Book Extract: Invisible by Heleyne Hammersley

Published September 28, 2026 | By Laura

I’m very excited to be welcoming Heleyne Hammersley to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Invisible.

An icy morning, a muddy riverbank.  The body of a promising swimmer is found in the River Don close to Thorpe.  Returning from a six-month absence, DI Kate Fletcher leads her first murder case since she nearly lost her own life to a desperate killer.

Grappling with her own doubts and insecurities, she has to negotiate a team transformed by differences in staffing and in attitude.  Everything has changed and nobody is comfortable.

A second body leads to a strong suspect, but the evidence is circumstantial and far from clear cut.  Kate’s ex-Detective Sergeant finds the breakthrough they need to help track down a cunning and meticulous murderer who has no conscience and no fear of consequences.

But can Kate act in time to prevent more deaths?

 

Heleyne has shared an extract with us today so grab that comfortable chair, the beverage of your choice and enjoy. 

(Trigger warning: description of crime scene). 

 

beginning of extract

 

This extract is from Chapter 17. After the discovery of a body in the River Don, DI Kate Fletcher is keen to establish any connection to a recent murder behind a pub in Doncaster.

 

An icy puddle marked the entrance to the alleyway, the surface a kaleidoscope of red and blue lights. A lone PCSO stood guard next to a line of blue-and-white tape which stretched from the corner of the pub to the wall opposite. He clutched a clipboard as though it were a talisman granting him permission to be there or warding off whatever evil lurked in the gloom behind the pub amid the overflowing bins and the graffiti.

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A Moment With… Olivia Lockhart

Published September 28, 2026 | By Laura

I’m so pleased to be welcoming Olivia Lockhart to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Private Devotions.

Destiny promised Hanna Bailey her soulmate, but delivered a divorce instead. So, when the career opportunity of a lifetime comes calling, she’s ready to answer. Alone.

Joining the tour of rising rock band His Locked Heart is her chance to start again. Sold-out shows, endless miles, and the freedom to leave her past behind

But fate has a habit of rewriting the lyrics.

Behind the spotlight, the band’s brooding songwriter, Nathaniel Cole, is about to become the one person Hanna never expected. As friendships deepen and long-buried truths surface, Hanna finds herself torn between the life she built and a love that could burn the whole thing down.

Some songs are written in secret.

Some loves refuse to stay hidden.

And sometimes you get the chance to rewrite your own story.

 

With a special letter to women like Hanna, it’s over to you, Olivia. 

 

Private Devotions has some painful and real memories in it, some my own, some heard from other women. Living through my forties has taught me a lot, and I wish I could go back and tell my younger self … but I don’t know if she’d believe me or understand. She’d probably scoff at the middle-aged woman who seems so dull and lifeless.

There’s a little bit of all of us in Hanna, and I hope you’ll read and identify with her. But in the meantime, a letter to all the women like me …

Dear friend,

There is something I wish you had known from the beginning.

You were never the problem.

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Book Extract: You Too by Katharine Light

Published September 27, 2026 | By Laura

Please join me in welcoming Katharine Light to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, You Too.

Anna has finally got what she longed for.

After years of focusing on her career—ignoring the quiet, insistent need for a child—a chance encounter with Rob led to an arrangement that changed everything.

Now she’s pregnant.

But nothing about what comes next is simple. This was never meant to be a relationship. As her pregnancy becomes more difficult, Anna retreats, unwilling to face Rob, or the feelings she can no longer ignore.

Because wanting a baby was one thing. Letting someone in is something else entirely.

Rob always knew their arrangement had limits. He didn’t expect Anna would quickly become the one person he can’t walk away from.

Now, both must decide what they’re willing to fight for. Can they overcome the complications of their own backgrounds and truly build a family together?

Or was their connection never meant to last?

 

Kathatine has kindly shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.

 

beginning of extract

 

The first time they meet in this book, once Anna is pregnant and suffering with severe morning sickness.         

 

What was Rob doing now, she wondered, for the nth time that day.

She had fielded his texts with brief replies, forcing him to shrink his enquiries accordingly. ‘Plans for the weekend?’ he’d asked. ‘Sleep!’ she’d replied.

Her biggest problem was her absolute inability to open the fridge without the inevitable retching and vomiting. She couldn’t face food. Couldn’t look at it. Couldn’t plan, shop or cook. Anything she tried turned to dry lumps on her tongue. The most she’d held down were some morsels of dry toast. Her sense of smell seemed to have magnified alarmingly, and the slightest odour sent her rushing to the loo, slicked with sweat, saliva flooding her mouth.

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Book Review: The Earl’s Bride by Fenella J. Miller

Published September 25, 2026 | By Laura

Please join me in welcoming Fenella J. Miller to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Earl’s Bride.

Bath, 1810.
Lord James Brotherton, the charismatic Earl of Avon, is wealthy, intelligent—and marked for death. His own cousin believes him an imposter and has enlisted corrupt lawyers and treacherous servants to remove him permanently.
Enter Sofia Brotherton.
Unconventional, outspoken, and entirely irresistible, Sofia turns James’s ordered world upside down. He falls for her instantly. She follows a week later.
As danger closes in, their growing attraction becomes both a refuge and a risk. With enemies plotting murder and passions running high, James and Sofia must fight for love—and survival.
A witty, action-packed Regency romance filled with intrigue, danger, and deliciously sensuous tension.

 

*****

 

Sofia Brotherton is determined to move onward and upward after the death of her father. When she and her sisters face potential ruin, she secures herself a job in Bath. However, when the Earl of Avon arrives, the plans change and it’s not long before he and Sofia clash. Will they survive their new life at Avon Court or will something else blossom?

I do love a good regency novel and so when the chance came up to join the blog tour for The Earl’s Bride, the first book in a new series by Fenella J Miller, I jumped at the chance. I can’t actually believe that this was the first book I’ve read by this author. It won’t be the last.

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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Door Under The Sea

Published September 25, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing

Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off

No editing allowed—raw writing only

When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.) 

 

Today’s prompt: The Door Under The Sea – 

 

A lighthouse keeper discovers a door beneath the sea that opens only when someone, somewhere, forgets their own name. Each time the door appears, the keeper hears their own voice calling from the other side—but the voice is always speaking a name they do not recognize.

For years, the keeper has recorded disappearances in a salt-stained ledger: sailors who abandoned their lives, children who stopped answering to their names, old people who woke without memories of who they were. Then, one storm-lashed night, the door opens beneath the lighthouse itself.

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Book Extract: The Songs That Find Us by Andrea Darby

Published September 25, 2026 | By Laura

I am so pleased to be welcoming Andrea Darby to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Songs That Find Us.

Lizzie thinks the difficult years are behind her.

She has a happy marriage, a career she loves, and a daughter beginning to find her place in the world. But when her husband Ed receives a devastating diagnosis, long-buried secrets surface – shattering everything Lizzie believes about their life together.

Now Ed is desperate to set things right before his memories slip away. 

Meanwhile, their adopted daughter Beck is searching for answers of her own that could change the family forever.

After rediscovering her love of singing, Lizzie brings together a community where friendship, kindness and music forge unexpected connections — and perhaps a way back to one another.

 

Andrea has kindly shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

beginning of extract

 

This is from an early part of the novel featuring one of its three narrators, Lizzie. The other two narrators are her husband Ed and their 24-year-old adopted daughter Beck – so the reader gets three different perspectives as the story unfolds. This scene follows Beck’s shock announcement that she wants to move away to London.

 

Lizzie

 

In the living room, Ed is equally shocked by Beck’s bombshell. He’s still bent over his guitar, wearing his birthday jumper, the tags on the table next to him.

 ‘London?’ He shakes his head as if dismissing it. ‘How will she afford to live there?’

‘Probably expecting our help, as always.’

He blows out his cheeks, releases the air noisily.

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NK Chats To… Svetlana Rodina

Published September 24, 2026 | By Laura

Hi Svetlana. Thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your book, Red Riding Hood: The Letter from the Wolf and what inspired it?

Thank you for inviting me. The novel began with something I kept returning to: the way a family can tell the truth about its past and still leave out enough to change the meaning of everything. I wanted to follow a woman who has lived comfortably inside one version of her history and then finds evidence that does not quite fit it.

Rose is 53 and living in Buenos Aires when photographs, letters and documents begin to contradict what she has always believed about her family. What interested me was not only the mystery itself, but the age at which she encounters it. She already has decades of relationships, decisions and loyalties behind her, so the discovery cannot be contained in the past; it inevitably alters the present as well.

The book first appeared as Red Riding Hood: The Letter from the Wolf, and the revised English edition is now The Archive of Absence: The Letter from the Wolf. The title evolved with the book, but the story still turns on the same question: what happens when the family version of the past no longer fits the evidence in front of you? Buenos Aires felt natural for this because so many lives there have been rebuilt after leaving another place behind.

 

What was your route to publication like and what advice do you have for someone looking to follow a similar path?

I published independently, which meant that finishing the manuscript was followed almost immediately by a second education. Suddenly I was making decisions about editing, covers, metadata, distribution, translation and rights, while also learning how invisible a perfectly good book can remain if nobody knows where to find it.

Working across several language editions made that even clearer. The story stays the same, but the way readers encounter it does not, and each market forces you to rethink presentation, discoverability and sometimes even the title.

For anyone choosing a similar route, my advice would be to separate the jobs in your head. Writing, publishing and promotion require different kinds of attention, and trying to solve all three at once usually makes each of them worse. Give the manuscript patience, learn the practical side instead of pretending it will somehow sort itself out, and be specific about who the reader is. I learned that last part slowly, which is a polite way of saying I made several avoidable mistakes first.

 

Can you tell us a little about your writing day? Do you have any rituals like needing coffee or writing in silence? A favourite place to write?

My writing days are fairly unceremonious. I usually work at home in Almagro, Buenos Aires, with tea nearby and enough quiet to stay inside a scene, although the city has never signed any agreement to cooperate with that plan.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Ideas and Plot Planning

Published September 23, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room.

Today, the exercise will be about generating ideas and then creating a small plot plan.

We will be preparing a character, a scenario and a situation.

 

First – characters – 

Write down three characters. Don’t let yourself overthink it. Just write the first three things that come to mind. For example: 

  • A retired pickpocket who never learned to read.
  • A therapist that lies to protect feelings.
  • A teenager who can hear plants screaming.

 

Next, let’s look at the situations (compelling situations or inciting incidents) and write down three. For example – 

  • Due to a technical glitch, someone manages to claim a winning lottery ticket that’s already been claimed.
  • Finds a door in their flat that wasn’t there yesterday.
  • Is accused of a crime they technically did commit, but not in the way anyone thinks”

 

Finally, what is at stake? This is the thing that the character could lose or gain that really matters. Again, write down three. 

  • Their only family member’s trust.
  • A chance to escape their hometown.
  • The truth about who they really are.

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Book Extract: Ancestral Virgins by Fiona J. Mackintosh

Published September 23, 2026 | By Laura

Please join me in welcoming Fiona J. Mackintosh to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Ancestral Virgins.

