Blog Tour: The Last of The Bowmans by J. Paul Henderson.
I am very happy to be a part of the blog tour for the latest book by J. Paul Henderson, The Last of The Bowmans.
After an absence of seven years, Greg Bowman returns home from America to find his father lying in a bamboo coffin, his estranged brother Billy stalking a woman with no feet, and his 79 year-old Uncle Frank planning to rob a bank. While renovating the family house, he is unexpectedly visited by the presence of his dead father and charged with the task of ‘fixing’ the family. In the course of his reluctant investigations, Greg discovers an unsettling secret of his father’s, and one that brings him face to face with the consequences of his own past.
Lyle Bowman is eighty-three years old. Taking a break from painting his house he decides to go and get a Double Decker from the local shop. What he has not realised is that he has drunk a glass of white spirit and his inability to walk results in him being knocked over and killed by a double-decker bus.
His youngest son, Greg returns from America for his funeral. It is the first time he has been home to see his family in seven years – his Uncle Frank and his older brother, Billy (a brother with whom he has been estranged.) Whilst staying in his father’s house, Greg’s Dad suddenly appears. What ensues is a look at this dysfunctional family who has to learn how to be a family again.
This book was not what I expected. There were elements of the story that took me completely by surprise especially the ending. There is a thread of sadness running through it but it is also done with great humour. There were some bittersweet moments, some strange moments and some outright funny moments – my favourites involving Greg’s Uncle Frank. I think out of all the characters, he was my favourite.
by 
Mick’s Musings: Fun! Fun! Fun!
Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun…now I need to find the time to have that fun.
When I’m writing, after the first few hundred words, so long as it’s flowing, it is fun. Characters I’ve created/am in the process of creating, stand up and wave their little paws at me (I like cats, heck knows why half the time, but my latest WIP has a quite prominent feline who seems to be making a bid for freedom) for attention and sit down to share a metaphorical cup of tea with me. Then there’s the (mostly) welcome appearance of a new character that I hadn’t even considered when the idea for the story first came to mind, and even after I’d actually done some planning!
With this WIP, it looks very much like it’ll now be starting at chapter three. So, what does that mean for the Prologue and the first two chapters? Well, not really wanting to throw anything away, I do believe that quite a bit can be incorporated into forthcoming chapters and I also have to admit, it does start off the story a lot better. It’s straight into mini-crisis, always a good way to start.
Thank you Kate T for the suggestion.
As far as these new characters? It’s a welcome to Tippy’s Posse. Okay, so she’s currently called Poppy, but I have a few too many characters whose names begin with the letter ‘p’, but I still like ‘Poppy’ so it’s really a case of watch this space.
by Writing Room: Fictional World
Tuesday 19th January 2016.
Today’s prompt: Fictional World.
Pick a fictional world or a fictional character. When your character wakes up one morning, they find themselves either in this fictional world or sitting next to this fictional character. What are they like? What do they get up to? What happens next….
by Blog Tour: What a Way To Go by Julia Forster
I am very pleased to welcome Julia Forster to Novel Kicks and her blog tour for her debut novel, What a Way to Go. Hello Julia, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you first tell us a little about your new book, What a Way to Go which was published last week by Atlantic Books and how the idea originated?
It is lovely to be here today to talk about What a Way to Go. Thank you for having me.
The novel is a coming-of-age tale, set in the east Midlands in 1988, told by twelve year-old straight-talking Harper. Her parents, Mary and Pete, divorced when she was little, so she divides her time between her Mum’s rented house, which is being sold from underneath her, and her Dad’s mouldering cottage in a sleepy Midlands village. It’s a bittersweet tale about growing up and discovering some surprising home truths along the way. Harper’s a resourceful kid with an old soul, an infectious sense of fun and a sideways glance on the adult world around her.
