Gordon Slee fears he was never meant to be born. Anxious since childhood after hearing he was an accident, the forty-two-year-old is still struggling to escape the shadow of his high-achieving family.
But a glimmer of hope is on the horizon - a huge promotion within his hotel group is up for grabs, and he is sure that his time has come to make a mark on the world.
However, within his own department, redundancies are afoot. He may lose his job before he gets the chance. Until he learns of a historic covenant that preserves the right for sheep to run through the company's top London hotel. Could he convince his boss that he's the man to save the hotel from catastrophe?
Up in Bryn Nefyn, North Wales, live the descendants of the covenant owner. The elderly sheep farmer and his aging hippy brother could use the money the hotel might offer. But along with their strong-willed American shepherdess, they laugh at Gordon's attempts to negotiate a deal. Surely, they couldn't use a covenant that's been forgotten about for over a hundred years.
Or could they?
For lovers of upmarket commercial fiction with a touch of romance and comedy, The Approval of Sheep is an uplifting story about family and love, overcoming adversity and discovering our reason for our place in this world.
The Approval of Sheep: The heartwarming, laugh-out-loud debut inspired by a real London sheep covenant by Karen Storey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Poor Gordon Slee just can't get find his place in the world. He's older, broke and struggling to feel connected. Worse, he needs leverage against his boss to try and negotiate a promotion. When a herd of sheep feels like the best solution to your problems, you are in a bad spot, indeed.
Much like the author's Chicken Soup stories, this novel is uplifting and touching. It's also very funny. Full of cultural nuance, it's a smart comedy of errors that will leave you grateful for Gordon Slee's presence in your world.
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NOVEL EXTRACT FOR MCCULLOCH READS AND WRITES
Short intro for context: The protagonist,
Gordon Slee, has driven up from London to North Wales hoping to meet the
descendants of a historic covenant that allows sheep to run through his
employer’s top London hotel. Gordon wants to negotiate a deal to buy the Right
from the two Welsh sheep farmers in order to impress his boss and keep his job.
He’s arrived at the brothers’ farm unannounced. He’s already met Rhys, an aging
hippy type in his sixties, and just now Rhys’ older and more practical brother,
Alan. They are currently standing outside of Rhys’ cottage, Alan having just
joined them.
‘Is there something I can do for you?’ Alan said to Gordon.
‘He wants to talk to you about Hen Daid’s sheep covenant,’
said Rhys.
Alan pursed his lips. ‘Why do you want to talk about that?’
he asked Gordon.
‘So you know about it?’
‘Course we do,’ Alan
said.
‘Taid used to laugh about it,’ Rhys said. ‘Joked how we
should bring a sheep to London for lunch in that fancy hotel.’
‘Taid?’ Gordon asked.
‘Grandfather,’ Alan
said. ‘Taid is Welsh for Grandfather.’
‘Okay, it’s good you know about the covenant because
I have
an interesting proposition for you.’
‘I doubt it,’ Alan said.
‘Please. I’ve come all the way from London.’
Alan sighed. ‘I’m not sure you can tell me anything I don’t
already know.’
‘Give me five minutes,’ Gordon said.
‘You’ve come all the way from London for five minutes?’
‘It’s worth it.’
Alan gazed at a field of sheep on a hill beyond the cottage.
‘Okay, I guess you better come in.’ He turned and said to Rhys. ‘We’ll just use
your place, if that’s okay.’
‘Sure.’ Rhys grinned. He winked at Gordon. ‘By the way, our
sheep only eat their scones with the jam on top. If your posh boy waiters put
the jam on first and smother it with cream after, there’ll be trouble.’ He gave
a high pitched laugh, almost like a whistle of air from a punctured tyre.
A tractor tyre, no doubt.
They sat
in a square room cramped with sofas. The air was musty with the smell of stale
nicotine mixed with the scent of something like burnt leaves. Gordon eyed the
sofas, then counted. Six, one against three of the walls. A second row of sofas
had been pushed in front of those. All shabby, saggy, stuffing escaping from
split arm rests.
Gordon looked at Rhys. ‘You fix sofas?’
‘Nah. Wanted a second sofa in here a few years back.’
Gordon looked around. ‘You’ve got half a dozen.’
‘My friend Simon down at the Ty Coch Inn told folks I was
after a sofa and asked if anyone had one going spare. Next day his mate Jac
turned up with his trailer.’ Rhys turned and patted the sofa behind him, brown
and faded. ‘Said he was getting rid of this one anyway.’
Gordon stared at him. Jesus, this guy was bonkers. ‘And the
others?’
‘Day after that, Lewis and his wife turned up with that sofa
behind the blue one. Next day Elis turned up with the green one. I couldn’t say
no every time someone turned up. It would be rude.’
‘But why keep them?’
‘Oh, he’s never getting rid of these sofas,’ Alan said. ‘God
knows I’ve tried convincing him.’
Rhys lifted his chin and stared at Gordon. ‘It reminds me of
how kind people can be. Every time I walk into this room, I smile.’
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Links
Author Bio –
Karen Storey is an award-winning fiction writer, featured on the
acclaimed book podcast The Bestseller Experiment. Her short stories have been
placed in several international competitions, and her memoir pieces published
within The New York Times bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Originally from New York, Karen lives in Warwickshire and has written
articles for American in Britain magazine. She lives with her husband, whose
surname Storey was the perfect wedding gift. They share their home with a
snarky cat who writes Karen’s monthly author newsletters and a crazy dog who
barks at the wind.
The Approval of Sheep, a quirky uplifting book club read, is her first
novel. You can find Karen on www.karenstoreyauthor.com
Social Media Links –
Instagram:
@karenstoreyauthor https://www.instagram.com/karenstoreyauthor/
Facebook: Karen
Storey https://www.facebook.com/karen.okeefe.773
X: @StoreytellerK https://x.com/StoreytellerK
Bluesky: @karenstoreyauthor https://bsky.app/profile/karenstoreyauthor.bsky.social
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