Barefoot in the Dark

by Lynne Barrett-Lee

Shortlisted for the Meliassa Nathan Romantic Comedy Awards - Barefoot in the Dark is a modern twist on Cinderella

Radio Wales DJ Jack Valentine finds a lost trainer on a station platform. With echoes of Cinderella, he appeals on his show for its owner, Hope Shepherd, to come forward.

Hope handles publicity for a Cardiff based charity, Heartbeat. Encouraged by colleagues to secure Jack Valentine to raise the profile of an upcoming fun run, she reluctantly heads for the studios.

The attraction between Hope and Jack is immediate but, bruised and battered by their recent divorces, they are reluctant to risk romance again.

Barefoot In The Dark is a bitter-sweet novel about taking the first steps towards trusting again. But when love at first sight is the last thing you’re after, is a fairytale ending an impossible dream?

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Contemporary, Ebooks

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 25, 2006

About the author

Lynne Barrett-Lee


Born in London, I began my writing career as a teenager, when I was ‘discovered’ by a London-based literary agent, Annie Hallam, via a fan letter I sent to an actor who was her friend. Though life and love took precedence and I didn’t actually achieve publication then, I returned to my first love in 1994, as a mother of three, newly transplanted to Cardiff. My first paid-for piece of writing was a short article about being a mature primary school teacher training student, published in the Times Education Supplement. My world changed that day; I have yet to work as a primary school teacher.

I have been a full time author since the mid 1990s. My latest novel, a psychological mystery/thriller, called CAN YOU SEE ME?, probably constitutes one of my proudest achievements as a writer, since it’s a return to the genre I started writing in as a teenager - dark, edgy, ‘underbelly’ fiction, where nothing is as it seems.

I haven’t always been dark though. I also have eight romantic comedy novels and over a hundred published short stories to my name, most of the latter (which is how I learned my craft) appearing in UK Women’s magazines. I have also published two ebook guides to writing fiction, based on the short courses for adults I have taught for Cardiff University since 2009.

I also write a weekly column for the Western Mail Weekend magazine; something I have done since June 2006, with only a week off per year for good behaviour.

I began ghostwriting in 2007 and have since ghosted 26* full-length memoirs, most of which have been UK Sunday Times bestsellers. My titles include Giant George; life with the world’s biggest dog, and The Girl With No Name; the incredible true story of a girl raised by monkeys, which has now been published in 27 countries and is also the subject of a National Geographic documentary. It also led to me being asked to give a TedEx talk – about what it’s like to be a ghostwriter - possibly the proudest, and definitely the most terrifying day of my professional life.

Recent publications include On Duty For The Queen, for former UK Royal Press Secretary Dickie Arbiter, and the heartbreaking story of the Rebecca Aylward murder, Bye Mam, I Love You, which has garnered over 700 five star reviews. I am also the co-writer of the Julie Shaw series of gritty Bradford-based crime memoirs, the first of which, Our Vinnie, went straight into the bestseller lists. The fifth title, Bad Blood, published in October 2016, charted at number one in the UK in its first week.

My most recent ghosted work (and probably my personal favourite) is Fabulous Finn, the story of a now famous police dog, who was stabbed, almost fatally, when on duty with his handler Dave Wardell. Finn (now retired) has gone on to win multiple prestigious awards for his bravery, including a PDSA Gold Medal (the civilian version of the Dicken Medal – see Able Seacat Simon, below) and, most recently, the 2019 Crufts ‘Friends For Life’ award. Finn is also the RPD behind the campaign for Finn’s Law, to strengthen current legislation to protect service animals. It has just passed its third reading in the commons.

