Book Besties!
It’s National Best Friends Day.
Yes, today, June 8th, is National Best Friends Day. To be honest, I’d never heard of it until recently, but when I had, it got me thinking about the friendships I’ve created in my books, the best friends that some of the characters have, and how those close relationships impact their lives.
I realised that not all my characters have best friends as such, although some might have siblings as friends, and many are part of larger friendship groups.
I decided to go through each of my series and pick out some of my characters that became best friends, and what those special friendships meant to them and to their stories. So let’s start at the beginning with the very first friendship I created…
Eliza and Rose ~ Kearton Bay Series
Click to learn more about Kearton Bay
I’ve said on several occasions that Rose wasn’t ever meant to be a main character. She certainly wasn’t meant to get her own book. But Rose, being Rose, had other ideas, and after I’d finished Eliza’s story, There Must Be an Angel, I immediately began work on A Kiss from a Rose.
Rose and Eliza are, on the face of it, very different people. When Eliza arrived in Kearton Bay she was reeling from a harsh betrayal, unsure of herself, lost and very scared. Rose, on the other hand, was confident, bolshy, and not afraid to stand up for herself. As these two got to know each other a little better, Rose decided to help Eliza in her quest to find her father, and the two of them grew ever closer.
Their growing friendship deepened and strengthened, helping both of them to bloom. Eliza grew more confident, more aware of her own worth, and able to make choices, not out of desperation, but because they were best for her. Rose softened, and through Eliza’s eyes we saw the vulnerable person beneath the surface, and how loyal and fiercely protective of those she cared about Rose really was.
Eliza realised how unselfish Rose had been in helping her while secretly facing her own struggles, and was able to repay the best friend she’d ever had in a way that made both their lives so much better.
Although the final two books focused on Eliza’s stepdaughter, Lexi, and the landlady of the village pub, Rhiannon, the friendship between Eliza and Rose was always present - right to the very last page of the final book. I like to think they’re still visiting each other’s homes, working together at Mallow Magic, and having a drink and a good gossip in The Hare and Moon.
Anna and Izzy ~ Bramblewick Series
Click to learn more about Bramblewick
From the very beginning of New Doctor at Chestnut House we learned that Anna, the receptionist at the Bramblewick surgery and daughter of the village’s late doctor, had a best friend. Her name was Izzy, short for Isobel, and she lived at Rose Cottage in the village.
When Anna had to leave her home, Chestnut House, to make way for the new doctor, it was Izzy’s home she went to. Izzy had offered her a roof over her head while Anna prepared to move down to Kent to be with her fiance and begin a new life. Izzy is a teacher, and the two of them had been best friends for years. Izzy was very supportive as Anna wrestled with her doubts about her engagement and leaving Bramblewick.
That said, their friendship was tested in Izzy’s story, A Merry Bramblewick Christmas. She revealed a secret to Anna and it didn’t seem as if Anna was handling it very well. Izzy felt pushed out as Anna moved closer to Nell, the owner of Spill the Beans Coffee Shop in the village.
I quite enjoyed writing this story because it deals with jealousy, and what can happen when a best friend seems to be making a strong connection with another friend.
Did Anna and Izzy’s special friendship survive? You’ll have to read the Bramblewick series to find out!
Sally and Kat ~ The Other Half/Tuppenny Bridge Series
Click to learn more about The Other Half/Tuppenny Bridge
I honestly didn’t intend to give Sally a best friend, but when I started writing what became How the Other Half Loves Kat just arrived on the page, and immediately it was obvious that she and Sally were already close.
Readers of The Other Half series will know that Sally had been through quite the traumatic time with her husband and children, and that Tuppenny Bridge was a fresh start. What I didn’t know, at the time I started writing Kat into Sally’s story, was how much of a traumatic time she’d been through, too!
Although Sally was older than Kat, and had two grown-up daughters, whereas Kat (at the beginning of How the Other Half Loves) was about to become a single mum of one, the two women quickly developed a genuine friendship. Kat supported Sally when Sally’s ex arrived on the scene, and she was one of the (very!) few people not to take offence at Sally’s mother, Mona! In fact, Kat found Mona’s barbed comments funny, and Mona quite warmed to her daughter’s new friend as a result.
As Kat’s own story (told in Second Chances in Tuppenny Bridge) began to take shape, Sally was there for her friend. And boy, did Kat need a friend! These two had both been through traumatic times. They’d known terrible betrayal and grief, were devoted mums, and against the odds had found new love. I often think of them there in Tuppenny Bridge, happy and contented, running their businesses, caring for their families, and being very much loved in return. I do love a happy ever after!
Callie and Clara ~ Ghosts of Rowan Vale Series
This is a friendship that is quite new to me and to my readers. At the time of writing this blog, only the first in the series has been published: Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall. Already, though, readers will have realised that Callie Chase - the new owner of the Harling Estate, including Rowan Vale - has struck up a friendship with Clara Milsom, who lives at Honeywell House in the village.
Clara is forty-one, married, with three children. Callie is thirty, single, with one child. Their lives are quite different in some respects, but they bond over the school run, and when Clara invites Callie to the pub quiz at The Quicken Tree Inn it truly begins a warm and close friendship that brings joy to them both.
You’ll see more of this friendship in future books in the series - especially in book three which will be out around September.
Click to learn more about Ghosts of Rowan Vale
I hope you liked reading about some of the friendships you’ll find in my books. Happy Best Friends Day! I wish you a friendship as deep and rewarding as my fictional characters have enjoyed.
Have a great week!
