I
can’t tell you how much I enjoyed creating a performing arts college for A
Christmas Gift. Acting Instrumental is a rock school, kind of ‘Kids from
Fame’ yet it fits exactly into the current British educational scene. It
wouldn’t have occurred to me to join a vocational college like this when I was
a teen - but, oh, I wish I had had the talent and the opportunity! I play the
piano to a modest(ly bad) standard and I love to dance.
Georgine
is the events director of student productions, and I’m pretty sure that if I had
got to a performing arts college that’s the kind of job I would have ended up
with - nurturing the talent of others and stopping the various artistic
directors from hating each other (too much). Nevertheless, it would be
fantastic to get involved in a Christmas show, where props glitter and students
shine. It’s against this background that I set the story of Georgine and Joe
and, like every Christmas tale, behind the tinsel lurk human conflicts and
joys.
Georgine
tries valiantly to help her American dad, Randall, who suffers from ill health,
and is supported by Grandma Patty in North Georgia. I ended up with a really
soft spot for Grandma Patty, I can tell you. When sister Blair turns up on
Georgine’s doorstep looking for somewhere to stay and willing to
share living costs it seems like a way of improving the financial situation
Georgine’s ex-boyfriend dumped on her. But it’s a small house and Blair is used
to a big one …
Joe,
well Joe’s an enigma, a man haunted by his past yet succeeding in his career
beyond his wildest dreams. Does he still want the trappings of success, though?
Taking time out at Acting Instrumental as a volunteer feels like a great way to
take stock, to work with the stars of tomorrow instead of the tarnished and
spoiled ones of today. Asked to act as Georgine’s
assistant,
he immediately recognises her from his youth.
But
she doesn’t recognise him.
It’s
the Christmas that changes everything for Georgine - the Christmas when she
thinks she’s found love, her past, her present and her future. And then she
thinks she hasn’t.
Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times and
international bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon
Kindle. She’s won the Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award and the Katie Fforde
Bursary, and has been nominated for several other awards, including a RoNA.
Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times and
international bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon
Kindle. She’s won the Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award and the Katie Fforde
Bursary, and has been nominated for several other awards, including a RoNA.
Her short stories, serials, columns,
writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared all over the world.
LINKS:
Website [www.suemoorcroft.com]
Facebook profile [Sue.Moorcroft.3]
4 comments:
Sue, If there was an Acting Instrumental around when I was a kid, I would have been relegated to the audience. I did perform in elementary school (plays, choir, etc.) but there was always someone else who got The Lead and I was just off the mark. Love that your characters nurture talent! And that is something you do today as an author. And thank you for joining us this weekend!
It's my pleasure to join you, Judith. It's such a lovely blog.
I usually ended up in the audience, too, but, like Joe in the book, I also painted scenery sometimes.
I enjoyed your post, Sue, and love the blurb for your book! Gotta have it!
I hope you enjoy it, Sarah. Not sure if it’s on Amazon.com yet - may be 2019 for you.
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