In early 20th century Britain, society was changing rapidly, but not much was changing for women.

From different ends of the social spectrum, Celia Mapperley and May Hallam wrestle with rules and circumstances beyond their control and must navigate love, sex, war, and the thin line between conformity and scandal.

As they each bear the shame of a devastating family secret, their stories come together in ways that neither could have imagined.

 

Fiona has kindly shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.

 

 

beginning of extract

 

My historical novel Ancestral Virgins is set in early 20th century Britain, when society was changing rapidly, but not much was changing for women despite the efforts of the Suffragettes. Lady Celia Mapperley is a young aristocrat who is being dragged around the marriage circuit but feels out of place and unwanted and is searching for a way to feel whole. Meanwhile, May Hallam is the youngest child of a waggoner who works on Celia’s father’s estate in Nottinghamshire. Both young women have to wrestle with rules and circumstances beyond their control and must navigate love, sex, war, and the thin line between conformity and scandal. As they each bear the shame of a devastating family secret, their stories come together in ways that neither could have imagined.

 

This extract is from the point of view of May Hallam as a child. Although the youngest of six siblings, she’s always been expected to take care of her brother Davey who is 16 months older and has what we now call Down’s Syndrome. In this piece, May and Davey are about 8 and 9 and have been sent out to pick up fallen branches to fuel the kitchen range, but May has become distracted.

 

February 1915

 

May noticed the light was fading. It would still be light outside the wood, but she and Davey should hurry and find some kindling before it was too dark to see. She heard the rustling of footsteps and, suddenly afraid, she called out, “Davey!” A startled pigeon burst out of the hedgerow, and then there was a crumpling sound. May jumped to her feet. Nothing moved in the treetops and the air was very still, and then all at once it was pierced by a long, high-pitched howl.

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Book Extract: Dragon Kin’s Choice by Jo Gatenby

Published September 20, 2026 | By Laura

I am beyond excited to be welcoming Jo Gatenby and the blog tour for her book, Dragon Kin’s Choice.

What do you do when your world expands, but your choices shrink?

When an orphaned dragon bonds with fourteen-year-old Tad, who never knew his parents, they believe they’ve finally found the family they’d never had. However, there’s more to them than they realize, and that might be the very thing which tears them apart.

Meanwhile, the duke’s daughter, Marian, struggles to avoid an arranged marriage. In trying to escape her fate, the truth is revealed, and she is forced to reconsider everything she thought she knew.

And although the prospective groom’s younger brother, Aldoran, is resigned to being the ‘spare heir’, he’s restless and bored. Drawn into a web of secrecy, he struggles to rise above his father’s expectations and complete his mission.

When these four lives converge, their choices reshape each other—and the world around them—in ways none of them could have predicted.

 

*****

 

Jo has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

beginning of extract

 

While the main character of my novel is a newly hatched dragonet who doesn’t even know the names of things—or even how to speak—one of my favorite secondary characters is Tad, the teenager who will become her bondmate.

This excerpt takes place shortly after we meet him and his friends, and learn that he can sense the emotions of others. He’s just jumped into the quarry lake and is still underwater when he glimpses her.

I’ve also used square brackets and italics [like this] to indicate mind-speech throughout the novel. You’ll also notice Tad’s peasant dialect. I wanted this to bleed into the prose slightly, giving the narrative the flavor of his speech without becoming distracting. So you’ll notice the was/were grammatical reversals, along with expressions such as if’n, mayhap, or certain sure woven throughout.

I hope you enjoy their very first encounter!

 

*****

 

A flicker of movement caught his eye. His body gently rocked side to side, and he glimpsed a large black form racing below him. Startled, his open senses registered curiosity—and an alien wisp of loneliness—from a thing what certain sure weren’t human.

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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Shadows

Published September 18, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing

Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off

No editing allowed—raw writing only

When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.) 

 

Today’s prompt: The Shadows.

 

At sunrise, every shadow in the city points toward the same locked door.

By noon, people have gathered around it, carrying keys they do not remember owning.

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Book Extract: Bob & Shirley’s Guide To Murder by Suzy K Quinn

Published September 18, 2026 | By Laura

Please join me in welcoming Suzy K Quinn to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Bob and Shirley’s Guide to Murder.

Bob and Shirley run a lovely country pub. They also solve murders …

A warmly funny, gloriously British cozy crime and murder mystery series that can be read as standalones or part of a series. Set in a village where the pub is the heart of country life and served with warmth, wit and a very good Sunday roast.

“Murder? In our quiet, little English village?

Great Oakley is a place of hanging baskets, tearooms and riverside walks. We’ve won ‘Britain’s safest village’ 10 years running. I keep three pound coins, a box of toffees and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol on my dashboard at all times, and I’ve never needed to lock my car.

Certainly, Bevvy Hogg was disliked. She ran the local Waist Watchers group, yet came to our pub for fish and chips, treacle tart and a bottle of Chardonnay every Friday. But I don’t think she was murdered …”

When Bevvy Hogg is found dead in the Goose and Gander pub garden, with an empty treacle tart plate beside her and several dress sizes slimmer than anyone remembers, Great Oakley’s winning streak as Britain’s safest village comes to an abrupt end.

 

Suzy has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

Bob and Shirley run the Goose and Gander pub in the Suffolk village of Great Oakley. When Bevvy Hogg, leader of the local Waist Watchers slimming group, is found dead in their pub garden, several dress sizes smaller than anyone remembers, the pair start investigating.

In this scene, Bob and Shirley go undercover at a Waist Watchers meeting. Bob is a fitness fanatic with absolutely no tact. Shirley is a larger lady who considers weighing scales the enemy of happiness. It goes about as well as you would expect.

 

Bob

 

The Waist Watchers meeting was certainly an experience. The logic baffled me. How do people think that sitting around, talking about food, will help them lose weight? It would be far better to spend their evenings having a long walk, which would not only burn off calories but also improve their moods.

Jade welcomed us with a ‘red light’ forbidden food list to stick on our fridge. It looked broadly similar to Shirley’s daily diet: beer, crisps, cider, wine, chips, butter, lard, pies and pastries.

Then we were ushered to a horseshoe of seats, semi-circling a table of weight-loss shakes, soups and chocolate bars.

We were supposed to ‘listen with two ears’ while others talked about their weekly food intake. But I soon cracked and demanded, ‘What’s this obsession with milky, frothy coffees from overpriced coffee shops? Milk is designed to help young animals put on weight. Obviously, it’s not a sensible choice for dieters. Why not just have a nice cup of tea? It’s much better for you, and also less expensive.’

On reflection, I shouldn’t have voiced my opinions so early on. It wasn’t the best way to build group rapport. In fact, Jade asked me to stop talking after I explained that the artificial sweeteners in her Glow Up shakes were scientifically proven to make you crave more sugary food.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Word Association List

Published September 16, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room. 

Today’s writing room task is one I think can be quite fun. That is building a piece of writing from word association.

Write down the words below. Then, set a timer for 30 seconds and make your way through the list. Write down the first thing that comes to mind with each word. Don’t overthink it.

 

Lantern

Velvet

Thunder

Marmalade

Compass

Whisper

Glacier

Bicycle

Cinnamon

Meadow

 

How did you find that?

 

Here’s my attempt –

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Book Review: Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans

Published September 13, 2026 | By Laura

It’s always so exciting to welcome Jaimie Admans to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on her latest book, Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle.

A Scottish castle, a fake marriage… and one very real Christmas romance?

After a window display goes disastrously viral – thanks to a malfunctioning animatronic Santa and an unfortunate encounter with Paddington Bear – Lula Haines finds herself without a job just weeks before Christmas. So she jumps at the chance to decorate Hollybrae Castle in Scotland for the holidays.

There’s just one complication: her handsome new boss, Oliver Bracewell, needs a fake wife for the festive season. To secure a promotion that could save his family’s castle, Ollie has been pretending to be a married father-of-two to impress the family-focused firm where he works. Now his bosses are coming to stay at Hollybrae over Christmas… expecting to meet his non-existent wife and children.

At first, playing along is easy as Lula is swept up in the magic of turning Hollybrae into the perfect festive escape with Ollie. But as Christmas draws nearer and she and Ollie grow closer, Lula begins to wonder if Hollybrae could become more than a temporary escape… and if the man she’s only pretending to love might actually be the one she’s been waiting for all along.

With heaps of tartan, tinsel and Christmas magic, this uplifting romance is perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley, Heidi Swain, Cressida McLaughlin, Ellie Henderson or Jessica Redland!

 

*****

 

When a window display goes wrong and Lula loses her job weeks before Christmas, she isn’t sure what she is going to do.

When a job advert decorating a Scottish castle catches her eye, it seems too good to be true. Sure enough, Lula finds out that there is a big catch.

Long term visitors to this blog will already know that I am a HUGE fan of Jaime Admans. So, whenever the chance to take part in a blog tour that involves one of her novels comes up, my hand will go up and I will shout ‘me, me, me’ at the blog tour organiser.

Jaime Admans and Christmas. Absoflippinglutly. I couldn’t wait to get started.

On first glance, the plot of this novel may seem a little far-fetched. A woman agreeing to be a pretend wife to a total stranger whilst travelling to a remote castle sounds more like crime than romance. It didn’t take the author long to not only make me believe that it’s possible but that it was only ever going to be romantic.

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Book Review: A Christmas Proposal by Rose Warner

Published September 12, 2026 | By Laura

I am pleased to be welcoming Rose Warner to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, A Christmas Proposal.

She lost everything in the Great War – her brothers, her fiancé, her way of life. Will this new war bring back long-buried feelings?

Beatrice is settling into life in the countryside, along with Victoria and Nell, as a teacher evacuee. Her world is turned upside down again when she meets David, the new doctor at the military hospital, whose kindness and gentleness warm her frozen heart.

Her remaining defences crumble entirely when the family of one of her pupils is killed in an airstrike, and she can no longer deny her motherly affection for the child.

But is Beatrice willing to risk the loss and heartache that comes with love in wartime? When David volunteers for military service and history threatens to repeat itself, Beatrice must dig deep to find the courage to live the life she’s dreamed of…

A gripping, festive Second World War saga for fans of Daisy Styles, Katie Flynn and Elaine Everest.

 

*****

 

Having lost her brothers and fiancé in the Great War, Beatrice has accepted her life as a spinster. She has settled into the village of Hazelbury, having been brought in from London to teach Evacuee children. She now gets on well with her fellow teachers, Victoria and Nell, and is set on eventually becoming a headmistress of her own school once the war is over. What she doesn’t count on is the arrival of Dr. David Stanley. Can Beatrice allow herself to love again when there is a chance that she will once again lose all she holds dear?

It’s that time of year. The Christmas themed novels are beginning to appear. When I got invited onto the blog tour for A Christmas Proposal by Rose Warner, I jumped at it.

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Book Review: A Calamity of Waters by Chloe Turner

Published September 12, 2026 | By Laura

JANUARY 1607. THE SEVERN VALLEY. THE GREATEST FLOOD IN LIVING MEMORY.

