Thanks for all your advice

Jun 14, 2022 11:06 am

Hello from Wales

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all your advice following my last email. The overwhelming majority of people stated that they read their books in Kindle Unlimited (so do I). I have therefore decided to stay where I am and keep my books available through KU.

My broken finger is still driving me crazy and a trip to physio yesterday saw me leave with yet another torture device to wear in an attempt to fix it. This one is aptly names a 'finger jack' and has a little screw in the bottom for me to progressively tighten and hopefully straighten my wonky finger.

Despite my never-ending finger saga, I am hard at work trying to finish Put Your Best Witch Forward on time for release at the end of the month, and am hopeful that I'll finish on time. In the meantime, I've put an unedited copy of the first chapter below.

If you have read the first 3 books in the series, I am desperate for reviews on Amazon, so if you liked it, it would be great if you could write one here. Even just a couple of words would be amazing.

Thanks for your help and support

Victoria xx

Put Your Best Witch Forward - Chapter One

Niles was sitting at the edge of the sofa giving me a disapproving glare as I sipped my gin and tonic. His ear twitched, and he stuck his nose in the air, but his eyes remained fixed to mine. Cat's can be so judgemental. Not that I blamed him. I had been all set to accompany Fleur to Bristol this evening before Gemma turned up with Susan in tow.

Susan was back from the trip she took to Paris with her new partner, Jane, and was almost as eager to fill us in on all the details as Gemma was to tell her about the museum gala and the murder we uncovered. I smiled at the sight of my two friends as they reclined on the sofa with their own glasses in hand, gossiping like a pair of excited school girls.

I never expected this when I moved to Caerleon. The truth was, I didn't know what to expect, but friendship had been something I'd gone without over the years. I hadn't exactly been a recluse growing up. As a child who'd been foisted on a father who never wanted me, and one who'd been forced to pretend my true nature as a witch didn't exist, I hadn't gone out of my way to make close friends. I had acquaintances and people I hung out with. But mainly, I had Niles. I never thought I needed anyone else. My only focus had been keeping my magical learning a secret from my father and biding my time until I was old enough to leave home. I met my ex-husband, Chris not long after. That's when I really became cut off from the people around me. No more acquaintances. No more going out...

I took a sip of my drink and shook all thoughts of Chris from my head. Things are better now. In fact, even with the revelation that the quiet village of Caerleon was the murder capital of South Wales and quite possibly the world, things were pretty great. The only concern I had was Fleur's dead mother harassing her from beyond the grave, and even that had stopped after she moved out of her flat and into the cottage with me. Still, it was an issue we had to deal with and the reason for our planned trip to Bristol this evening.

"Eira figured everything out as usual," Gemma said while raising her glass and flashing me a big beaming smile.

I brushed away the suggestion. "It wasn't just me. The police and Fleur--"

"Speak of the devil," Gemma said and shifted her focus to Fleur who'd appeared in the hall doorway. "Are you sure you can't postpone your meeting with your old friend?" she added.

Fleur bobbed on her toes and flashed Gemma a smile. "Sorry, not this time. But I'll catch up with everything in the morning."

Susan scoffed and shook her head, causing her sharp blonde bob to slice the air around her. She raised her left hand in protest and then pointed it at the glass in the other. "Not too early in the morning. This is not my first, and I fully intend on it not being my last."

Fleur laughed. "Then I'll catch up with everything tomorrow evening." She rolled her eyes whilst playfully advising us not to overdo it and to order her a Mushroom Biryani when the inevitable need for takeout overcomes us.

A car horn tooted outside, so I downed the contents of my glass, jumped to my feet, and escorted Fleur to the front door after she waved goodbye to the others.

"Are you sure you'll be okay going alone?" I asked, worried that I was letting her down.

"Of course. It will be great to see Rob and catch up. You can meet him another time."

I gripped her arms and pulled her in for a tight hug. Fleur was bubbly and fierce, stunning and proud, and an incredibly powerful witch. She was the sort of girl everyone envied, all the more so after speaking to her and find out how nice she truly is. But I couldn't help but worry about her after everything that had happened.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," I said as I pulled away and looked in her perfectly framed brown eyes. She'd opted for a dramatic ancient Egyptian look with her eyeliner today and paired it with a subtle pink eyeshadow.

