Blog Tour ~ The Cold Cold Sea by Linda Huber

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting today's stop on The Cold Cold Sea Blog Tour

My thanks to the author and Love Book Group Tours for my invitation to be part of this blog tour

What's it all about..

They stared at each other, and Maggie felt the tightness in her middle expand as it shifted, burning its way up… Painful sobs rose in her throat as Colin, his face expressionless now, reached for his mobile and tapped 999.

When three-year-old Olivia disappears from the beach, a happy family holiday comes to an abrupt end. Maggie is plunged into the darkest nightmare imaginable – what happened to her little girl? Further along the coast, another mother is having problems too. Jennifer's daughter Hailey is starting school, and it should be such a happy time, but the child is increasingly moody and silent. Family life has never seemed so awkward, and Jennifer struggles to maintain control. The tide ebbs and flows, and summer dies, but there is no comfort for Maggie, alone now at the cottage, or for Jennifer, still swamped by doubts.

 ✨I am delighted to be able to share this tantalising extract from The Cold Cold Sea ✨

A glint in the sand caught her eye, and she crouched down. It was a beautiful pink shell, exactly like the one she’d found yesterday. She eased it out from under a thick strand of brown seaweed and brushed it gently with one finger. It was covered in sand; it wasn’t nice to hold like the other one. She looked round for someone to help, but her dad was right along the beach with his back to her, staring at something up towards the hotel. She hesitated for a moment. The sea was just nearby. She would wash the shell herself and then she would take it home and give it to her granny. She smiled at the idea. 

The sun was hot on her shoulders as she turned towards the water. It was difficult to rush along the loose sand; coarse grains were rubbing the skin between her toes. Nearer the ocean the beach firmed up and she stopped to empty her sandals. It was the only thing she didn’t enjoy about the beach, the way sand got everywhere. 

What she liked best, of course, was the sea. It was like magic, the way the colour changed all the time. Today it was shining blue in the sunshine, sparkling like the jewels in her mother’s ring. She giggled as her toes met the first of the baby waves fizzing up the beach. 

The water was cold but it was silvery-clear, rushing up round her ankles and pulling her in to play. She bent over and swirled the shell in the sea. Immersed in her task she rubbed and rinsed and rubbed again, oblivious to the cold water creeping up her legs. The shell was cleaning up nicely. It would look so pretty on her granny’s windowsill, lined up with all the other shells they’d collected last year.

Satisfied with her work, she stood up straight, jerking in surprise when she saw that the water was up over her knees now. She could feel the waves swirling round her legs, pulling her this way and that. It felt as if she was wobbling on a trampoline. It would be easier if there was someone to hold her hand. She looked back at the beach.

Both her parents were tiny figures in the distance now, much too far away to hear her if she called. The sea was right here, teasing her. She giggled again as the wash from a distant motorboat slapped and tickled against her thighs. This was better, it was fun again now.

Further out the waves were white-tipped and rolling towards her, and she remembered the picture book she and Daddy had read just before coming here. A fairy tale princess had caught a beautiful white horse on a wave, and rode away to the place where the sea joined up with the sky. If only she could do that too. She stood on tiptoe and walked a few paces to see if there were any white horses nearby.

Quite suddenly the water was deeper, and it was freezing cold too; it was splashing right up over her tummy. A larger wave almost lifted her off her feet and she cried out in panic, sobbing when she realised that she had dropped Granny’s beautiful shell. Tears hot on her cheeks and teeth chattering, she struggled to regain her balance, then waded a few steps in the direction of where the shell had vanished. 

But the shell was nowhere to be seen. The water took hold of her again, pulling at her and pulling and all at once it was right up to her chin and there were no white horses at all, just cold cold water. It got in her eyes and nose and in her mouth, too, when she tried to shout for help. 

Salty water was burning in her nose and pulling her down; the sea was filling her up and washing her away and she couldn’t stop it. The whole world was getting smaller… it was so cold. She was floating in cold white water now, just floating, and then suddenly everything was – gone.

Extract: By kind permission of the author

About the Author

Linda Huber grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, but went to work in Switzerland for a year aged twenty-two, and has lived there ever since. Her day jobs have included working as a physiotherapist in hospitals and schools for handicapped children, and teaching English in a medieval castle. Currently she teaches one day a week, and writes psychological suspense novels and feel-good novellas with (most of) the rest of her time.

Her writing career began in the nineties, when she had over fifty short stories published in women’s magazines. Several years later, she turned to psychological suspense fiction, and her seventh novel, Death Wish, was published by Bloodhound Books in August 2017.

