Amanda in the Summer by Brenda Whiteside is FREE!

Three generations of women…and the secret that strengthens their love.

 

Imagine summertime, lazy days, lying on the beach watching the waves roll in and writing a letter to your best friend. Okay, this is probably totally foreign to some of you. Write a letter? Why not just call or text? In 1947, you wouldn’t have had that option. Writing a letter was an art, an intimate exchange and a satisfying pastime. The excitement of waiting for a reply and checking the mailbox every day was a treat.

Amanda in the Summer is told through that old-fashioned way of communicating. Three of my characters are named Amanda, mother, daughter and granddaughter, and through letters they write to Tilly, over the course of fifty-seven years, a story of love, pain, secrets and joy unfolds.

We never hear from Tilly, but through the words of the three Amandas we meet the woman who is the epitome of the forward thinking female of her era. She’s a member of the beat generation of the forties and fifties and holds a secret that affects all three generations of Amandas. Although each generation has her own voice, the friendship and love remain constant. But then there’s that secret…

Blurb:

A line of women, all named Amanda, stretches back for generations. Each with her hopes, her joys, her pain—each pouring out her heart in correspondence with a dear family friend who shares their lives, understands their loves, and joins in their sorrows.

But within the correspondence lies a secret. And as the youngest of the Amandas retraces the journey through the years—beginning in post-war America and following through to modern day—the letters reveal, layer by layer, the Amandas who came before her. Soon, the truths and lies hidden in the letters lead her down a path of self-discovery that forges a bond between her past and future.

Excerpt:

August 24, 1968

Dear Tilly,

A few days of bliss with no one to talk to but the seagulls. I have you to thank for this. I’m so glad you popped back after Amanda, Robert, and Mother left. The strain I put on all of us while you were here would’ve dragged on for who knows how long if you hadn’t returned. Once again, Tilly, you read the tea leaves and righted things.

My moods have been so ragged of late. Jealousy of all things. Jealous that you could talk to my daughter, get along so lovely with her, which I’ve had difficulty doing these last few months. Jealous of your longer running friendship with Robert than with me. I’m not sure if I was jealous of him or you. You’re both mine. And angry that the two of you are uncomfortable around each other after so many years and not making sense of that. When Robert left, I tried to give him the blue swimsuit you had left behind and asked him to drop in on you to return it. He said no, I could do it when I got back. This was so unlike him and did more to unsettle me...

Amanda in the Summer is available exclusively on Amazon until December. Right now it’s FREE! Please click on the link below for your free download today. http://tinyurl.com/mb5cwly 

About Brenda:

Although I didn’t start out to write romance, I’ve found all good stories have to involve complicated human relationships. I’ve also learned, no matter a person’s age, a new discovery is right around every corner. Whether humorous or serious, straight contemporary or mystery, all my books revolve around those two facts.

Visit Brenda at www.brendawhiteside.com.

Or on FaceBook: www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/brendawhitesid2
She blogs on the 9^th and 24^th of every month at http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com
She blogs about prairie life and writing at http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/