A Moment With… Juliet Greenwood
I’m pleased to be welcoming Juliet Greenwood to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Secret Daughter of Venice.
The paper is stiff and brittle with age as Kate unfolds it with trembling hands. She gasps at the pencil sketch of a rippling waterway, lined by tall buildings, curving towards the dome of a cathedral. She feels a connection deep in her heart. Venice.
England, 1941. When Kate Arden discovers a secret stash of drawings hidden in the pages of an old volume of poetry given to her as a baby, her breath catches. All her life, she has felt like an outsider in her aristocratic adoptive family, who refuse to answer any questions about her past. But the drawings spark a forgotten memory: a long journey by boat… warm arms that held her tight, and then let go.
Could these pictures unlock the secret of who she is? Why her mother left her? With war raging around the continent, she will brave everything to find out…
A gripping, emotional historical novel of love and art that will captivate fans of The Venice Sketchbook, The Woman on the Bridge and The Nightingale.
There’s a chance to win a signed copy of The Secret Daughter of Venice below but first, Juliet talks to us about the inspiration behind her novel.
Finding Venice
The inspiration for The Secret Daughter of Venice came from my two visits to Venice. The first was when I was ten. It was part of a family holiday in an ancient VW campervan that had a habit of breaking down at inopportune moments, but managed to stagger to the campsite just outside the city without steam pouring ominously from the engine. It’s strange looking at those old photographs now. The memories of St Mark’s Square and travelling through the canals on a gondola are as vivid as if they were yesterday. That visit was just a few hours, but it always made me want to visit again.
by 
Book Extract: Friends For Life by Liz Murphy
I’m pleased to be welcoming Liz Murphy to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Friends for Life.
Kate, Rose and Pascalle are thrown together because they share one experience – they have each lost their husbands. Shocked and bewildered, all three try to work out what it means to be suddenly alone with no partner, no security and their entire future wiped out.
If that wasn’t enough, they are also faced with family conflict, elderly parents, and a support network that turns out to be sadly lacking. And for each woman, secrets from the past threaten to derail their attempts to move on.
*On the surface, Kate’s husband Jason was fun-loving and generous. Only she knows differently. In the months after his death, her attempts to rid her life of the things that trigger bad memories are also driving her son away. By keeping Jason’s secret is she in danger of losing her son as well?
*Rose and Richard were soul mates. Married straight out of university, they shared a career, a business and a love of the good life. Childless, they lived only for each other, or so Rose thought. That all changed the night Richard was killed in a car crash.
*Once spirited, vibrant and flamboyantly French, Pascalle is now a grey shadow of herself. Her husband Trevor’s death has left her so emotionally paralysed, she can’t accept that he’s gone. Then her daughter offers her a chance to create a new life for herself. But will past secrets emerge to hinder her decision?
We follow Kate and Rose through their first year without their husbands. As their friendship with 
Pascalle grows they encourage each other to be brave, to take control of their lives, and to begin to heal. They draw on past mistakes to help each other build new relationships with their families. And by trusting each other, they realise that true friendship can point the way to a new future.
Liz has shared an extract today. We hope you enjoy it.
Content warning: mentions of cancer.
*****beginning of extract*****
Kate, Rose and Pascalle met at a drinks party where they were reluctant guests. All three have been struggling to cope with the deaths of their husbands, and each sees in the other women who understand exactly what they’re going through. Their developing friendship has helped Pascalle to finally come to terms with the loss of her Trevor. Tonight, she’s having a night out with Kate and Rose to celebrate their birthdays and as she’s getting ready fun Pascalle is starting to emerge…
by Book Review: The Girls Next Door by Anita Waller
Please join me in welcoming Anita Waller to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest novel, The Girls Next Door.
They keep each other’s secrets. They hide each other’s lies.
They were destined to be best friends. The four girls – all born that same hot summer. There was even a newspaper article after they were born. They said there must be something in the water on Larkspur Close. They predicted a safe and happy life for them all…
More than thirty years later, it’s more than an unbreakable friendship – it’s more like a sisterhood. It’s the girls who Jess reaches out to because she’s worried about her grandparents who’ve raised her since her mother disappeared, who Erin tells about her new business idea, who Melissa calls to say she’s desperate to escape her toxic job.