Linda’s latest project is a series of feel-good novellas, set on the banks of Lake Constance and just minutes from her home in north-east Switzerland. She really appreciates having the views enjoyed by her characters right on her own doorstep!

Twitter @LindaHuber19 #TheColdColdSea

#Lovebooksgrouptours

Website

Author Spotlight ~ Linda Huber

I am delighted to welcome Linda Huber back to my blog to talk about her book 

The Cold Cold Sea

Legend Press
2014

Where did you get the first flash of inspiration for The Cold Cold Sea?

Two things happened way back in the nineties. I was researching my family tree and came across a distant little cousin who had drowned in the 1940s, aged just eleven, in a Glasgow swimming pool. I was shocked that I had never heard of this child. Not long afterwards I had a letter from a friend, very upset because a friend of hers had suffered a similar tragedy in her own family. That really started me thinking – how do parents cope in this kind of nightmare situation – and what happens if they don’t cope? That was the start of The Cold Cold Sea.

What can you tell us about the story which will pique the reader's interest?

I think it’s clear to the reader quite near the start what is going on in The Cold Cold Sea – the suspense is more in how the characters deal with the situation they find themselves in. So many people have said to me ‘I wanted to reach into the book and hug/shake/yell at X, make them do the right thing, tell them it was going to be okay.’ I found it interesting that while some people wanted to hug X, others would much rather yell…

Your writing is very atmospheric – how do you ‘set the scene’ and how much research did you need to do in order to bring -The Cold Cold Sea to life?

As a child I spent several summer holidays in and around Newquay, and I absolutely loved it. I’ll never forget those breakers crashing up the beach, or the colours of the sea as it shimmered in the sunshine. All the time of writing The Cold Cold Sea I was back there in my mind – it was lovely! 

The school setting was no problem either, as I’ve worked in several schools over the years and know what goes on in a classroom. I’ve also worked with people under severe stress, so I was able to take some aspects of that into the book too. 

Most of the research I did for this book was geographical, and as always the world wide web had most of the answers!


What was the most difficult aspect of the writing the story? How did you overcome it?

For me, the hard bit is leaving large chunks of my characters’ lives out of the story. When you write about people you really get to know them, and it’s all too easy to include too much detail that’s of no interest to the reader because it takes them away from the main story for too long. As a writer, I find it almost impossible to stand far enough back from my own work to judge if I’ve balanced it well – this is where you need someone whose opinion you value and who knows what they’re talking about. And then you need to give yourself a mental kick and take their advice! 

Whilst you are writing you must live with your characters. How do you feel about them when the book is finished? Are they what you expected them to be?

I love my paper people, and I hope that comes across in the way I write about them. The situation in The Cold Cold Sea is dreadful for them so it wasn’t easy, putting them through such a nightmare. As for ‘finished’, that’s tricky too – this is my second book and for the second time I was gutted when my editor said, ‘That’s us, we’re done now’ – and I had to accept that never again could I change something that Maggie felt, or give Phillip more insight into what he had to do, or…

I don’t know what I expected them to be, but I do hope they come over as real people.


How do you manage to balance writing with your everyday life and what do you do to relax?

Writing is my relaxation! My day job is teaching, I’m in Adult Education, but as I work part time I have plenty of opportunity to go jogging or walking, my main ‘switch off’ hobbies. I get a lot of ideas then too. I think writing merges with everyday life too, as so many ideas come from brief encounters with various people.

What’s next?

My main work-in-progress at the moment came from just such a ‘brief encounter’ at a family wedding – it’s about a couple who are in the process of adopting a child, and then…

Another project is almost ‘finished’ too, but I’m not sure what I’m doing with that one yet – you can join me watching this space!

You can find more about Linda on her website here
Twitter @LindaHuber19
Facebook

Amazon UK

Amazon US

My thoughts about The Cold Cold Sea

Three year old Olivia Grainger disappears from the Cornish beach where she has been happily collecting seashells and for her parents, Colin and Maggie, their worst nightmare is about to come true. Meanwhile, not too far away, Jennifer is settling into her new home and preparing her daughter, Hailey, for school. On the surface, these two families have nothing to connect them but by a series of clever manipulations the story reveals how all too easily people can be duped into believing what they think they see.

