THE BOOK: Aunt Edwina’s Fabulous Wishes
PUBLISHED IN: June, 2022
THE AUTHOR: Lynne Christensen
THE EDITOR: Rebecca Hendry
THE PUBLISHER: FriesenPress
SUMMARY: When free-spirited painter Julie Fincher discovers that her fiancé is a gold-digger, she reluctantly decides to go ahead with the wedding to please her ailing father. Sadly, the family’s beloved ninety-two-year-old Lady Edwina Greymore passes away the day before the wedding and everything changes. Julie is appointed executrix of a large country estate and now must solve an intricate family history treasure hunt with clues scattered all around southern England. Leaving her deceptive new husband behind, Julie sets out on the madcap adventure of a lifetime, together with her eccentric, karaoke-loving cousin. Along the way, they meet well-meaning aristocrats, experienced genealogists, a handsome antiques shop owner, and a verbose lawyer with a curious potbellied pig… This is the first novel in an uplifting, family-friendly series.
THE BACK STORY: One day, I was standing in our vast home library packed with topography, genealogy, travel, archives and museum books and thought that it was a real shame more use wasn’t made of it. It dawned on me–I am the daughter of a world-renowned genealogist and have spent my life visiting archives, historic places and museums all over the world. As a writer, it became instantly obvious that I was in a unique position to write a new uplifting series about family history. I’ve been a writer all my life, mainly in the corporate world, and saw a unique chance to write a novel series like no other.
WHY THIS TITLE? It was important to me to use a title that a) reflected the importance of the family’s matriarch and b) offered a fun consistency for future books in the series. For example, Book 2, which is already in production, is called “Aunt Edwina’s Wonderful Legacy”
WHY WOULD SOMEONE WANT TO READ IT? Everyone on the planet has experienced challenging times over the past couple of years. This book provides a wonderful, cheery escape into a world where community, friends and family rally together. A clean read, it also provides a kind space for all readers and is a fun adventure.
REVIEW COMMENTS:
“A lightweight, warm, and often charming adventure.”
—Kirkus Reviews
AUTHOR PROFILE: Lynne Christensen is a world traveler who enjoys visiting museums and archives. She grew up roaming around graveyards in Europe with her genealogy-loving parents in search of elusive ancestors. A lifelong learner, she earned both Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Commerce degrees plus has over twenty-five years of experience in marketing and corporate communications. Her writing is published in numerous magazine articles, case studies, advertisements and technical manuals. She lives on the West Coast of Canada in a house full of fascinating books.
AUTHOR COMMENTS: Book 1 is a big book – approx. 438 pages. Book 2 will be out later this year and Book 3 is in draft 1 stage. The family history adventures continue!
SAMPLE/EXCERPT:
The clerk’s face fell as she checked something on her computer. “Oh dear,” she said. The downward droop on her mouth was unmistakable. I was surprised her eyeshadow didn’t start slipping off her eyelids.
“Is something wrong?” I asked. My fingers were now gripping the side of the cool granite countertop. Perhaps they were going to throw me out for embarrassing her hotel in front of all these fancy guests.
“Miss Fincher, I’m afraid there’s been a water-pipe break affecting the bridal suite. We were told it would be repaired in time, but it appears that the work order’s been revised so the suite won’t be ready until late next week.”
She was waiting for bridezilla to appear, but I wasn’t going to give her that satisfaction.
“That is rather unfortunate,” was all I said.
I was impressed with her recovery. The desk clerk leaned over to me and offered a fantastic compromise. “My manager is providing the catering for tonight’s rehearsal dinner on a complimentary basis to make up for the inconvenience, Miss Fincher. I hope that will be to your satisfaction?”
“That will be fine,” I said. “I always thought my Aunt Edwina was spending too much on this anyways. I mean, it’s a wedding, not an international political summit.”
The desk clerk giggled, pleased I was taking this so well. “We’ve put you in the presidential suite instead, and it is quite fabulous, I promise.”
“Very well.”
“It is rather a catastrophe of the most enormous proportions,” the desk clerk said.
You don’t know the half of it.
“Don’t worry about it. Chris and I have been together for a while, so it’s not like we need the bridal suite for, well you know …” I gave her a wink.
I guessed the desk clerk wasn’t used to a relative of a titled lady aristocrat speaking so frankly. The color in her cheeks rose as she handed me the keys.
“Thank you, and the bellman has my bag?” I started.
“Just behind you. At your service, Miss Fincher,” she said.
I nodded my thanks and scarpered. Jacques rolled the luggage cart behind me as we walked into the elevator. Inside were gleaming brass buttons and rails, plus an inlaid crystal ceiling décor. All quite fancy. All super expensive.
We met a plumber in the elevator. More apologies were exchanged as his heavy wrench bumped into the bell cart. He wore a tool belt that clanked plus baggy, sodden overalls. I knew it was bad news, seeing that the tradesman himself was half-soaked. When he got off on the next floor, he exchanged places with a man dressed up like a red tomato. My eyes must’ve hit the ceiling. I couldn’t help but notice our new floor-travel buddy’s red fishnet tights, tall black-leather lace-up boots, and puffy vegetable jumpsuit that stopped at the top of his thighs, plus matching gloves.
It occurred to me that his discomfort at the moment would be mirrored by mine tomorrow. Stuffed into a tight, poufy costume to make everyone ooh and aah. My costume was off-white. His was red. Practically costume cousins.
There were two seconds of uncomfortable silence before Tomato Man felt compelled to talk. “Um, I’m here for the Comedy Festival. You know, tomorrow? At Molmuns Manor?”
“Riiiight,” I said. “I have a friend who’s going as a cauliflower.”
Joke. Of course it was a joke. None of my friends had vegetable-dress tendencies in mind. At least that I knew of.
Jacques hid a grin and stifled a cough. I did believe the man was warming to my slight eccentricity.
Tomato Man looked relieved and got off two floors up.
Jacques nodded. “We don’t need all types, but we do have all types,” he offered in a prim voice.
“Quite.”
WHERE TO BUY IT:
PRICE:
USD list prices:
$7.99 ebook
$29.99 paperback
$39.99 hardcover
Wholesale available through Ingram
Contact the author for consignment or bulk order discounts
CONTACT THE AUTHOR: You can connect with Lynne at www.auntedwina.com and on Twitter (@LVChristensen), Instagram (@lynnevchristensen), and LinkedIn.
Snowflakes in a Blizzard 