I am delighted to share an extract todayĀ ~ thanks toĀ Rachel’s Random Resources for organizing.
Genre: Upmarket Commercial – book club, contemporary fiction and general fiction.
Publication Date: October 10, 2025
Estimated Page Count: 290
Standalone Novel
Author Content Warning: Some swearing!
Extract:
Short intro for context: The protagonist, Gordon Slee, has driven up from London to North Wales unannounced. He came to meet the descendants of a historic covenant that allows sheep to run through his employerās top London hotel. Gordon hoped to negotiate a deal to buy the Right from the two Welsh sheep farmers in order to impress his boss and keep his job. Heās just had a talk with the farmers – Alan, a man in his seventies, and Alanās slightly younger brother, Rhys. Alan has dismissed Gordonās idea of the hotel buying the Right, claiming he and his brother were fine financially and werenāt interested in selling their Grandfatherās covenant. Gordon is now leaving the farmerās cottage downhearted as he walks to his car.
āHey,ā Rhys called out. āWait up.ā
Gordon turned and sighed.
āHe sold some of our taidās ā¦.. grandfatherās land. Thatās why some of the debts are gone.ā
Gordon grimaced. āGood. Iām glad youāre all sorted.ā
āWell, not exactly. Alan doesnāt like to talk about it much. It upsets him.ā
āThere are more debts?ā Gordon asked.
āI believe so. But worse, that land he sold is up for sale again. Alanās been worrying himself about what could happen. Nobody wants some big development cramming in around our sheep fields.ā
Gordon exhaled heavily. There was no way these people were going to accept ten thousand pounds. Although, he might be able to get the hotel to part with a little more. āWhat sort of amount are we looking at?ā
āAs much as we can for running the sheep through the hotel. You want us to run sheep through the hotel, right?ā
āIt would never get that far. The idea was to threaten it so you could get some money for the Right.ā
Rhys shrugged. āDo you think weād get enough to buy a bit of the land back?ā
āDepends. How much would you need?ā
āFor hill ground? Not a lot. Going rate is about one thousand pounds an acre.ā
āWhat if I were to get him ten acres back?ā
āDonāt know. But I reckon I might be able to convince him.ā
Gordon leaned against the car door, staring out at the fluffy dots of sheep grazing on a craggy hill beyond the cottage. A gust of wind scattered a yellow fluttering of oak leaves onto the crooked canopy of Rhysā front door.
āThereās one condition,ā Rhys said. āWe bring the defaid through the hotel for real.ā
āDefaid?ā
āYou need to learn a bit of Welsh. Sheep. A whole load of sheep.ā
Gordon chuckled. āWell, thatās the problem. The payoff would mean we donāt do it.ā
Rhys pursed his lips.
āBut if your brother decides he wants some of that land back, we can try bluffing.ā He opened the car door, then reached into the glove compartment. āHere,ā he said, scribbling his number on the back of a petrol receipt. āTalk to him. If you can convince him, phone me.ā
Gordon got into his car and switched on the ignition. As he revved the car forward, a white blob of fluff jumped from the bushes right in front of the bonnet.
Gordon slammed his foot on the brakes.
The animal bleated as Gordon pulled up the handbrake.
āWhat the hell are you doing?ā A red-faced woman with wild frizzy hair rushed towards him, then slapped her palms on the carās bonnet.
Gordon opened the car door and stepped out. āWhy canāt you control your animals?ā
āThis is a god damn sheep farm,ā she said. āNot a race track. Why donāt you control your driving?ā
The fury in her eyes and the anger in her unusual, possibly Canadian, accent shook him. He breathed in, then muttered, āSorry.ā
She pushed the sheep away, then stood tall, scowling.
Gordon narrowed his eyes, and said, āI did apologise.ā He stepped back into his car, then inched the vehicle slowly down the gravel path. In his rearview mirror, he spotted the woman, probably around mid-thirties, glaring towards his car before shaking her head.
Book blurb:
Gordon Slee fears he was never meant to be born. Anxious since childhood after hearing he was an accident, the forty-two-year-old is still struggling to escape the shadow of his high-achieving family.
But a glimmer of hope is on the horizon – a huge promotion within his hotel group is up for grabs, and he is sure that his time has come to make a mark on the world.
However, within his own department, redundancies are afoot. He may lose his job before he gets the chance. Until he learns of a historic covenant that preserves the right for sheep to run through the company’s top London hotel. Could he convince his boss that he’s the man to save the hotel from catastrophe?
Up in Bryn Nefyn, North Wales, live the descendants of the covenant owner. The elderly sheep farmer and his aging hippy brother could use the money the hotel might offer. But along with their strong-willed American shepherdess, they laugh at Gordon’s attempts to negotiate a deal. Surely, they couldn’t use a covenant that’s been forgotten about for over a hundred years.
Or could they?
For lovers of upmarket commercial fiction with a touch of romance and comedy, The Approval of Sheep is an uplifting story about family and love, overcoming adversity and discovering our reason for our place in this world.
Purchase Links
Author Bio ā
Karen Storey is an award-winning fiction writer, featured on the acclaimed book podcast The Bestseller Experiment. Her short stories have been placed in several international competitions, and her memoir pieces published within The New York Times bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Originally from New York, Karen lives in Warwickshire and has written articles for American in Britain magazine. She lives with her husband, whose surname Storey was the perfect wedding gift. They share their home with a snarky cat who writes Karenās monthly author newsletters and a crazy dog who barks at the wind.
The Approval of Sheep, a quirky uplifting book club read, is her first novel. You can find Karen on www.karenstoreyauthor.com
Social Media Links ā
Instagram: @karenstoreyauthor https://www.instagram.com/karenstoreyauthor/
Facebook: Karen Storey https://www.facebook.com/karen.okeefe.773
X: @StoreytellerK https://x.com/StoreytellerK
Bluesky: @karenstoreyauthor https://bsky.app/profile/karenstoreyauthor.bsky.social
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