Kilingiri’ will appeal to readers who enjoy sagas with elements of romance, mystery and drama, loss and gain, religion and redemption played out in exotic locations over a timespan of thirty years. It addresses the issues of celibacy within the Catholic church, the heartbreak of rejection and separation, the difficulties of raising a child as a single parent, the effects of post natal depression on a marriage and the family, the healing power of forgiveness, and culminates in what we all dream of … a happy ever after scenario
Excerpt:
Overwhelmed by a sudden urge to
swim, she peeled off her kaftan and slid into the stream, gasping when the
water numbed her legs. Lowering her body until just her head remained above the
water – it was much colder than she’d expected, given that the weather was
gloriously warm during the day – she swam back and forth, rolling like a
porpoise, kicking aside the fronds of feathery water weed that clung to her
legs. Floating, arms outstretched, she admired the way her skin appeared
luminous when the moon slid from behind silver-grey clouds, and as she relaxed,
the evening's tension was replaced with a sense of calm until the soft,
swishing of the long grass alerted her to the presence of someone, or heaven
forbid, a wild animal, heading towards the stream. Dry ground suddenly seemed
as distant as the moon as she waded toward the bank, kicking frantically when
weeds clung like ropes to her legs, impeding her progress towards decency.
Trembling with cold, eyes
searching frantically for her discarded clothing, she realised she’d drifted
quite a way down stream and began to wade back to where she'd started, her feet
making sucking, slurping sounds as she trudged through the viscous mud.
A plume of smoke betrayed the
presence of a lone figure sitting on a grassy tussock, shrouded in shadow.
That's all I need now, a blasted voyeur! Oh God, where did I leave my clothes?
About the author:
Janna Gray grew up in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and was educated at boarding schools in Kodaikanal, South India and Derbyshire, England. She trained to be a teacher in London where she met and married her husband Simon. His job took them to Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand where she raised two sons, worked at British and International schools and wrote articles for newspapers and magazines.
Currently living in the UAE, Janna was the Senior Mistress (a title which caused much merriment among her colleagues!) and Head of Pastoral Care at Repton School before trading her marking pens and report cards for the world of writing novels. She enjoys travelling and sailing and had a love-hate relationship with exercise until she discovered the joy of Zumba where the trainers turn a blind eye to her inability to remember dance sequences. She sings in the shower and with choirs, has an allergy to golf and recently discovered the allure of oils and acrylics – a delightfully messy way to express her inner artist.
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