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The Willow Lake Group
Love, Friendship, Poetry, Obsession and a Magical Cookbook - they can all be found at The Willow Lake Group.
Gavin Ramsay (a 42 year old man with a checkered past) travels to Willow Lake - a sleepy town somewhere in New England - to complete a carpentry contract. On the way he meets Liam Strindberg, a 27 year old hipster who is reeling after his fiance left him on the morning of their wedding day.
When they arrive at Willow Lake, they go their separate ways - only to be reunited at the Willow Lake Bookstore - where they meet the colorful characters in the bookstore's literary group.
There's William - the proprietor of the bookstore - a 68 year old widower who pines for his dear, departed wife.
Then there's Beth and Delia - two lovers in their 50's, who settled in Willow Lake after an eon of persecution from their families.
April is in her forties - quiet as a shadow - with a backbone stronger than anyone could have imagined.
Alan - fast approaching 60 - is considered a carbon-copy of Ernest Hemingway, with his love of women, fishing and the Beat generation.
Everyone adores Stanley - who's 52 and fabulously flamboyant - with his deeply closeted heart on his sleeve.
Then of course there's Sondra - the 40 year old witch who prepares the sumptuous meals that delight the members of the Willow Lake Group.
Space cadet Mena (20) and self-styled "Goth/Viking/Vampire" Lars (25) are the youngest members - who weave in and out of the group - dancing to their own tune, having escaped terrible abuse as children.
Finally, Gavin has found the family he's been searching for his whole life. The icing on the cake (including the cherry on top!) is the love that soon develops between Gavin and Sondra.
As for Liam - he never expected to fall in love with a woman's handwriting - which leads him through a dark path of obsession and soul-searching.
Gavin is surprised to learn that the handwriting belongs to his beloved Sondra.
As all their lives become entangled - the Willow Lake Group find it more and more difficult to retain the peace.
All Sondra wants is Gavin - and the successful completion of her Wiccan cookbook.
All Gavin wants is Sondra - and for Liam to disappear.
All Liam wants is Sondra - at any cost.
Gavin Ramsay (a 42 year old man with a checkered past) travels to Willow Lake - a sleepy town somewhere in New England - to complete a carpentry contract. On the way he meets Liam Strindberg, a 27 year old hipster who is reeling after his fiance left him on the morning of their wedding day.
When they arrive at Willow Lake, they go their separate ways - only to be reunited at the Willow Lake Bookstore - where they meet the colorful characters in the bookstore's literary group.
There's William - the proprietor of the bookstore - a 68 year old widower who pines for his dear, departed wife.
Then there's Beth and Delia - two lovers in their 50's, who settled in Willow Lake after an eon of persecution from their families.
April is in her forties - quiet as a shadow - with a backbone stronger than anyone could have imagined.
Alan - fast approaching 60 - is considered a carbon-copy of Ernest Hemingway, with his love of women, fishing and the Beat generation.
Everyone adores Stanley - who's 52 and fabulously flamboyant - with his deeply closeted heart on his sleeve.
Then of course there's Sondra - the 40 year old witch who prepares the sumptuous meals that delight the members of the Willow Lake Group.
Space cadet Mena (20) and self-styled "Goth/Viking/Vampire" Lars (25) are the youngest members - who weave in and out of the group - dancing to their own tune, having escaped terrible abuse as children.
Finally, Gavin has found the family he's been searching for his whole life. The icing on the cake (including the cherry on top!) is the love that soon develops between Gavin and Sondra.
As for Liam - he never expected to fall in love with a woman's handwriting - which leads him through a dark path of obsession and soul-searching.
Gavin is surprised to learn that the handwriting belongs to his beloved Sondra.
As all their lives become entangled - the Willow Lake Group find it more and more difficult to retain the peace.
All Sondra wants is Gavin - and the successful completion of her Wiccan cookbook.
All Gavin wants is Sondra - and for Liam to disappear.
All Liam wants is Sondra - at any cost.
256 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2016
About the author
Kelly Proudfoot
9 books88 followersAustralian - now living in Nashville Tennessee. Author of The Storming Archives: Delwyn of the Realms (Book 1), Portal Stormer (Book 2) and Totem Shift (Book 3). Soul Storm (Book 4) is currently being written.
Also available: "The Ninth Window" - an erotic novel with a surprise twist!
"The Willow Lake Group" (literary romance) is now available on Amazon - see my book trailer!
My new novel - contemporary romance - Juneau Dreaming is available on Amazon (Kindle Edition).
I have a horror story on the back-burner as well as many other projects!
My articles have been published in Llewellyn’s Almanacs, such as the 2011 Magical Almanac, 2012 Witches’ Spell A Day Almanac and the 2013 Herbal Almanac.
I love the Beat writers - especially Ginsberg, Kerouac and Burroughs. Angela Carter is an important influence as well as Anais Nin, Henry Miller, H.P. Lovecraft, Kafka, Neil Gaiman, to name a few.