The idea originated when I was successful in getting a £1,000 bursary from Literature Wales to pay for six months of nursery fees in order to begin a novel. When I started, I had no plan for how to approach it, no characters and no plot. All I had was a blank page. The idea originated when Harper’s voice exploded out of the blinking black cursor on the very white page about half way through the bursary period. The two of us got on like a house on fire. What a Way to Go is told in the first person and in the present tense, so there is an immediacy to how she narrates the story. It is very much a voice-driven piece of work.
The book features 80s music. Which 80s pop song best describes you?
That is definitely the hardest question that I shall be asked in the entire blog tour, Laura!
I created a Spotify playlist as I wrote the book and I listened to it a lot as I wrote. However, it isn’t one from this playlist which I would like to choose. I would pick ‘Solsbury Hill’ by Peter Gabriel.
by My Writing Ramblings: Reflections on 2015
Happy New Year everyone.
I can’t quite believe that 2015 has come to an end and we’re already eight days into 2016. Last year went so fast. I know that this year will probably do something similar. The older you get, the quicker it goes right?
I’ve been thinking a lot about 2015. I am a member of the New Writers Scheme which is part of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and last year, I didn’t manage to get any of my novel in for appraisal by one of the readers. I am not sure what happened. I just seemed to run out of time and what I had written didn’t seem good enough. I lost my confidence a little. So, if I have any goals for this year, it is to get my novel into the NWS by August.
As well as my writing and throwing myself into planning and writing my book, I’ve been thinking about the books I read in 2015. I read so many brilliant novels and escaped into so many stories and met so many characters. I went through the list and tried to pick my favourites 
(which was so difficult to be honest.) However, here is a list of my favourite novels from last year. What were your favourites?
Stranger Child by Rachel Abbott.
(Black Dot Publishing, 2015.)
This was a great book; a thriller mixed with mystery. This novel had me gripped from the first page and I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen and a mystery novel that can have me guessing until the end is good.
It focuses on Emma and David who seem to have the perfect life. However, David has known sadness when his wife was killed in a car accident and his six-year-old girl goes missing. When his daughter suddenly reappears, Emma has to question everything that she knows.
by Book Review: Able Seacat Simon: The Wartime Hero of the High Seas by Lynne Barrett-Lee
Simon is discovered in the Hong Kong docks in 1948 and smuggled on board the H.M.S Amethyst by a British sailor who takes pity on the malnourished kitten. The young cat quickly acclimates to his new water-borne home, establishing himself as the chief rat-catcher in residence while also winning the hearts of the entire crew.
Then the Amethystis ordered to sail up the Yangtze to take over the guarding of the British Embassy, and tragedy strikes as the ship comes under fire from Communist guns. Many of the crew are killed and Simon is among those who are seriously wounded. Luckily, with the help of the ship’s doctor, the brave cat makes a full recovery and is soon spending time with the injured men in the sick bay, purring and keeping their spirits up. News of Simon’s heroism spreads and he becomes famous world-wide – but it is still a long journey back to England for both the crew and the plucky little cat known as ‘Able Seacat Simon’…
To discover a new author is one of the joys still to be found in life, and that is exactly what I’ve just done having finished this new book by the very talented Ms Barrett-Lee.
Based on true events during the Chinese Civil war, in its continuation phase after the Second World War, this is told from the point of view of the cat in the title. If you’ve not heard the story of HMS Amethyst, then this is actually a very good introduction to this riveting episode in the history of the Royal Navy.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Message in a Bottle
Friday 8th January 2015: Message in a Bottle
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: Your character is walking along the beach and cuts their foot on a piece of glass. On closer inspection, they realise that it is from a bottle that is laying nearby. There is a piece of paper with a message on it inside the bottle. Write about what happens next. What’s the message?
by January 2016 Book Club: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Anyone is welcome to join in our monthly online book club.
How it works…
We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.
With it being December, this month’s book is: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler.
About the book:
Six people – five women and a man – meet once a month in California’s Central Valley to discuss Jane Austen’s novels. They are ordinary people, neither happy nor unhappy, but each of them is wounded in different ways, they are all mixed up about their lives and relationships. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable – under the guiding eye of Jane Austen a couple of them even fall in love…
by Book Club
