Summer Loving Blog Hop
Being English, I’m
used to wildly changing seasons, and mainly I love them all, but a long wet
winter has dragged this year and I for one am delighted to greet summer.
Summer to me is about
walking through the footpaths that meander through fields of crops, across
meadows of wildflowers and alongside trickling streams and gushing rivers. Accompanied
by my Dalmatian, Skye and soon I imagine our new puppy Beau, this is where I
get my inspiration from. Not the beaches and the bars, but the quiet, solitary
walks I take in the Shropshire countryside.
This is the setting
for Book 3 in my Atlantic Divide Series, Finding Zoe.
Excerpt
Almost eleven years
had passed since he’d been there. Right at this very spot in the heart of
Shropshire, England. Eleven years and his heart soared as he stood at the top
of Major’s Leap on Wenlock Edge, careful not to get too close to the bluff in
case his fear of heights got the better of him. He breathed in the fresh
English air, filled his lungs with it.
He gazed over the
acres of rich land. He’d forgotten the contrasts of color in the bright English
countryside. The lush bottle-green of the trees against the bright emerald and
pale jade of the square fields with their acres of crops swaying opulent and
thick, contrasted with handkerchiefs of vivid yellow rapeseed fields sitting
comfortably next to the mud-brown of the newly plowed areas. Forest-green
hedgerows divided the land, populated with poppies splattered randomly over the
landscape like droplets of blood.
As the warm English
summer wind buffeted him, he closed his eyes and wondered why it had taken him
so long to come back.
“Mr. Blunt?”
He knew why.
“Mr. Blunt, sir…are
you ready?”
It was because of her.
“Mr. Blunt…”
“Yes. I’m ready.”
Opening his eyes, he
sighed. He took a moment longer to scan the landscape, tracking the clear, pale
blue sky; he drew his gaze across the horizon. He smiled as he recognized the
rise of The Wrekin in the distance and remembered her telling him the
tale of some giant dumping a shovel of dirt on the plains of Shropshire, which
made the hill.
With a wry smile he
turned away, saddened for a moment as he wondered what had become of her. From
time to time she still managed to make his heart ache.
He turned away from
the view, from the memories, from the dull throb in his chest.
Giveaway
For this Summer Loving
Bloghop I’m giving away a copy of Finding Zoe. Leave a comment telling me your
favourite summer location and I will give one lucky winner an ecopy.
For more prizes, do
this:
Have a great hop and bag so more prizes, click here:
Summer Lovin' Blog Hop: June 20-23! Sign-up today!
(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)
My favorite summer location is home...going home to visit my mom in central Wisconsin. We do it every summer.
ReplyDeletebooks4me67 at ymail dot com
As they say ... there's no place like home and I agree with you completely. Good luck and enjoy the hop
DeleteAnywhere with air conditioning! Hah.
ReplyDeleteprettylittlepages[at]gmail[dot]com
You must live somewhere hot, in the summer here I have to store up the warmth in preparation for winter. Good luck. Keep on hopping.
DeleteA quiet place by the water is my favorite. ginger@gingerring.com
ReplyDeleteSounds like a little bit of heaven. Thank you for joining us, hope you enjoy your hopping.
DeleteCamping at Leo Carrillo beach with my DH and dogs. Simondex68(at) gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteAh, the beach. Such a good choice. Thanks for visiting, good luck.
Deletethe beach
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
I wish I lived closer to the beach. Good luck and thanks for hopping by.
DeleteMy favorite summer location is the beach. Thanks for the great giveaway!
ReplyDeletebhometchko(at)hotmail(dot)com
I love the beach, but I do need shade or I frazzle - thanks for hopping over and good luck.
DeleteI love going to flea markets and antique malls in the summer town, and going to new towns to look!
ReplyDeleteRedrabbitt@aol.com
I'm a bit of a trawler myself and I love old towns with plenty of history. Thank you for commenting, best of luck with the hop.
ReplyDeleteDiane, I'm right there in Shropshire with him. Great description!
ReplyDeleteThank you and thanks for visiting.
Delete