Fleur shrugged. "It's probably for the best. Rob wasn't exactly forthcoming with information about my father on the phone. With the two of us there, he might feel a little ganged up on. If I can get him relaxed and chatting about old times, maybe he'll open up a little."

A burst of infectious laughter came from my living room, causing both Fleur and I to chuckle in return.

"Well, if tonight fails and you don't get the information we need, we can always drag Gemma and Susan over to Bristol. They'd have Rob spilling his life story out within half an hour of meeting them." Rob was an old friend of Fleur’s fathers, and had been her only contact with her pre-foster care life.

Understandably, they'd become close. Fleur was convinced he knew where her father was, and that her father was the only person who could help us with her mother's spirit. Without anything else to go on, it was worth a shot.

"We'll save that as our back-up plan," Fleur said as the horn tooted a bit more insistently from outside. "I'd better go. Have fun and don't forget my biryani."

"I won't. Now stay safe and call me if you need anything."

With a final promise that she would, Fleur gave me another quick hug goodbye and rushed outside to the taxi.

I waited until the taxi pulled away from the house before closing the door and returning to my friends inside. I glanced at Niles. He flashed me another look but then closed his eyes contentedly as Abbey licked his head. It was nice to Fleur's familiar acting calm and relaxed as it meant that Fleur was too.

"You look like you could use this." Gemma set another large glass of gin and tonic in my hand.

I looked from her open and earnest face to that of Susan, who patted the seat next to her, encouraging me to sit and a strange urge to tell them everything overcame me.

A flutter built in my chest and my heartbeat quickened. I thrust my shoulders back and lifted my chin. "I'm a witch," I said with as much sincerity and conviction I could muster.

Gemma froze, looking at me with her eyes wide. For a second, I worried that I should have kept my mouth shut.

Susan snorted delicately and chugged the contents of her drink back. "About bleeping time," she said, and Gemma chuckled.

"This is serious," I said. "I'm serious. I can weave spells, talk to ghosts, and levitate objects."

"We know," Gemma said and gently took my hand before leading me to the sofa.

"We knew about you being a witch and weaving spells," Susan added. "I'm not so sure we knew about the levitation and ghosts. Did we?" she added, turning her attention to Gemma.

Gemma shrugged. "It's all part and parcel, I guess."

I sat down on the edge of the chair a little uncertain what was going on. I'd expected questions or disbelief. I'd even worried about outright denial and anger. I hadn't expected... well, whatever this was. "I'm serious," I said again.

"We know, dear," Gemma said and clasped my hand as if trying to reassure a child.

I suddenly felt a little bit angry. I couldn't tell if they were believing me or mocking me. On impulse, I lifted my hand. The bottle of the gin on the side board flew across the room and into my waiting hand.

Susan squealed. "Well, I never," she declared. "Are you telling me that I've been getting up off my behind and pouring myself a drink this whole time when you could have just waved your hand and got the damn bottle for me."

Gemma laughed and rolled her eyes. "It's the only exercise we get," she said.

I couldn't help but smile at that. "So that's it. No questions. No doubts. You're just going to accept that I'm a witch." It was almost an anti-climax.

"We'll have questions a plenty, I'm sure," Susan said, but for now a toast. She raised her glass, and added. "To witches in Wentwood, and Caerleon. And all over the world."

"To witches everywhere and to dragons in Caerwent," Gemma said. "You know, just in case they're listening and get a little peeved at being excluded."

"To witches everywhere and dragons in Caerwent." I giggled as I echoed the toast, grateful that I had a group of friends so ready to welcome magic and fantasy into their lives.

Gemma, Susan, and I chatted until the sun had long since sank behind the mountains and the need for food beckoned. I was about to order our curry when the phone rang. The caller ID told me it was Kate.

"Everything okay?" I asked, knowing that something had to be up if she was calling me this late at night.

"There's an emergency," she said. "I'm on my way. Can you be ready to leave in five?"

I glanced at the near empty bottle of gin on the sideboard before remembering that I had some ginseng tea that Fleur had spelled in the kitchen. With a quick cup, I'd be sober and alert in no time. "I'll be ready," I said. "Where are we going?"