Book Extract: Sing Me a Secret by Julie Houston
I am pleased to be welcoming back Julie Houston to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest novel, Sing Me a Secret.
The four Sutherland sisters have all had very different paths in life, but one secret and a slighty tense production of Jesus Christ Superstar are about to bring them all back together again…
When the news that pop-superstar Lexia Sutherland is returning to Westenbury, not everyone is thrilled by the news – including Lexia. There are too many memories she doesn’t need to face – or need re-surfacing. Meanwhile, Juno Sutherland just wants a little peace and quiet.
As the local village doctor, she’s got her priorities in order; kids, job, husband, tenacious pony, a role in the village musical… So when the sexy new locum turns up – and steals her office – the last thing she needed was to be hit with rising temperatures and an over-active imagination.
Will these sisters be able to uncover the past, deal with the future and put on the performance of a lifetime?
Return to Westenbury this spring and find out.
Julie and Aria have shared an extract with us today. Enjoy!
***** beginning of extract*****
‘Morning, love, it’s me foot.’
Juno looked up from trying to get the computer to actually log on and made two new year’s resolutions to: a) get herself to work at least half an hour before kick-off and b) be ready with a big smile on her face rather than the usual panicked, hell-I-can’t-even-log-on face.
‘Ah, Mr Kendal.’ She looked up at the octogenarian sitting in front of her and slipped into caring, enquiring GP speak. ‘How are we? You’ve a problem with your foot?’
‘Been hurting to buggery since yesterday.’ He winced as he spoke and proffered one shod foot in Juno’s direction.
‘In your left foot? And where did the pain start?’ She’d finally managed to log on and brought up Mr Kendal’s notes which she scrutinised. Hmm, diabetic. Not good to have a pain in your foot if you were diabetic.
‘In Aldi.’
‘Sorry?’
‘It started when I was in the tinned-food aisle in Aldi. I just fancied some beans. I know they make you fart – excuse me French, love – but you know, when you get the taste for beans on toast, you just have to go with it.’
by 
Book Extract and Review: The Hopes and Dreams of Libby Quinn by Freya Kennedy
A big lovely welcome today to Freya Kennedy. She’s here with the blog tour for The Hopes and Dreams of Libby Quinn. Here’s a little about the book…
Libby Quinn is sick and tired of being sensible.
After years of slogging her guts out for nothing at a PR company, she finds herself redundant and about to plough every last penny of her savings into refurbishing a ramshackle shop and making her dream of owning her own bookshop become a reality.
She hopes opening ‘Once Upon A Book’ on Ivy Lane will be the perfect tribute to her beloved grandfather who instilled a love of reading and books in her from an early age.
When her love life and friendships become even more complicated – will Libby have the courage to follow her dreams? Or has she bitten off more than she can chew?
I have reviewed the book below but first, Libby and Boldwood Books have shared an extract today. I hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Libby knew the bag for life at her feet, crammed with cleaning products, would be just as woefully inadequate for the task ahead as a spoonful of Calpol would be to a woman in labour, but still she insisted on bringing it with her. She’d use everything in it, and more – much more – over the coming months, but bringing it with her gave her a sense of making the place her own before she even picked up the keys. Her plan, after all, was to move into the flat upstairs as quickly as possible so that she could work on the refurb morning, noon and night. A teeny, tiny, hopelessly optimistic part of her held on to a glimmer of hope that the flat would be a stylish time capsule of a home, ready to move in to bar the flick of a duster and a quick spray of Zoflora.
‘Are you sure we can’t come with you?’ her dad asked as they sat around the breakfast table. Just like Libby, both Jim and Linda Quinn had been unable to lay on in their beds and had been fizzing with a sense of shared excitement.
‘I need to put on my big-girl knickers and do this myself,’ she told them. Which wasn’t exactly true. Her boyfriend of eight months, Ant O’Neill, was going with her to pick up the keys from her solicitor’s office. An accounts manager for a nationwide banking chain, he exuded an air of calm and professionalism which none of the Quinn family seemed to be in possession of at that moment. He would be able to help her keep her emotions in check and not sob all over the young solicitor who had finalised the paperwork for her. ‘You can meet us there in a bit,’ she said. ‘When I’ve had a moment to adjust. Maybe eleven or so?’
Jim nodded. ‘Of course, pet,’ he said. ‘Your grandad would be very proud, you know,’ he said, his voice cracking, and Libby was forced to wave him away, unable to say anything else for fear of her own floodgates opening.
by NK Chats To… Derwin Hope
Thank you so much for joining me today, Derwin. Can you tell me a little about your book, Charles Dickens: My Life?
It is the life story of Charles Dickens using his own words to tell his story. On a number of occasions Dickens expressed the wish to write his own life story, but he died prematurely in 1870 at the age of 58 without doing it.
Now 150 years later and for the first time I have collected up all the various pieces of that jigsaw of things that he said about his life and put them into the narrative. It produces the nearest thing to an autobiography that is now possible.
Details of me, what I have done, and the written comments of people who have read my proofs can be seen on my official website at www.dickensmylife.com.
What challenges did you face when writing this novel?
The overwhelming challenge of hunting out things he actually said and did, as distinct from what other people have said about him in the last 150 years.
How did you approach the writing process for this novel?
