Well Happy Weekend one and all
As you can see I’ve been playing once again, throwing sparkles at my original book cover for ‘The Magic of Grandfather Christmas’ .
I have however managed to complete my final edit (hopefully) its with a few of my author friends having a final check over.
Here is a little taster
The Magic of Grandfather Christmas
”Bo-ing”
Christmas Eve 1880, Grandfather, with an air of solemnity, begins to chime out the hour of midnight. Even at a majestic height of 8ft, he is currently hidden in a blackened corner of the parlour; his presence felt through the day only by his sad, mournful ticking. Grandfather has always had an air of magic surrounding him, bestowed upon him by Old Father Time himself, but until now there has never been a need to use it.
The fire is dwindling, its embers barely bright enough to cast the shadow of the broken man upon the wall. Cole Clement is lost deep in his sadness; little did he notice the evening slowly spilling into the room wrapping him in its quiet darkness. How time passes. There will be no jolly Christmas cheer this year. The gloomy little cottage is not even bedecked with a solitary sprig of holly; the only similarity to last year is the soft aroma of the slowly burning apple-wood logs.
Also because Grandfather Christmas is so short I shall include
‘An Introduction to Grandfather Time’
Prologue
Tonight the magic is strong. The night is charged with anticipation. We are on the cusp of a new dawn. The last time I felt it this strong I died.
“Bo-ing!”
The house stands empty. There is not a soul around to hear me chime in the New Century.
Out through the vast glass wall, across the frozen lake and beyond the forest, the black velvet sky, only moments before twinkling with tiny silver illuminations, now erupts in celebration. A multitude of shooting stars, swiftly soar towards the dark heavens. They burst open and shower silver raindrops back down upon the earth, as they descend they meet small clusters of emeralds and as each drop kisses a green gem it sets into motion a magic, as if a precious garden is coming to life. There are hundreds of tiny florets, all the colours of the rainbow blooming forth into the night sky. What a wondrous sight to behold. Somewhere out there, beneath this heavenly delight my family celebrates this New Millennium with friends in the city.
Time has passed magically by, in what seems like only a few tick, tocks of my golden pendulum heart. Most have been wondrous years, but some have seen great sadness. I am Grandfather Time and this is my story.
New Year’s Eve 1699
The parlour is wrapped in the warm golden glow of candlelight. Over these past months, my eyesight has begun to fail making it more difficult to see the brass clock parts, although I know each by touch alone, I do not need to see them.
I have constructed so many beautiful time pieces over the years. This one however, is a special gift to my beautiful wife and family, and to welcome our new child.
I gaze up at the ceiling and selfishly say a little prayer.
“A boy, please if fate allows. Let it be a healthy boy. My poor dear wife, how I wish this were all over for you”.
Patience, my wife is expecting our seventh child. We’ve had six beautiful baby girls and I fear this will be our last chance of a son. Oh, I expect the name of Clement to be around for many years. The time pieces I have created, will last a life time, if not longer.
If you want to know more you will unfortunately have to wait until 1st November.
Thanks for stopping by. Happy Reading 🙂
Rose English UK 