Book Spotlight: Waterbury Winter by Linda Stewart Henley

 

Barnaby Brown has had enough of freezing winters, insurmountable debt, a dead-end job, and his solitary life as a young widower with no one but his beloved parrot Popsicle. He yearns to move to California and reawaken his long-lost early life as an artist. But new troubles come in threes. His ancient car crashes into a snowbank. Popsicle escapes through a window carelessly left open.

A New York gallery owner offers to represent Barnaby’s paintings—but is he on the up-and-up? All of it serves to shock Barnaby into confronting how low he has sunk, and he vows—again and again—to change. He has a few obstacles, starting with his heavy drinking and long-term neglect of his ancestral home. As he takes steps toward a better life, he re-discovers the value of old friendships and latent talents seen in new light, and finds the courage to consider a second chance at love. Rejoining the mainstream of life presents several startling mysteries he must unravel, with a few mortifying but enlightening stumbles.

A heart-warming novel about ordinary people reclaiming their dormant potential, Waterbury Winter celebrates the restorative value of art and the joy to be found in keeping promises.

 Find out more about Waterbury Winter by visiting GoodReads or the author’s website. You can also purchase it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org.

 Praise for Waterbury Winter

 “A reflective, witty, and fun story that elegantly crosses genres and addresses intriguing themes.”—Kirkus Reviews

"... a page-turner. I found I could not put it down until I had reached the end. It makes you think about how you are handling your life and if you are stagnating because you are too afraid to take a chance. I enjoyed reading this book from the first page to the last and found the ending the best, due to the fact that I had started rooting early for the main characters."

—Readers Favorite, 5 stars

 “A tour de force reminiscent of A Man Called Ove. Barnaby Brown’s interactions and experiences unfold in such a way as to endear him to the reader. He’s not perfect, but his imperfections are what reveal his gentle and generous spirit, and we root for him at every upturn and downturn. Waterbury Winter is a memorable masterpiece.”

—Saralyn Richard, award-winning author of the Detective Parrott mystery series and A Murder of Principal

 “Linda Henley manages to combine drama, romance, humor, and even an art theft mystery in the highly entertaining Waterbury Winter. The novel introduces us to Barnaby Brown, an artist who is so down on his luck there’s no farther to slide. Through fast-paced writing and a series of remarkable plot twists, Henley constantly surprises the reader as Barnaby (accompanied by his faithful parrot, Popsicle) stumbles mightily in his efforts to redeem himself and become the man he wants to be. A many-layered novel, Waterbury Winter is, above all, a moving tribute to the healing power of art.”

—Laurel Davis Huber, award-winning author of The Velveteen Daughter

 “… a heart-warming story of loss and love, challenge and resistance, and the power of creative expression. Henley’s masterful descriptions of character and place make these pages the perfect spot to hang out. Readers will make themselves at home, cheer for the protagonist, Barnaby, and be totally charmed by his opinionated parrot, Popsicle.”

—Romalyn Tilghman, award-winning author of To the Stars Through Difficulties

About the Author

Linda Stewart Henley is the author of Estelle: A Novel. Among other honors, it won Silver in the Independent Publisher Book Awards for Historical Fiction and was a finalist for The Eric Hoffer Book Awards as well as for the 2021 Nancy Pearl Award. She lives in Anacortes, Washington, with her husband. Waterbury Winter is her second novel.