I can’t believe it’s over three years since lovely Julia Roberts last appeared on Linda’s Book Bag. Then I was reviewing My Mother’s Secret in a post you’ll find here. Now Julia has a brand new book out, My Daughter’s Lies, and I’m thrilled to be able to share an excerpt with you.

Published by Bookouture, My Daughter’s Lies is available for purchase here.

My Daughter’s Lies

In the middle of my beautiful daughter’s eighteenth birthday party, silence falls as I unfold my speech, my heart bursting with everything I want to say. But when I look down I see a note, and my world stops: She’s not who you think she is.

Ruby was our miracle baby. I would have done anything to become a mother, and when she finally arrived, I held her in my arms, looked in her blue eyes and swore I would never let anything harm her. Now she’s everything I could have dreamed of. I don’t even think about all the years of heartache I went through before she was born.

So when I get the strange warning at her birthday party, I ignore it, hiding it in my bag with trembling hands. Someone is simply jealous of her.

But as I watch my daughter, things I’ve been trying to ignore come flooding back to me – Ruby’s odd disappearances, her whispered arguments with her best friend, and a memory from her sixth birthday which still breaks my heart to remember.

I need to know the truth about who she really is, but digging into my daughter’s secrets might reveal my own. As the party draws to a close and the confetti is swept away, I gather my courage. I’ve spent eighteen years trying to forget my own mistakes, and it could only take a moment for everything to fall apart.

Do I risk tearing my family apart to keep my daughter safe? Because when my secrets come out, I could lose my precious girl forever…

An Excerpt from My Daughter’s Lies

“What part of “I DON’T WANT A PARTY” did you two not get?’ Ruby demands.

      She clearly has no intention of calming down and a quick glance in Steve’s direction tells me he is now almost as wound up as she is.

      There have been very few arguments between the three of us over the years, but after a moment of shocked silence, Steve replies at a similar volume to Ruby. ‘We’ll speak to whoever the hell we like!’

      I now feel like a spectator as the two of them lock eyes, glinting dark with anger. I’m pretty sure Ruby wasn’t expecting that reaction from her normally placid dad, and to be honest neither was I.

      ‘We’re your parents,’ he continues equally forcefully. ‘While you live under our roof, you’ll show us a bit of respect, young lady.’

      ‘Respect is not a given, it’s earned,’ she flings back. ‘How can I respect people who clearly have such little regard for my feelings?’

      I’ve been holding back tears as I witness the spectacle of the two people I love most in the world hurling abuse at each other, but now they pour freely down my cheeks.

      ‘Stop it!’ I scream, stunning them both into momentary silence.

      Steve starts towards me, but I hold my hands up, the palms facing outwards as though to push him away if he tries to come any closer.

      ‘Let’s just forget it. If Ruby doesn’t want a party to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, that’s up to her.’

      He examines my face intently, searching for my true feelings. It seems like an age but is probably only a fraction of a second before he turns away from me to face our daughter. ‘No, I’m not having that,’ he says, his voice more controlled but his anger still evident. ‘It might be your birthday, Ruby, but it’s also the day your mother gave you life. You have no idea what she went through before she finally became pregnant with you; the years of negative pregnancy tests, hormone injections, miscarriages, until, when she had long since given up hope of having the one thing she craved more than anything in the world, she finally conceived you; our little miracle.’

      My chest tightens at the words ‘our little miracle’. Ruby is not the only one who has no idea of the lengths I went to in my efforts to become pregnant. My breath is coming in shallow gasps, and although I’ve never previously experienced a panic attack, I fear I’m about to have one.

      Ruby’s cheeks start to colour, but my normally mild-mannered husband hasn’t finished.

      ‘She endured thirty-six hours of torturous labour,’ he continues, emotion now fuelling his anger, ‘before conceding that she would need to have an emergency caesarean section because your life was in danger.’

      Ruby is gripping the edge of the table, and her eyes are filling with tears. I want Steve to stop, but he clearly isn’t done yet.

      ‘She literally bears the scars of giving birth to you and you want to deny her the chance to celebrate your coming of age because of something that happened twelve years ago and was totally beyond our control? The volume of his voice is increasing with every word. ‘I thought we’d raised a nicer human being than that. You’re pathetic! No, I take that back,’ he rages. ‘You’re selfish and cruel.’

      Steve has gone too far, but before I can voice my opinion he slams out of the room, leaving silence in his wake, only broken by Ruby’s sobs.”

****

I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling things are not going to go well! My Daughter’s Lies sounds brilliant!

About Julia Roberts

Julia was born in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, and began her career as a professional singer/dancer. This enabled her to travel the world in her late teens storing up experiences she has since included in her writing.

Following roles as a hostess on The Price is Right and a member of the Beadle’s About ‘hit squad’ in the 1980s, she became a TV Presenter and filmed features for Sky Sports before launching the QVC shopping channel in 1993 where she still presents today. Having always wanted to write, she penned her first book, a memoir sold on QVC, in 2013 and has since written seven full length novels, two novellas and several short stories.

You can follow Julia on Twitter/X @JuliaRobertsTV and visit her website. You’ll also find her on Instagram and Facebook.