The Little Library on Cherry Lane
Yesterday was the publication of my new novel, The Little Library on Cherry Lane and I’m so excited to share this story with you because it is all about a library!
I LOVE libraries and I always have ever since I was little. The library in my own hometown was small but well-stocked and a haven for me as a child. It was there I discovered a love of reading and there that I’d go once a week on my maternity leave to stock up on books. But libraries aren’t just about borrowing books, they’re also about people coming together and I really wanted to bring this out in my story. Most readers love libraries and I thought it was time we wrote a love letter to one!
In The Little Library on Cherry Lane, Meadowbank library is a small, village library at the heart of the community but what will happen when a developer arrives determined to tear it down and build houses in its place? You’ll have to read to find out, but suffice to say Elsie, our usually shy, quiet librarian who can’t talk to strangers without blushing, suddenly finds herself coming out of her shell to battle with the developers all the while ignoring her feelings for handsome Jacob, the developer’s son who’s leading the project!
Elsie has lived in Meadowbank all her life and despite telling herself she’ll soon start travelling, she hasn’t managed it yet. She loves her tiny village but hasn’t realised until now how penned in she’s become. Her shyness is holding her back but has never been able to break through it until now when something she can’t help but fight for happens. Aided by her best friend Gemma, Elsie begins a campaign to keep the library alive, but will she succeed? And will she fall in love along the way?
If this sounds like your cup of tea, here’s an exclusive extract!
Extract from The Little Library on Cherry Lane, Chapter 3:
‘I’m afraid I’ve come to notify you that we’re selling the library for regeneration purposes.’
Elsie’s stomach catapulted itself into her throat. All the breath was knocked from her lungs like she’d taken a physical blow to the chest. Though they didn’t need pushing up, Elsie adjusted her glasses so she had something to do with her hands. ‘Regeneration purposes? What does that mean exactly?’
‘It means we’ll be using this land for housing. In fact, the sale will be going through over the next couple of days. There’ll be a formal meeting tomorrow at nine where you’ll be placed at risk of redundancy, but we thought it best to speak to you first and let you know now. We’ve heard reports that the news has been leaked to the papers and we didn’t want you to find out from there.’
‘That’s very kind of you,’ Karen said, clearly eyeing up redeployment. Elsie couldn’t bring herself to do the same. If she couldn’t work in the little library in Meadowbank, she didn’t want to work anywhere at all. Of course, she’d have to, the rational part of her brain told her. She had bills to pay. But this was the most wonderful library on the planet. Nowhere could compare to here. Except for maybe the Bodleian or the British Library, but she didn’t want to move to a big city where she’d undoubtedly end up lonely and terrified. This was her home where everyone knew her.
‘I’m terribly sorry to be the bearer of bad news,’ Rees-Hale said, standing up. For him the meeting was over.
‘But why?’ Elsie asked, pushing herself out of the ridiculously small chair, which was no mean feat. ‘We’ve got really good borrowing rates and . . . and everyone uses the library. Look how busy we are this morning, and this is just a normal Tuesday. Why do you have to build here? Surely there are other places.’
‘Elsie,’ Karen said through gritted teeth. ‘I’m sure Mr Rees-Hale has to get going.’
‘It’s fine,’ he said, holding out a hand in a conciliatory fashion. ‘The area – this area in particular – needs affordable housing. We run lots of other libraries and we feel there’ll be enough provision for the village.’
‘But—’
‘You’ll have a chance tomorrow in our formal meeting to ask any questions and there’ll be a public meeting in the evening, when we’ll let the rest of the village know our plans.’
They won’t like it, Elsie thought, but again bit her lip to stop the words coming out.
‘I’d ask you both to keep this information confidential until I announce things tomorrow. I’ve been assured the Media team can stop it appearing in the local paper, but they’ve said things like that before so we’re telling you just in case. Please put this notice on the door informing everyone that there’ll be a public meeting here tomorrow night. They’ll find out everything then. Do you have enough chairs out there?’ He peered out of the small window in the fire-proof door. ‘I doubt many people will come so you’ll probably be fine if you just round up all the ones you’ve got.’
Without thinking Elsie let out an incredulous snort but then turned it into a cough under Rees-Hale’s hard eyes. You clearly don’t know this village, she thought. There was going to be uproar. And heartbreak.
‘Obviously as council employees you’re expected to be politically neutral and support the plans.’
‘Of course,’ Karen replied, eyeing Elsie. ‘We understand.’
Neutral? How was she supposed to be neutral about their tearing the heart out of Meadowbank? About their tearing the heart out of her life. She thought of all the people out there right now, all the people who’d been there this morning. What about them? It was only now, as her legs almost gave way, that Elsie realised they were shaking.
For once, Elsie decided not to hold back, and racked her brains for another argument or evidence they were making the wrong decision, but her mind froze and her mouth opened and closed, no words coming out. Why when she wanted so desperately to scream and shout and make a fuss, summoning some courage and risking the worst of all possible things – a face-to-face confrontation – could she not think of anything to say?
Unfortunately, Rees-Hale didn’t even see her attempt at an argument as he exited the office without so much as a backwards glance.
The door clicked shut behind him, and her heart sank at the same time her world came tumbling down around her. Despite the warmth of the day, a cold chill rippled through her body, and she shuddered.
What the hell was she going to do now?
I really hoped you liked reading the extract and if you’d like to grab your copy here’s the link: https://amzn.to/34NsN5W
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Bio:
KATIE GINGER lives by the sea in the south-east of England, and apart from holidays to very hot places where you can sit by a pool and drink cocktails as big your head, she wouldn’t really want to be anywhere else. The Little Library on Cherry Lane is Katie’s ninth novel. She was also shortlisted for the Katie Fforde Debut Novel of the Year Award for her first novel The Little Theatre on the Seafront. When she’s not writing, Katie spends her time with her husband and two kids, and their dogs: Wotsit, the King Charles spaniel, and Skips, the three-legged rescue dog. (And yes, they are both named after crisps!)
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