Anni Holliday

My Books

Windows

28th July, 2025

Windows is a celebration of the High Street, small-town life and the hard-working and dedicated shopkeepers, public servants and other people who strive to keep that life going. It’s a funny and poignant portrayal of human nature and its many frailties and strengths, including love, hate, loyalty, ambition, determination, error and redemption. A key theme is the human tendency to rush to conclusions about others which can later prove to be wrong.

It’s also a celebration of family, community, childhood and play, books and the joy of reading, and the beauty of the Scottish landscape.

The apparent idyll in which it is set is, however, in danger from an unknown person secretly bent on revenge, threatening the inhabitants’ lives and livelihoods and the very fabric of the town itself. Will they realise the danger in time or will the threat strike and, if so, when, how, where and on whom? Will the townspeople escape it and, if not, will they survive and how will they put their shattered lives and town back together again?

 

Here is an excerpt from the start of Chapter 2 of Windows:

“Bloody birds!” Billy scratched at the grey and white shit on the window with a wet paper towel as the seagulls winged a dance above, laughing squawkily at his pathetic efforts, like a group of old ladies sharing a dirty joke. He couldn’t afford a window cleaner more than once a week, as ordained by the council, and was too shaky in his hands and pins to do it more often himself. Irritated but philosophical, he re-entered the shop, taking in again, with a huge sense of pride, the vast array of colourful boxes, packets and figures on the shelves and racks, representing every toddler’s and young child’s dreams of morphing into a farmer, zoologist, astronaut, doctor or Disney Princess. Games, puzzles and jigsaws ascended in piles from floor to ceiling, though Billy silently hoped no one would ever want anything off the top shelf unless his grandson, Andy, was doing one of his serving stints and could shimmy with ease up the increasingly rickety ladder stored in the corner. His daughter, Susan, Andy’s mum, called it “the death trap” and foresaw a disaster scene awaiting some unsuspecting customer, of Billy, neck broken, lying buried beneath an avalanche of boxes and soft toys. “There are worse ways to go,” Billy mouthed under his breath as he went to the bathroom at the back of the shop to wash his hands and fill up the kettle again.

As he came back through, a small shadow on the other side of the shop window glass caught his attention. He vaguely recognised the outline of a small, silverhaired, baseball-capped woman who had visited before, not that frequently but always spending a similar amount of money. She seemed to be studying the displayed wares very intently. Billy started to wonder if Andy had deliberately put something inappropriate in the window, by way of relieving the boredom he often bemoaned to his grandfather and as part of his minor sabotage plan on family life resulting from having to live it as Andy Anderson.

As Billy watched, she moved to the other window, the shop having double frontage, and scrutinised the contents there too. After what seemed an age, the bell above the door jingled and she entered the shop, carrying an already pretty full rucksack, slung over her right shoulder, from which a cycle helmet was suspended by its strap and swinging, surely uncomfortably for its owner, Billy thought.

“Good morning. Not a bad day out there. Can I help or would you just like to browse?”

The woman fidgeted as she stood, shuffling tiny feet and twisting fingers in tight, luminous, Lycra gloves.

“Good morning. Yes, I would like to browse, thank you, but I wonder first – this is going to sound incredibly cheeky – could I make a suggestion?”

Billy was intrigued. He didn’t think anyone had asked that question in the shop before.

“Of course. Is it about the opening times? I’ve had to reduce them, you see. My grandson helps here as much as possible, but he’s got exams now and isn’t able to come as often as he used to.”

The peak of the cap nodded sympathetically and then immediately moved from side to side in the negative.

“I see. Yes, that’s a shame for you both, I should think, but it’s not that. No, it’s about the window displays. They’re a bit, well, a bit of a muddle, if you don’t mind me saying. I think they could be much better, and that might encourage people to come in. You see, I didn’t come into the shop until a long time after you opened, and it was because I wasn’t tempted by what was in the window. I did eventually, because I had to, and I was really pleased I did because what you have inside is amazing.”

The woman paused, slightly breathless with embarrassment after her critique and confession. She obviously knew she was blushing because she blushed some more.

Billy’s first reaction was irritation. What did people think he was capable of, in here alone most of the time and not exactly in a fit state to crawl about in the small space offered by the shopfront? He opened his mouth to express these sentiments then closed it when he saw her bright, blue-grey eyes almost watering with mortification.

“Oh, right. Yes, it’s hard for me. I can’t really get into the space myself anymore. My knees are bad. My grandson does the window displays, but I’m afraid he’s not very imaginative and often in a rush. He prefers to chat to the customers.”

She breathed a visible sigh of relief.

“Well, that’s very important too. You can’t be good at everything, particularly at a young age. I imagine it’s important to change the displays fairly often too, to encourage existing customers to come back in? If you like, I could, well, I could have a go myself? I think I’d be able to get into the window fairly easily and, as it happens, I’m not that busy today.”

Billy blinked, uncomprehendingly. Was this woman seriously suggesting that she climb into the window space and rearrange his goods? Was she bonkers or something?

Reviews for Windows

To me the indication of a good book is one where I am keen at the end of each chapter to start the next! This was certainly the case with Windows; I enjoyed the story telling which weaves the characters together in an entertaining tale of the follies of human nature. The characters are lively and well rounded and I love the way their lives weave and twist together around the backdrop of the window display competition, which is brought to life by Anni’s vibrant descriptions. I’m looking forward to the follow up book already!

Julia D

The characters are very relatable, and I found myself needing to know what happened in the next and next chapter. The descriptions of the characters and situations draws you in each time. It's amazing how a small town Window Display Competition can affect so many lives. My favourite phrase, "Where will your next Book Train take you?"

M Brock