A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS

A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS is the story of 14 year old Eliza who is forced out of her home one freezing winter's night. Lost and alone, she struggles across the snowy moors of Exmoor before collapsing on the doorstep of the reclusive Fay, who with the help of Duncan the Druid, slowly nurses her back to health. Eliza falls in love with the wilderness of her surroundings, discovering an unexpected talent for making medicines and perfumes from the abundant local flowers. Just when she's beginning to feel she belongs, Fay drops her bombshell. She has arranged for Eliza to take an apprenticeship with a master perfumer in Devonshire. Her parting gift is a little black bottle and the promise that if Eliza can discover the scent of the lingering scent, her future will be assured. Although eager to learn the art of perfume making, her new position brings misery and when she discovers what her charming employer is really up to, she fears for her life and is forced to flee once more. Determined to make a new life for herself, Eliza sets out to discover the flowers that comprise the scent in the black bottle. It's far from easy but as she widens her search, she meets a handsome young man who invites her into his heart and home. Dare she hope for a happy ending – and a family for Christmas at last?

LINDA FINLAY is an Image Consultant . She has had short stories published in women's magazines but it was a move to the spectacular Devon coast with its wealth of local history that inspired her to write her first novel ‘Lily The Lace Maker'. As part of her research, she learned to make the delicate pillow lace. Her sales are growing beautifully and she creeping up the bestseller list.