Habren has never quite forgiven herself. Her father only sings bawdy carols for farthings these days, none of the sweet songs he used to sing their mother, and perhaps it’s no wonder her sisters Syble and Margret have put many leagues between themselves and their old home. But then Syble summons her to Gloucester, and if Habren can keep on the right side of their pin merchant master, perhaps it’s the chance she needs to make up for the past.

Then the river rises. In a single January morning, the Severn floods the vale and upends every life in it. And somewhere down that swollen estuary is Ambrose, the man Habren loves.

With Syble and new friend Raynould beside her, Habren sets out for Bristol to find him, through a city the flood has torn apart. And as they search, secrets they have kept close to their hearts begin, one by one, to surface.

 

*****

 

Habren has always felt in the way, especially when it comes to her sister, Syble. So, when she is sent to work with her sibling in Gloucester, she sees this as a chance to make up for the past. However, she will find life is just as hard under the tyranny of her new employer. When disaster strikes, Habren, Syble and their friend, Raynould go on a perilous journey. Can Habren find the happiness she has wanted all her life?

This novel was my introduction to Chloe Turner. I didn’t know what to expect. I do love historical fiction so I couldn’t wait to jump in.

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NK Chats To… Julie Houston

Published September 11, 2026 | By Laura

Hi Julie. Thank you for joining me today. Can you tell us about The Way We Are Now and what inspired it?

The Way We Are Now is my seventeenth novel and published by Boldwood. Slightly different from my other books in that it is perhaps a bit more of a Saga rather than a Rom Com. Still hopefully humorous in places – Maggy, Anna’s Mum was a delight to write as she is so funny and full of Yorkshire grit – but concentrating on the passion in the book. I loved writing Anna and Theo’s passion for each other, as well as Anna’s passion for the underdog and women’s rights. The book was inspired by hearing, on the radio, that the 1984 Miners’ Strike was finally having a formal, independent statutory inquiry into the policing of the Battle of Orgreave.

 

Which scene do you find the hardest to write?

Any scene that gets me on to the good bit, if that makes sense!

 

What’s your favourite word and why?

Fertiliser!  Can’t hear it or say it without compulsively saying “Fertiliser” in a broad Norfolk accent. (Sorry, was this what you wanted?? LOL!!)

NK: Perfect. LOL. 

 

What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals like needing coffee, silence, a particular place to write?

I certainly need silence! I’m a lark and like to be at my desk by 8am. If I’m not in court or been called in to teach – both great distractions! – then I’ll aim for 2000 words. I’m a total pantser and never know what I’m going to write until I start. I don’t allow myself a coffee until I’ve done so many words, and then I can treat myself. Nothing like a coffee to get the brain cells going. I’ll break for a run or the gym – I started doing Yoga a year ago and now do 3-4 classes a week No idea if it’s doing me any good, but I like to show off my balancing to my 97-year-old mother-in-law! My writing is constantly interrupted by my prevaricating on Ancestry, eBay, Rightmove and Social Media as well as chatting to my writing friends on WhatsApp. I might go for a walk around 4pm – our 16-year-old dog died last year, and I miss having him with me – and I’ve usually finished by 5.30pm. Continue reading →

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NK Chats To… Jack Jewers

Published September 3, 2026 | By Laura

Hi Jack. Thank you for joining me today. Can you tell us about your latest novel, Seething Lane and what inspired it? 

Hi Laura, and thank you for asking! Seething Lane is the follow-up to my first novel, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, which imagines what the most famous diarist in English history did after he finished writing his diary. In my version of events, he becomes a reluctant investigator working for the crown. Seething Lane begins when a strange young man turns up at Pepys’s office asking for help. He turns the boy away – an act with far-reaching consequences, which he soon comes to regret. Events lead him from the backstreets of London to the glamorous world of the theatre, where he is tasked with catching a killer. It’s part-adventure, part-murder mystery, and the theatrical world around which the story swirls was partly inspired by my own childhood, as the son of two actors.

 

What drew you to the historical fiction genre and why this time, place and person in particular? 

Samuel Pepys kept his diary for nearly a decade, between 1660 and 1669. He had a front row seat at some of the biggest events in English history, such as the Great Fire of London, and some of his writing makes for gripping reportage. It’s also indiscreet, tender, and often very funny. Then, in the summer of 1669, he just stopped. When I first read his diaries, I was shocked to discover that he actually lived for over 30 years after that, and the little bits we know about his later life hint at a man whose adventures were just getting started. How tantalising that he didn’t keep a diary during those times too. But what if he did? Sounds like a good idea for a book!

 

What are the challenges when writing a historical fiction novel? What has been the highlight? 

Continue reading →

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A Moment With… Stephen Cox

Published September 1, 2026 | By Laura

It’s a pleasure to welcome Stephen Cox to Novel Kicks as we say Happy Birthday to his book, The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder. 

London 1881. Can two crooked women stop a murder?

Extravagant medium Mrs Ashton and her lover, blunt working-class Mrs Bradshaw, run a spiritualist scam. Mrs Ashton secretly reads minds.

Believing that Mrs Ashton is genuine, grieving Lady Violet craves the truth behind her mother’s untimely death. But Lady Violet’s powerful husband Sir Charles hates spiritualists. Has he killed before?

Uncovering this MP’s wicked crimes will put all three women in terrible danger…

To solve a shocking murder, look both sides of the grave.

“I loved this book! Victorian murder mystery meets “ghost” story, with delicious sprinklings of compassion and mischief…”

Caroline Day, author of Sunday Times Bestseller Hope Nicely’s Lessons for Life.

 

To chat about why he chose the 1880s, it’s over to you, Stephen. 

 

Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. That’s as long as the time between the end of the Second World War and the 2008 banking crisis. Or the Suez Crisis and the mid-Pandemic. Unless you are Disney, you need to pick an actual period.

I quickly decided on the early 1880s. It was a decade of great change, and yet as so often in Victorian times, a stubborn stasis. I’m always checking to see what type of bicycle or pen could be used, or when electric light might have reached a provincial town.

It gives me at least ten years as a playground. And maybe my dodgy medium Mrs Ashton might run into Mr Holmes, two such egos are bound to clash, and I know who I would bet on.

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Novel Kicks Book Club: The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor

Published September 1, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Book Club.

Hello September.

The beginning of the ‘ber’ months is upon us. Although I am shifting to Autumn in my head, we are due another heatwave here in the UK apparently. Whether the weather is giving us warmth or showing us rain, there is always an excuse to settle down with a book. I am hoping you’ll enjoy this month’s book club pick.

 

The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor.

 

I have long been a fan of this author but am yet to read this novel from 2022. I can’t wait to get started. It sounds amazing.

 

So, how does our book club work?

It’s fully online so there is no reason to move from the comfortable spot you find yourself in to read. You can also join the discussion at any time in the month – whether you’ve already read it or, like me, will be reading it for the first time. I have put a question in the comments below to start the conversation.

I look forward to talking about this book with you.

 

 

About The Guilty Couple – 

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Book Review: The Devil’s Debt by Rae Devine

Published August 31, 2026 | By Laura

I am so happy to be welcoming Rae Devine to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Devil’s Debt.

The Devil’s Debt is Episode Five of The Seven Gates, a short, high-heat dark paranormal romance series of vengeance, obsession and underworld power, featuring ritualised dominance and morally black and grey demons.

Ruthless. Sacred. Beautifully inevitable.

In the quiet hours of the Underworld, even faith begins to falter.

Lucien Vale – recruiter, collector of broken souls and reluctant heavy hand of Hell – has been stripped of his immortality through an act of betrayal from someone he once loved. Yet still loyal and devoted to Hell’s Queen, he accompanies her to locate a fallen prince of the Church whose devotion has long since curdled into complacency.

A cardinal who has heard every confession.
Forgiven every sin.
And slowly stopped believing any of it matters.

Every path leads back to the Devil’s bride.

Bella Blackwood. Gatekeeper. Devourer of sin.
A woman who turns confession into spectacle and indulgence into judgment.

The cardinal receives Bella and Lucien at the abbey with indifference and wariness.

But in their presence he is faced with a new kind of ritual.
Temptation.
And a force designed to test the limits of his faith.

At the Gates, apathy risks becoming the most damning sin of all.

Desire awakens what indifference tried to bury.
And Hell collects its debts with patient precision.

These stories are sins – brief, potent and cumulative.

Each episode is designed to be devoured in one sitting.
Seven Gates. One descent.

For readers who crave gothic atmosphere, infernal courts and dangerously seductive power.

Read free with Kindle Unlimited.

⚠️ Contains explicit sexual content, power exchange, violence and dark religious imagery.

 

*****

 

Having been stripped of his immortality through a betrayal, Lucien accompanies Bella as they pay a visit to a priest who is struggling with his devotion.

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Book Review: The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop by Jill Steeples

Published August 31, 2026 | By Laura

I am so happy to be welcoming Jill Steeples back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her new book, The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop.

Isla Stewart has a glittering publishing career in London, but when she’s unexpectedly made redundant, she faces an uncertain future.

Licking her wounds, Isla heads home to the Cotswolds. Keeping her devastating redundancy a secret from her proud parents, she seeks refuge at Finch’s, the enchanting bookshop she worked in as a teenager. With the owners struggling with their health, Isla steps in to manage the shop hoping to convince them that the business has a future.

Isla likes nothing more than chatting to people about books, but her safe haven is soon disturbed when she comes face-to-face with her first love, Charlie Brace, made worse by the arrival of Guy Madley, the incredibly handsome property consultant who has advice for owners Jon and Miriam.

As Christmas approaches, Isla has decisions to make. Does her future lie in London or can a whole heap of books and a sprinkling of festive magic offer a life that she could never even have dreamed of?

 

*****

 

Isla’s life in London lays in ruins after being made redundant. She heads home to the Cotswolds defeated, not wanting to tell anyone her news. When she begins to help at the bookshop she spent much of her teenage years in, she starts to remember why she loved publishing and literature in the first place. Little by little, can books, a guy named Guy, and a cat called Heathcliff help bring some magic back into Isla’s life right in time for the festive season?

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Book Extract: Paper Over It by Ruth Gresty

Published August 30, 2026 | By Laura

Please join me in welcoming Ruth Gresty to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Paper Over It.

Jennifer Jones is in control.

Jen is confident she has complete control over the things that are trying to control her. Until she isn’t. Until she hasn’t. Until she realises she has never been in control at all. She’s been papering over it for years.

It’s the start of the year 2000. A new millennium has arrived. For Jen and her three friends, university life in Manchester is full of possibility and endless fun. Sassiness, spontaneity, marvellous mayhem and youthful optimism reign in the Manchester rain.

But beneath the sometimes brash bravado sometimes even the most resilient, carefree, fun-loving characters who, on the surface look like they are living their best lives, are perilously close to falling apart. Over the course of one unforgettable year, the young women confront their own realities and truths. Some make foolish mistakes and others life changing choices.

Sometimes heartwarming and other times heartbreaking, but always brutally honest. This is a story of friendship, mistakes, self-discovery and acceptance; identity, love and the messy reality of becoming an adult. It’s about the masks we wear, the mistakes and choices we make, and the courage it takes to stop papering over it and face ourselves when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

It’s real, raw, raunchy, sometimes random and frankly rude at times. Just like Jen and her friends.

