Kitty's Countryside Dream (29 page)
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Authors: Christie Barlow
A
Year
in the Life of a Playground Mother
The Misadventures of a Playground Mother
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Ever had the pleasure of collecting your children from the school playground? Even if you haven't, this is a hilarious must-read.
Fed up with the playground mafia at her children's school,
Rachel Young
is desperate for a change.
With her family and various pets in tow, a picture-perfect village in the countryside beckons. There, Rachel's children will be able to keep chickens and skip through fields and she'll bid farewell to the botoxed, fake-Gucci wearing Mumzillas forever.
But at the new school the mums are even worse, and before long, Rachel finds herself fighting for her place amongst the playground mafia.
While the children are practicing their sums and perfecting their reading, Rachel is learning some harsh lessons on the other side of the school gates, and ruffling plenty of feathers along the wayâ¦
An entertaining, heart-warming and funny tale, perfect for fans of Fiona Gibson, Kerry Fisher and Katie Fforde.
â
Well-observed, highly-relatable and wickedly-funny.
' Cathy Bramley
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New Term. New Dramas. New Friendships. And that's just the parentsâ¦
After a year of country living, Rachel Young is finally getting into the swing of things. Her four kids are happy and content at the village school, and she's managed to navigate the choppy (shark-infested) waters of the playground mafia.
Or⦠so she thought.
When Penelope Kensington moves herself and her kids into Rachel's home, after discovering husband Rupert has been having an affair, Rachel knows she must ask them
politely
to leave. The problem is, Penelope never takes no for an answer.
As Rachel tries to deal with Penelope, she also meets new school mum Mel. Mel is a breath of fresh air but her arrival sends ripples of gossip through the playground. Mel has a few secrets in her closet, and it seems she's not the only oneâ¦
Hilarious and entertaining, with characters you won't forget in a hurry, fans of Fiona Gibson, Kerry Fisher and Tracy Bloom will love this book.
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A
s always an enormous
thank you to the people I love most in the world â my family: Christian, Emily, Jack, Ruby, Tilly (Mop), Mum, Dad, Graham, Penny and Georgie. This book would never have been written without any of you, it's as simple as that. Your patience has never gone unnoticed while I have been locked away in the cave, writing.
A ruffle of the hair for Woody, my mad cocker spaniel, who is by my side every day and is unquestionably the best company ever.
I couldn't do this job alone and I want to express huge love to Bookouture. I am beyond blessed to be working with such a fantastic team. Many thanks to Claire Bord and Olly Rhodes for turning my stories in to books. I still can't believe it! I thank you from the bottom of my heart. My sincere thanks to both my agent Madeleine Milburn and my editor Lydia Vassar-Smith for your energy, vision, patience, continuous support and faith in me. Last but by no means least, a huge gin and tonic for Kim Nash, who I know I have driven to drink on many occasions in 2015! I love you Nash!
High fives to my wonderful friends, Anita Redfern, Lucy Davey, Nicola Rickus, Catherine Snook, Louise Speight, Chantal Chatfield, Sarah Lees, Suzanne Toner, Bev Smith and Alison Smithies. Your enthusiasm for my books and constant sharing of posts have not gone unnoticed, you all rock!
A special mention to Mike Denman who I think is a frightfully brilliant actor. After watching him stalk across England in the award-winning musical
The Bodyguard
I have visions of him one day not only playing James Bond but also Tom Drew from Kitty's Countryside Dream!
Being a writer has brought many opportunities my way, opportunities that I may never have had the chance to do before and for that I am eternally grateful. Due to the success of my first two books and my constant tweeting I was approached by The Zuri Project Uganda to become one of their ambassadors. They are a UK registered charity that supports the design, delivery and evaluation of a variety of locally led development projects in rural communities in Uganda that work towards improving community well-being and alleviating poverty. It's times like this I know I have the best job in the world and I was delighted and honoured to become an ambassador. So a sincere thank you Team Zuri: Martin Hewell, Ross Young, Greig Young, Anne Whewell, Chris Hogan, Rebecca Kealey, Danielle Cawood, Jenna Draper, Bhasker Patel and Sam Aldridge who not only do phenomenal work for the charity but support my writing and mention my books at every opportunity.
Big love to some very special people, all the wonderful readers, book bloggers and followers. You all mean the world to me and it is a pleasure to know you all.
Finally,
Kitty's Countryside Dream
would never have been written if it wasn't for Neil Roobottom, a farmer who sold me my very first chicken over eight years ago. Since then Neil has taught me everything I need to know about rearing and breeding chickens. Chickens have become a way of life in our house and it was my feathered friends who provided that little spark of inspiration for this story.
Published by Bookouture - an imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
23 Sussex Road, Ickenham, UB10 8PN, United Kingdom
Copyright © Christie Barlow 2016
Christie Barlow has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-910751-64-0