NK Chats To… Charlie Dean
Hi Charlie, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, I Love You, Always Forever and what inspired it?
I Love You. Always. Forever was written during a difficult period in my life. My mum had been diagnosed with kidney cancer as has Charlie’s and it was my coping mechanism, like my first book was with my dad’s dementia. I wanted to show that even when life is tough, you can still smile and find happy times. I decided to make it a dual timeline to show that family and friendships can last a lifetime.
What songs would make up a playlist for your book?
I Love You, Always, Forever by Donna Lewis
Boom Shake the Room by Will Smith
Let’s Talk About Sex by Salt n Pepa
Face to Face by Siouxsie and The Banshees
From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like, do you conduct much research, how long does it typically take you, do you have a typical writing day and any writing rituals?
I am a complete pantser and just sit down and write. I’ve written novels in 3 months and also in three years. I usually start with an idea, something random that came to me in the night and go from there. My characters tell me how the story goes. I work and have family to care for so writing is a luxury in my spare time, I’m such a procrastinator though which doesn’t help either.
Which authors do you admire?
I am the biggest fan of Philippa Gregory. Her writing makes you feel as if she lived in the time and knew the characters herself. She inspires me to write an historical romance but I just don’t have the time for the research at the moment.
What’s your favourite word and why?
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Book Review: Let Your Lips Twitch by R.A. Clarke
I am pleased to be welcoming R.A. Clarke to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her collection of short stories, Let Your Lips Twitch.
Comedy is everywhere if you allow yourself to see it—to feel it. It can be subtle or overt, dark or joyous, adorable or cheeky. Such ageless versatility is beyond compare. Curated with that in mind, author R.A. Clarke proudly presents sixteen humorous stories to the world.
Between these covers, you’ll find short fiction in several genres. Each tale is infused with unique characters and comical situations, some rooted in reality, others certainly not. Flip the page and join a jewel heist executed by bumbling thieves at a gastronomy party, meet a lowly soul gifted the fantastical chance to redo an all-consuming moment of regret, or sweat alongside a father as he realizes his daughter is growing up too fast. Turn another page and you’ll enjoy clowning around while meeting Mr. Right, then zoom in on a perfectly focused meet cute, or feel Mother Nature’s wrath as a rebellious fishing excursion goes all kinds of wrong. There is something in this collection for everyone to enjoy, including eight never-before-seen stories.
Allow yourself to be entertained and whisked away. Let humour in all its glorious forms tempt your lips to move. Don’t fight the urge. Embrace it. Go ahead and let your lips twitch.
*****
Let Your Lips Twitch is sixteen short stories and as I had not read anything by R.A. Clarke before, I didn’t know what to expect.
What happened is that I raced through these stories. Some I liked more than others but each one was different and interesting and for me, there were many moments where I laughed out loud.
There is something to suit a variety of readers and what I like is that you can read them in order, it’s not a long read at two hundred pages long, but you can also dip in and out if you just wanted to fill a couple of minutes.
by Book Review: The Kill by Evie Hunter
I am pleased to be welcoming Evie Hunter to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her novel, The Kill.
Secrets can’t stay hidden forever…
After six years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Sebastian Carter is out and determined to get answers about who set him up. He knows it’s someone close to him and Sebastian will make sure they pay.
Ava Harper is living a lie. Although she loves her job caring for young Lily Carter, her real reason for being in the Carter household is to get answers of her own – from none other than convicted murderer Sebastian.
Sebastian hates liars, but he’s intrigued by Ava. As he gets to know more about her, he wonders if the answers she’s looking for could solve his mystery too.
Or will getting too close to Ava risk them both getting killed…?
*****
Sebastian Carter has just been released from prison for a murder he did not commit.
He is looking for answers, as is Ava. Could they work together to find the truth or will it put them in more danger?
Oh I love a good book with intrigue and that is what you get with The Kill.
From the beginning, questions hang in the air, suspense and tension is built and I had a desperate need to find out what was going on and how this novel was going to end. It’s a rollercoaster.
by Book Review: Storm of War by Peter Gibbons
We are pleased to be welcoming Peter Gibbons to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for Storm of War, book two in the Saxon Warrior Series.
The fight for a torn Kingdom rests in the hands of a few brave men…
990AD.
King Aethelred II, who men will one day call The Unready, rules over a land divided by the shadowy spin of his mother Queen Ælfthryth and the sprawling power of the Church.
The Viking Warlord, Olaf Tryggvason smelling the Kingdoms weakness brings the vicious Jomsvikings to the Saxon coastline ravenous for war and plunder.
Together Lord Byrthnoth, Ealdorman of the East Saxons and Beornoth his Saxon Thegn lead a force of oath sworn Viking killers, every bit as brutal and war-skilled as the Norse invaders to protect the Kingdom against enemies both from within, and from the cruel seas. They are pushed to the very limits of their bravery and endurance in a desperate fight for the very existence of the Saxon Kingdom.
In a riveting story of trachery, betrayal, vengeance and war, can Beornoth defeat his enemies and protect the Kingdom from destruction?
*****
The story follows Beornoth as he tries to avenge the death of his children, fighting Vikings who are attacking Saxon England, whilst also needing to contend with politics and treachery.
This is book two in the series and although I was aware there was a book prior to this one I hadn’t read, I didn’t feel there were too many holes in my knowledge. Any relevant information is given concisely.
by Book Review: No More Lies by Rachel Abbott
Recently life has been good for Mallory Hansen: a great job, a lovely home, and a wonderful man, Nathan, to share it with.
But now she must ask herself: is it all built on lies?
A shocking accusation has been made against Nathan, and Mallory doesn’t know who to believe. He denies everything, but all the signs point to his guilt. She has learned to trust Nathan, but she also remembers the boy he used to be.
As teenagers, Mallory and Nathan were part of a close-knit group of six friends until a vicious argument drove them apart. Now, fifteen years later, they are back in touch – only to find themselves drawn into a web of mutual distrust, one by one…
The attacks on their lives are skilfully targeted, designed to hit them where they hurt the most, and when a young woman disappears and a baby is abducted, DCI Tom Douglas must try to unravel the past and discover who is the architect of their misery.
*****
Mallory feels as though her life is pretty much together. She and Nathan have known each other since University and things are perfect. However, a conversation with a woman at a book club sends her life upside down. Nathan has accused of sexual harassment.
Things are made worse when Nathan’s accuser goes missing.
Oh Tom and Becky. I’ve missed you. I am always so excited when Rachel Abbott releases a new DCI Tom Douglas thriller as I know I’m going to be in for a brilliant rollercoaster of a time.
I was so pleased to catch up once again with Tom and Becky. The case is an intricate one and had me guessing from page one right up until the last page. The pace is fast and there are so many twists and turns.
Of course, with a series of this nature, I always have a worry that the new book isn’t going to be as gripping as previous novels but, in my opinion, there’s no issue with that here.
by Book Club
