The Sunshine Land

By Veronica Lomas

The book is about the place where unhappy, lonely children can go and have some fun. The story involved in the book is about good over evil. This book has a very happy ending, and here, good does win. There is a sequel to this first book, which is in the making at this point in time; its called Return to the Sunshine Land, written again by Veronica Lomas (Sandy Guiles).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Feb 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543406795

Book preview

THE

SUNSHINE

LAND

VERONICA LOMAS

Copyright © 2018 by Veronica Lomas. 773476

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 02/27/2018

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.xlibris.com.au

CONTENTS

Chapter One Beginnings

Chapter Two Thomas

Chapter Three Hospital

Chapter Four Homecomings

Chapter Five Adventures In A Strange Land

Chapter Six Secrets Of The Sunshine Land

Chapter Seven The Rainbow Palace

Chapter Eight Storm Witch Maude And Snake Castle

Chapter Nine The Rescue Of The Golden Orb

Chapter Ten Home Again

After-Words

CHAPTER ONE

BEGINNINGS

M ary-Jane Turner was an ordinary little girl, there was nothing different in her life from the hundreds of other boys and girls born at the tail-end of the second world war. She experienced growing up in a very changed England from the one her big sister Patricia, (who was six years her senior) had known.

Great changes had come about, ‘the war’ had altered everyone’s way of life, and their way of thinking! Grown-ups had relaxed, they had fought the war to give their children a safe and decent life, and while Mary-Jane was growing in inches and years, the grown-ups were growing more tolerant and modern-minded with their off-spring. Now, you may guess that this joyful safe England, with it’s devoted grown-ups determined to give ‘their kids’ the very best, would produce some rather ‘spoilt brats’, you would be correct in thinking that!

However, Mary-Jane was not amongst that group! No, she was a very ordinary little girl, small for her five years of age, you couldn’t call her pretty or even cute, there were things in her small stature that seemed a wee bit too big, her feet for instance, and her nose. Mummy said, as a toddler, Mary-Jane was always falling down and squashing the podgy nose a bit more flatter! Luckily, her large brown eyes, fringed with longest eye-lashes you have ever seen, and her mop of shining dark curly hair made up for all the rest!

Yes, Mary-Jane’s hair was a delight to all grown-ups, being naturally curly, but a disaster to Mary-Jane herself! The knots and tangles that would come over-night would need strict attention with the hair-brush in the morning! Nanny, (who also lived in Mary-Jane’s house) would take much pleasure, brushing and tugging, and finally winding the ‘wilful hair around her finger until it formed a ringlet or a ‘sausage’ curl as it was called in those days! Big sister Patricia had been blessed with dead straight hair and a dead straight nose come to think of it! She wore her hair in ‘fashionable plaits’. The morning that Mary-Jane begged her Mother for plaited hair like her sister’s, was the first real hint of any determination in Mary-Jane’s normally placid nature. Mummy had said yes, but Nanny had thrown her hands up in horror! The child’s hair will be ruined! she cried; Mary-Jane did get her plaits, but they did not hang down in silky ropes like Patricia’s did or plop up and down on her back when she ran about! No, her plaits were fierce and spiky, and they stuck out at angles from her small face. The hair, with it’s strong curl, was not going to lay down for anyone!

Mary-Jane’s house was in short road with other similar houses in it, the road was in a small town in the county of Kent, and about twenty miles from the big city of London; Mary-Jane’s Father worked in an office there and he used to walk each day to the railway station at the end of their road and catch the train to get to his work-place. He was always neatly dressed in a suit, every day he would put on a clean collar, (no, not a whole clean shirt, just a clean collar) which came separate from shirts in those days! Mary-Jane would watch her Father, her dark eyes taking in all Daddy’s preparations. The stiff clean collar would first be fastened to the back of the shirt neck on a tiny collar stud, then brought around to the front and fastened to two more tiny studs. Next, came a smart neck-tie, this would be turned and folded then turned and folded again, until it formed a beautiful knot, all this done, and the stiff collar tucked neatly into place, Daddy would be ready for another days work. Mary-Jane’s father was also a small stature, he had the same eyes and mouth as his young daughter, but he had a long straight nose! I wonder where my one came from? thought Mary-Jane. His hair might have once been curly like hers but there wasn’t much left of it now but she still thought he was the most handsome Daddy in the world.

Mummy was different, her skin was so smooth and she had a perfect lap for Mary-Jane to snuggle up in. Mummy had been in hospital and Mary-Jane could remember back to a time when her Mother was not there! She supposed that was when Nanny had come to look after them all, but she