From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour: Excerpt of We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt

We are so excited to be a part of a 2-part tour for the release of this tender, life-affirming novel, We Own the Sky!

Follow along the excerpt tour beginning in mid March, with long excerpts in consecutive order at each tour stop, followed by a review tour beginning in early April!

Author: Luke Allnutt

Publisher: Park Row

Date of publication: April 3, 2018

A triumphant story about love, loss and finding hope—against all odds

“We looked down at the cliff jutting into the sea, a rubber boat full of kids going under the arch, and then you started running and jumping through the grass, dodging the rabbit holes, shouting at the top of your voice, so I started chasing you, trying to catch you, and we were laughing so hard as we ran and ran, kicking up rainbow showers in the leaves.”

Rob Coates feels like he’s won the lottery of life. There is Anna, his incredible wife, their London town house and, most precious of all, Jack, their son, who makes every day an extraordinary adventure. But when a devastating illness befalls his family, Rob’s world begins to unravel. Suddenly finding himself alone, Rob seeks solace in photographing the skyscrapers and clifftops he and his son Jack used to visit. And just when it seems that all hope is lost, Rob embarks on the most unforgettable of journeys to find his way back to life, and forgiveness.

We Own the Sky is a tender, heartrending, but ultimately life-affirming novel that will resonate deeply with anyone who has suffered loss or experienced great love. With stunning eloquence and acumen, Luke Allnutt has penned a soaring debut and a true testament to the power of love, showing how even the most thoroughly broken heart can learn to beat again.

“A breathtaking read that describes perfectly the joy and pain that comes with loving fully and all the compassion and forgiveness it requires. Brimming with hope to the very end.” —Steven Rowley, bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus

“Anyone who wishes David Nicholls would write faster needs to grab this with both hands. It’s a truly stunning achievement.” —Jill Mansell, Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Excerpt #9:

We were sitting by the River Cam, with a bottle of wine and some sandwiches. It was another sweltering day. Heat haze hugged the banks of the river like a dogged morning mist, and tinkles of jazz piano floated across the water from a café on the shore.

“Are you ever going to put that away?” Anna said.

I had spent the rest of my student loan on a digital camera and some extra lenses. “Yeah, yeah,” I said, fiddling with the settings, trying to work out how to change the shutter speed.

“Seriously, stop pointing it at me. I feel like a model or something.”

“You look like a model,” I said, and took a photo of her. She stuck out her tongue and turned toward the water, stretching her legs out on the riverbank.

“So, any progress?” Anna said casually.

“On what?”

“The job hunt, I mean.”

“Oh, that,” I said. “I sent off a few CVs but I haven’t heard anything back yet. Do you want more wine?”

Anna put her hand over her plastic cup and shook her head, and I poured myself some more.

“You seem pretty relaxed about it all.”

I shrugged. “I’m not going to worry.”

Anna puckered her lips, something she did when she didn’t agree. “Well, you’ve only sent off a few CVs. I sent off about fifteen applications and only got five job offers.”

“What happened with the other ten?” I said.

“I don’t know,” she said, looking a little forlorn, not realizing I was making a joke. “It’s annoying that they haven’t responded. I don’t understand why.”

She had become a little agitated in recent weeks, suddenly concerned about my career plans. Anna had a job lined up, with an accountancy firm in London, and had started asking questions. What would I do next? Would I join her in London and look for a job?

My heart wasn’t really in the job search, because all I could think about was maps—maps that were alive and dripping with data, maps that could be created by a teenager with a Myspace account and a laptop.

“I’m still hoping my maps idea will pan out, to be honest,” I said, pouring more wine into my cup and stretching out my legs.

Anna’s face tightened. “So what is the maps thing again?” she asked, pulling her sunglasses off her face. “You never really explained it.”

“I thought I did.”

“Well, maybe you did. But I still don’t understand it,” she said, and she seemed angry and I couldn’t figure out why.

“Well,” I said, sitting up and turning to face her. “It’s still early days, but the software basically allows the user to customize their own maps. So, for example, you could map out your cycle route or where you went for a jog. Or you could upload your photos on a tourist map for other people to see.”

“You’d put the photos on the map?”

“Yes.”

Anna pouted. “That seems rather strange, doesn’t it. Why would anyone want to do that?”

“I don’t know,” I said, beginning to feel a little annoyed. “Because they can.”

We sat in silence for a little while, and Anna started to pack away the picnic things into her backpack.

“Anyway, you don’t know the first thing about maps, do you?” Anna said. “I mean, people study for years to be cartographers. A cousin of my father was a cartographer. It’s an incredibly skilled profession.”

“Why are you being so weird about this?”

“I’m not, Rob. I’m just asking.”

“Nothing’s changed, Anna.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m still coming to London, if that’s what this is really about.”

She snorted a little. “It’s not about that. It’s nothing to do with that.”

“So why does it bother you so much?”

She didn’t answer, continued packing away the picnic things. I knew why it bothered her. It was my plan to go it alone. She saw it as a risk, a deviation from the proper course. To her mind, I should be applying for a job, with benefits and a pension plan. That, after all, was why we had gone to Cambridge, why we had studied so hard.

“You’re exasperating sometimes,” she said, staring out across the river. “You’re always so absolutely certain you’ll get what you want.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“Because it doesn’t always work like that.”

“It has so far.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, everything I’ve worked for, I’ve got so far.”

I knew I sounded arrogant, but I felt under attack. Anna turned away angrily and smoothed down her skirt. “Well, as long as you know what you’re doing.”

“Why does it bother you so much?” I asked.

“It doesn’t.”

“Yes, it does. You’re pissed off now.”

She reached across me and poured herself some wine. “It just seems impulsive, as if you haven’t thought it through. You’ve just graduated at the top of your class, Rob, companies would be begging to employ you, but you want to do this thing with maps.”

“Right, because I think I can make it work. And besides, I don’t want to work for a company.”

Anna exhaled deeply. “Yes, you’ve made that quite clear,” she said.

We had reached an impasse, and we both sat and watched the punters on the Cam. Apart from a few minor squabbles, it was the first argument we had ever had.

“It is about that,” Anna said after a while, her voice barely audible.

“About what?”

“What I said earlier. I said it wasn’t about London, but it is. I just want to know you’re coming.”

I looked at her. She was so beautiful, her knees chastely tucked up to her chest, her hair peppered with tiny dandelion seeds.

“Of course I’m coming to London,” I said, moving close to her. “But there is one thing.”

“What?”

“I want us to live together. I know it’s not been long, but I want to live with you.”

About Luke Allnutt