The settings of my stories wouldn't have half the magic without Catweazle, The Children of Green Knowe, Enid Blyton and many more.
I also write poetry, screenplays, short stories and have experience developing training courses and workshops. I am currently a full time author and freelancer.
Also available: "The Ninth Window" - an erotic novel with a surprise twist!
"The Willow Lake Group" (literary romance) is now available on Amazon - see my book trailer!
My new novel - contemporary romance - Juneau Dreaming is available on Amazon (Kindle Edition).
I have a horror story on the back-burner as well as many other projects!
My articles have been published in Llewellyn’s Almanacs, such as the 2011 Magical Almanac, 2012 Witches’ Spell A Day Almanac and the 2013 Herbal Almanac.
I love the Beat writers - especially Ginsberg, Kerouac and Burroughs. Angela Carter is an important influence as well as Anais Nin, Henry Miller, H.P. Lovecraft, Kafka, Neil Gaiman, to name a few.
The settings of my stories wouldn't have half the magic without Catweazle, The Children of Green Knowe, Enid Blyton and many more.
I also write poetry, screenplays, short stories and have experience developing training courses and workshops. I am currently a full time author and freelancer.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 7, 2016
It is hard to categorize this as a romance, or chick lit, it is really just a beautifully told story of a group of people that formed a bond. A wonderful heartfelt bond. They met at different times in their lives and formed a group. They welcomed Gavin and Liam into the group when they arrived in town.
The characters are so well formed, I can see them vividly in my mind sitting around the room chatting and teasing and falling in love. I can see their faces when they participate in poetry readings and while enjoying a day at the fair. Kelly Proudfoot has created a community filled with eccentrics, beauties, reformed bad boys and people with secrets.
When they invited in Liam and Gavin to participate they opened themselves to hurt and happiness. Both men felt pulled to Sondra, however, they approached her in vastly different ways. It made for an exciting and mysterious story. I am so glad that she gave me the book in exchange for an honest review. The characters came to life for me, I am so glad I read about them.
The characters are so well formed, I can see them vividly in my mind sitting around the room chatting and teasing and falling in love. I can see their faces when they participate in poetry readings and while enjoying a day at the fair. Kelly Proudfoot has created a community filled with eccentrics, beauties, reformed bad boys and people with secrets.
When they invited in Liam and Gavin to participate they opened themselves to hurt and happiness. Both men felt pulled to Sondra, however, they approached her in vastly different ways. It made for an exciting and mysterious story. I am so glad that she gave me the book in exchange for an honest review. The characters came to life for me, I am so glad I read about them.
March 31, 2016
Gavin and Liam both arrive in the small town of Willow Lake at the same time but what unfolds when they discover The Willow Lake Group changes their lives. Two stories that are forever entwined but with very different consequences.
This was an interesting read because The Willow Lake Group is a strange mix of genres. At times it is reminiscent of the bildungsroman in the way it looks deeply at the characters lives as they discover new things about themselves, at others there is a sense of mystery, with almost thriller like elements. It is also otherworldly, with a supernatural like feel. I have no idea what exactly to call this extraordinary hybrid but it is in this way that Proudfoot casts a spell on the reader, captivating their attention with a colourful set of characters, and quotations.
However, the reason The Willow Lake Group didn’t quite get the 4*s, although it was really close, was I wanted to learn more about what was going on with Liam. I felt that the narrative was setup to reveal more about his character but then left me hanging right at the end despite all of Gavin’s promises. I just wanted a little bit more from his perspective.
Nevertheless I’ll definitely be adding Kelly Proudfoot to my “check out more from this author list”.
If you liked this review, check out pageonebooks.wordpress.com.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.
This was an interesting read because The Willow Lake Group is a strange mix of genres. At times it is reminiscent of the bildungsroman in the way it looks deeply at the characters lives as they discover new things about themselves, at others there is a sense of mystery, with almost thriller like elements. It is also otherworldly, with a supernatural like feel. I have no idea what exactly to call this extraordinary hybrid but it is in this way that Proudfoot casts a spell on the reader, captivating their attention with a colourful set of characters, and quotations.
However, the reason The Willow Lake Group didn’t quite get the 4*s, although it was really close, was I wanted to learn more about what was going on with Liam. I felt that the narrative was setup to reveal more about his character but then left me hanging right at the end despite all of Gavin’s promises. I just wanted a little bit more from his perspective.
Nevertheless I’ll definitely be adding Kelly Proudfoot to my “check out more from this author list”.
If you liked this review, check out pageonebooks.wordpress.com.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.
November 10, 2016
I Won this book on the giveaways and found it hard to put down. It made me happy, I felt like I was there with the characters experiencing everything in their day to day life. A wonderful read, thank you Kelly Proudfoot for this book!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews