Book Review: The Silver Tide by J.H.Mann
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming J.H.Mann back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, The Silver Tide.
Cornwall, 1863. On a windswept beach, Maggie Pascoe watches in horror as her family is lost to the sea. Her father and three brothers are among dozens of fishermen from the town of St Branok who perish in a summer storm.
Destitute and alone, she finds comfort in her friendship with widow Norah Bray, whose young son also drowned in the disaster.
But the tragedy was no accident. As Maggie battles to uncover the truth, she hides a devastating secret – one that could destroy her bond with Norah forever.
Inspired by a true story, The Silver Tide is a powerful tale of love, betrayal and one woman’s courageous fight for justice.
*****
When an unexpected summer storm devastates the town of St Branok, Maggie loses everything when the sea claims her father and three brothers. She finds comfort in the company of her friend, Norah whose own son also died.
As time passes, something isn’t adding up for Maggie. As she begins to investigate the tragedy, she meets opposition at nearly every turn.
Can she find out what happened whilst keeping herself safe? Can she keep a secret from Norah that threatens to tear their friendship apart?
Having previously enjoyed The Echoing Shore, I was eager to return to St Branok and the latest book in the Wild Cornwall series.
If The Silver Tide is your introduction to this set of books, it can be read as a standalone. I do recommend the previous novels. They are excellent.
The author wastes no time in pulling the reader right into the action whilst setting a heart-breaking scene. I felt like I was there, willing them to stay on land, knowing what awaited them on the water.
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Book Review: The Gameshow by Alexander Raphael
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Alexander Raphael to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, The Gameshow.
In a waiting room hidden high away from everyone, six disgraced celebrities are desperate to recover their heavily tainted reputations. An incredibly controversial new gameshow is offering them a route back to the big time, along with a $7.2 million cash prize.
But with no consolation prizes and serious consequences every time someone loses out, will signing up prove their salvation or their downfall?
*****
In an attempt to rehabilitate their images, six celebrities agree to go on a brand new gameshow. If they win, they get millions, more fame and maybe a new start. If they fail, something worse awaits them. Standing between each of them and the prize are each other, mixed with pure luck. WIll they come out the other side unscathed or will they have to face what they fear most?
You know that moment when you read the blurb of a novel and you know immediately you are going to completely get pulled into the story before you even begin? That was the case with me and The Gameshow.
This novel features TV executive, Selina and six disgraced celebrities, Linda, Nate, Madison, Denzel, Yasmeen and Jed. All six have been cancelled in the eyes of the public and have nothing to lose and everything to gain when they sign up to a new gameshow. Between rounds, they are forced to live in one apartment and are completely cut off from the outside world – think Black Mirror and Big Brother crossed with a big splash of the I’m a Celebrity Bush Tucker Trials.
by Book Review: Hidden Family Secrets by Evelyn Hood
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Evelyn Hood to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Hidden Family Secrets.
Can a long-kept secret ruin the future happiness of two families?
Paisley, Scotland 1745
Meg and Duncan Montgomery move to the flourishing Scottish town of Paisley to find work in the thriving weaving industry. Soon, Meg is expecting their first child, Margaret.
To make ends meet, they live in Peter Todd’s household, Duncan’s employer and Meg’s days are filled with domestic duties. But soon Meg and Duncan find themselves caught up in the intricate lives of the Todd family and when a tragic accident causes further conflict, a decision is made to keep a terrible secret from Meg.
As Margaret grows older, she despairs of the town’s inequality and becomes an advocate for the poor. While her philanthropic ideals are tolerated, even accepted by her understanding parents, Margaret’s affection for her childhood friend William Todd is greeted with disapproval.
But Margaret wants more from life than marriage and is overjoyed when she is taken on as a teacher at the local hospital.
As a dark secret from the past looms over the lives of both families,threatening to tear apart their futures, the younger Todds and Montgomery’s must decide between following in their parents’ footsteps or forging their own paths
The start of The Paisley Women saga series from Evelyn Hood, the original bestselling Scottish saga writer.
Previously published in paperback as The Silken Thread.
*****
Meg and Duncan Montgomery are hoping to seek a new and exciting life in the Scottish town of Paisley. When they arrive, Kirsty Todd and her family welcome them with open arms. As time passes, the families get more entwined and secrets are harboured and revealed – ones that could tear everyone apart.
I am excited to be part of the blog tour for Hidden Family Secrets. This was my introduction to Evelyn Hood and the first book in a brand new series. I couldn’t wait to get started as I love a good saga.
This book begins strong and continued to build momentum as the plot unfolded. There is a believable atmosphere and the author does a good job at establishing the setting. I felt as though I was in Scotland in the 1700’s.
by NK Chats To…Michael Wendroff
Hello Michael. Thank you for joining me today and for inviting Novel Kicks onto your blog tour. Can you tell us about What Goes Around and what inspired it?