From the start, this clever psychological suspense story draws you into a web of deceit which is so deftly manoeuvred that at times you really do have to stop and take a breath. The writing is very good, the plot credible and the whole premise of the novel works well because of the believability of the characters involved. The anguish of Colin and Maggie is so well done that their devastating terror at the loss of Olivia is palpable and deeply upsetting. Jennifer, on the other hand, is a skilled manipulator; she is supremely flawed but no less fascinating because of that, however, it is her treatment of Hailey which will have every parent itching to make a phone call to social services. Jennifer’s husband Philip, largely absent in America for much of the action of the story, gets drawn into the mêlée largely by default but his bewilderment is credible and his actions understandable. However, the real star of the novel, for me,  is Hailey who shows wisdom and tenacity far beyond the scope of her tender years.

To say more about this excellent novel would be to do both the book and the author a complete disservice. The Cold Cold Sea deserves to be read, as I did, in one sitting on a cold and blustery day, when the scudding clouds overhead cast as much a shadow on the world as did the book itself.

 My thanks to Linda for sharing her novel with me and for allowing us a fascinating glimpse into the writing of The Cold Cold Sea.

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Linda is also the author of The Paradise Trees and was an author contributor on the recently published  anthology Winter Tales


 

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Linda Huber's Itty Bitty Christmas ...

Wishing you a Merry Christmas 

from 


Linda Huber

What’s your earliest Christmas Memory?

I was four years old and my present from Santa was a yellow scooter. I remember uncovering it on Christmas morning (my parents had draped it with one of the nineteen tablecloths they received as wedding presents) and just standing there gobsmacked – a scooter! Oddly, my mother was actually in hospital over Christmas that year, but I have no recollection of that at all.

Do you have any special Christmas Traditions?

I live in Switzerland so Christmas is a mixture of British and Swiss traditions. The Christmas trees here don’t go up till the 24^th, and that’s when the Christ-child brings the presents, too, in the evening while the family are eating in another room. After the meal everyone congregates in the living room and presents are opened and played with. This has the advantage that the children aren’t up at 4 a.m. on the 25^th…

 What’s your favourite festive carol or song?

‘White Christmas’ does it for me every time!

 Do you have a favourite festive film?

It’s not exactly festive but it’s on most years and I usually watch it – The Sound of Music.
And of course The Snowman with its beautiful theme song.

 What’s your favourite festive read?

I don’t really have one. Mary Higgins Clark’s Silent Night is a good Christmas read, but I don’t have anything I read traditionally over the holiday. Usually I’m only too glad to have a little extra time to catch up on my to-be-read list!

 Are you organised or do you leave everything until the last minute?

I used to be extremely organised out of sheer necessity – Christmas presents to the UK from Switzerland have to be in the post at the beginning of December for guaranteed arrival by the 24^th. Nowadays we give to charity so that’s easier. Food shopping tends to be a bit last-minute in our house. I’ve stood in many a long queue at the supermarket on Christmas Eve!
 

Christmas Tree – real or artificial?

When the kids were small we always had a real one. Now we have an artificial one, but it’s the ornaments that are important. We have so many the boys made themselves over the years. The tiny flowerpot bell, the glue-gun stars, and of course the toilet paper angel. She always has pride of place!

 Tinsel or Glitter?

In a word – both!

Gingerbread Latte or Orange spiced Hot Chocolate?

I’ve never tried either but Gingerbread Latte sounds a wee bit OTT so I’ll go for Orange spiced hot choc. You can’t go wrong with chocolate and orange…

 Mince Pie or Yule Log?

I love mince pies but unless one of my expat friends brings mincemeat we don’t get them in Switzerland. I remember my mother making them, oh, the aroma when they came out of the oven!

Christmas Dinner – Traditional Turkey or something Different?

In Switzerland the tradition is flexible – some families go for baked ham and potatoes, some have cheese or (more usually, at Christmas) meat fondue, or Raclette. This is a dish where you have a table-grill and everyone has a little pan of cheese to melt, and the result is eaten with potatoes, gherkins and pickles onions, olives etc.

Christmas Tipple – Bucks Fizz/Mulled Wine or something stronger?

Nothing can beat The Christmas Sherry in our house. Longstanding family tradition, a bottle of sherry over Christmas…

 A fun game of after dinner charades or more chocolates and the television?

We have a traditional Swiss Christmas dinner on the evening of the 24^th, after which the family open their presents, which generally takes care of the whole evening. The 25^th is a day to visit more family and friends, and generally relax, eat the leftovers and do your own thing. Which could include charades and chocolates and the television!

 @LindaHuber19
LindaHuber.net

Linda's Books can be found on Amazon

  


Linda is offering one copy of her latest book Cold Cold Sea to one lucky winner of this giveaway

(Europe only)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

My thanks to Linda for sharing her Christmas with us.

Jaffa and I wish you a very Happy Christmas






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