 

Ruth has shared an extract from Paper Over It with us all today. Make that drink, find those biscuits, head to that comfortable chair and enjoy. 

(Warning: mild language). 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

I have chosen this extract as it hopefully sums up how twenty-one-year-old single mum Jen (the main protagonist of four key characters) is feeling and why she knows she has to somehow evolve and enhance her life. She doesn’t fit into her old one (or her friends) on a day-to-day basis. She is lonely, however much she loves her baby boy. She is also being dragged back into her un-named eating disorder just to try and feel a little control over something.

She has hit a crossroad, on a road in her much-loved Manchester, and knows she needs to make some changes. She just doesn’t really know how yet.

This extract is towards the end of the book and only features one of the four main characters, and I appreciate it gives away the spoiler of Jen having a baby, but hopefully it makes sense why I have chosen this.

 

End of Chapter 49 – ‘Show me the meaning of feeling lonely’

 

Joseph is fast asleep, only taking a single suck of his dummy occasionally. She suddenly feels sightly uneasy in her beloved city. Detached in a weird way. She drives south, out of it.

As she crosses the inner ring road and onto the Princess Parkway, a strange cloud descends over her.

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NK Chats To… Jaime P. Bradley

Published August 30, 2026 | By Laura

Hi Jaime. Thank you so much for joining me today and for inviting Novel Kicks onto the blog tour for Reasons To Act. Can you tell us a bit about it?

Reasons to Act is the third novel in my 3000 Reasons series. It’s about Olivia, a Marine who is unexpectedly made the military consultant on the set of an action movie starring Chris Blackstone, who has private reasons for needing the movie to be a success and doesn’t trust a newbie like Olivia on his set. They butt heads immediately, but of course sparks also fly. Ultimately, this story is a romance but it’s also about acceptance and respect. (Think the movie Fall Guy meets The Hating Game)

 

What are the challenges of writing a book within an established series? What’s been the best part?

Reasons to Act is actually a great example of the challenge of a series because it wasn’t supposed to exist, but then this fierce character Olivia came along as I was writing Reasons to Risk and she wouldn’t leave me alone. After I accepted that I’d have to give her a story, it was supposed to be an offshoot novella, but I found in the writing process that I needed more space to do them justice, so it became a novel. It’s difficult to be flexible, but I think it’s most important to give the characters their due and make the romance believable, even if it wasn’t part of my original plan or the characters don’t fall into the structure I originally imagined. At the same time, one of the most fun and wonderful things about writing a series is returning to characters over and over. They’re like friends and watching them interact as each one gets their own story is really rewarding.

 

What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals – coffee? Silence?

I’m an early bird with four kids, so my typical (ideal) writing day starts with a workout session followed by copious amounts of coffee, farm chores, more coffee, and getting the kids off to school. Once they’re out of the house I sit at my desk or in a comfy chair and do about an hour or so of email and social media, then I change gears and get into the manuscript. I usually listen to music, but it depends on what kind of scene I’m writing and what kind of mood I’m trying to get into. Often instrumental pop works, but I have playlists for steamy scenes or those with more energy. When I feel stuck—or the dogs want to go out—I’ll often take my phone and dictate as we walk around our fields. Sometimes the change of scenery, movement, and nature sounds will help me through a difficult scene. When the kids come home I try to quit for the day, although I often keep notes and ideas for dialogue on my phone or in a notebook as they come to me and put them in the manuscript the next day.

 

What was your route to publication and what advice do you have for someone looking to follow a similar path?

I initially queried with agents and tried the trad route with an early version of 3000 Reasons to Stay and had some interest, but ultimately no takers. I ended up doing a massive rewrite once I found my developmental editor, Jen, and decided to indie publish because the trad route takes so long and by that point I was antsy to just prove to myself I could publish. In hindsight, that wasn’t the best marketing decision (wait, I’m supposed to have an ARC team? Get reviews? Tell people about my book?) But Stay turned out well and I’ve learned SO MUCH since putting it out there. I like being in control of my product and revenue, though it’s a lot of work and I don’t rule out pitching a future series to a trad publisher. However, the trad route is incredibly slow and I’m not sure I have the patience for it! With all that said, my advice for new authors is, Don’t Rush It! Learn the process, the business, build a platform and get to know other published writers for advice. There are tons of people and places willing to share their knowledge, often for free or minimal cost. Take the editorial process seriously, and if you’re writing series romance, have a couple books finished before you put the first one out. Be patient and don’t quit!

 

What’s your favourite word and why?

I’m not sure I have a favorite word, though I do appreciate a very thoughtfully placed swear. Maybe that’s because I write military and former military characters (and my husband is a former Marine) so a well dropped curse can really set a scene.

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Book Extract: The Obsidian Rig by Earl D. Coobs

Published August 29, 2026 | By Laura
It’s a pleasure to welcome Earl D. Coobs to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on his book, The Obsidian Rig.

For Garth Heller, owning a gleaming, obsidian-black Peterbilt 359 means freedom. But his dream rig conceals something he could never have anticipated: a malevolent force hidden deep within its engine block, a remnant of an ancient cosmic evil forged from the Spear of Destiny.

The truck’s dark mythological power begins consuming Garth’s mind, turning pride into possession and plunging him into blackouts he cannot explain. Violence follows. So do madness and guilt. With each mile comes another loss of control and another unspeakable crime as Garth’s soul is slowly twisted into a vessel for horror.

But the darkness beneath the hood doesn’t end with Garth. The Peterbilt passes to a new owner, a broken man named Harry Smith, and the nightmare starts all over again.

In The Obsidian Rig, supernatural horror meets occult mythology and cosmic terror in a story where machines can become monsters, and evil can wear the mask of steel.
 
Earl has kindly shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

Chapter 1

The Promise

 

The day Garth finally got his Peterbilt was the last good day he could remember. He stood in the Tulsa dealership lot, his boots sinking a little into the fresh gravel, just staring at it. The truck wasn’t just a machine; it was a promise. He’d scraped and saved for ten years to custom-order this rig, and it was perfect. He knew every single detail by heart: a 1972Peterbilt 359, VIN 7201509359C. The deep, obsidian black paint shimmered in the midday sun, a finish so dark it seemed to pull the light into its surface. He’d nicknamed it “Iron Ray,” a nod to his late father and the raw power he saw in its lines. Continue reading →

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Book Review: Love Song at the Music Festival by Margaret Amatt

Published August 28, 2026 | By Laura

It’s a pleasure to welcome Margaret Amatt back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, Love Song at the Music Festival.

From Heartbreak to Harmony

After young music teacher Mirren Elphinstone’s entitled boyfriend dumps her and walks out on local band Tavrach, Mirren has a score to settle. Despite her usually sunny, helpful nature, she decides auditioning for the vacant lead singer role is the perfect way to get payback.

Tavrach’s enigmatic frontman, Adam Cormac, is desperate. With the Autumn Gold Festival fast approaching, the band needs a new lead singer – and fast. When only one hopeful turns up – a golden-haired beauty with the voice of an angel – Adam takes a chance.

He soon discovers Mirren is the ex of the sneaky band member who not only abandoned them but stole some of Adam’s compositions. Tempers flare, until the tension between Adam and Mirren turns electric. What began as revenge quickly explodes into an attraction as powerful as their duets – but Adam’s been burned too often to risk his heart lightly.

If they want a chance to turn heartbreak into harmony, Adam must believe he’s more than a stopgap, while Mirren must choose love on her own terms. Only then can they strike a lasting chord before the curtain falls.

*****

Adam is not one to trust lightly especially when a trusted member of his band leaves, taking songs that don’t belong to him.

Mirren knows that Benji leaving is for the best. She also knows that auditioning to take his place in the band he’s just abandoned will be the perfect revenge. Will Adam and the other band members see it that way?

When there was another chance to be part of a blog tour for this author, I jumped at the chance and couldn’t wait to get started.

This wasn’t my first visit to Glenbriar and it felt so good to be back. There were even some familiar faces.  If this book will be your introduction to Margaret Amatt’s wonderful series, it can be read as a standalone.

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Blog : Cover Reveal: Flesh Endures by Sue C. Bentley

Published August 28, 2026 | By Laura

I’m excited to be helping reveal the cover for Flesh Endures, the upcoming novel from Sue C. Bentley. 

Lord Karolan, endowed with an arcane knowledge of alchemy, knows immortality comes at a price, for any lover perishes at his touch. His only companion is his ‘familiar’ – a greedy, wanton spirit that attached itself to him during his transformation and feasts on his fleshly desires as it yearns to become human.

Karolan saves Garnetta from the plague sweeping through early gothic Europe, by bestowing the ‘dark gift’ upon her, but without her permission. A bond of desire develops between the two, and a future for them seems possible. Until Garnetta learns the shocking truth about what Karolan’s laboratory holds, and what he has done to her.

Fleeing in horror, she unwittingly falls into the hands of the inquisition. Found guilty of heresy, she is to be subject to a fate even she cannot survive. Dare she open her heart to Karolan now she knows what he is? All while risking attracting his ‘familiar’ – now attached to her also and eager to inhabit her enticing female form.

Karolan is desperate to find the woman he has grown to love, knowing that only a leap of faith can lead him to her, before time runs out.

 

OK, now we know about the novel, it’s time to reveal the cover. Drumroll… three… two… one…

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Book Review: A Fatal Love by Louisa Treger

Published August 27, 2026 | By Laura

Following Ruth Ellis’ long-awaited posthumous conditional pardon in July 2026, never has there been a more compelling moment to revisit the woman behind one of Britain’s most enduring legal cases.

It is Easter Sunday in 1955 and a young man lies face-down on the ground covered in blood. A woman, blonde and petite, stands over him with a gun in her hand. This is the story of Ruth Ellis as never told before…

As Ruth awaits her trial in Holloway Prison, she recollects growing up in England during the Second World War and the events that led to the death of her lover, David Blakely.

Meanwhile, Kitty Carrington – the assistant to Ruth’s trial lawyer – tries to forge her own path through the male-dominated legal world of the 1950s and ensure that Ruth receives a fair trial.

Navigating secrets, betrayal and a broken justice system, Ruth and Kitty try to take control of their own lives and narratives. But do we ever really know the full story?

*****

When Ruth Ellis murdered her lover, David Blakely in 1955, it started a debate that continues in 2026. Was she a cold-blooded killer or was she pushed to the brink by a man and a life that broke her?

Ruth Ellis and her case from 1955 is one that has fascinated me for a long time. When the review request for Louisa Treger’s new book, A Fatal Love, came along, I was eager to get reading.

Now, we all know how Ruth’s story ends. What this book explores is the emotional side of Ruth – the thoughts and feelings that led her to murder David Blakely.

This kind of book is one I find interesting. It mixes fact and fiction to give us a look into Ruth’s life. How she felt, what she went through and how her relationships affected her as a human being. Of course. we won’t ever know the truth of what motivated her or how she really felt about things, but this is one interpretation.

