Tuesday, August 5, 2014

RELEASE DAY: Iris Blobel "Fresh Beginnings"



Blurb:

The small town of Hobart in Tasmania has witnessed many beginnings in recent years. At yet one more beginning, the wedding of a friend, Jared Fraser decides it’s time for some fresh beginnings to come his way… And he sets out for a holiday to the US to travel along the Route 66 in a motorhome.

Ivy Bennett thought leaving her boyfriend would be the hard part. It doesn’t take long to figure out how wrong she was. As she struggles with making a new start in her life, the last person she expects to lead her to happiness is a laid-back Australian on holiday.

Then the arrival of family friend Mia Levesque and her boyfriend, Josh, turns Jared’s holidays upside-down when he’s forced to play arbitrator between the two teenagers.


Author:

Iris Blobel was born and raised in Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late 1990s. Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living in Scotland, London as well as Canada where she actually met her husband. Her love for putting her stories onto paper has only recently emerged, but now her laptop is a constant companion. Iris resides west of Melbourne with her husband and her beautiful two daughters as well as her dog. Next to her job at a private school she also presents a German Program at the local Community Radio.
 

 
Now available on
Amazon Amazon Australia  Barnes& Nobel Smashwords



Excerpt:
 
The location of the story is based on our holiday in the USA in 2013 and is a thanks to all the wonderful people we met during our travel.
It wouldn’t have been as fabulous if it hadn’t been for you.

 
Chapter One

Jared's gaze wandered around as he took in the people attending the wedding. The small chapel was packed to the very last seat. Surprising, he thought, as he'd been told it'd be a small ceremony, with only close friends attending. More surprising was that he had received an invite as well.

Zach and Natasha weren't even on his phone speed dial and there were ten speed dial buttons. Or even twelve? He wasn't really sure.

Natasha had come to see him a few months earlier and asked him whether he would be able to help out with the floral arrangements. He'd told her he was a landscaper and not a florist, but in the end gave up when she ignored the explanation of the difference and simply said yes.

Jared stretched his neck and hooked his finger inside his shirt collar, trying to get more comfortable. He'd never liked wearing a suit so he'd never owned one. Sophie had helped him choose a nice outfit for the day from a local shop. He'd laughed when she said the suit needed to be right. It needed to go along with his brown eyes and dark blonde hair, but it also needed to emphasise his physique. Nonsense! When she'd insisted he get a haircut as well, he plain refused. He couldn't believe the amount of time and effort he had spent on buying a suit for one day.

Smoothing the lapels of his jacket, he took in the flowers in the chapel. He felt a touch of pride at how well it'd come up after all. Natasha had been so determined to use roses, but the way he'd arranged the November Lilies, including the bouquet, it looked stunning yet humble. Exactly what she'd wanted.

"You did well with the flowers," Mia whispered into his ear.

"Thanks. I thought so, too," he replied. "Had to dig deep to remember how to do all of it."

"Isn't that your job?" Josh asked.

Josh was Mia's boyfriend. They'd been going out for the last three years and were still going strong, considering their teenage years.

Jared was tempted to explain the difference between florist and landscaping to Josh as well, but decided to leave it be.

He didn't have to, after all.

"He's a landscaper," Sophie added to the conversation. "There's a big difference."

Jared cocked an eyebrow towards Sophie, who was desperately trying to get her three-year-old daughter, Hope, to drink her milk before her afternoon nap. He knew very well she never understood the difference either.

Josh chuckled. "Yeah, mate, but green is green, and plants are plants. Right?"

Mia let out a loud laugh, which earned her a glare from Mark, who stood at the front next to Zach. It had surprised everyone that Zach had asked him to be his best man. Although what could one expect from a family which was pulled together in so many odd circumstances. Mark O'Connor was Sophie's husband, Mia Levesque's brother-in-law, and little Hope's dad. Oh yes, and Jared's good buddy.

"For what it's worth, there's a huge difference," Jared said, but he was instantly shushed by Mark's parents who sat one row behind them.

He rolled his eyes and went back to admiring his floral arrangements.

"The bride is late," he heard someone say behind him. He had a guess it was Olivia, Mia's best friend. She was always straightforward.

No comments:

Post a Comment