Book Extract: Mrs Bambi Knows by Chris Mason
I am pleased to be welcoming Chris Mason to Novel Kicks. He’s here with the blog tour for his novel, Mrs Bambi Knows.
In a small town in Oregon, everyone wants to kill the local advice columnist, Mrs Bambi. If only they knew who she was.
Mrs Bambi’s advice is so snarky that people have long since stopped asking for it. Instead she eavesdrops on conversations and writes the letters herself. The readers would lynch her, but no one knows who she is.
In fact, Mrs. Bambi is not a woman. The column is written by Richard, a quiet widower with a young daughter.
The uneventful part of Richard’s life is nearly over: he begins dating Pam, a well-known realtor and a sports addict. When people begin to learn the identity of Mrs. Bambi, Richard is threatened and humiliated in public. Despite the pleas of his editor, his friends, and Pam, he refuses to stop writing the column.
The only thing that can prevent disaster is for the town to finally learn the whole truth about Richard, which is much larger than the simple mystery of Mrs. Bambi.
Set in 1995, Chris Mason’s skillful storytelling brings a tale of humour and romance – and not a little peril – charmingly to life in the mind of the reader.
Chris has shared an extract today. Enjoy!
*****beginning of extract*****
The advice (agony aunt) column in a small town newspaper is written by a widower using the alias Mrs. Bambi. Because no one will ask him for advice anymore, he eavesdrops on peoples’ conversations and writes the questions and the answers himself. Every chapter in the book begins with one of the advice columns. Here’s an example.
Dear Mrs. Bambi:
My mother is sick, but not as sick as she thinks she is. She’s an incurable hypochondriac, and I think it’s going to kill me.
Last week her vision went blurry. She called me at one in the morning, hours after I’d gone to bed, to tell me she had an eye tumor. I drove over and cleaned her glasses for her.
by 
Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Continuation Ever After
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing flash fiction prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Don’t edit, just write. Once you’re done, you’re welcome to share in the comments but there’s no obligation.
Today’s prompt: Continuation Ever After.
Today, think of your favourite fairytale and how it ended. Now write a continuation of the story. Did Cinderella adjust to Palace life or did she crave her country house? Did Belle spend all her time in the library and this annoyed the beast?
Did Hansel and Gretel face any consequences for what they did to the witch?
Have fun.
by NK Chats To… Lynda Blakesley
Hi Lynda, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, So Many Secrets and what inspired it?
‘So Many Secrets’ is a family saga that spans the generations and tells the story of characters that come to realise that they are related through the exposure of long held secrets. An unexpected love story unfurls once everything is revealed. The inspiration for the story came from a childhood growing up in a close knit community in the 1950s where family held great importance. Life was very different for my grandparents though and it was the social pressures of their times that dictated some of the actions taken by the central characters in the book. In addition art plays a significant part in the plot and as the daughter of a talented artist, I wanted to reflect this element in the story. Pulling together these threads gave me the motivation and the vision to write the novel.
What’s your typical writing day like and do you have any writing quirks or rituals?
For me, writing is a release from boredom as well as an outlet for my creativity so I don’t really have a strict routine but I do try to write every day. I like to have a cup of coffee by my side as I work but it often goes cold as once I start I forget everything else. My day can pass very quickly when I am writing so I have to try to set certain limits otherwise nothing else would get done.
What songs would make up a playlist for your book?
My playlist would be Paperback Writer by Lennon and McCartney, Imagine by John Lennon, In My Life by The Beatles, When We Were Young by Adele and We are the Champions by Queen. They are all very inspirational pieces but each one is special to me which is why they help me to focus on my writing.
Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Making a List
Today, we are going to be making a list.
If you’re anything like me, you love a list. I feel more in control if I have a to-do list for example. Whether I complete that is another matter. Haha.
As writers, we can also benefit from having lists and that is the task today.
Grab your writers notebook and pick three of lists below. Make a list for each. Then, if you feel like doing so/are inspired, begin a story to include some of the things from your list. Begin with this first line – ‘I didn’t expect that to happen.’
List ideas:
What 10 things would you grab if your house was on fire?
Which five things could you never forgive?
List five of the worst presents you’ve ever received.
List five places you’d love to go on holiday.
List five situations you’d never like to find yourself in?
List five people who have had an influence on your life.
by Book Review: One Down by Diana Wilkinson
I am pleased to be welcoming Diana Wilkinson to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, One Down.
I’m not being paranoid! It’s all there in the crossword clues…in black and white. There’s no doubt the threat is real. Today, the answers spell out my murder.
May Third. Amanda. Silver Birch. Noontime. Assassination.
Is Nathan, my estranged crossword-setter husband, really planning to kill me? Or is it someone closer to home?
I check the door is bolted, slither to the ground, and count down the seconds to noon. There’s nothing left to do, and no one I can call. Who’d believe me anyway? The lady on the ground floor has already left the building, and my new boyfriend is on holiday. Or is he?
A tread of footsteps. A rap at the door, and I close my eyes, hold my breath…
*****
Completing the crossword puzzle is a part of Amanda’s daily routine, a thing she does to distract herself from temptation.
However, when she starts to see clues that are meant for her, anxiety and need for alcohol increases.
Is it her ex husband setting the clues? A man who blames her for a horrible accident? Whoever it is, they mean to cause paranoia or even worse, her death.
I was intrigued by this novel and so was pleased to be on the blog tour for One Down.
Having not read anything by Diana Wilkinson before, I didn’t fully know what to expect so was keen to get started.
by Book Club