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NK Chats To… Jackie Carreira

Published August 27, 2026 | By Laura

Hi Jackie. Thank you for bringing your birthday blitz tour to Novel Kicks. Can you tell us about your book, Notebook Number Nine and what inspired it?

Notebook Number Nine is the story of a young woman who has an epiphany one day and realises that everything is a lie! Not just in her own life, but everywhere she looks. She decides that she’s had enough and determines to undertake a journey of self-discovery and a search for real truth. The problem is, she’s just a ‘normal’ person. She can’t afford to escape to a monastery up a mountain or a beach in Bali. Can just anyone find out what’s actually real? Or is it only for those who can afford it? I’ve always had an inquisitive mind. I was one of those children that constantly asked questions that irritate the hell out of grown-ups. I read too many so-called ‘self-help’ books over the years that made no sense to me and didn’t help at all. I grew up on a council estate in Hackney, and I wanted to write about a journey of self-discovery for those of us who still have to pay the gas bill. It’s a novel that asks a lot of deep questions, but with a good dose of humour and common sense. Ultimately, it’s a human story full of hope.

 

What is your favourite word and why?

I’m not sure why, but I love onomatopoeic words (that sound like what they’re describing), like ‘Boing!’ and ‘Thwack!’ and ‘Sizzle!’

 

What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals – coffee? Silence?

Coffee – yes! Silence – only when I get to the editing stage. My favourite writing spaces are coffee shops, especially ones in train stations, so the background noise often helps. You can catch some fascinating snippets of conversations.

 

Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Things Left Behind

Published August 26, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room. 

Today’s writing exercise is all about “the thing left behind”.

Write a short piece of fiction inspired by this sentence:

 

When they opened the door, everything was exactly as they had left it—except for one thing.

 

Write for 20 minutes.

Use either first person or third person.

Set the scene in one location.

Include at least one object that carries emotional significance.

Let the reader discover what has changed gradually.

End with a revelation, decision, or unanswered question.

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NK Chats To & Extract: Noah Christopher

Published August 25, 2026 | By Laura

Hi Noah, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell us about your book, The Confessor?

Absolutely! I’ve always had in the back of my head that it would be fun to write a book one day, and after years of thinking about it “one day” finally became “today” and I just jumped in. My favorite author has always been John Sandford ever since I first read Rules of Prey many years ago. I love the alternating POV chapters between hero and villain, so I knew I wanted to use a similar concept while still making the book my own and something truly unique.
That eventually became The Confessor. The book started when I came up with the concept for the killer, a man who is tired of all the injustice in the world and starts making people confess to their crimes before he kills them. Then, as I wrote on the dedication page, I wanted our hero to feel like a distant cousin of Lucas Davenport from Sandford’s Prey series, with a healthy dose of myself thrown in as well. Those were the building blocks, and everything else fell in around them.
The hero and the killer, oddly enough, start to feel like two sides of the same coin, and the line that divides them starts to blur towards the end. It’s a book that weighs some pretty deep questions of morality and justice…and who gets to make those decisions. My goal is that it’s fun to read and takes you on a wild ride, but then sticks with you a bit after you’ve finished it.

 

What are the challenges when writing in a series? What are the most important things you need to consider?

The first challenge wasn’t writing a series—it was figuring out how to write a book in the first place! I’ve always been a writer by trade in many different mediums, but I’d never written a full book. The whole thing was a massive learning curve. I just had to learn as I went, and as I wrote, I gradually found the rhythm of the book and became much more confident in what worked.
I also have the first six chapters of Book 2 in the series written, and I may be biased, but I think it’s even better than Book 1. Now the challenge is keeping the continuity straight, advancing the characters and raising the stakes while still making each book satisfying on its own. I’m learning and growing as I go, and that’s half the fun of it.

 

What is your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals like needing coffee before you begin? Needing silence to write—that sort of thing?

I had to learn and develop this as I went too, but eventually the pattern I fell into, which I really enjoyed, was working in 2-3 hour blocks about two or three times a day. Any longer and I found I needed to clear my head, but any shorter and I found it hard to really get into the zone and hit a creative groove.

I like to go for a run or walk or swim in between, and those are often some of my most creative times. More ideas for this book came to me while out on a run or while swimming than at any other time. I often found I couldn’t put the book down, couldn’t get it out of my head, so while swimming I’d constantly be trying to solve dead ends I had reached, or figure out how to shift the plot in the direction we needed to go in a realistic way.

And yes, I need pure silence to write. I am definitely not one of those background-noise people, and I could never write somewhere like a Starbucks. It’s home in my quiet office for me. My final routine came at the end of the day. After I’d worked on the book, I would put it down, clear my head, go for a walk, eat dinner, do whatever else was going on with the family, and then, after I’d fully reset and cleared my mind, I would read with fresh eyes the new section I’d produced that day before going to bed. That was always a real treat. Then…rinse and repeat the next day until the book was finally finished.

 

What’s your favourite word and why?

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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Collector

Published August 21, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing

Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off

No editing allowed—raw writing only

When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.) 

 

Today’s prompt – The Collector

 

You inherit your uncle’s apartment and discover the walls are completely covered with photographs. Not hung or framed, but taped, pinned, and glued in overlapping layers that go back decades. Each photo shows a different person, none of whom you recognize.

On the kitchen table is a single notebook. The entries are cryptic:

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Book Extract: Heartless By Brian Fitzgerald

Published August 20, 2026 | By Laura

I’m happy to be welcoming Brian Fitzgerald to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on his book, Heartless. 

Ten years of frustration and heartbreak caring for his son John, born with a catastrophic heart defect, have convinced Rick Morrow that the world is stacked against his family. And on what should be the best day of their life — the day when John will finally get a new heart – an even worse nightmare begins, when the helicopter carrying the heart crashes, destroying the heart and the hopes of the Morrow family.

Rick’s heartbreak turns to rage as he begins to suspect that the accident was no accident at all. His pursuit of the truth puts him on a collision course with the giant Cera Corporation and the powerful family that runs it, who have an agenda of their own and will stop at nothing to make it come true. The escalating conflict threatens Rick’s reputation, his safety and even his marriage. It reaches its gut-wrenching climax with Rick and his wife Mary facing and even more terrible question; will they sacrifice all they believe in to save their own son, at a cost almost too high to imagine?

 

Brian has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

One

 

The white lines crawled across the green displays of the monitors, in rhythm with the steady sigh of the ventilator. The name ‘Matthew Richardson’ was written in black Sharpie on a piece of tape running at an odd angle below the squares of glass. The tape had been stuck to the machine in haste six months ago in the frenzy of the emergency room ten floors below. It had been put there during a desperate attempt to save the life of the young boy at the end of the tangle of the wires and tubes hanging between the machines and the bed. No one had seen any point in straightening it ever since.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: The Art Of The Free Write

Published August 19, 2026 | By Laura

Hello. Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room.

Having concentrated on the process of editing last Wednesday, I wanted to keep it fairly simple this week.

Today, the task is to free write. The genre, setting, POV, characters – all of that is down to you. My only rule is that you try to reach 750 words. This is roughly three, one-sided pieces of A4 paper (or so I’ve been told.)

Maybe you’ve got an idea you’ve been thinking about for a while? Or, if you’re not sure what to write, there are some suggestions below that you can mix and match.

Grab that drink and snack and head to where you like to write. As always though, have fun.

 

Genre –

Historical Fiction

Horror

Romance

Comedy

Sci-fi

Dystopian

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Courses & Competitions: Mslexia & Granta 2026

Published August 19, 2026 | By Laura

I’m delighted to be bringing you details of the latest competitions and courses.

Are you a writer looking to submit your work for competition? Is it something you’ve thought about but you’re not sure where to look? Well, I have just the suggestion for you.

 

Mslexia are currently running their women’s fiction competitions for 2026.

There are three categories to choose from: Short Story, Flash Fiction and Novel. The closing date for all of the choices below is 23.59 (GMT) on 21st September 2026.

 

Short Story –

This is your opportunity to submit an unpublished complete short fiction piece of up to 3,000 words.

The entry fee is £14.

Get this, the first prize is £3,000. Three additional finalists will receive £150. Plus, the winning entry and three finalists will feature in the December 2026 edition of Mslexia as well as Mslexia’s eBook anthology due to be published in December 2026.

Eight additional short-listees will receive £75 and be included in the 2026 edition of Mslexia and the anthology.

The judge will be Ingrid Persaud.

For more information on how to enter along with all the rules and such, visit Mslexia.co.uk.

 

Flash Fiction –

Alternatively, maybe flash fiction is more your thing.

This is for unpublished complete short fiction of up to 300 words.

Entry costs £8.00.

The winner will receive £1,000 with three additional finalists winning £100 each. Eight short-listees will each get £50.

Like with the short story option, the winner, three finalists and the eight short-listees will feature in the December 2026 edition of Mslexia as well as Mslexia’s eBook anthology due to be published in 2026.

The judge will be Sherrie Flick.

For more details on how to enter and to see all the rules, visit Mslexia.co.uk.

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Book Review: My Chance to Fly By Samantha Tonge

Published August 18, 2026 | By Laura

I’m very excited to be welcoming Samantha Tonge to Novel Kicks as we celebreate the publication of her latest book, My Chance to Fly.

A BRAND NEW sparkling, uplifting story about love, friendship and learning to spread your wings from Samantha Tonge✨🦋 Perfect for fans of Shari Low, Faith Hogan and Evie Woods!

Una Lowe lives a perfectly edited life in London. Other than her best friend, she’s careful about who she lets in. Emotional complications are just that – complicated. That is, until she rescues a rare white swallow… who might have just flown in to change her life.

Because, when her beloved swallow fails to return from migration one year, Una’s world crumbles. But a viral social media campaign brings a miraculous response from a man in Bavaria named Konrad, who claims the bird has also visited him. Which leads him to invite Una to his picturesque village for the chance to see their shared feathered friend together.

Stepping out of her comfort zone, Una flies to Germany. Amidst snow-dusted streets, local festivals, and Konrad’s undeniable charm, Una’s protective walls begin to fall down.

But when the complication she’s avoided her whole life comes for her, she’s forced to confront her deepest fears. As autumn turns to winter, and inspired by the tiny, brave bird that brought them together, Una must decide if she is finally ready to risk her heart.

Is the only way to know if you can fly to face a possibility of falling…?

 

*****

Una is the type of person that likes everything orderly. Her joy in life is a barn swallow named Blue. When Blue doesn’t return by the beginning of the autumn, Una begins to worry. Then help comes from the most unlikely of places.

I have to say, I am a bit of a fan of Samantha Tonge’s novels and couldn’t wait to get going on her latest book, My Chance to Fly.

Can I just give some love to this cover. It’s beautiful.

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Book Review: The One Where They Fall in Love By Cristina Wolf

Published August 15, 2026 | By Laura

Cristina Wolf  and her blog tour have joined us today as I review her latest book, The One Where They Fall in Love.

You never know when love may come knocking…

Hopeless romantic and romance editor Elle Thompson lives for happy endings—but real-life love? Not so much. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t thrilled when her best friend gets engaged. Really. Not jealous at all.

