kay has been exchanging letters with her childhood friend Ursula (Bear), who left with her family when she was much younger, to live in Australia. Each month they write to each other. One month Kay to Bear, and the other month vice versa; a friendship that’s spanned decades and continents. But suddenly and without warning, Bear’s letters stop arriving. Paired with her increasing restlessness and her concern for her friend, Kay decides that she has no alternative but to pack up and leave home.
Her decision is both shocking and inexplicable to her family. Richard is devastated and is left literally unable to function, not understanding how his wife has upped and left him without saying why. Even Kay herself isn’t completely able to put it into words. All she knows is that she needs to leave. If she stays, it will be the undoing of her.
And so she sets off for Australia, with just a backpack … and no wedding ring … not knowing what she will find when she gets there. This is the beginning of a journey that will be an awakening that she didn’t even know she needed. It is the start of an adventure that she had no idea she was ready for, and that the loved ones she left behind didn’t realise was necessary for their growth and the enhancement of their own lives.
This is a story about family ties, relationships, friendship and unity. It’s about illness and how we choose to deal with it, the dignity that we’re entitled to, and the choices that are ours to make. It’s also about the pain of loss felt by our loved ones once we’re gone. It’s about finding inner strength that we don’t even know is there, until we have no choice but to delve deep inside and drag it out of ourselves. And ultimately, it’s about triumph and success … setting out to achieve a goal we had no idea was within our reach, and not only attaining it, but knowing how much better we are for having done so.
I give this book 5 bright, shiny stars. It’s heart-warming and just fabulous!
Author Bio (read it – it’s one of the funniest author bio’s I’ve ever read!):
I have been told that I write like a tall blonde, so that’s how I’d like you to picture me.
I’ve published three novels, with one more about to be born, in January 2020. I’ve also published two non-fiction books. I work as a book coach and creative writing tutor.
Before writing books, I did a lot of different jobs. I worked in schools, shops, offices, hospitals, students’ unions, basements, from home, in my car, and up a tree. OK, not up a tree. I’ve been a sexual health trainer, a journalist, a psychology lecturer, a PhD student, a lousy alcohol counsellor, and an inept audio-typist. I sold pens, bread, and condoms. Not in the same shop. I taught parents how to tell if their teenagers are taking drugs (clue: they act like teenagers), and taught teenagers how to put on condoms (clue: there won’t really be a cucumber). I taught rabbis how to tell if their teenagers are druggedly putting condoms on cucumbers.
Throughout this, I always wrote, and always drank a lot of tea. I’m now pretty much unbeatable at drinking tea.
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @drbethmiller
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beth-Miller/e/B00PWNOA2Y/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Purchase Links:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/39xYAG1
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2MQs7km
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2rRQuag
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2ZLpiGH
Thank you to the fabulous Bookouture team for inviting me to tour with them once again. It’s always a pleasure! Take a look at what others are saying about The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright …
Jan's Book Buzz 
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