(Modesty usually forbids me from shamelessly plugging books I’ve ghosted, but I always make an exception for Finn. It’s a remarkable, heartbreaking, uplifting story, and I’m honoured beyond belief to have been the one to help tell it. )

CAN YOU SEE ME? is published by Thomas and Mercer, and is out on 01.01.20

For more information about me and my work, please visit
www.lynnebarrett-lee.com



Full list of published full-length works

*As well as the titles listed below, I am also the ghostwriter of a series of fostering memoirs (the author name is pseudonymous for confidentiality reasons) for one of the UK’s leading publishers. The first was published in 2011, and the nineteenth title will be published in May 2020.

Psychological thrillers

Can You See Me? (Thomas and Mercer

Reviews

[Melissa Basnight · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Cinderella like story. Hope loses a shoe on the train and it is found by Jack Valentine a radio personality. Both are divorced and looking for true love. The story is a little confusing and rambles on before getting to the end.

[Laura Johnstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book if you overlook the Cinderella story

This book is advertised as a modern day Cinderella story but it's not. Yes the beginning is Hope losing a shoe on a train and Jack finds it and through his radio show he tells the story and appeals for the owner to come forward. But that's where the fairy tale ends and real life begins.
Hope and Jack are both newly divorced. This book deals with real life love, illness, family there were moments of beautiful writing and instances i could personally relate to that pulled on my heartstrings.
I really enjoyed this book

[Jeni Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from the typing errors, this story had potential but failed with a very rushed and dull ending. The story itself was short, book was made longer with extra filler that only partly played into the rest of the plot. Very all over the place and nothing was ever "tied up".

[Rhonda Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barefoot

I loved the raw emotion in this book. The characters were real and imperfect as we all are. My only issue were the paragraphed of narrative. I would rather have had more conversation but then it wouldn’t have been THIS book.

[Kathleen Downey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just ok for me. Did not keep my interest much.

[Musings of a Middle-aged Mum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable holiday read with the saga of the will they/won't they between the two main characters.
Recommended for some easy reading.

[Tessa Townsend · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish

I am not one to not finish a book, whether I like it or not. This one, however, I could not. I made it through nine chapters and gave up. The editing is terrible! So many run together words it was making me crazy, and because it's apparently set in England I just could not decipher some of the slang and terms used (admittedly my fault not the authors). It would probably be better if a good editor goes through and corrections are made, but glaring errors are a turn off for me.

[Laura Besley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do occasionally enjoy a good chick lit book and this is what "Barefoot in the Dark" is. It's filled with the trials and tribulations of Jack Valentine and Hope Shepherd; both recently, divorced both trying to piece their lives back together. They meet by chance and all the ups and downs follow from there. I enjoyed the story and I was rooting for the characters. All in all a good chick lit book.

[Priya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a thoroughly enjoying read. Academically, its not one of the authors best however I personally enjoyed following the two main characters, and also feel that while there was not that much scope of personal development as characters, they were fleshed out quite well. the chemistry lost out a bit into the second half, however the beauty of how they reach their understanding remains delightfully heartwarming.

[Elisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The narrative jumped all over the place and it was not an easy, breezy read. It was pretty poorly written, as if the paragraphs had been mixed into a bowl and just pulled out and pasted together randomly.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a book I enjoyed, I found it quite bland and didn't catch my attention.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, though I think her earlier books are better. The misunderstandings were a bit silly, but the characters were likeable enough.

[Jonicat Motoike · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to stop reading this book. It was going nowhere fast. Much too wordy without much going on. Couldn't stand it.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

sadly I didn't enjoy this book as much as others I have read by the same author, I found this book a little slow paced for my liking, however this wil not put me off buying anymore of hee books.

[Caroline Montague · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first Lynne Barrett Lee book I have read. All the way through the book I couldn't decide If I was enjoying it or not. But I read it to the end and it was ok.

[Julie Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a great read. silly beginning. some reasonable bits in the middle and a miserable finale. some of the characters were barely one dimensional.

[Michaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

It felt a bit draggy and it ended in a weird place.

[Mandy Caruso-Yahne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this free on Amazon. Was sweet but the characters didn't feel well developed to me - I sometimes felt it difficult to empathize with both lead characters.