Meanwhile, Oliver Cole likes things a certain way. Schedules and routines and order. So when his move back to New York is disrupted with the unwelcome addition of Thor—the dog his sister adopted for him—he’s less than enthused. Even less enthused than Oliver? His neighbour, Elle.

When Elle can’t bear to hear Thor howling all night, the two agree to strike a deal: she’ll dog-sit while he’s on shift.

But what starts as a reluctant arrangement soon turns into late-night chats, sizzling chemistry, and two lonely hearts daring to let each other in.

 

*****

 

As a book editor, Elle Thompson is a deliverer of happy endings. She adores the romance genre she works in. She just wished her own life reflected the happiness of the characters she helps bring to life. Oliver Cole is not sure what to make of his new neighbour. He’s got a lot going on in his life and has no mental bandwidth to deal with it. Then he meets Elle.

The One Where They Fall in Love was my introduction to Cristina Wolf. It was the premise and genre that got me excited to be part of the blog tour for this novel. I couldn’t wait to get started. This type of book is the reason I love running Novel Kicks. It allows me to discover new authors like this one.

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Book Extract: The Knife Maker of Venice By David Gilman

Published August 15, 2026 | By Laura

I’m excited to be inviting David Gilman to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, The Knife Maker of Venice.

A young Englishman captured by slavers must survive the snakepit that is seventeenth-century Venice.

1604. As pirates seeking slaves to sell in the markets of North Africa terrorise the coasts of Europe, headstrong Richard Sheriff and his sister Elizabeth are torn from their Devonshire home and thrust into a waking nightmare.

Richard’s skills as a blacksmith see him fetch a high price, but the pirate captain has other plans for Elizabeth and once they are separated, Richard has no idea of his sister’s fate. They must both learn to survive on a deadly voyage into the unknown.

Sold into servitude in Venice: glittering, vicious city of secrets, he is apprenticed to a knife maker. Richard’s talents soon win him renown… but haunted by his sister’s absence, he vows never to stop looking for her, knowing she would do the same for him.

First he must survive that city of ghosts. Will the siblings live to see each other again, or will they join the myriads lost to Venice, where life is cheap, profit is all, and escape nigh-on impossible?

A powerful historical adventure perfect for fans of Kate Mosse, Ken Follett and Robert Harris.

 

David has kindly shared an extract with us today. Enjoy. 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Intruder in Plain Sight

Published August 14, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing

Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off

No editing allowed—raw writing only

When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.) 

 

Today’s prompt: The Intruder in Plain Sight

 

Someone else is living in your home. Thing is, you’ve never seen them or met them.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Copperfield Editing

Published August 12, 2026 | By Laura

Hello. Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room. 

Today, we are going to be focusing on editing.

Below is the opening passage from David Coppefield by Charles Dickens.

 

An aunt of my father’s, and consequently a great-aunt of mine, of whom I shall have more to relate by-and-by, was the principal magnate of our family. Miss Trotwood, or Miss Betsey, as my poor mother always called her, when she sufficiently overcame her dread of this formidable personage to mention her at all (which was seldom), had been married to a husband younger than herself, who was very handsome, except in the sense of the homely adage, “handsome is, that handsome does” — for he was strongly suspected of having beaten Miss Betsey, and even of having once, on a disputed question of supplies, made some hasty but determined arrangements to throw her out of a two pair of stairs’ window.

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Book Extract: Deadly Odds 9.0 By Allen Wyler

Published August 12, 2026 | By Laura

I am very excited to be welcoming Allen Wyler to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, Deadly Odds 9.0.

Not every threat begins with violence. Sometimes it starts with quiet observation, careful planning, and the knowledge that someone has been studying every move. Deadly Odds 9.0 by Allen Wyler follows a cyber-detective whose greatest challenge may be protecting the people he never wanted caught in the middle.

Arnold Gold has learned to trust his instincts, and they warn him that something is wrong before any evidence appears. As he spends time with Kara Winston, a trusted ally who has become far more than a professional colleague, a dangerous adversary begins putting a calculated plan into motion. Rashidi watches, waits, and searches for the vulnerabilities that will cause the greatest damage, transforming Arnold’s loved ones into potential targets.

The danger escalates when Arnold discovers someone has attempted to kill his dog, Chance, confirming that the threat has become deeply personal. At the same time, growing conflict within Gold, Patel, and Associates weakens the support system Arnold has relied upon. With the help of SAM, his advanced artificial intelligence network, Arnold faces an increasingly complex battle against cyber threats, hidden enemies, and a relentless opponent determined to stay one step ahead.

 

Allen has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it. 

(Warning: mild language.) 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

CHAPTER 1—Seattle

 

Prickly spider tarsi skittered up Arnold Gold’s spine, causing his shoulders to scrunch together as the hair on the back of his neck became erect. Stopping in mid-sentence, he glanced over his left shoulder—as if he intuitively knew that was the only possible reason for such a strong sensation—but he only saw other diners and the familiar maître’d. Suddenly his eyes locked onto a darker skinned male hurrying toward the front door, the image triggering a sense of foreboding familiarity.

I know him.

Arnold stared at the space the man vacated as the visceral sense of danger subsided. Why did the fleeting image vise-grip his attention with a déjà vu familiarity and instinctive animal fear?

Did he know that person?

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Book Review: The Scandalous Lady Mina By Lara Temple

Published August 11, 2026 | By Laura

I am very excited to be welcoming Lara Temple to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Scandalous Lady Mina.

A Victorian enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity romance

Lady Wilhelmina, once the darling of the ton, fled England in shame after jilting her fiancé. Following a decade in disgrace, Mina’s returning to Society’s ballrooms on a luxury steamship…and encounters her ex-fiancé’s distractingly handsome cousin, Max Cavendish—her once friend, now enemy!

Max’s guard is up, yet being in close quarters with Mina sparks a wave of dangerous attraction that makes him want to discover the truth behind the scandal. Wealthy engineer Max is used to being in command of his world and his emotions, but his complicated feelings for Mina are making him feel decidedly out of control…

 

*****

 

It is 1880. Mina is on her way back to London aboard the SS Aquitania. Having escaped scandal ten years before, the last thing she wanted to do was to see Max Cavendish again. Can they make it back to London in relative harmony, or will old emotions come to the surface?

I was delighted to be invited onto the blog tour for The Scandalous Lady Mina by Lara Temple. This book was my introduction to this author, but it’s not going to be the last book I read from her.

I’m not going to lie. I loved this book from beginning to end.  It was entertaining, and isn’t that one of the best things you can get from reading a novel? There was a deliciousness to it. There were moments where I smiled, cheered, swore at some of the characters out loud and couldn’t wait to find out what happened whilst, at the same time, not wanting it to end. The plot is fun, flirty and full of little twists and turns. It was easy to fall into. I am hoping it’s not the last we see of these characters.

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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Person

Published August 7, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing

Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off

No editing allowed—raw writing only

When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.) 

 

Today’s Prompt: The Person

Every weekday morning for three years, a person has walked the same route through the same park at the same time. The dog walkers, the joggers, the woman who feeds the pigeons — they all recognise them. They never stop, never sit down, never break their pace. Then one Tuesday, they stop at a bench, sit down, and wait. Ten minutes later, another person arrives and sits beside them.

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Blog : NK Chats To… Siân Turner

Published August 7, 2026 | By Laura

Hi Siân. Thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell us about your book, Patches through Time and what inspired it?

I’m a fan of the TV programme Bargain Hunt. While watching one episode, the presenter mentioned a commemorative coronation mug that could have been bought for £1 when new, which was worth more than £500 in the present day. It made me wonder what it would be like if you could travel back in time to collect cheap items from the past, then make a huge profit selling them back in your own time. It seemed appropriate that the time travel device needed would be found in an antique shop. Jake Patch was ‘born’ as the finder of ‘The Infinity Glass’, quickly followed by the sprite, Drusilla, and by Jake’s daughter Cass, who absolutely insisted on being the main protagonist.

 

What were the challenges when writing a book like this, especially as it’s part of a planned series?

It wasn’t planned to be a series. I wrote ‘Patches through Time’ as a standalone but, as I have done with some previous books, left a bit of an open ending for people to decide what they thought could happen next. Once the book started getting reviews, I noticed a lot of them said ‘There must be a sequel’ or ‘I need a prequel,’ so I decided to provide both in one book. So ‘Patches of the Past’ was inspired by keen reviewers, like yourself!

 

What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any rituals like needing coffee or silence to write?

I absolutely detest coffee, so it’s a glass of water for me. Having started my working life in an office-based desk job, I’m very much a 9-5er – well, maybe more like a 9-4er these days, with a lunch break around Bargain Hunt time J. Working at home means some interruptions – mostly cats either shouting for snacks or deciding it’s time to sprawl across my desk. My office space is a corner of the living room, and I like working when it’s quiet. I’m lucky enough to have a view straight out to the apple trees at the bottom of my garden from my desk.

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Book Extract: Body Language By Brian Fitzgerald

Published August 6, 2026 | By Laura

I’m happy to be welcoming Brian Fitzgerald to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on his book, Body Language. 

When Alan Wright learns his ex-wife Andrea leapt to her death only hours after getting remarried to a man he hates, he’s heartbroken. When he receives a package in the mail two days after her death, filled with the documents she’d used to plan that wedding, he’s hurt and angry. And when he learns that Andrea’s bizarre last wishes require him to spread her ashes over a lake outside a small village in Africa, he’s beyond resentful. But love, loyalty and the uncanny power of human connection win out, sending Wright back into the volatile stew of hope and cynicism that is aid work in the poorest parts of the world. In the teeming city of Kinshasa and the remote villages of the Congo he not only rediscovers his love for Andrea, he comes to understand that buried in the strange details of the wedding itself were subtle clues she’d left for him. Those clues point him to a plan to unleash genetic engineering in a way so reckless that its failure could mean the end of all human life, while its success could leave the fundamental definition of humanity in the hands of small team of scientists and the government that supported them.

Body Language travels with breakneck speed from the glittering research labs of Cambridge Massachusetts to the darkest corners of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s a story of the modern power of science, money and greed pitted against the eternal strength of human connection, love and altruism, reaching across the boundaries of death itself.

 

Brian has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

One

 

Andrea uncrossed her long legs. The skin below her short dress was tanned from years in the African sun. On one calf a series of thin white scars showed where the inevitable wounds from jungle life had been left to heal undressed. She crossed her legs the opposite way and drummed her fingers on the soft arm of the plush white leather couch. The bald man sitting on the identical couch opposite her ignored these shows of impatience. He kept his gaze lowered to the glass coffee table between them, intent on his work. Andrea watched the reflection of the ceiling lights ripple unevenly across his shaved scalp as he turned his head back and forth, scanning the pile of documents laid out on the table. From time to time, he’d hold a page to the light in his thick, crooked fingers. He seemed to be looking for faint markings or perhaps for some sort of invisible ink. This amused Andrea in some small way. She knew it was all for show. His cryptography expert had already told him the documents were free from any codes or cyphers. Some of the pages he inspected were printouts from a computer, and some were handwritten in Andrea’s hasty, childlike penmanship.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: You Are What You Carry

Published August 5, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room. 

