Love Begins in Winter

Simon Van BooyOn the verge of giving up—anchored to dreams that never came true and to people who have long since disappeared from their lives—Van Booy’s characters walk the streets of these stark and beautiful stories until chance meetings with strangers force them to face responsibility for lives they thought had continued on without them.

The eponymous first story follows world famous French cellist Bruno Bonnet who lives only through music, bringing audiences across the world to their feet at with the emotional genius of his playing. But in private, Bruno is a broken man, hopelessly withdrawn from society, unable to maintain relationships—a prisoner to a past event he witnessed and can never forget.

But decades of emotional isolation come to a sudden end when Bruno collides with Hazel at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Her sweet Welsh voice and piercing green eyes somehow crack the ice around Bruno’s heart, until a second chance meeting leaves them both helpless to a force greater than themselves. And as their lives irremediably entangle and secrets are revealed, they somehow find the courage to reach out again to a stranger in the world, balancing trust, despair, and a desperate hope that their pure and ungovernable love can survive the winter of their lives.