BFOR Blogblitz: Excerpt from 'My Daughter's Wedding'

As part of our BFOR Blogblitz I am delighted to share a short excerpt from my recently published novel 'My Daughter's Wedding'.

Here is an introduction to the book...

When ‘bride to be’ and single parent, Charlotte, discovers that her 61-year-old widowed mother is in a new relationship, she struggles to come to terms with it. “Why do you need to have a man, at your age?” Charlotte asks, “Can’t you just be a grandma?”
The growing tension between mother and daughter combined with preparations for the wedding impact on both family and friends. In this compelling and unashamedly romantic tale of finding love in later life, the experience of a young care-leaver who is tasked with making the wedding bouquet, is skilfully intertwined with the family’s – sometimes turbulent– preparations for a modern wedding.

It's always difficult to choose an excerpt from a book, without giving away too much of the plot, but I hope these next three paragraphs give a flavour of how the story focuses on the role of the older characters in the run up to a modern wedding. This is the part of the novel where family tensions begin to put the wedding at risk.
Angie is the mother of the bride, and Martin her new 'man'. Single parent, Charlotte, now the bride to be, is very unhappy that her mother is in a new relationship, not helped by the fact that her six-year old son, Joe, has grown very fond of his grandma's new boyfriend. The family are discussing who to invite to the wedding.

Charlotte changed the subject. “This is my invitation list, Mum. Have I missed anyone out?” She passed the handwritten paper to Angie, and Angie ran her eyes over the list. 
“What does it mean if someone is underlined?”
“They’re the people who will only be invited for the evening.”
Angie looked directly at her daughter. “I think you’ve underlined Martin’s name by mistake.”
“No, Mum, it’s not a mistake. I thought, as he’s not really family, it would be better if he just came in the evening, out of respect for Dad.” Martin was standing in the kitchen doorway, listening.
“And did you not consider my feelings, and Martin’s?” Angie’s face was growing red.
“I warned you not to do this, Charlotte,” interrupted Ollie. “You have to accept that people move on.”
“But I don’t want him at my wedding, taking Mum’s attention and pretending to be family. Joe’s even calling him ‘Grandpa’ now.” Charlotte was on a roll. “I can’t bear to think of him sleeping with Mum. It’s disgusting. Two old people having sex. If that man is at the wedding it will ruin my day,” Charlotte continued. Unable to stop herself, she addressed Martin. “You don’t mind, do you? After all, you haven’t known Mum long. It’s my wedding day, and you wouldn’t want to ignore my feelings.”

Martin picked up his car keys and walked towards Charlotte. “You have made your feelings very clear, Charlotte. Joe’s in the kitchen with a drink. Someone needs to keep an eye on him.”
Martin walked out of the flat, and slammed the door. 

No one moved or spoke until Angie finally stepped into the kitchen and sat with Joe. She heard Ollie raise his voice. “You’ve gone too far, this time, Charlotte. You’ve always been self-centred, but this wedding has turned you into a megalomaniac.” He walked into the kitchen and spoke gruffly to Joe, “Come on, Joe, we’re going, and leave that bloody stick behind!” Ollie grabbed Charlotte’s hand and pulled her out of the flat with Joe following.

To find out what happens next, you can order the printed book from most good bookshops including Amazon or download the ebook here for £2-48.  

As the person who set up BFOR, I do hope everyone is enjoying the variety of posts in our month long Blog Blitz which looks at various books and themes which might particularly appeal to readers in midlife and beyond. You will find the BFOR website here, and this is the link to our facebook group.