Blurb
It’s 1994, Kurt Cobain has just died, and teenager Alex is spending the summer working in her Aunt’s Bed and Breakfast in rural Argyll. The village pace of life is slow compared to home in Edinburgh and Alex resigns herself to a quiet summer spent serving breakfasts and making beds. Everything changes however once she meets the twin brothers who live next door.
Spanning the next fifteen years of Alex’s life, Fade Into You is a love letter to growing up in Scotland in the 90s and 2000s. Set against a backdrop of T in the Park and the war in Iraq, soundtracked by Britpop and Grunge mixtapes, with the sweet taste of tablet, it is a novel about growing up and growing apart. It explores the intensity of childhood friendships, how they change as we get older but how they never really leave us.
Excerpt 1 Fade into You
‘I’M SORRY NOT to be able to give you a sea view,’ Aunt Ruby said, ‘we’re booked solid right now and people will pay a wee bit more to see The Falls.’
Alex looked out the window of the small bedroom which overlooked the back garden. The rhoddies were in full bloom, purple and pink flowers bright and garish against the drizzle.
‘That’s okay,’ she shrugged.
‘Why don’t you get out for a wee explore after being stuck on the train all morning?’
‘Don’t you need help with anything?’
‘Ach, plenty of time for all that,’ said Ruby. ‘You’ve just arrived after all. It’s the breakfasts and the room cleaning that I need most of the help with and that’s all done for today. You can help put the tea and tablet out in the lounge this evening.’
It was the first time Alex had visited Ruby without Mum. Ruby needed an extra pair of hands at the B&B over the summer but couldn’t really afford to pay anyone as she’d just fitted double glazing and en-suites in all the guest rooms.
‘My friend, Valerie, from Oban, comes in and helps out but sometimes the pair of us are running around here like a pair of headless chickens.’ Ruby went on.
Alex looked out the window.
‘I might wait until the rain stops,’ she said.
‘Ach, that’s not rain. Away you go.’
Alex pulled on her denim jacket, her Walkman tucked in the inside pocket, halfway through side two of In Utero. She was still in mourning for Kurt, but she also kind of enjoyed the dramatic wallowing that listening to Nirvana gave her.
‘Is that the only jacket you’ve brought?’ Ruby asked.
Alex nodded.
‘Why don’t you take one of mine? They’re all hanging at the back door.’
‘No, it’s fine. I’ll be okay.’
She wasn’t prepared to go trooping around the village in one of Aunt Ruby’s old waterproofs.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 