Welcome to another Weekend Read. My guest today is psychological thriller author, Maria Frankland, who is going to talk to us about her latest book, The Winter Retreat. So grab yourself a cuppa, get cosy and let’s get chatting to Maria.

Blurb

As I reach Whispering Pines, a haven promising four days of Winter Solstice calm, the snow has just begun to fall.

But I’m not here to hold yoga poses and breathe. I’m here to work. As a drowning single mother, my children’s Christmas depends on the money I’ve been promised.

As the weather worsens and guests stream in, I rush from kettle to cloakroom, pressing warm mugs into cold hands, and tucking blankets around shoulders. Then the door swings open on the last face I want to see – my ex-husband’s new girlfriend, Katina. We lock eyes, shocked, and silently agree to pretend we’re strangers.

The retreat gets underway, and our lines of separation are drawn. The women bask in the sauna and hot tub, drift through sound baths in the main yoga space, and expect perfection. I’m run ragged keeping it that way.

Outside, the snow thickens.

It turns out Katina and I aren’t the only ones bristling. Tensions ripple among staff and guests; small slights sour what should be pleasant meals, and whispered grudges taint the planned activities. The promised serenity is quickly becoming a pressure cooker. Then the unthinkable at a sanctuary like this becomes real.

A body is discovered.

With snow piled high, help can’t get in. Nor can anyone get out. We move the body out of sight and, unbelievably, carry on with the programme. Shocking, yes. Suspicious? Of course not.

Until a second body is found.

Panic tears through Whispering Pines. Accusations fly and fingers point in every direction – until they settle on one person.

Me.

And now, the only way out of this winter retreat is to survive it.

And here’s an extract from Chapter One:

‘Your card has been declined, I’m afraid.’ The assistant looks at me in that smug way people do when they believe they’ve got the upper hand. Just five minutes ago she looked like she’d been sitting at the checkout for the past eighteen hours straight. I’ve never seen someone look so bored, but now she looks positively animated. ‘Do you have an alternative method of payment, madam?’

One thing which always winds me up is being referred to as madam. I’m thirty-two, not a hundred. But this is the least of my worries. That my card has been declined has become my most pressing concern. 

Can today really get any worse?

‘Just a moment.’ I loosen my scarf, hoping to find some relief from the stifling heat in here as I fish around in my bag. ‘Try this one.’ I pass her my already maxed-out credit card, praying the powers that be might allow me to exceed my limit. I can worry how I’m going to pay it back at a later date.

‘That one’s also been declined.’ She looks beyond me down the lengthening queue where people are beginning to shuffle and mutter as they wait with their tins of chocolates, crackers and rolls of wrapping paper. Everyone’s gearing up for the big day in just over a week. I thought I was gearing up for it as well. 

‘Can you give me a few minutes? While I get something sorted?’

She raises her eyes to the heavens and presses a button on her tannoy. ‘Supervisor to till seven.’ The cheery Christmas music pauses as she makes her request, before it returns to its former volume. I wouldn’t care if I never heard a festive song again for as long as I live.

By the time the supervisor arrives, the queue must be fifteen deep with furious-looking shoppers. The other checkout lines are just as bad, but at least they’re slowly moving.

‘This lady can’t pay,’ the checkout girl explains in an unnecessarily loud, sing-song voice. ‘We need to put all this on hold while she sorts a new method of payment.’ She gestures at my trolley.

‘You could always take out a supermarket charge card.’ The supervisor suggests, her lips pursed as she waits for me to answer.

‘No thanks.’ In the circumstances, I would normally have bitten her hand off, but I can’t exactly admit that there isn’t a cat in hell’s chance I would pass a credit check. ‘Just let me make a couple of phone calls. I’m expecting some funds into my account, but it looks like they haven’t arrived yet, that’s the problem.’ I try to keep my voice airy and bright, though it’s shaking with suppressed tears.

The woman plugs her key into the computer, presumably to save my transaction while allowing the assistant to move on to the next customer.

‘You’ll need to join the end of the queue,’ she shouts after me as I scuttle to the packing area to find out what’s gone wrong for me this time.

‘Hi, this is George. Leave a message.’

There’ll be no prizes for guessing what he’s up to and with who.

‘You said my maintenance money would be in today,’ I hiss into the phone. ‘Two months’ worth. You promised. Call me back straightaway.’ 

I’ve never been as embarrassed in my life. Well, this isn’t strictly true. I think of the time when I was caught with nappies under my coat when Hallie was a baby. It had been a choice between nappies or an extra six quid’s worth of food. It wasn’t my finest moment when the store detective put his hand on my shoulder as I was leaving the store.

Buy Link: The Winter Retreat is available in print, paperback, and coming soon in audio. Free to read in Kindle Unlimited. https://mybook.to/A2lAR

Welcome to my blog, Maria. Can you tell us what inspired you to write this book?

Every morning, especially on Mondays, I have to pinch myself that writing books is the way I make my living. I get to roll out of bed, make a coffee and head into my home office. I work harder than I ever have at anything else in my life, but I love every minute of it. Yes, even the editing and marketing.

I have six books published with Bookouture, but my other twenty books are published through my own imprint, Autonomy Press, as I love the freedom and control being an indie author offers. When I first started out, I thought finding a publisher was the only way forward in my career, but now that I’ve become more established, it’s the relationship I have with my readers which truly matters. They’re so supportive, will read anything and everything I write, and many of them have become friends. Which is great when spending many solitary hours at the writing desk!

I’m often asked if my writing is inspired by real-life, and yes, it is to a point, but because I write psychological thrillers where someone always dies, it is only fragments of real-life situations and people who make it into my novels – thankfully! 

What I write is of a domestic nature, with families, couples and friendships at the heart of my work as I love to shine a light on how the people who are supposed to love each other can hurt one another the most. 

My most recent novel, The Winter Retreat, was born out of a very enjoyable four-day yoga retreat last year, during which I spent lots of time in corners making notes. As word spread about what I do for a job, the other yogis were understandably concerned!

The main character of The Winter Retreat is Aneka, a single mother who is enduring more than her fair share of life’s adversities. Desperate to earn more money for Christmas, she takes on a last-minute job as an assistant on a, yes, you’ve guessed it, winter retreat.

While at first, she welcomes the opportunity, it soon becomes clear that she’s not just going to be left to do her work, earn her money and return home to her children. Among the guests is the last person she wants to see, and it soon becomes clear that some of the other guests and staff spell trouble. Add in a snowstorm, which makes leaving the retreat lodge impossible, and what should be a relaxing oasis of calm quickly turns into a pressure cooker of chaos and danger.

Thanks so much for dropping by to talk to us today, Maria. Your book sounds fascinating. I hope it soars!

About Maria

Maria Frankland has a dubious internet search history and a very worried mother-in-law. However, neither of these things can stop her writing gripping psychological thrillers in which you’ll never find a happy-ever-after.

Her novels are mostly set in Otley in Yorkshire where you’ll hear the accent through all her characters. These are people you could live next door to, or closer still… don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Maria’s novels are fast-paced, down to earth and realistic. You never know what’s around the corner…

Contact Links

Website: https://www.mariafrankland.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writermariafrank/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writermaria_f/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19785883.Maria_Frankland

More of Maria’s Books