Good Morning!
Clare Revell is no stranger to our blog. She recently shared
treasures with us and introduced us to her newest release,
All That Glitters.
Today we'll get a peek further into the book.
Gold medalist, Peter Stanmore has returned home a broken man and
intends to put the past behind him. But love isn't so easily repressed, and
second chances are rare.
Jill Davenport has given up any hope of marriage and a life of her
own, after all, years ago, she lost the only man she ever loved. But the truth
is impossible to hide.
When secrets are revealed, decisions must be made in spite of the
consequences. Can what was once lost be found, or is love destined to remain
forever lost?
Excerpt:
Peter
Stanmore stood on the Olympic podium, the men’s figure skating gold medal
surprisingly heavy around his neck. From the speakers to one side of the ice
rink, the United Kingdom national anthem played while the Union Flag fluttered
over his head. This is for you, Mum and Dad. Tears pricked his eyes as he sang
along. He’d watched ceremonies like this before and couldn’t believe the number
of athletes who shed tears during them, yet here he was doing the very same
thing. Crying and smiling with overwhelming happiness and at the same time, in
awe of what he’d just done.
It had
to be the pinnacle of his career. Proof, if proof were needed, that God honors
those who honor Him.
Peter
had made a concerted effort never to compete on a Sunday, which resulted in him
being dropped from teams or not even selected. Sundays were for God, not for
skating and definitely not for competitions. And it seemed his faith and
determination were now paying off. Just as it had for Eric Liddell decades
before him.
Peter
finally had the medal he’d craved, without having to compromise either his
beliefs or his promise to the Lord along the way.
And
the glory went to God, not him.
He
waved as the anthem ended and posed for photos with the other medalists,
including the obligatory kissing-the-medal picture that he’d never seen the
point of before and still didn’t now. As the cameras flashed around him, the
‘if onlys’ began to filter through his mind.
If
only things were different.
If
only Mum and Dad were here. His heart broke that they weren’t here to share it
with him. An accident had ripped his family apart just months before the
Olympics, taking his parents from him and leaving him alone. He hoped that
somehow they were watching him from heaven and shared in the mixed emotions
that filled him.
If
only Jill had been here to collect it with him.
His
career had begun in pairs skating. He and Jill worked their way up to the
nationals and just as they were about to make it big, he’d messed up
completely. As a result he’d made a career decision he now wished desperately
he could undo. He’d allowed himself to be persuaded the right hand path was better
than the left. That meant leaving Jill behind, a decision he’d regretted every
moment of every day since.
This
should have been both of them, not just him. He needed to call her, to put
things right, to try to atone.
Three
hours later, he sat on the couch in the team hotel still trying to pluck up the
courage to call Jill.
Winston
Brown, one of the bobsleigh team, nudged him. “Hey, a bunch of us are going to
celebrate your win with a bottle of soda and a game of darts. Coming?”
“Sure,
why not.” He grabbed his coat and followed them outside. It was snowing again
and the wind turned the heavy flakes into a blizzard. As Peter stepped out onto
the wooden decking, his foot slipped on the ice beneath him sending him flying
to the floor. His ankle snapped with an audible crack as he landed.
Pain
ricocheted as stars danced in front of his vision. For a long moment he wasn’t
sure if he would throw up or pass out. Either way, nothing made much sense. He
closed his eyes, hoping the pain would just go away.
Sometime
later he opened his eyes to find a doctor wearing surgical scrubs beside his
bed. He remembered falling and vaguely remembered an ambulance, but that could
have been a dream. The smell told him he was in hospital, and he was definitely
awake. Wide awake. He glanced down at his legs, but his vision was obscured by
a screen. His stomach plummeted. “Doctor, what have I done? And please, don’t
sugarcoat it with platitudes. I need to know.”
“OK,
Mr. Stanmore. When you fell, you shattered your ankle. So we had to operate to
screw your ankle back together. The metal pins will need a mention in your
passport—I’ll give you a letter for that. You’ll be able to walk, possibly
without a limp eventually, but I’m afraid your competing days are over. Your
ankle just won’t take the strain of the jumps and turns.”
The
bottom fell out of his world. The irony was not lost on him.
Only a
few hours ago, he’d been on top of the world, literally. Now, he was at his
lowest ebb. As the doctor left, Peter closed his eyes as the words of Psalm 31
filled his mind.
Be
merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my
soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by
groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.
~*~
Jill
Davenport picked up the local paper and put it on her mother’s tray. Despite it
being the previous day’s news, her mother liked reading it over breakfast. Not
that she remembered what she’d read, but it gave her something to do for a while.
The headlines were once more dominated by the victorious Olympic team who,
having won more medals at a Winter Games than any previous British team, had
visited both Downing Street and Buckingham Palace yesterday.
In the
middle of the picture stood Peter Stanmore—the kid next door who grew up to be
a friend, then more than a friend, and a skating partner…until the lights of
stardom called him away, leaving her behind.
Buy
links
Clare
is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England
with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and
unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been
joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half
Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who
wins.
Writing
from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from
rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original
characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and
children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading,
crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage
to make.
Her
books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the
spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language
and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.
The
first draft of every novel is hand written.
She
has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist
where she is one of four registrars.
She
can be found at:
Hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and that you'll drop by each week for Tuesday Treausres, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.
Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT
