A Love Of Two Halves
By PJ Whiteley
If one of the wealthiest people in Britain falls for one of the poorest, will the money be a salvation or an unsurmountable obstacle?
Publication date: October 2019
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George Mowatt, management consultant-turned entrepreneur, is one of the wealthiest people in Britain. Karen Barnes, a single mum living in a terraced house in south Leeds, is not. When George decides that his third home should be close to the stadium of his beloved sports team, they become neighbours. Both George and Karen have been unlucky in love and the chemistry between them is instant. Yet their lives are a world apart, and their hearts keep missing each other’s beat.
The gulf in their experiences presents a culture clash, while the difference in income raises questions over whether George’s appeal lies in his character, or his solvency. Karen’s feelings are genuine: she detects kindness, generosity and a hint of melancholy about George. Moreover, hints that his business could be in trouble cause her to wonder if he was actually in debt. George is fascinated by how a smart, attractive Mum with a talented teenage daughter could be single and clearly struggling, and he loves her quick wit and sweet nature.
The rooms that they dare not, or cannot, enter are imaginary, physical and metaphorical. Karen is haunted by a recurring dream in which she discovers there are magical upstairs rooms in her house, that she is delighted to explore. For George, the rooms he does not enter are real: the family rooms in his large Surrey home that lie unused after his divorce. Both have to find the keys to open doors to new ways of understanding and expressing themselves, if they are to find love.
Just as they begin to chart a route to happiness, someone from Karen’s past reappears, and she is forced to reveal a secret she has kept from them both. The Rooms We Never Enter is a funny, heartfelt tale of missed opportunities, unlikely romance and a love that seems to be forever out of reach. It also raises sharp questions over the extent to which traditional gender roles have really changed in modern Britain.
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Philip Whiteley
PJ (Philip) Whiteley is starting to attract top level critical acclaim for his fiction. His first novel Close of Play (Urbane Publications, April 2015) was described by the Church Times as ‘well written, and above all well observed’, and was shortlisted for the People’s Book Prize Summer Showcase in 2015. The second novel, Marching on Together, (Urbane, February 2017) has received praise from Louis de Bernières, the legendary author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, who provided a cover quote: ‘I very much enjoyed Marching on Together and was happily carried along by the wonderfully realised characters.’
Philip has been a professional writer since summer 1988, when he began as a trainee reporter for the trade magazine Printing World. He later held roles at various professional magazines covering social work, and later business.
Since 1997 his journalism and non-fiction work has focused on the world of work, as he became intrigued by the gap between the evidence for enlightened workplaces, and the dismal reality of most offices and factories. His most recent polemic is New Normal Radical Shift, co-authored with Neela Bettridge and published by Gower (now Routledge) in 2013. The ground-breaking article Your Company Doesn’t Exist – the People Who Work in it Do, co-authored by Philip with Dr Jules Goddard, was a winner in the CME Management Article of the Year Award 2016, and was published in May 2017 in the London Business School Review.
More information at www.pjwhiteley.com
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I had The House dream again. It was the best yet; which is to say the worst, the most vivid. I sensed, even at the most serene moments, that I was condemned to waking up. No! No! I don’t want to wake up! Waking up is like dying all over again! I want to watch Bronte playing, sunlight glinting on her black shiny hair at the top of each swing, giggling. In the dream she is seven again. She jumps off the swing, rolls in the soft green grass and white and yellow daisies, picks up my hand and says: ‘Come on Mum! I want to show you the rooms we’ve never been in yet.’ She leads me in, up one set of stairs and then another. Nothing is like our real house and yet, in the dream it is familiar to me, until we reach the second set of stairs. ‘Why have I never noticed this before?’ I say to her. ‘A whole extra storey, that I’ve never been in!’ We’re both giggling now. ‘Come on, Mum, these are the best rooms.’ The light streams in through elegant dormer windows, lighting up deep, soft settees and four-poster beds; Axminster carpets and oil paintings. ‘It’s like a palace,’ I say. ‘It’s our palace, and I’m the princess,’ she replies.
I know I am dreaming. It’s too strange now, but I fight against waking up. I wake up. There is no second staircase, no extra rooms, no swing, no lawn; indeed, no garden, except for a front yard so small that if I were to sit on the window ledge and stretch out my legs, I could almost rest my ankles on the front wall. The sun was shining, at least. It shines on the rich and the poor alike. Bronte is 15, not seven; 16 in two weeks’ time. But she is lovely; my treasure – kind, clever, funny, artistic with a great singing voice and good taste in music, for the most part. She’s there at the breakfast table when I go down, eating cereal and listening to music on headphones. It was Danny who had wakened me up and I’d helped him get washed and dressed, complaining. Him, not me. Three years old and already with a mind very much his own. I hoped he wasn’t going to turn out like Darren. Bronte, fortunately, is beginning to resemble Terry: soft in manner, artistic and kind, with high cheekbones and a beautiful face.
Danny would be with grandma in Beeston today; Bronte hanging out with some friends ‘til some point in the afternoon. Then, in the evening, we’d all gather together for the telly; maybe Rita from next door would join us too. It was Saturday, but I didn’t have a weekend shift. I’d saved up £20 for myself, and I planned to go by buses to Headingley, or maybe even Otley or Ilkley if I had time, shop in the charity stores there for designer brand cast-offs – my little secret; and gather some house details – my guilty obsession. As it was a nice day I didn’t even mind if the buses took a long time. I would sit on the top deck, watch the world as we went by.
It was early afternoon when the number 64 returned to Holbeck Moor, and I got off. Don’t be fooled by the term ‘Moor’; it’s not like Bronte country, more like a rec. But anyway, I was well pleased with my purchases: a beautiful green designer top for a fiver, nearly new; and a small handbag, plus half a dozen estate agent colour brochures for north west Leeds, nice houses near the Otley Road. The brochures were all free, of course. The staff all cheerfully handed them out to me, as I was scrubbed clean, well presented and gave a warm smile. I didn’t have to confess that I was skint. I couldn’t afford any of the houses; not even a garage, probably, but that’s not the point, is it? I was happiest I’d been for a while, looking forward to the pizza and wine, with cola for the kids, that evening.
Bronte wasn’t back. I texted her, and she texted straight back, which was a relief. She was still in the arcades; back around five. I called Mum to check Danny was OK. He was playing with toy trucks. She’d bring him back for his tea. I had around two hours to myself. I pulled out the house details. One caught my eye immediately: a gorgeous period cottage in Headingley, nicely photographed, beautifully decorated. Just under £250,000. Only two bedrooms, mind, though they did look nice; one of them ensuite. I often dreamed of just wandering in from the bathroom naked, or just a towel wrapped around me, on smooth polished wood flours, from luxurious shower room to deluxe bedroom, natural light pouring in through skylights or dormers. Still, quarter of a million for a two-bed house in Headingley! What is the world coming to? But a nice garden, mix of patio, plants and a bit of lawn, south-facing. All handy for the shops, pubs, restaurants bars and cafes. And the cricket and rugby ground. You’re never far from sport in this part of the world. Might be appealing to a future Mr Lucky, my imaginary Mr Right, as elusive and out-of-reach as a spacious semi or cottage. Dream on, I tell myself, but dreams can be pleasurable, especially when they’re all you’ve got.
- 11th March 2020 Not humbled, relieved
March already. It feels like I’ve had my head down for a few weeks, I look up, and a few months have gone by. Half a year has passed since A Love of Two Halves, my newest baby, emerged blinking into the autumn light. She’s looking quite healthy, I would say (don’t worry, I’ll abandon the baby metaphor before long), and she will be walking within a year, I hope.
Several readers who don’t know me…
27th September 2019 Word of mouthA week to go before publication, and word of mouth recommendations are beginning to spread for A Love of Two Halves. It has been selected by the digital book club The Pigeonhole for serialization. Some 240 subscribers will soon begin receiving the book in the form of 'staves' - sections that can be read on their mobile device for a limited period of time. They can make comments, and other readers…
27th September 2019 Word of mouthA week to go before publication, and word of mouth recommendations are beginning to spread for A Love of Two Halves. It has been selected by the digital book club The Pigeonhole for serialization. Some 240 subscribers will soon begin receiving the book in the form of 'staves' - sections that can be read on their mobile device for a limited period of time. They can make comments, and other readers…
27th September 2019 Word of mouthA week to go before publication, and word of mouth recommendations are beginning to spread for A Love of Two Halves. It has been selected by the digital book club The Pigeonhole for serialization. Some 240 subscribers will soon begin receiving the book in the form of 'staves' - sections that can be read on their mobile device for a limited period of time. They can make comments, and other readers…
28th August 2019 Closing the dealThere are some important announcements from the publisher, Unbound, as we near publication date for A Love of Two Halves.
First of all, the supporters list for A Love of Two Halves closes next week, on 2nd September 2019. You cannot pledge for the book after this date. If you know someone who would like to pledge, please urge them to do so promptly! We’ve received a trickle of new pledges from…
28th August 2019 Closing the dealThere are some important announcements as we near publication date.
First of all, the supporters list for A Love of Two Halves closes next week, on 2 September 2019. You cannot pledge for the book after this date. If you know someone who would like to pledge, please urge them to do so promptly! We’ve received a trickle of new pledges from people since passing the 100% mark earlier this year. As…
7th August 2019 Deadline dayDouglas Adams once quipped that he ‘loved’ deadlines: ‘I love the wooshing noise they make as they go by.’
