Novel Kicks

About Novel Kicks/Laura... Novel Kicks was founded in 2009 and is run by Laura who is currently living in Hampshire, and lives with husband, Chris and her cat, Buddy. She would love to be a writer. She’s trying to write the novel she thinks so much about. She’s loved reading and writing since ‘Creative Writing’ classes in primary school. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything she can get her hands on, she loves reading, dancing like a loon, and watching Project Runway and Ugly Betty (her two TV guilty pleasures.) She also has an obsession with chocolate and Jammie Dodgers.

Book Review: Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Published December 4, 2014 | By Novel Kicks

Harper, film tie-in edition, October 2014.

Sometimes fate just can’t stop meddling…

Best friends since forever, Rosie and Alex have shared their hopes, dreams, awkward moments – and firsts. But their bond is threatened when Alex’s family move to America. They stay in touch, but misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck seem to be conspiring to keep them apart. Can they gamble everything – even their friendship – on true love?

(Warning: review may contain spoilers.)

I remember reading this when it first came out in 2004 (released as Where Rainbows End.) I had been a huge fan of P.S I Love You previously so it wasn’t surprising that I would read Cecelia’s second novel. I loved it and since then, it’s been my favourite of her novels.

As it had been ten years since I’d first read it, I decided to give it a re-read when it was released with a new title (Love, Rosie,) and cover to tie in with the release of the film. I actually saw the film which then made me want to re-read the book. The film was great (Sam Claflin was perfect as Alex especially,) but the film only spans a small amount of their lives (until they are in their 30’s,) whereas the book spans from childhood until their 50’s which felt more realistic. I know you can’t fit everything into a film and it’s hard to age the actors but the book captures their lost love perfectly.

What I love about Rosie Dunne is that she is ordinary. She has dreams, plans and an idea of what her life was going to be like and then it suddenly throws her a curve ball she wasn’t expecting and she has to remap her life around it whilst her best friend is on the other side of the world living the life she could no longer have but somehow, through everything, they manage to sort themselves out in the end.

Continue reading →

Carla Curuso’s Five Writing Tips

Published December 4, 2014 | By Novel Kicks

Carla Curuso lives in Adelaide and as well as being the author of Catch of the Day, Mommy Blogger and Unlucky for Some, she is also involved in the Adelaide Chick-Lit Book Club and the Life, Love & Laugh blog. Her novel, A Pretty Mess is available on Amazon and Pretty Famous will be available on 1st February 2015.

Carla shares her five writing tips…

1. Don’t follow trends.

2. Be yourself and find your own unique voice.

3. Write every day – it’s the best way to keep ‘inside the head’ of a story/character and stay excited by it. Even if you only write 300-600 words a day, it’s amazing how the word count builds up overtime. I find I can only write in a few-hour blocks anyway, then I’m not inspired anymore! It’s a marathon not a sprint. Plus, you’ll have a better story if you have ‘creative thinking time’ in between, pushing the novel in different directions you might not have thought of earlier.

4. Write the kind of book you’d feel excited to pick up from a shelf. (Sophie Kinsella said something like that and it’s so true!)

5. Write your ‘own’ story. Your life experience might seem boring to you, as compared to, say, Gwyneth Paltrow’s life, but it’s actually a goldmine. Nobody has experienced exactly the same kind of things as you have – the people you’ve met, the places you’ve been, the emotions you’ve felt. Draw on it and you’ll write authentically and keep people captivated!

Read our interview with Carla.

Find Carla at www.carlacaruso.com.au and information about her latest works at http://www.harpercollins.com.au

The Adelaide Chick-Lit Book Club is on Facebook and the Life, Love and Laughs blog can be found at http://www.lifeluvnlaughs.blogspot.com.au/

Quick Spotlight: Memory Stick

Published December 4, 2014 | By Novel Kicks

I am a HUGE fan of interactive books. Not only does it help with the creativity of finding new ideas (as you never know how they are going to strike,) it also gives my critical editor a night off and lets me just have fun where my writing is concerned.

Memory Stick by Polly Smart is available from Huck & Pucker (August 2014.) I love this book and I think it’s great for storing all your ideas for stories and creative projects and there is no danger of it corrupting like a computer USB stick would. It’s a scrapbook of your ideas and thoughts and I am liking making my way through it.

Here’s the blurb:

Need a place to store all those moments, ideas and experiences, both crazy and everyday? Fill this journal with memories to create a record of who you are and what makes you tick. Download your brain into MEMORY STICK! A scrapbook of thoughts, happenings, hurrahs, ideas and conversations I have had.

December Book Club: Christmas Themed Books

Published December 3, 2014 | By Novel Kicks

Penguin, November 2014

Ebury Digital, November 2014

Book Corner is 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.

This month, our pick is Christmas.

As it’s December, we invite you to come and chat about any book you’ve read or are reading that is Christmas themed from A Christmas Carol to something more current. We are going to be reading Christmas with Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher and Secret Santa by Scarlett Bailey (two festive short stories.)

You are welcome to read these or pick your own festive themed book and then come and discuss what you loved or didn’t love about it.

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Competitions: Writing Maps Gift Pack Winner

Published December 1, 2014 | By Novel Kicks

Writing Maps think that good writing should be encouraged, shared and published.

Devised by writer and creative writing tutor, Shaun Levin alongside a wide range of designers and illustrators, Writing Maps are full of inspiration for writers. Each map contains at least 12 writing prompts and each map is beautifully illustrated. Maps available include; The Character Map, Writing People (for crowded places,) and My Writing Life.

Well done to Julie Mcfarland who has won herself the lovely Writing Maps gift pack. Check your e-mail (including junk and spam folders,) as an e-mail is on its way to you, Julie.

Writing Maps are a great gift idea for Christmas for either the creative person in your family or a gift to yourself. If you would like to find out more about Writing Maps, visit their website at http://www.writingmaps.com.