The Snakeskin Boots (The Secrets of Singleton, #1) / The Secrets of Singleton (ePub)

Paula Anderson is a selfish and nasty bully at work. Everyone avoids her so not to get the sharp end of her tongue, and that includes the new man at work, Gareth Farlow, whom she fancies. Until her mum treats her to a pair of snakeskin boots. When Paula tries on the boots, she is unaware that she has set a chain of weird events in motion, and ones that include her changing to a better person. When she goes to speak nastily to her colleagues, she starts coughing and no one comes to her aide. The pattern on the boots appear like snakes, just as her colleague seems to take on a predatory stance to Gareth. On the way home through the park, the trees sway with a mysterious breeze, although when Paula meets other residents of the village, they are dry. The village 'Welcome' sign also starts fading and changing. The next day, the trees are still swaying around her, but not around the other residents. At work, when Paula tells off another colleague, she starts to realise how horrible she can be, and is rewarded by Gareth smiling at her. Then Paula sees a woman in the park that looks like her. What is going on? On the third day, Paula hears her co-boss speak sharply to her other co-boss when she tries the boots on, and comes to the conclusion that it is all down to the boots. Then she hears someone else speak rudely to her mum in the shoe shop, and realises what is happening. She has been shown what she is like to other people. The sun starts to shine over Paula, and the birds sing cheerily at her. Talking to her mother, Paula finds out that the woman was the ghost of an ancestor, who has been telling her she is doing well with her attitude to others. The 'Welcome' sign has now changed so that it starts with a D instead of an S. Paula decides to be a nicer person, and gets to go on a date with Gareth.