Friday, February 25, 2022

RRR presents... BROWN EYES by Frances Ive - SPOTLIGHT + GUEST POST!


Hi there! 
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers. 


Today, we welcome Rachel’s Random Resources as we help shine the BOOK SPOTLIGHT on a title that shows the breakdown of a life from two vantage points...one of which is rather unexpected, but I’m certain rather enlightening...and the true power of HOPE. Ladies and gents, join me as we take a closer look at today’s title in the spotlight and then get a little more on the topic of communication from the author herself…. 



Brown Eyes 
by 
Frances Ive 


About the book... 

A watchful eye as a marriage falls apart. The phone call, the rows, and the split are all observed by the family Labrador. He knows the habits and senses the moods of his beloved family members. Seeing them unhappy and hurting each other is unbearable. Where did his perfect life go?

Her marriage to Phil in crisis, two children at the challenging teenage stage, and a close friend in peril, Meriel’s world is falling apart. She finds solace in the arms of another man, but is this the answer for her? It is her stubbornness that threatens the family’s future together, until a major loss has a life-changing effect on her. A sliver of hope returns.

Like a fly on the wall, Benji the dog sees it all.

Narrated by both the dog and Meriel, Brown Eyes is a novella (a short read) written by the author of Finding Jo and Give and Take with a Capital G & T. 







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Communication is key in relationships

by Frances Ive, author of Brown Eyes


Meriel and Phil in Brown Eyes had hit a very bad patch in their marriage and were splitting up. Like many marriages or relationships they had been together for some time, but they were not communicating before or after the crisis happened. In fact, their innermost thoughts were never revealed to each other, so resentment and apathy had built up. Meriel’s friend Tania told her,


Deep down I feel that you love each other, and I find it really hard to see you throwing away the life you have together with love, that is so rare to find for anyone.’

Why was it that Tania always got right to the heart of the matter and knew exactly what to say? She was completely right, of course we loved each other. I knew that deep inside, but what could I do?

I have this block, this inability to say to him, ‘I was wrong. Let’s give it another go. I forgive you. Forget the past. Let’s start anew.’

I just couldn’t do that.



Don’t we learn that communication is key to all relationships, whether personal or business? Communication in the workplace is often the subject of courses, but does this mean that people are any better at communicating with their loved ones? Today’s children may learn more about relationships than anyone did in the past, but this is theory. How often can they put this into practice in personal relationships? It’s quite common to be worried about saying how we feel and keep it inside or tell other people, but not the partner.

Expressing feelings and being listened to are so important as is appreciation for each other. Of course, it’s human nature to take those close to us for granted. It is not until something happens and they are no longer there, that we realise how much they mean to us.

There are many reasons for lack of communication between couples. Fear of losing a partner, worry about seeming needy, or just an inability to speak your own truth can be why it seems to be so difficult, even for people who communicate well at work. There are also those who don’t give any thought to how they interact with their partners and carry on regardless, as they always have throughout their lives.

When something goes seriously wrong, they may not have a strong enough foundation to prevent the relationship falling apart. When it seems like there is no hope and the only answer is to separate, can it be pulled back from the brink, especially when both partners have met someone else? Can the deeply hidden love resurface and bring the couple to their senses?

Meriel and Phil don’t hate each other – quite the opposite, they love each other, but they find it hard to find a way out of the mess they have created. They have two children, and a family Labrador, Benji. The children are not happy with the situation, nor is the dog and we know this because he is a co-narrator. He knows their habits and their moods, and he observes everything, but despairs at human behaviour. He can see his perfect life falling apart and the family splitting in two. The sheer frustration is that he can’t do anything about it, even though he tries.

Eventually, it takes a sad event for the couple to start to pick up the pieces of their marriage in earnest. The need to swallow pride and cut through stubbornness is essential, as well as communicating with each other. Can they save their relationship?




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About the author... 


Frances Ive: A career as a journalist/PR led to health writing for UK nationals newspapers and consumer mags. Out of the blue I was inspired to write my first novel, Finding Jo, which I self-published in January 2021. Brown Eyes is my 2nd novel, written a few years ago. It was inspired by our black Labrador Benji. Before Finding Jo, I previously had only non-fiction books published, including One Step Ahead of Osteoarthritis (2019), a positive approach to staying mobile. 


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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you and to author Frances Ive for the great guest post. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!



Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!


1 comment:

  1. Liking the idea that this is in part narrated by the family dog, that something bad might {more than likely will} happen to Benji does however put me off.

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