What Goes Around is my debut thriller. It is about mysterious shootings in a small town, and two detectives, one male and one female, are assigned to the case. They hate each other, and have to find the killer before they kill each other. On the pursuit they encounter secret groups-Incels, Boogaloo Boys, supremacists. Torn in the middle is a naive boy. The ending twist is out of this world.
I was inspired by what my mother said to me the second I was born. Or so I’m told. I was put on her chest, she looked me deeply in the eyes, and said, “Oh! How nice to see you, again!” It was that “again” that always intrigued me, and I always wanted to write something about it, but life and working in business got in the way.
It was actually the Covid pandemic that got me to write my novel–there was that period when you couldn’t do anything, couldn’t go to movies, restaurants, couldn’t even go to the beach! So, I had no more excuses. Had to write it, and thankfully, got very lucky, and What Goes Around was born.
I was also “inspired” by events I didn’t understand–like the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia a few years ago. I needed to research that, to understand what was behind some of the crazy thinking, so that’s how I got into the secret world of Incels and Supremacists. Scary stuff!
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals and a favourite place to write?
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I usually write in the mornings, when I’m freshest. Water really inspires me, and I’m very fortunate that I have two places near water. In the winter months I’m in Florida, so I can sit at a beach and think up plots and scenes, and I also get to sit on my lanai and look out on a pond behind my house. Though I do sometimes get distracted by the alligators running around.
Michael’s Writing Space – Lake Garda.
In the summer months when Florida just gets too hot and humid, I head to Italy. I love Northern Italy, and get to write from a terrace overlooking Lake Garda (when I’m not eating the amazing Italian food).
I love writing, and my process is plot, research, write, and edit.
My daily ritual is to sit at my pc to get the words out, just get the story going. I don’t worry about things like grammar or even the specific words used, I just want to get the writing flowing. The next morning I will reread what I’d written, and try to make it real writing. Make sure every word is the right word and fits with the others in the sentence, make sure each sentence fits with the others in the paragraph. Add the analogies and metaphors. After that’s done, I’ll start scribbling out the next part of the story on my pc, which will be rewritten the next day. That process of write then rewrite continues everyday, until I can write my favorite two words: The End
But before I actually start the writing itself, comes the plotting. There are actually two types of writers-plotters and pantsers. Pantsers simply sit in front of their computers and write by the seat of their pants. They have no idea where the story is going. That’s not me. I have to know everything upfront, so after ideating I write a detailed plot outline. I need to know not only what the ending will be, but where I’ll plant the red herrings, and where I’ll put the twists and turns.
And it’s not like things won’t change. Once I became really attached to one of my characters, and the plot called for the character to die, but I couldn’t do it. I had to change the plot. Another time I did kill off a character I loved, but my wife yelled at me because I was walking around for a week in depression. She said “They’re not real!!” But to an author, they are real!
If you were putting together a playlist for What Goes Around, which songs would you pick?
by NK Chats To… Evie Jacobs
Hi Evie, thank you so much for joining me today and for inviting Novel Kicks onto your blog tour. Can you tell me about your book, Dangerous Decisions and what inspired it?
Thanks for having me! Dangerous Decisions is the story of Nate Hughes, a pilot who shares a business with his siblings, and Angie Liu, a CIA agent who is investigating an informant’s death. The two meet at a casino in Miami and have a one-night stand. Everything is great–until Angie realizes Nate is actually the son of the man whose death she is investigating.
Dangerous Decisions is an interconnected standalone, meaning that while it is technically the second book in the Dangerous Skies Adventure series, it does not have to be read after or with the first book.
I couldn’t tell you exactly what inspired this story, but while I was writing Dangerous Descent, I always knew that Nate would investigate his father’s death in the second. Thinking back, it seems like Angie’s character came easily as well. I wrote a good chunk of this book during COVID and wasn’t happy with the result. It wasn’t until I published Dangerous Descent that I decided to revisit Dangerous Decisions and turn it into something I was proud of.
What was your route to publication?
Evie’s Main Writing Office
I queried my first book, Dangerous Descent, with no luck, and was about to shove it in the metaphorical drawer when I decided to try a few small publishers. I wasn’t expecting much, but one publisher responded within a week asking for the full manuscript. After that, things moved pretty quickly, and I had a publishing contract by the end of the month. The experience of publishing through a small press was invaluable. I learned a ton, but more importantly, the validation that someone wanted to publish my book gave me the confidence to stick with it. Despite all the positives, I also wished I’d had more control over the final product. For the second book, I went it on my own.
What elements do you feel make up a good thriller?
Tension, danger, high stakes, momentum, immediacy, and characters you care about.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals? A favourite place to write?
by Book Club
