Front Page Fridays Week-28
Front Page Fridays Week-28
Welcome to Front Page Fridays Week-28. On Fridays I highlight a recently published book by showcasing the first page.
My Front Page Fridays Week-28 guest is Amanda James and a sneak peek at her forthcoming novel, The Midnight Bookshop.
Here’s the opening:
Prologue
Long ago, a wondrous bookshop was born.
Seemingly, the outer shell is made of bricks and mortar – factory forged, yet inside are the lungs, the brain, the soul and beating heart of all those who find joy, love, and hope within the pages of a book.
Trees are the lifeblood of our planet, and together with the words penned upon the echo of old forests, new worlds are created. These worlds are only briefly inhabited by the reader, yet sometimes, the story can remain part of them forever.
Over the years, those who have been lucky enough to hear the call of the bookshop, have described the experience as life-changing.
The bookshop is alive still today, ready and waiting to welcome those who know where to find it.
Fay Revil
Chapter One
Jo
On a January day with the promise of snow on the wind, and the song of cathedral bells ringing through the narrow, cobbled streets, Jo thinks Truro is nearly the most magical place she’s yet been. Not that she’s particularly well-travelled, of course. No, that is in her imagination. Her imagination is very well-travelled. It has been to the most incredible and beautiful places, full of adventure, stunning beauty and, best of all, light. The kind of light that makes her feel safe, uplifted and warm. Cared for. Jo hates the dark, except on moonlit nights when the velvet black sky is diamond studded, and the face of the moon is a pale silver circle. Moonlight has to be the most magical kind of light. Not the warmest, but the most uplifting. Ethereal.
Jo’s imagination is fuelled in the main, by books. Her mother always says books are a kind of an addiction for Jo, which is a very odd thing to say, but then her mother is very odd in Jo’s opinion. Since she was four years old, her parents had marvelled at her appetite for the written word and remarked to anyone who’d listen that she would be a great writer one day, or a great poet, teacher, or even a great curator of books in a hall of learning. Jo always had to be a great ‘something’ in their eyes, but Jo has a very different vision to theirs. Their visions for the future and Jo’s are so far apart, it has proved impossible to marry the two. In truth, Jo wonders if she has a vision for the future at all, beyond opposing anything and everything her parents put in front of her. Dismissing each and every one with the wave of a hand, as if she’s an impossible-to-please food critic at a Michelin starred restaurant.
About the Book
You don't choose the book. The book chooses you…
Long ago, a bookshop was born – the beating heart of all those who find hope within the pages of a book. With the words penned upon the echo of old forests, new worlds are created.
It’s ready and waiting to welcome all those who know where to find it…
Strangers Jo, Adelaide and Kye are the least likely people to find themselves across the threshold of a bookshop.
But as their midnight book club shows them that a single book can change everything, all three realise that their own stories can be rewritten. Under the guidance of the bookshop keeper, Fay, the three very different characters find they have much more in common than they first imagined. Together, these new friends embark upon a midnight adventure at the magical bookshop which will change their lives forever...
The Midnight Bookshop is published by One More Chapter on 16 May 2025.
Purchase link - https://mybook.to/O1A7E
About the Author
Amanda James has written since she was a child, and as an eight-year-old, she asked her parents for a typewriter for Christmas. She never imagined her words would ever be published, however. Then in 2010, after many twists and turns, the dream of becoming a writer came true when she had her first short story published for a Born Free anthology. She left teaching in 2013 to pursue her dream full-time.
Originally from Sheffield, Amanda now lives in Cornwall and is inspired every day by the wild and beautiful coastline near her home. She loves writing uplifting books with a twist of magic, as she thinks the world needs more joy in it right now. Amanda can usually be found playing on the beach with her family or walking the cliff paths planning her next book.
Social media links
Facebook - mandy.james.33
Instagram - @mandykjames
Bluesky - @amandajames.bsky.social
Books by Amanda James
The Midnight Bookshop - One More Chapter - Harper Collins (May 2025)
The Garden of Memories - One More Chapter - Harper Collins (June 2024)
Wish Upon a Cornish Moon - One More Chapter - Harper Collins (May 2023)
The Secret Keeper - One More Chapter- Harper Collins ( January 2023)
The Forgotten Beach - One More Chapter - Harper Collins (May 2022)
The Garden by the Sea - One More Chapter - Harper Collins, (January 2022)
A Secret Gift - One More Chapter - Harper Collins, (October 2021)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amanda-James/e/B00BO7XBNQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
I hope you enjoyed reading Front Page Fridays Week-28. Please come back next time when I’ll be featuring a different author and the first page of their book.
And please take a look at books already featured on Front Page Fridays:
1. Blood Ribbons by Lin Le Versha – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-1/
2. Fatal Blow by Brian Price – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-2/
3. Can I Trust You? by Rob Gittins – Front Page Fridays Week-3 – Rachel Sargeant
4. The Last Bird of Paradise by AJ Aberford – Front Page Fridays Week-4 – Rachel Sargeant
5. Never Forgive You by Hilly Barmby – Front Page Fridays Week-5 – Rachel Sargeant
6. The Mists of Pencarrack Moor by Terri Nixon – Front Page Fridays Week-6 - Rachel Sargeant
7. The Thief of Joy by Stacey Murray – Front Page Fridays Week-7 - Rachel Sargeant
8. Edge of the Land by Malcolm Hollingdrake – Front Page Fridays Week-8 - Rachel Sargeant
9. The Mind of a Murderer by Michael Wood - https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-9/
10. The Midnight Man by Julie Anderson – Front Page Fridays Week-10 - Rachel Sargeant
11. Dark Road Home by Sheila Bugler – Front Page Fridays Week-11 - Rachel Sargeant
12. Her Charming Man by Rachel Sargeant – Front Page Fridays Week-12 - Rachel Sargeant
13. Wedding Bells at the Lakeside Hotel by Linda Huber – Front Page Fridays Week-13 - Rachel Sargeant
14. Dark Island by Daniel Aubrey – Front Page Fridays Week-14 - Rachel Sargeant
15. The Shame by Maureen Myant – Front Page Fridays Week-15 - Rachel Sargeant
16. Dead Mile by Jo Furniss – Front Page Fridays Week-16 — Rachel Sargeant
17. The Violin and Candlestick by David Jarvis – Front Page Fridays Week-17 — Rachel Sargeant
18. New Memories by S.E. Shepherd – Front Page Fridays Week-18 — Rachel Sargeant
19. Young Blood by Victoria Gemmell – Front Page Fridays Week-19 — Rachel Sargeant
20. Private Investigations by Rob Gittins – Front Page Fridays Week-20 — Rachel Sargeant
21. The Car Horn revolution by A.J. Aberford – Front Page Fridays Week-21 — Rachel Sargeant
22. What Lies Beneath by Maureen Myant – Front Page Fridays Week-22 — Rachel Sargeant
23. A Safe Place by Stephanie Carty – Front Page Fridays Week-23 — Rachel Sargeant
24. Fatal Image by Brian Price – Front Page Fridays Week-24 — Rachel Sargeant
25. Run For Your Lies by A.A. Abbott – Front Page Fridays Week-25 — Rachel Sargeant
26. A Walk in the Park by Natalie Kleinman – Front Page Fridays Week-26 — Rachel Sargeant
27. A Storm in a Teacup by Rachael Gray – Front Page Fridays Week-27 — Rachel Sargeant