By Iris Blobel (Guest Blogger)
Thank
you, Lisabet, for having me on your blog today.
NEW
BEGINNINGS is a broad term in many ways. It can be as simple as
someone giving up on smoking or drinking (the idea not the actual
following through), or a couple getting married, a new chance for a
cancer survivor, a newborn baby … for me it was pulling up stumps
and move to the other side of the world. Literally!
So
to me the concept of Beginnings has always been an interesting one,
yet, it’s unfortunate that it’s often given up on so easily.
Start
by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly
you are doing the impossible. -Saint
Francis of Assisi
During
a time when I was starting to settle in every new niche of my life, I
wanted to write a story with the character having chances to start
over in more than one way. Sophie Levesque is my main character.
After the death of her mother, she now lives with her much younger
sister in Sydney surviving from the daily struggle of the financial
strain of life. When they’re told they’ve inherited a house in
Hobart, Tasmania, they find it hard to believe it’s not a mistake.
I
hope I was able to bring across Sophie’s continuous worry about
losing the house again after moving in, their struggle to fit into a
neighbourhood which has judged them by thinking they’re a young
mother and daughter — but Beginnings start to flourish.
Blurb
The
chance to start life all over with the help of a stranger.
Twenty-two-year-old
Sophie Levesque has been guardian to her eight-year-old sister Mia
since their mother’s death a few years ago, and it hasn’t been
easy. Luck comes their way when they inherit a small house in Hobart.
Problem is, though, they don’t know and have never heard of Clara
Bellinger, the testator. Settling into their new life, Sophie is
still afraid it’s all a mistake.
Mark
O’Connor, attorney in Hobart and the bearer of the good news for
Sophie and Mia, curses himself for the lack of information about the
testator. However, researching the questions gives him an opportunity
to see Sophie again, and the more time he spends with the two, the
more he realises that his life is missing something. And it’s not
his casual lover Linda.
But
then there’s Zach, Sophie’s sexy neighbour from across the road…
and a very good friend of Clara’s.
Will
unravelling the mystery unravel Sophie and Mark’s promise of a
future?
Excerpt
Sophie
Levesque stared at the attorney in front of her, waiting for some
answers. She and her little sister, Mia, had been quietly sitting in
Mr. O’Connor’s office for more than half an hour, learning about
the details of their inheritance.
Once
he was finished, silence hung in the air before she asked with raised
eyebrows. “Who?”
“Clara
Catherine Bellinger.”
Mia
leaned closer to her elder sister and gave a soft tug on Sophie’s
shirt. “Who is she?”
Sophie
shrugged. “I wouldn’t have a clue.” Then turned her attention
back on Mr. O’Connor and asked the same thing. “Who is she?”
The
handsome attorney on the other side of the massive desk leaned
forward and rested his elbows on it before he started to repeat his
earlier speech. Although hearing his words, Sophie still found it all
very hard to comprehend. Here she was in this old office, furnished
with heavy antique oak furniture, the curtains in a pretty shade of
aubergine, and the carpet beneath her shoes thick and warm in a
matching shade, hearing about an inheritance from someone she’d
never even heard of.
Startled
by the subtle sound of the clock chiming across the road, Sophie’s
gaze turned to the window, where she saw the post office building
across the road. It looked impressive and old. It’d been only a few
hours since they’d arrived in Hobart, the most southern capital in
Australia, but she already liked it. A lot more than Sydney, the
place she’d lived all her life.
Hauled
back from her thoughts, she heard Mr. O’Connor say, “I believe
she was a distant relative of yours. I’m afraid I don’t have any
further details.”
Sophie
arched an eyebrow in disbelief, doubting the accuracy of it all. Not
only did she try not to question his competence as a lawyer, but she
also hoped it wasn’t a dreadful misunderstanding.
With
a slight shrug of her shoulder, she asked, “Why not?”
He
met her gaze steadily. “Pardon me?”
Sitting
up straight, she repeated, “Why not? Why aren’t there any further
details?”
He
rubbed his chin with his fingers, his unease now obvious, and
although she almost felt sorry for him, she tried not to care. She
needed to know more. And not just the what, but why and who as well.
Only
a week earlier, Sophie had received the call from Mr. O’Connor
telling her about an inheritance. Initially, she’d thought it had
been a horrible joke when he’d given her details on where to pick
up airplane tickets to Hobart. It was important for her to come, he’d
explained. Some legality she hadn’t understood. Something about her
having to sign documents for the transfer of ownership of some
assets. It’d sounded too farfetched at the start, but after some
research on the firm with the help of a friend, it sounded valid, and
she’d hoped her life was finally turning around for the better.
Meet the Author
Iris
Blobel was born and raised in Germany and only immigrated to
Australia in the late 1990s. Having had the travel bug most of her
life, Iris spent quite some time living in Scotland, London as well
as Canada where she met her husband. Her love for putting her stories
onto paper has only emerged recently, but now her laptop is a
constant companion.
Iris
resides west of Melbourne with her husband and her two beautiful
daughters.
Next
to her job at a private school, she also presents a German Program at
the local Community Radio.
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