Kate Dixon is miserable. So when an e-mail from a stranger offers her a no-strings-attached, three-month-long life exchange, she jumps at the chance. After all: what has she got to lose?
But leaving your life in someone else’s hands is a dangerous game. And Kate’s about to find out just how seriously her opponent is playing.
Yours is Mine
Amy Bird
AMY BIRD lives in London, where she is currently dividing her time between working as a solicitor, finalising her second novel, and completing a Creative Writing MA. She loves to read and review books as well as write them, and has also written a number of plays, which have been performed to large audiences and received critical acclaim. Her husband, Michael, writes too and one of their favourite pastimes is to ‘fantasy cast’ films of their novels while cooking up new concoctions in the kitchen. For updates on her writing follow her on Twitter, @London_Writer
I would like to thank all the people who have helped in my journey as a writer over the years. In particular: contemporaries and tutors at Birkbeck and Faber Academy for providing an environment to explore my voice; my family and friends for their understanding when I vanish into my study for hours (/days) on end; and to everyone at Carina (especially the lovely Clio Cornish) for developing Yours is Mine for readers and welcoming me to the Carina family. And extra big thanks to my husband, Michael, for his unerring support, re-reading of re-drafts and all the ‘constructive’ feedback.
If Yours is Mine keeps you on the edge of your seat, pass it on. But please: keep its secrets safe. #YoursisMine
Contents
Chapter 1
-Kate-
The day the invitation appeared in her email inbox, Kate Dixon was ready to give up.
Cards congratulating her on the success of her dad’s funeral the previous week were still pouring through the letterbox of his Kielder cottage. ‘I thought it went well, all things considered’, they said, or ‘He would have been very pleased’. Kate knew the blue silk inside the coffin had been fetching, but she still thought dad would have preferred to be alive. They could be going for a jog, even now, in the Kielder National Park surrounding his cottage, like they used to.
At least Neil had been there to fulfil husbandly duties, the Navy having flown him home for the funeral. He’d even come to the pulpit with her when she’d read, gently caressing her fingers when she began to cry.
“Don’t