Today, we will be writing about a person before they embark on a journey.

A character is packing a bag. They are leaving somewhere — a city, a relationship, a job, a country — and they can only take what fits in one bag. Every object they choose to pack reveals something about who they are, what they value, and what they are willing to leave behind.

Before you start writing, decide three things about your character:

Where are they leaving?
Why are they leaving?
Are they coming back?

Write your answers in a sentence each. Keep them simple. These are your foundations, not your story.

 

Once you’ve done that, choose the objects: 

Write a list of exactly five objects your character packs. For each one, write a single sentence explaining why they chose it. The objects should be specific and concrete — not “a book” but “a battered paperback copy of something specific with a coffee ring on the cover.” The more precise the detail, the more the object will tell the reader about the person holding it.

Now choose one object they almost pack but decide to leave behind. Write a sentence about why they put it back.

 

Write the scene. 

Write the scene in 400–600 words. Your character is alone, packing. No dialogue. No other characters in the room. The only story is this person, this bag, and these objects.
As they pack each item, let the reader understand, through the way the character handles the object, hesitates, or moves quickly, what each one means. Don’t explain. Show.

The scene should begin with the bag empty and end with the bag zipped shut.

 

Have fun. 

 

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Book Extract: House of Thieves By Rachel Walkley

Published August 5, 2026 | By Laura

Please join me in welcoming Rachel Walkley to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, House of Thieves.

At Terrington Hall, objects are treasured while people are forgotten.

Chief conservator Amy is restoring the Hurly family’s guilt-stained hoard when a theft forces her to hire Harrison, a security adviser on a personal quest to uncover his own history.

Unknown to anyone, an invisible presence woven into the fabric of the house watches their every move.

When Harrison uncovers a room sealed for decades, the investigation shifts from simple theft to the resurrection of murderous secrets. In a house where the past is too heavy to escape, the dead don’t need bodies to tell their stories — they just need someone to listen.

One house. Two mysteries. Two centuries apart.

 

Rachel has shared an extract with us. We hope you enjoy.

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

Terrington Hall, for centuries, was home to the Hurly family until it was handed over to a charitable organisation and opened to the public for viewing. Unknown to Amy, the head of conservation and new member of staff, there is an invisible presence who continues to exist at Terrington Hall. This solitary inhabitant, waiting in the shadows, sets the scene…

*****

Since Amy’s arrival at Terrington Hall, I often stay by her, move with her, as close as possible, as if I walk her steps, breathe the air she breathes and can see what is in front of her. But I don’t feel her thoughts or touch what she does. My hopes for salvation are fuelled by her curiosity, her diligence, especially if she discovers the truth behind the thieves that once lived at Terrington.

I’ve always relied on others for companionship, to breach the loneliness of my incorporeal existence. My chief occupation is listening to their conversations. They have been generous in keeping me abreast of the changes both in and outside the house. They read newspapers and magazines, speak of things and events that are difficult for me to comprehend until one explains something complex to another in a simple manner, as if to a child.

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Book Review: The Secret Dressmaker By Jenny O’Brien

Published August 4, 2026 | By Laura

I’m so excited to be welcoming Jenny O’Brien back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her new book, The Secret Dressmaker.

Shelves of sequins in a kaleidoscope of colours. Bolts of silk and tulle against the back wall. The sewing room was the last place anyone had seen her daughter alive.

Northern Ireland, 1942. Flora Toussaint packs parachutes for the RAF, haunted by the twin daughters she was forced to give up eighteen years ago. When British intelligence shows her photographs of her girls – now young women in occupied Paris – her world shifts. One is safe. One has vanished. And their father, the celebrated couturier Lucien Lumineau, is suspected of collaborating with the Nazis.

Flora agrees to a dangerous mission: parachute into France, pose as a seamstress at the Moulin Rouge, and uncover the truth. Lodging above a brothel where Edith Piaf sings after hours and where Pablo Picasso still holds court, she mends costumes between shows, searches for any trace of her missing daughter between curfews, and circles closer to Lucien.

But Lucien isn’t the man she remembers. Neither is their history. And what Flora discovers will unravel everything she thought she knew – about Lucien, about her daughters, and about the night she gave them away.

A sweeping tale of wartime Paris, family secrets and impossible choices. Fans of Kate Quinn, Pam Jenoff and Kristin Hannah will be mesmerised by The Secret Dressmaker.

 

*****

 

Flora Toussaint is haunted by the choices of a past where she was persuaded to give up her twin daughters eighteen years before. When a secret mission gives her the opportunity to go back to Paris, her focus is on finding her girls, even when her simple presence in the city puts her in danger.

Having loved the first book in this series, The Resistance Knitting Club, I couldn’t wait to get going on this one. I am a big fan of novels based on true events, and I’m always intrigued to see how the author builds the fiction around the fact. In my opinion, Jenny O’ Brien is a master at it.

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Book Extract: The Novel Detective By Teresa Dovalpage

Published August 4, 2026 | By Laura

Please join me as we welcome Teresa Dovalpage to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Novel Detective.

A metafictional mystery set in Cuba past and present about a writer returning to her long-lost hometown, seeking the truth about two suspicious deaths

2020: Teresa, a Cuban-born mystery writer now living in America, gets an unexpected call from her childhood best friend, Estrella, inviting her to Havana. Estrella is determined to get answers about a case that has haunted them both for decades: the purported murder-suicide of a teacher and a student at their high school. Though Teresa doesn’t quite understand why Estrella is taking the story so personally, she’s along for the ride—as she always wanted to write a novel about this case.

1980: Fourteen-year-old Teresita, bespectacled, awkward and mystery novel–obsessed, is “nosy, but not a tattletale.” She knows who’s been skimming off the top of the amphetamine stash in her mother’s pharmacy, which teacher keeps cyanide in his cabinet at school and that their classmate Yoyi is sleeping with their English teacher. Over the course of one fateful day, Teresita gets closer than ever to learning the “Truth of Life”—her catchall term for the intricacies of adult existence—even if it means coming face to face with death.

Directly inspired by the author’s own childhood in Cuba and adult life in the United States, drawing upon the tradition of Latin American magical realism, this is a resonant tale at once personal and universal, full of nostalgia, candor and danger.

 

Teresa has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

Step back into February 1980, Havana. The air is cool, the Beatles are forbidden, and shenanigans are brewing in a middle school housed inside a decaying building that happens to have its own ghost. Teresita, a ninth-grade student, practices the surveillance techniques she learned from the TV shows and Agatha Christie’s novels. Little did she know, these early lessons would be the very tools she’d need decades later to solve a crime.

 

* * *

 

It was a cool February afternoon. Around two-thirty, Teresita was in her favorite spot in the pharmacy, the storage area, reading Death on the Nile. She had finished school earlier that day. The last class period had been English, where the teacher, Felipe, had made rowdy jokes, laughed and danced Mozambique steps in the middle of the classroom, to the students’ delight. Fun! Why couldn’t all classes be like that? Technical drawing, for example . . .

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Book Extract: Perfect Moments at Duck Pond Cottage By Della Galton

Published August 3, 2026 | By Laura

It’s wonderful to be welcoming Della Galton to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, Perfect Moments at Duck Pond Cottage. 

When two best friends decide to share their wedding day, what could possibly go wrong?

Jade is over the moon to be tying the knot alongside her best friend, Sarah, at the stunning Bluebell Cliff Hotel in Dorset—a venue where no detail is too small and no expense is spared in the pursuit of perfection.

But as the big day draws closer, so do the complications.

A long-lost relative, a troublesome brother, and some wildly unexpected animal antics all threaten to derail the brides’ dream celebrations.

With emotions running high and chaos around every corner, their perfect day begins to unravel.

Can love and friendship hold everything together when it matters most?

 

I want to say happy publication day to Della. She has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

It’s not just the humans who fall in love at Duck Pond Cottage Animal Rescue. Very often the animals get their Happy Ever After too. This is an extract showing what happens when a rescued parrot finds his forever home. Jade shows her best friend Sarah a message she’s just received from Malcolm Williams who’s rehomed Mr Spock, the parrot.

 

Jade saw she had a message from Malcolm Williams.

Please see attached the avian version of Love Story.

‘Ooooh, Sarah, look at this.’ Jade took her phone across the kitchen and then pressed play so they could watch the video together.

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Novel Kicks Book Club: The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Published August 1, 2026 | By Laura

Hello. Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Book Club. 

I’m so happy to be greeting August. We are in the middle of a heatwave here in the UK and, although we are all wanting air-con we don’t have, it’s been nice to see the sun.

For me, there’s nothing better than sitting in a garden/comfortable chair with a cool drink and a good book in the other hand. I hope, with the book cub pick for this month, I have given you one of those.

 

This month’s pick is The Wedding People by Alison Espach. 

This book sounds compelling and I can’t wait to get started.

 

So, how does our book club work? 

Whether you’ve already read the book or will be starting it this month, all are welcome. The added bonus of our book club is that you don’t have to leave the comfort of your sofa/garden/terrace/bed to take part. I’ve added a question below to start the discussion.

I’ll see you in the comments.

 

About The Wedding People – 

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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Melody

Published July 31, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing

Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off

No editing allowed—raw writing only

When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.)

 

Today’s Prompt: The Melody. 

 

A woman is sitting alone in a café when she hears a song playing quietly in the background. She doesn’t know what it is or who it’s by, but something about it is so familiar it makes her put down her cup and stop mid-thought. She has heard this melody before, somewhere, but she cannot place it.

Write the moment she hears the song. What does the melody sound like? What physical effect does it have on her — does she hold her breath, does her hand stop moving, does the room seem to shift around her? What half-formed memory begins to surface, and why can’t she quite reach it?

Write what she does next. Does she ask someone what the song is? Does she sit with the feeling and let it wash over her? Does the memory fully arrive, or does it remain just out of reach? Has something changed in her by the time she leaves the café, even if she can’t explain what?

If you want to make it even more interesting, you could consider the following –

The song could remain unidentified throughout the story. 
The story could end on a single sensory detail — something she sees, hears, tastes, touches, or smells — not a thought.

 

As always, have fun.

 

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Book Extract: House of Twisted Shadows By J.H.Mann

Published July 30, 2026 | By Laura

It’s so exciting to be welcoming J.H.Mann to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his latest book, House of Twisted Shadows.

A HOUSE ON THE EDGE
A DAUGHTER DRIVEN TO OBSESSION
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Winter 1962. Amelia Tremayne has spent the past ten years in London trying to forget the lonely clifftop house where her father was killed. Tyler House was built shortly before the Second World War on Cornwall’s stormy coast by a wealthy German outsider. Its most unsettling feature is a vast glass dome that bends the light, casting twisted, elongated shadows across the walls.

Amelia’s father, Douglas Tremayne, a noted historian, was researching a controversial book about Tyler House’s Nazi origins – and its links to powerful figures in the local community.

As Amelia begins to uncover the truth about her father’s death, she is pulled into a web of buried secrets – and into a forbidden love that could destroy everything she holds dear.

