Grace's Turmoil

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Blurb 

Divorced and emotionally damaged, artist Grace Stollery wants nothing more than to spend her semi-retirement painting and let time heal her emotional scars.

But when dashing widower Alfred Nobel moves into her retirement village he turns her life upside down and her heart inside out by awakening feelings she wants to keep dormant.

Alfred quickly sets out to woo Grace and slowly she warms to him. But the village’s resident femme fatale wants him for herself. Will she succeed in driving a wedge between Alfred and Grace? 

        

Hi Alfred, can you tell us a little about yourself?

1.             What is your name?
Alfred Richard Nobel.

2.             How old are you, and what is your birthday?
I’m seventy-one. I was born on 17^th April 1943.

3.             How would you describe your physical characteristics?
I’m 6ft 5” tall. I’m not just tall, but I’m a big man in every way. I’m solidly built, barrel-chested, with large hands and feet. I guess that to some people that makes me seem imposing, but to others intimidating. And my voice can be somewhat booming, which as I sometimes can be a bit loud can make me seem a bit scary. My eyes are light blue. Some people have described them as piercing, others as compelling; and one or two as “come-to-bed”. In my RAF days, my hair was blonde, short, and always tidy. Now it’s snow white and a lot longer, plus I’ve grown a beard and moustache so now I like to think I look like Kenny Rogers.

4.             What is your marital status?
I’ve been a widower for five years after forty-five-years of marriage.

5.             What family do you have?
My wonderful daughter, Rebecca and her fifteen-year-old twin boys.

6.               How are your relationships with women, generally?
Well apart from my mum I’ve only ever had one woman in my life, my and soul-mate wife of 45 years; Sophie. So, I’m not exactly experienced in respect of the fairer sex, and I’m a bit nervous about building relationships.

7.               How would you describe your dress style?
Well you must remember that I spent a lot of time in the armed forces as an officer. So, for most of my life I dressed in a uniform, much the same as most people around me. When they leave the forces after a long time some people can’t stand to wear a tie anymore let alone a suit, and always dress very casual or even scruffy. But I’m just the opposite as I love to dress smart, and wear a tie most of the time and a suit whenever I get the opportunity.

8.               What hobbies do you have?
Photography is my favourite hobby; closely followed by Computer and PlayStation 4 games. I like crosswords, reading (usually e-books), and dancing, and walking. Unless there’s something to prevent me, I try to take a brisk walk every day.

9.             What are your favourite foods/drinks?
I’m a lover of plain food. So, steak, fish and chips, pies, pizzas – stuff like that. For desserts, I love anything with chocolate in or on it.  As for drinks, well I like lager, Bacardi White Rum, or Whisky (preferably single malt).

10.          How would you describe your sense of humour?
I’m a fairly serious person, but I do have a sense of humour – it’s just a bit dry. Also what I see as humour is sometimes seen by other people as sarcasm.

11.          How would you describe your temper?
Unpredictable and volatile.

12.           Will readers like or dislike your character?
It depends on the reader. Some will see him as well-meaning but flawed. Other will see him as a lying, self-centred cad. 

Excerpt 

Grace jabbed at the volume button on the remote control, turning up the sound on the television. She was trying to drown out the chatter which filled the palatial residents’ lounge. It had been like that for days, and she’d grown tired of it. Who would have thought the imminent arrival of one man could affect mature ladies like that?

One of the things which had appealed to her when she moved to The Grange retirement village was the lack of men. Yet a man who aroused feelings in her she didn’t want was going to add to their number.

Grace had caught a glimpse of him across The Lounge a few months ago, taking the standard tour of The Grange. He'd towered over the young woman he’d been with, and she’d guessed he was at least six-foot-five. Built like a tank, with a mass of wavy white hair and a snow-white beard, he’d reminded her of a polar bear. His presence had been overpowering and almost menacing. An image of him defending a seventeenth century mansion in days gone by had jumped into her mind.

Looking at him had sent a spontaneous burst of attraction rippling through her. It had caught her by surprise. Becoming attracted to anybody was the last thing she’d needed right then. Her divorce had been too recent and too painful. All she wanted was to focus on her painting to block out the pain. Although she hadn’t come there to look for a man, there was no denying how she’d reacted to the sight of him. She wondered how she would cope when they met. And she couldn’t help feeling he was going to have quite an impact on her life. Whether it would be a good impact or not was the million-dollar question. He might be the greatest thing since sliced bread! Or he could turn out to be a snake in the grass like her ex-husband.

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Author Bio

Peter Perrin writes sweet, seasoned romances involving larger-than-life mature characters who will make you rethink your views on older people in a positive way. His characters are mature in age but not necessarily in their behaviour. They may not be in the first flush of youth but that doesn’t stop some of them acting like hormonal teenagers.

Peter was born in Romford, in the county of Essex, near London, England. For nearly twenty years he has lived with his wife of almost forty years in a quiet suburb of Swindon, in the county of Wiltshire, in England. He is a father and grandfather.

He is a former member of The Royal Air Force who has served in the UK, and in Madagascar, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. He was also stationed for two years in Aden—which nowadays is part of Yemen.

After almost fifteen-years’ service in The Royal Air Force Peter worked in Engineering, Quality Control, and Procurement Management, not to mention myriad smaller jobs in between those careers.

Now retired Peter’s interests are Writing, Carp Fishing, and (despite being in his early seventies) PC and PlayStation games.

His favourite quote is “Youth passes, but with luck, immaturity can last a lifetime.”