Our Father, Who Art Out There...Somewhere!,Used

Product Description Growing up in Accrington with only an agoraphobic mother and Bert next door for company, Lily Appleyard spent her childhood hoping that one day her absent father would show up and whisk her off to a better life. He never did. Now nineteen and at college in Leeds, she stills harbours a fantasy hell show up one day. Maybe hes busy saving the whale in the Antarctic, or searching for a cure for cancer in the Brazilian Rainforest. Her best friend Jo has much lower expectations of men. Thats because her father waited until she was fourteen before leaving with his teenage, pregnant girlfriend. When Lilys mother dies and Lily finds her father alive and well but with no intention of ever meeting her, she has a decision to make. Should she forget about him? Or does she have a right to know her own father? Doesnt he owe her at least one meeting? Jos had enough of talking about a revolution. She thinks its time for action. Fuelled by vodka and a burning need for revenge, Lily realises shes got nothing left to lose. From the Back Cover Growing up in Accrington with only an agoraphobic mother and Bert next door for company, Lily Appleyard spent her childhood hoping that one day her absent father would show up and whisk her off to a better life. He never did. Now nineteen and at college in Leeds, she stills harbours a fantasy hell show up one day. Maybe hes busy saving the whale in the Antarctic, or searching for a cure for cancer in the Brazilian Rainforest. Her best friend Jo has much lower expectations of men. Thats because her father waited until she was fourteen before leaving with his teenage, pregnant girlfriend. When Lilys mother dies and Lily finds her father alive and well but with no intention of ever meeting her, she has a decision to make. Should she forget about him? Or does she have a right to know her own father? Doesnt he owe her at least one meeting? Jos had enough of talking about a revolution. She thinks its time for action. Fuelled by vodka and a burning need for revenge, Lily realises shes got nothing left to lose. About the Author Born and raised in Burnley, Alison has dreamed of becoming a writer ever since reading Harriet the Spy by torchlight under the bedcovers, aged about eight. After completing a degree in Social Policy, Alison lived in Crete and spent time in the Middle and Far East. In the midnineties she was a keen supporter of the free party network. She has worked in a variety of jobs but after being sacked once too often for gross insubordination, Alison decided to heed the words of one employer who described her as unmanageable, and became a full time writer. Alison now lives in Leeds with her partner and two children. She spends her days arguing about whose turn it is to sort out the washing, and her evenings at the computer, sipping mint tea and plotting her revenge. Our Father (Who Art Out There, Somewhere) is Alisons first novel. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Prologue Its not a pretty sight, even to the uncynical eye. Ten minutes to go until last orders, Happy Tuesday of Freshers week (like happy hour but without the constraint of time). The crowd at the bar is at least five deep; everyone jostling to get another one in before the lights come up, and the grim reality of the surroundings can no longer be ignored. The air is so heavy with cigarette smoke, its difficult for Lily to locate her friend as she emerges from the scrum, head bent, arms at right angles, with two plastic pints of luminous vodka and orange. Her DMs stick to the floor each step she takes. Luckily, Jos bleached white flattop helps her stand out from the crowd. God, some bloke just threw up behind me, is it in my hair? Lily has to shout to be heard above the strains of Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves. She turns round and Jo inspects her dirty blonde dreadlocks, which hang down her back like rope. Cant see anyth