I am very happy to present a story from Stevie.
She is a published writer, and a very engaged blogger. Her own sites can be found here.
https://www.stevie-turner-author.co.uk/
https://steviet3.wordpress.com/
This is Stevie’s own introduction.
‘Welcome to my website. I hope you enjoy discovering my contemporary women’s fiction, suspense stories and humorous novels, reading their reviews, and also finding out more information about me. Every now and then I’ll be interviewing interesting people, adding a newsletter, and also giving away a copy or two of my books on my Competitions/Giveaways page.
I am a part-time medical secretary who has been writing poems and stories for years as a hobby, but now in middle age I’ve decided to try and put in place what I’ve been wanting to do all for ages – to publish my books and make a living as an author. I know it will be a hard road to travel, and at the moment I’m at the start of the journey, but who knows what’s around the corner? However, there is something I do know; whatever is coming at me I shall look forward to…….
I am married with an ever-expanding immediate family, and I live in the beautiful countryside of East Anglia in the UK. I gain inspiration while walking along the country footpaths and byways around my village. I like to read autobiographies, biographies, fiction with a biting wit, realistic family dramas, and faction (fiction based on fact). I have tried desperately to expand my preferences to include other genres, but unfortunately it just doesn’t work for me. I am happy to read and review Indie books that incorporate my preferred genres, so contact me at stevie@stevie-turner-author.co.uk if you have a book you think I’d like which needs a review.
To date I have published 8 novels, 4 novellas, and 18 short stories. My short story collection, Life, is available free to anybody who signs up to my mailing list. I am pleased to have won a New Apple Book Award and a Readers’ Favorite Gold star for ‘A House Without Windows’, and to have come third in the 2016 Drunken Druid Book Awards with ‘Repent at Leisure’. My suspense screenplay ‘For the Sake of a Child’ is currently being read by an independent film production company in Los Angeles.
My (sometimes) humorous memoir ‘Waiting in the Wings’, is now available on Amazon.’
And here is her story.
‘A Single Red Rose’.
She always took a bunch of flowers to her father’s grave every year on the anniversary of his passing. Her brother Steven had never bothered, but it assuaged her guilt somewhat at not having been the daughter he’d wanted her to be. She had never felt close to him at all, but now he was safely in the afterlife she could tend his grave and ensure the marble stone bearing his name was kept relatively free of moss.
The cemetery was bathed in warm dappled light on that late summer’s afternoon. Suzy parked at the entrance and picked up her bag containing gardening and cleaning equipment, idly re-reading the now familiar poignant inscriptions as she strolled along the path between lines of graves towards where Desmond Warren rested for eternity.
The path ended by a yew tree under which lay her father in a pre-paid family plot big enough for two. Suzy gazed at the grave in surprise, remembering with an ironic smile her mother’s wishes to be buried as far away from Desmond as it was possible to achieve. The tombstone was sparkling in the sunshine, but not a weed or clump of moss could be seen. She was further intrigued to discover one flower lying on top of the gravel chippings; a single red rose.
The petals had not withered, and there were no signs of decay. Suzy checked all around her, but nobody else was in view. She picked up the rose and inhaled its heady scent, pushing back memories of dripping cut flowers and her mother’s precious crystal vase as it shattered against the conservatory wall.
She replaced the rose, noticing at the same time how the chippings underneath it had been disturbed. Suzy dug down a little deeper into the gravel and pulled at the corner of a white card which had been secured by the weight of stones above. The card depicted a printed photo of her father as a younger man standing smiling with his arm around her mother’s waist. She recognised the background as that of her parents’ favourite beach, Southwold, on the Suffolk coast.
The card begged to be opened. Blinking back tears, Suzy read the words that her mother had written in the shaking hand of illness and old age:
‘Des, much water has gone under the bridge since that terrible day when I could stand no more pain. The years without you have been the happiest I’ve known, but your life was cut short before I’d gained enough insight and wisdom to realise why you were the man you were. Forgive me. I was young with two children who needed a loving and secure home.
I cannot turn back the clock and undo the wrong I did, but now at the end of my life I ask for your forgiveness. Here with you is where I want to lie when the Lord feels fit to take me. Steven knows my wishes, and brought me here today. I remain as always, your wife, Alice’.
There were no kisses or declarations of love. Suzy sighed, shovelled some of the chippings to one side, and re-buried the card. Then she laid her bouquet next to her mother’s, stood up, and quickly walked away.
Stevie has an Amazon page too.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=stevie+turner&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
Please check out her sites, and see what she has to offer.
This is a wonderful story from Stevie. Thank you, Pete.
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Stevie is a great writer, and a good blogging friend too. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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🙂
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Love the story. Great guest posting. Keep on, Pete! Best wishes, Michael
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More guest posts to come this week, Michael. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank you Pete! Very appreciated. Love it! By the way: How is Ollie?
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He is very good, Michael. The lost hair is growing back. 🙂
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Nice to hear. Best wishes, Michael
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What a lovely story! ❤
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Thanks, Colleen. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks, Pete! 😀
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A poignant tale that leaves one thinking.
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Thanks, Janet. Something that leaves you thinking is always good. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Janet. I expect people imagine different outcomes from it.
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Another fab guest post Pete, when I get home I’ll follows up all!
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Thanks, FR. More guest posts to come!
Best wishes, Pete.
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I might do one when I get home 🙂 if you’re still on the go.
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I’m always available for guest posts, especially from a best friend like you! 🙂
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Okidoki!
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Makes one wonder why people change so much, doesn’t it? Beautifully done, Stevie ❤
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Thanks very much, Jacquie. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Jacquie!
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Thanks for the intro, Pete.
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Stevie is very much like me, GP. A Londoner who has moved to the East, and enjoying her writing. She has lots to offer, on two blogs.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Reblogged this on Stevie Turner and commented:
Thanks to Beetley Pete for featuring me on his blog today. It was only while reading my own introduction that I realised I hadn’t updated the ‘About Me’ page on my website for a long time. I have now rectified this oversight!
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A touching story
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Thanks, Shaily. Stevie has a very popular following.
(Your guest post is up tomorrow)
Best wishes, Pete.
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I loved the way Stevie did not romanticized the letter. It showed how true the emotion was – Not love but pain. Thanks for the heads-up about my post… I am scared already! ☺️
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Good luck Shaily for tomorrow, and thank you for your comments.
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Thank you Shaily.
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It’s obvious Stevie’s a wonderful writer. I’m looking forward to reading more by her.
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Thanks, Kim. She has a well-deserved following. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank you for your kind words, Kim.
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A wonderful story from Stevie… and thanks for sharing Pete.
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It was my pleasure, Sally. I have been lucky with all my guest posts this time. 🙂
More to come!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Sally. x
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Stevie is a brilliant writer, Pete, and this is a poignant and well written story. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks, Robbie. I am very happy to feature her.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Robbie for your kind words.
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Nice work Stevie. We all know so little about our parents as young men and women. They are always simply mom and dad – until we are all grown up and they have passed.
Regards from Florida.
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Absolutely. When we are children we know they are immortal and invincible. However, when we are grown we see them with all their faults and weaknesses.
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Congrats to Stevie for all those publications and awards. They paint a rosy picture of her post-medical secretary literary career.
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Thanks. I’m still typing those clinic letters though…
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Thanks Pete for featuring me.
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My pleasure, Stevie. Let’s keep building the community!
Best wishes, Pete.
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