Genre: Fiction/Romance/Contemporary
Release Date: May 15, 2014
Digital ISBN-10: 1631120441 ISBN-13: 978-1-63112-044-2
Print ISBN-10: 163112045X ISBN-13: 978-1-63112-045-9
How to Have an Amicable Divorce
Have you ever got yourself in so
deep you feel like running away and starting a new life?
That’s exactly what wife and artist, Denizon Cartwright felt
like doing. After deciding that she couldn’t put up with her unfaithful husband
any longer, she leaves him for smooth-talking artist and professor, Damien Johnson – but she soon learns she’s swapped
one liar for another and beats a hasty retreat … only to become entangled with
Jay, the ex-lover of her best friend, Robyn.
Could her life get any more
complicated?
Yes! A surprise encounter leaves Denizon with an
ever-growing list of men falling in love with her.
Her escape route is at hand in the shape of Escuela de
Montana d’Armentera, an artistic retreat high up in the Spanish mountains. But
her problems only follow, as she discovers.
Will she find true happiness in
the Spanish sun or lose everyone she ever held dear?
And is the cost of finding
herself too high a price to pay?
About Lindsay
Harper
Lindsay lives in
Yorkshire, England with wonderful husband, Paul. She has two grown up children,
three young grandchildren, and four springer spaniels! She gave up working full time in 2010 to
write and has self-published three metaphysical romances to sell at Mind, Body
and Spirit fairs. After having fantastic reviews she decided to embark on her
passion - contemporary women’s fiction and now wants to reach a wider audience
– hence 5 Prince. When she’s not writing, she’s a homeopath, a dog walker and a
DIY enthusiast. For fun she loves
Ashtanga yoga, Ascension meditation and the sea - and one day would love to
live by it.
How to contact Lindsay Harper
lindsayharper.co.uk
lindsayharperauthor (facebook),
@lindsayharper (Twitter)
Excerpt of How to Have an Amicable Divorce
May
Denizon
smiled as she saw whose name was flashing up on caller display.
‘Hello love,
how’s it going? Are you still having a wonderful time?’
‘Yes
brilliant, thanks,’ answered Robyn, her best friend and sister-in-law, speaking
from the other side of the world in New Zealand.
‘You’ll be
home soon, won’t you? I can’t believe you’ve been there eight weeks already.’
‘Neither can
I,’ Robyn paused. ‘In fact, that’s the main reason I’m ringing. I’ve decided to
stay.’
‘What? Forever?’
Denizon panicked.
‘No, not
forever, silly. Just for four more weeks. Gerald has been invited to spend time
at his niece’s new villa on the Cap D’Azur, so I thought I’d take advantage of
the extra time off and spend it with my wonderful husband.’
‘I take it
it’s still going well?’
‘I can’t
believe how well. It’s like being in a new relationship, but better. We’ve
fallen in love all over again.’
‘I’m really
pleased for you, Rob.’
‘The
training is also going better than anticipated and, hopefully, Dave will be
finished in about six weeks, so he’ll be coming back to England then. He’ll
have to be located in London for another few months, but at least we can spend
weekends together … How’s my darling brother?’
Denizon
sighed. ‘Chris is fine. He’s been promoted to Crew Manager.’
‘That’s
great, isn’t it?’ Robyn asked on listening to her friends sigh.
‘Yes,’
Denizon said tentatively. ‘But he’s been away on two residential courses so
far, and he’s got another one coming up.’
‘Let me
guess, you’re bored.’
‘I suppose a
bit, my best friend is at the other side of the world and my husband is never
here.’
‘You’ve got
Barney.’
‘I know, but
he’s not great with the conversation.’
‘Cheer up,
love. You sound like I did a few weeks ago … are you doing much with your art
at the moment?’
‘Funny you
should mention that. I received a phone call yesterday from the University. The
Art Department is looking for tutors to teach a summer school and wondered if
I’d be interested.’
‘Well then,
that’s something to do,’ Robyn said enthusiastically. ‘Are you going to apply?’