I would like to be so gifted that I would be afforded such artistic licence, but as a jobbing journalist with no family wealth behind me, I’ve never had the opportunity. I think I can honestly say that I’ve never missed a deadline in 31 years of professional writing. That’s quite a few thousand…
25th June 2019 Uncovering the cover, and a quoteLast month we finished the contents; this month it’s the packaging. We’ve had a tremendously positive reaction to the cover. Indeed, it is vivid, and tells the story – or at any rate, the premise – of the book, with the twin front doors, one posh, one slightly battered, representing the Two Halves of Britain, and of the relationship. For a glimpse of the cover, click on this link to the PJ Whiteley…
14th May 2019 A Love of Two HalvesFirst, a big announcement: the book has a new title. It’s quite an adjustment, having used the original while managing the crowdfunding project for over a year; a title related to themes in the book. But now my baby has a new name: A Love of Two Halves.
While I was proud of the sharpness and originality of The Rooms We Never Enter, I do have to admit that it doesn’t sound like a romantic comedy…
4th March 2019 Thank you, thank you, mwah!This is going to sound like an Oscars award acceptance speech, but I don’t care.
I just want to thank you, all of you, for supporting The Rooms We Never Enter, and for making sure it is published. On 28th February, after 14 months, we reached target. The book should appear this autumn; I can now start to plan fun things like selecting the book cover and planning the launch events (there will be…
23rd January 2019 A dash of magical realismI’ve been back to school: learning screenplay. There isn’t a long-term plan to become a scriptwriter, more a case of stretching myself and learning about a slightly different world. My tutor, Julia Berg is inspirational. As well as giving advice on storylines, dialogue and the pitch, she offers to put the work of us, her delegates, to producers in the industry. She sees potential in The Rooms We Never…
4th January 2019 90% there ...Following the latest flurry of pledges just before and after Christmas, some of them generous, I've topped the 90% mark for crowdfunding The Rooms We Never Enter. One final push, and we'll be there. I can start thinking in terms of the launch activity.
There's a lot of discussion among authors about the best way of letting people know about your work. Much expertise has been developed in the newer…
2nd November 2018 Last lapMid-autumn, and we’ve topped the 60% mark, with 58 people pledging to help see The Rooms We Never Enter in print. I thought it would be timely to pen an update. First of all, it was inspiring to meet other Unbound authors at the event at Nottingham Waterstones last month (and to receive a couple of extra generous pledges in the days afterwards). The calibre of authors exceeds even my high expectations…
1st August 2018 Glass half full on Yorkshire DayIn June we passed the 50% mark; this week, on Yorkshire Day, we reached 50 supporters. It’s been incredible to receive so much backing for my forthcoming novel, and I’m confident we’ll reach target before the end of the year.
This week I had an initial meeting with a Leeds-based literary events organisation about a Pledge Party, to support The Rooms We Never Enter. I’d be interested in inviting…
2nd July 2018 More than half way there!In June we passed the 50% mark for The Rooms We Never Enter. I thought the crowdfunding would take a year, and we're six months in, so pretty much on target! I've been really thrilled by the support that I've received; so many generous, wonderful people supporting literature in such a direct way. I really do hope that we reach target, as I'm very proud of the book. I think it's funny and heartfelt…
These people are helping to fund A Love Of Two Halves.
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Samantha Lloyd
Rebecca Forbes
Sam Gibbard
Peter Whiteley
Elizabeth Jarvis
Carlo Navato
Philip Whiteley
Carol Gazzard
Katrina Tolley
Ivy Ngeow
Chris Simmonds
Sarah Crouch
Nigel Girling
Paul Harvey
Rose Whiteley
Jacqui Trowsdale
Catherine Sutton
Mark Vent
An anonymous donor
Tracey Wright
Johnnie Gallop
An anonymous donor
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Not a question, just a comment/observation about the change of title. I liked the original title - the rooms we never enter - and perhaps that was what initially drew me to take a closer look at the book. It was a title that intrigued me but didn't give too much away so I had to investigate further and I liked what I read. The new title - sorry, wouldn't have looked twice at it. But then I just read lots of books, I am not an editor.
Hi Chris. I understand your point of view. I was very keen on the title The Rooms We Never Enter, and the theme of rooms - imaginary, metaphorical and real, is one that emerges strongly in the text. This theme is not in any way diluted, and I am very proud of it; I think it still evokes an atmosphere. If anything, this theme, and the touch of magical realism that comes with it, is a touch stronger after the developmental edit. The publisher and I have been thinking of how the title works on the cover, how it will appear in a bookshop, and how it will appeal to readers. It is, as the summary does make clear, a romance, whereas the original title does sound a little more like a ghost story or thriller. Shall I pass on your comment to the editor? Do contact me directly if you wish phil@whiteleywords.com - and thank you for your support.