Yep. It’s on UK supermarket and newsagents’ shelves as of today Jan 21st 2022.
Except from Rainbow Girl
Chapter One The Castle by the Lake of Mists
Yesterday was a day when it rained forever. It was absolutely fantastic, sitting outside in my back garden and watching the deluge soaking everything. Of course, that included me but I didn’t mind. I sat contentedly as silver rivulets cascaded from the leaves on to the grass.
I loved the rain and I told it how much every day. The trouble was the clouds didn’t always hear my tiny voice. This was the first decent downpour in months.
There was something about the sound of raindrops; as though they were alive. As I tried to get to sleep, they sounded like someone singing a lullaby, splashing against the windows of my home. In a weird way, I imagined that they are talking back to me, describing the adventures that they had experienced in the skies up above.
Yeah, yesterday was definitely great. It was upsetting to hear of the floods in Wales on the morning news, especially the part regarding the predicted five more days of continued deluges. Hopefully, things would change soon.
Starting work this morning, I felt rejuvenated. I believed that I was ready for anything. And then Miserable Moira stormed up to my desk.
“Where’s that analysis of the Anderson account, November? I need them now!”
“But … but you only asked for them last thing on Wednesday and I was on a flexi-day yesterday,” I stammered. “I’ve just begun to collate them.”
“Not my fault if you take time off. You should have worked late on Wednesday, shouldn’t you! Well, shouldn’t you?”
I was ready to make a comment concerning unpaid overtime and perhaps, if she were able to organise herself better, before I remembered that I was on my final warning. I gazed at the floor. “Yes. I’m sorry, Ms Bedford. I’ll do them straight away.”
“Make sure you do, young lady. I want them before I have my hair done at lunchtime.”
“Big date?” I inquired, without thinking. Her icy stare and shouted comments about minding my own business, confirmed my guess. Miserable Moira on a date? I felt sorry for her would-be partner.
After that, the day went from bad to super flipping disastrous. I worked through to lunch and grabbed a sandwich from the canteen, ate it quickly and headed out to the gardens surrounding the Castle and tasteful Annexe. It was spotting once again and I knew I’ll explode if I didn’t get outside. At least relaxing in the rain showers helped calm me so I darted across the grass to the bench overlooking the Lake. Working here with that harridan, Moira blinking Bedford, was becoming quite intolerable.
The wooden bench was sopping from earlier yet I didn’t care. I stopped and stared back up at the first-floor offices of Transudes Annexe. How much longer could I stay there? Finding another job would be difficult in this uncertain financial climate and there was no one else to support me. No parents, no boyfriend, not even a housemate.
Facing away from Tillymoor, I sat on the bench overlooking the vast ‘Lake of Mists’. At least, that was its name. Not ‘Misty Lake’ as though that description wasn’t grand enough. The guy that built Tillymoor had chosen to construct a lake. It was ostensibly to show his power over nature as the so-called Castle demonstrated his power over men and women alike.
Alan C. Williams - Author 