‘I think so,
but I’ve never taught before. There’s a training course in a couple of weeks
that I could go on to teach me to teach. It would mean I couldn’t have Barney
for a couple of weeks.’
‘Well, I’m
sure Sarah could cope for two weeks. She leaves him with you enough. It’s only
fair you have some time to do what you want, and I think it’d be good for you.’
‘You’re
probably right. I’ll ring them back and tell them I’ll do the training course.
If I enjoy it, who knows it might lead to something else.’
‘I think
that’s great news. You’d be a good teacher.’
‘Thanks,
love… hadn’t you better be going? This’ll be costing you a fortune.’
‘I suppose
so. I’ll message you next week to arrange a time when we can all get together
to Skype.’
‘Oh! Before
I forget, Jay and Max were on Breakfast
Time this morning talking about Jay’s book,’ Denizon added.
‘I thought
he was in America.’
‘He was, but
he’s back to do a short book tour round London.’
‘Was he
good? I assume Max was.’
‘He was
actually, a natural in front of the camera.’
‘It figures!
What were they talking about?’
‘About
affairs in general and why people have them. Max was defending monogamy and Jay
was giving his contrary opinion, sharing his views on being with a partner as
long as they make you happy. It was interesting, especially seeing as I know
him personally.’
‘Did he
mention his partner?’ Robyn asked with an edge to her voice.
‘Only that’s
he’s with someone who he’s compatible with.’
‘For now,’
Robyn said scathingly.
‘You sound
bitter! You’re not are you?’
‘No, not
really. I made my choice as well, and I’m so happy I chose Dave. It’s just that
I know his book was written when we were together, and I helped him with a lot
of it. I just don’t get any credit.’
‘Don’t start
all that again,’ Denizon reprimanded. ‘You’ve got a perfect life now, don’t
even think about Jay.’
‘Ay, Ay
captain. On that note I’m going now, and we’ll speak next week. Love you, Den.’
‘Love you
too, Rob. Take care.’ She placed the phone back in its cradle and smiled. Her
friend would never change.
If she was
honest, the thought of teaching scared her. Being an artist was a very solitary
profession and her own paintings were personal to her. She wouldn’t know how to
bring out the best in her students or even if they’d appreciate what she had to
say. But Robyn was right – it would be good for her – because not only was she
bored, she was lonely.
Without
Robyn on the other end of the phone or just round the corner she had nobody.
Both her parents had been dead for years, and she was their only offspring.
Robyn was the closest thing to a sister she’d ever known, and she totally
relied on her for everything. She’d never been one for making friends easily
and had gotten so used to her own company all day that sometimes she found it
difficult to start conversations. She knew this frustrated her husband, Chris,
who was the most gregarious person she had ever met.
She often
thought it was why Chris had been tempted to seek out the company of other
women throughout their married life and probably why she’d made allowances for
that particular trait. Chris loved going out and socialising, whereas she
preferred a good book or a black and white film. Robyn had loaned her Dr Max
Hammond’s book, “Effective Communication”, and it made her realise that the two
of them didn’t have a lot to talk about. She had become infatuated with him at
age sixteen and hadn’t really looked at another man until she finally snared
him six years ago.
Chris loved
her, of that there was no doubt, but she just wasn’t stimulating enough for
him, and he wasn’t intellectual enough for her. He was ruled by his body, and
she was ruled by her brain. Since her dice with death last year their
relationship had been the best it’d ever been. It was the first time since
they’d got together she could honestly say she trusted him. But it had been to
the detriment of his personality. He no longer went out as much, offering to
spend every evening with her. She could see the life slowly seeping out of him
as he tried his best to be something he wasn’t.
The recent
promotion at work seemed to perk him up slightly and, even though she missed
his company, she knew it was best for his sanity. Maybe tutoring would be the incentive I need to make new friends – and
going out to work at a real job could, potentially, make me more interesting.
It was with that thought she picked up the phone to ring the University and
booked herself on the short teacher training course.