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY.

 

J.H.Mann has shared an extract from House of Twisted Shadows with us today. You know the drill… grab that drink, find that comfortable chair and enjoy. 

 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

Amelia Tremayne has returned to the lonely clifftop estate of Tyler House to uncover the secrets behind her father’s death. Convinced that vital papers were blown from the collapsing house during a recent landslip, she risks everything to recover them before they are lost forever…

 

She stuffed her hands in her pockets and strode through snow flurries to the abandoned cliff footpath, past a handwritten sign: ‘Danger. Path closed.’ Far below, a cold sea heaved and dragged at the rocks. She started down at once, not giving herself time for second thoughts.

The top of the path was choked with riotous bushes and rough grass. Nobody had been mad enough to use this path for years. Parts of it had fallen away, leaving precipitous drops. Amelia slipped and slid downwards, grabbing hold of thorny brambles to keep her balance. The route was even worse than she expected – overgrown, crumbling and slick with ice. Below, waves, flecked with spume, crashed and roared.

Halfway down, she tripped on a rock and pitched forward. A gorse bush provided a lifesaving handhold. It scratched and ripped her hands, but she clung on grimly, coming to a halt, sprawled across the path, her left side bruised. She sat up trembling, her breathing short and fast. For a few moments, the world was nothing but the ragged pull of her breath and the thud of her heart. That had been close.

Go back?

No.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Two Strangers, One Bench

Published July 29, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room. 

The focus of today’s exercise is two strangers, one bench.

Two strangers sit down on the same bench. They don’t know each other. They have never met before. Something small happens — a dog runs past, a phone rings, a bus doesn’t arrive — and one of them speaks. A conversation begins.

By the end of the conversation, one of them will have changed their mind about something.

 

Before you write a single word of dialogue, jot down brief notes on each character. For each one, decide:

How old are they roughly?
What were they doing before they sat down?
What is on their mind today that they haven’t told anyone?

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A Moment With… Dr Martyn Pritchard

Published July 28, 2026 | By Laura

I am pleased to welcome Dr Martyn Pritchard to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on his book, A Painkiller to Die For. It’s celebrating one year since its publication. 

It was difficult for Will Jeavons to imagine just how his life could possibly get any better. Having overcome a traumatic childhood, he had gone on to study molecular pharmacology and win tenure as a lecturer at his beloved Cambridge University. But his life was soon to become better still, the CEO of a biotech company. Will’s unique research led to the discovery of a non-addictive drug for chronic pain. A remarkable solution for the opioid epidemic which had claimed the life of his mother.

Will’s flourishing company was subsequently acquired, and this was when he first met Celeste Simmonds. The beguiling Celeste would steer Will away from his earlier hedonistic, womanising lifestyle. However, the only way he could ensure the success of his drug was to bury key safety data which could have led to the clinical trials being terminated.

Clinical trials which resulted in the husband of Lydia Goldberg falling into a deep coma. It was Lydia’s scientific training which led her to discover Will’s fraudulent cover-up. She was determined to seek vengeance and concocted an elaborate honeytrap and a decision for Will to make. A career ending confession or being submitted to a life-threatening game of Russian roulette.

 

To talk about his experience with writing, it’s over to you, Martyn. 

 

Why write novels? Why ‘A Painkiller to Die For’? A reasonable enough question, I suppose, to ask a career scientist who only passed his English Language O-level after two attempts. As with most novelists, I imagine, it was a combination of events which made me open up my laptop some 25 years ago and type those first few words. Those early efforts in the noughties amounted to a rather disjointed first 100 pages or so which were almost completely rewritten when Covid came along and the free time I needed to dive back into the book.

The overall premise remained pretty much the same, but the book turned out to be very different to what I had originally imagined all those years ago. ‘A Practical Arrangement’ was my first novel and came out towards the end of 2023 but not under my name! I used the nom de plume of Verity Trevethan as my assumption was that those few who ended up reading the book would give bad reviews. Poor Verity could shoulder the blame. But there were a few readers who wrote very generous commentaries and so Verity was outed to my family soon after publication (they never even knew I was writing a book!).

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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Photograph

Published July 24, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing

Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off

No editing allowed—raw writing only

When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.)

 

Today’s prompt – The Photograph.
 

A woman buys a second-hand coat from a charity shop. When she slips her hands into the pockets, her fingers close around a photograph she’s never seen before. Two people she doesn’t recognise, standing somewhere she’s never been, smiling at someone she’ll never know.

Write the moment she finds the photograph. What does she see in it? What details does she notice — the background, the clothing, the expressions, the light? What story does she begin to piece together from the image alone?

Write what she does next. Does she try to trace the people in the photograph? Does she keep it? Does something about the image unsettle her, comfort her, or mirror something in her own life she wasn’t prepared to face?

 

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Book Review: If Could Be With You By M W Arnold

Published July 23, 2026 | By Laura

I am so happy to welcome M W Arnold back to Novel Kicks as we take part in the blog tour for If Could Be With You. 

May 1944, it’s the build-up to D-Day, for which the girls of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club are busy delivering the aircraft sorely needed, and the search goes on for a Nazi spy, who has information which cannot be allowed to get into the enemies hands.

For one of the girls, her husband in badly burned after his Mosquito is shot down, bringing the war closer to home than it’s ever been before.

With danger at every corner, the girls unbreakable bond is put to the test like never before. Through it all, they stand firm, taking all the war can throw at them, before daring it to try again.

*****

The girls of the ATA are back, and they have new challenges to face. When two of the girls hear devastating news, one is fighting old memories, and the hunt for a Nazi spy intensifies, the gang must pull together as D-Day approaches.

Oh, it’s so good to be back with the girls of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club. I know I have said this before in other reviews from this series, but it really is like going back to visit old friends and being welcomed with open arms. It’s for this reason that I always jump at the chance to join the blog tours for the Broken Wings series and why I couldn’t wait to get started – and it’s a chance to welcome Mick Arnold back to Novel Kicks too.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: The Object

Published July 22, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room. 

Today’s exercise is about looking at something a different way.

 

First, choose your object –

Look around you right now. Pick the first object that catches your eye. It could be anything — a mug, a set of keys, a book, a pen, a candle. Don’t overthink it. Just choose.

 

Observe it –  

Take a few minutes to study the object closely. Notice the details you’d normally overlook — the texture, the weight, the colour, the wear and tear. Does it have a scratch, a chip, a stain? Write down five specific physical details about it in short, precise sentences.

 

Now it’s time to give it a history – 

Now, imagine this object belongs to a fictional character. Write a short passage (150–250 words) from that character’s perspective explaining how they came to own it and why they could never throw it away. Think about:
Who gave it to them, or where did they find it?

What memory is attached to it?
What would losing it mean?

Don’t worry about perfection. Just write.

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Book Review: Escape to the Turquoise Seas By Carrie Walker

Published July 20, 2026 | By Laura

Is there a better way to kick off a new week than by welcoming Carrie Walker to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, Escape to the Turquoise Seas? No, I don’t think there is either. 

Kat Brennan has always been the work-hard, play-harder type, navigating single life in London and the chaos of her job at Northstar PR. So when Excalibur Cruises invite her aboard to pitch for their account, she jumps at the chance to prove to her boss she’s indispensable… and to finally relax a little.

But the last person she wants to get stuck on a boat with is industry hotshot Leo Kendrick, the CEO of rival agency Amplify – and Kat’s nemesis. When Leo bagged a coveted marketing internship 15 years ago, Kat vowed never to let him win anything again. She is not about to break that promise, even if Leo has become a distractingly attractive opponent.

As the Esmerelda sails the seas, from the Azores to Lisbon via Madeira, the two agencies must battle it out to present the best pitch. But in such close quarters, the sea might not be the only thing rocking the boat…

PERFECT for fans of:

Forced proximity

Enemies-to-lovers

Workplace romance

A dash of spice

Beachy destinations

*****

Kat has always loved her life. She’s living in London, working at Northstar PR and doesn’t necessarily mind that she’s single. However, when she hears that her biggest account, Excalibur Cruises, are considering another agency, she and her colleague, Heidi, go into crisis mode. They agree to go on a cruise in order to know the product they are pitching for. What Kat doesn’t count on is seeing her PR nemesis, Leo, who also happens to be on the cruise. Can Kat and Leo bury the hatchet, or will there be trouble at sea?

I have been a fan of Carrie Walker since reading the previous novel in this series, Escape To The Northern Lights. Don’t worry. You can read Escape to the Turquoise Seas as a standalone. I couldn’t wait to get started on the latest instalment in the Holiday Romance series and was honoured to be part of its blog tour.

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Book Extract: Ten to the 405 By Kevin R. Andrade

Published July 19, 2026 | By Laura
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Kevin R. Andrade to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on his book, Ten to the 405. 

When disgraced investigative journalist Jake Hansen accepts a missing person case in Los Angeles, he uncovers a conspiracy linking organized crime, political corruption, and a powerful family determined to keep its secrets buried.

Seven years after an investigation destroyed his career, his marriage, and his reputation, Jake Hansen is barely keeping his life together. 
 
He spends his days running a struggling dive bar with retired NYPD detective Pete Mills and reformed ex-con Lamar Wagner, taking the occasional private investigation to stay afloat. When a powerful casino executive hires them to find his missing daughter, Jake sees more than another case. He sees a chance to reclaim the life he lost.
 
The search leads deep into a world of gambling debts, dangerous loyalties, and long-buried secrets where every answer uncovers another layer of deception. 
 
As the stakes rise, Jake must rely on the investigative instincts that once made him one of the city’s most respected journalists, even if finding the truth means risking everything he’s managed to rebuild.
 
Blending the sharp dialogue of a classic detective novel with the pace of a modern thriller, Ten to the 405 is driven by unforgettable characters, hard-earned redemption, and the unlikely friendships that hold Jake Hansen’s team together when everything else falls apart.
 
Ideal for readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries, flawed investigators, layered conspiracies, and fast-moving crime fiction with emotional depth. Fans of Michael Connelly, James Ellroy, Dennis Lehane, and Raymond Chandler will feel right at home with Jake Hansen.

 

Kevin has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

INT. TROTTER’S TAVERN- BACK BAR AREA- MORNING

 

JAKE HANSEN, 35, a half-Latino and half-white male is asleep on the bar top of the dark tavern. Jake is smart, funny and a lovable rogue but also a disaster of a person. He lies on his back with one leg off of the bar. Jake has two black eyes and scrapes on his face with puffy red eyes.

 

A 60-inch TV above the bar is on.

 

INSERT TELEVISION – NEWS CONFERENCE

 

MAYOR ALEX VILA, 45, a handsome Latino male, dressed in a sharp suit, speaks behind a podium. To the right of Alex Vila is LILY VILA, 35, his beautiful wife. She wears a stunning green dress.

 

ALEX VILA

(ON TV)

I wish I could answer that question, Rick, but it really is premature.

Jake, groaning, opens his eyes and looks at the television.

 

JAKE

(Grumbling)

Asshole.

 

REPORTER

(O.S. On TV)

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