I began my research about 25 years ago, became more focussed about collecting up the relevant pieces after I became a Judge in Portsmouth (his birthplace) in 2004 and visited the bedroom of his birth, and once I had retired in 2014 spent nearly 4 years putting all the pieces I had found together into a continuous narrative.
What do you think Charles Dickens would feel about the current state of the world?
I suspect he would be highly critical about it, as he was in his own day. He never trusted most politicians, having seen them at work in Parliament in his early career as a Parliamentary reporter. He later referred to Parliament as “The Dustheap of Westminster”. He was equally damming on the politicians he saw in America, as well as the way the press reported things over there.
He said many of the newspapers were only fit to be used as a water closet doormat. He was a Radical by nature and had a huge social conscience and whenever he saw anything that he felt was socially wrong he spoke out strongly against it. He became the people’s champion and that is why he was so loved in his time, apart from the brilliant fictional novels he also wrote. I think he would have taken the same approach to the social issues of today if he was alive now.
Which Charles Dickens character would you like to meet and why?
by Book Extract: Trust in You by Julia Firlotte
I’d like to give a lovely welcome to Julia Firlotte. She is here with the blog tour for her novel, Trust in You.
Here’s a little about the book…
From the moment she met him, Ella Peterson had questions. As always, though, she’s too shy to ask.
Older and sexy as hell, mysterious Adam Brook soon sweeps sheltered Ella off her feet; but is he as perfect as he appears to be, or is there more to him than he’s telling her?
Ella’s world has already turned upside down after moving from England to rural Kansas. She and her sisters were hoping for a more secure future, but instead find that life can be tough when jobs are scarce and the stakes often higher than anticipated.
When events spiral out of Ella’s control, she learns the person she needs to rely on most is herself and her instincts on who to trust in the future.
It’s just that her instincts are screaming at her to trust Adam; it’s what he tells her that makes that a problem.
Julia has shared an extract from Trust in You today. Enjoy.
(Language warning.)
***** beginning of extract******
I feel like I’m melting inside with the way his warm brown eyes are caressing me affectionately.
‘You know, you’re a fucking beautiful drunk,’ he says.
‘A beut…iful drunk?’ I ask him.
‘Yeah.’ He smiles watching my face but doesn’t say anything further, just brushes my hair off my forehead. ‘Listen, I know you probably won’t remember this tomorrow, but about Saturday, I really don’t want it to drive a wedge between us,’ he says softly.
‘Ok,’ I answer him, slightly breathless. I could lie in his arms forever; it feels absolutely amazing after our argument earlier. He smiles at me, like he can see my mind isn’t really on what he’s saying. ‘Did you know you’ve got a twin?’ I mumble at him. He rolls his eyes at me and his smile is so sexy I’m mesmerised. ‘Lucky me! Now I have two of you.’ I giggle girlishly, finding my own joke hilarious. He leans his head down and bumps his nose against mine in response.
by Book Review: A Shop Girl at Sea by Rachel Brimble
I am pleased to say that Rachel Brimble is here with the blog tour for her latest book in the Pennington’s series, A Shop Girl at Sea.
Bath, 1912.
Amelia Wakefield loves working at Pennington’s, Bath’s finest department store. An escape from her traumatic past, it saved her life. So when Miss Pennington sets her a task to set sail on the Titanic and study the department stores of New York, she couldn’t be more excited – or determined!
Frustrated with his life at home, Samuel Murphy longs for a few weeks of freedom and adventure. Meeting Amelia on board the Titanic, Samuel can’t help wonder what painful history has made the beauty so reserved. But he already has too many responsibilities for love.
Ruby Taylor has always kept her Pennington co-workers at a distance. Making sure her little brother is safe has always been her priority. But when that means accepting Victoria Lark’s offer of sanctuary, more than one of Ruby’s secrets is under threat of being revealed…
I was very excited about being invited onto the blog tour for this book. I found the premise of it intriguing.
Amelia is looking at an opportunity she never dreamed she would have. She has been asked by Elizabeth Pennington to head to America, with a view to gaining insight into American fashion. What’s more, Amelia is to get there by sailing on the new, luxurious Titanic. She can’t wait. The only downside is that the boring Mr Weir is to accompany her.
On board, it is better than she ever dreamed. She also meets Samuel. He is on his way to America as a member of the crew and he knows he has met someone special when he first sees Amelia but before they have a chance to really get to know each other, tragedy strikes and it has them questioning everything they have ever known.
This was my introduction to Rachel’s novels so I’ve not read the previous three books in the Pennington’s series. This did not cause a problem though. There are reoccurring characters but this can be read first if you wish to.
I loved the different personalities in this book, male and female. I feel there was a wide spectrum. The majority of the female characters in this novel are strong, independent and relatable and I loved them, all for different reasons. Amelia is strong and knows what she wants, Elizabeth is proof you can be nice and be successful and Ruby… oh Ruby, I just wanted to wrap her up and look after her. Rachel has created real, vulnerable, courageous characters that are developed well.
The plot moved at a good pace and without giving too much away, I am pleased that it didn’t dwell too much on the actual sinking. It didn’t stop me from being in tears though. What it did concentrate on was how the characters reacted to their situation and I could really feel all the emotions. The imagery was vivid; everything was described so well.
by Book Club