But then Chantelle messages saying she’s discovered her husband is having an affair. And everything changes.
Because then her husband is found dead… And only a few people knew about his secret.
Is it just a terrible accident? Or will someone stop at nothing to keep the girls of Larkspur Close safe and happy?
*****
Four girls, growing up on the same street, both months apart. They were destined to be friends, to become a sisterhood. They have each other’s backs.
With this bond comes secrets, some of which began before they were born. When murder comes into their lives, who is doing all they can to keep these four girls happy and is the murderer closer than they think?
One of the great things about running this blog is the chance to discover new authors and Anita Waller is one such example for me. I’m not sure how I’ve managed to miss her books until now. I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for The Girls Next Door.
There is a calm to the beginning of this novel that sets a tone of uncertainty. I knew something was going to come along to disrupt the equilibrium – the lives of these four women who, on the surface, seem to have perfect lives.
Chantelle has three-year-old twins. These girls are her life. Yes, it’s taken a toil on her marriage but when she discovers the secret her husband, Andrew is keeping, she doesn’t know what her next step would be. When he unexpectedly dies in an accident, she has to face the unknown. I couldn’t help but feel empathy for Chantelle. Becoming a widow, especially with young children is a situation no-one wants to find themselves in and I felt that, under the circumstances, she was a strong, relatable character.
by NK Chats To… Margaret Amatt
Hello Margaret. Thank you so much for joining me and inviting Novel Kicks onto your blog tour. Can you tell me about your novel, Starting Over at the Crafty Bee Barn and what inspired it?
Hi! The Crafty Bee story was inspired by an evening when I was looking at books on Amazon – for a change! – and I noticed how popular books about beekeepers were. It was at the same time that a friend of mine was talking about The Sewing Bee. Somehow the two ideas blended in my head and I though up the name Crafty Bee Barn. I wanted to do something that blended beekeeping and crafts. And the story developed from there.
What are the challenges you found when writing Starting Over at the Crafty Bee Barn?
This book had quite a few challenges. Probably the biggest issue was Lilah’s backstory. She’s had a tough upbringing and I wanted that to come through in the story without making it too dark, but at the same time not trivialising it or brushing over it. Aidan was also a challenge. He’s quite a gruff character who’s annoyed with himself for his past mistakes but I still needed to make him loveable and relatable.
What songs would make up a playlist for your book?
I always find this question really hard. I think I’ll have to leave it to someone else to choose after they’ve read it because I really don’t have a clue!!
What’s your favourite word and why?
This will probably sound very strange to most people but I like the name Demeter. I honestly have no idea why but I just love the sound of it!
Any other advice for aspiring writers?
by Book Extract & Giveaway: Mysteries at Sea: The Royal Jewel Plot by A.M. Howell
I am so happy to be welcoming A.M. Howell back to Novel Kicks with the blog tour for her latest novel, Mysteries at Sea: The Royal Jewel Plot.
Alice and Sonny are excited for their summer trip, sailing on the luxurious yacht the Lady Rose. They’re even more excited when they find out the King of England is going to be onboard too!
There’s also a precious jewel on the boat – a rare opal, kept in a tank protected by a poisonous octopus.
Until one morning, Alice discovers that the opal and octopus are both missing. The search is on to retrieve the priceless gem, before the ship reaches its destination, and everyone on board finds themselves in serious trouble.
As Alice and Sonny’s investigations take them closer to the truth, they realise that everyone on the Lady Rose seems to have a secret, maybe even the king himself…
You have a chance to win a copy of Mysteries at Sea: Peril on the Atlantic (book one in the series), below but first, A.M. Howell has shared an extract from Mysteries at Sea: The Royal Jewel Plot. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Chapter One
The Lady Rose
Alice glanced at her watch in dismay. They were going to be late for the king’s arrival! Tightening her grip on her suitcase as she hurried along the hot, dusty street, her head was full of the summer storms, landslides and train delays that had hindered their journey from England to the small port of Ăibenik on the Yugoslavian coast. A journey that should have taken two days had instead taken four.
by Book Club
