Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Accidental Mind Reader
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: Accidental Mind Reader.
On your way to a job interview, your character falls over and hits their head. They don’t think too much about it until the next morning.
They wake up and discover they can hear the thoughts of other humans and animals around them.
Write a conversation between your character and either another person or animal.
by 
Nk Chats To… Jo Johnson
Hi Jo, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, Surviving Her and what inspired it?
Surviving Her is a dual narrative domestic suspense that follows Nicky, a nine year old and Keziah, a twenty nine year old from the first day of their summer holidays.
The book explores the issue of emotional coercion, an issue that in my opinion is poorly understood and always demonised when explored in the media. I see many people in my clinics who have stumbled upon control as a strategy to soothe their inner distress. Like many addictions, the desire to control starts small but often grows until it is harmful and destructive for the perpetrator and victim.
What’s your typical writing day like?
Given my real life job is clinical psychology, I have to squeeze writing in the gaps. Sometimes I’m unable to write much for months but I scribble down notes and record voice notes when I have ideas to include in my novels.
What are the challenges you found when writing your novel?
Finding enough time. I find it hard to get back into the story if the gaps between writing splurges are too big.
Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?
Will, the main character from Jo Jo Moyes – “Me before You”. I loved that book and want to work with him as a psychologist so he doesn’t kill himself! I have a saviour complex!
What elements do you think make up a good psychological suspense novel?
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Micro Fiction
For today’s writing room, I thought we could write some micro fiction.
Short stories are deceptively hard to write, micro fictions even more so.
Pick three out of the following genres – gothic, romance, horror, sci-fi, historic, young adult.
Now, write a 6 word short story, a 50 word short story and a 100 word short story assigning one of the genres you’ve picked to each one.
For example, I’ve chosen gothic to the 6 word short story:
Midnight struck; she’s now lost forever.
Let me know how you get on in the comments below and as always, if you feel brave enough to post your work, I’d love to read it.
Have fun!
by Book Review: Daisy Does It Herself by Gracie Player
I am pleased to be welcoming Gracie Player to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Daisy Does it Herself.
Sometimes, the Last Place You Intended to Go is Exactly Where You Need to Be.
When 26-year-old Daisy’s life in London comes crashing down around her, the only thing she can think of is getting away – far away. That’s how she found herself stumbling off a train in England’s picturesque Peak District – 150 miles from home, with no idea why she’d gone there and even less idea how she intended to get home.
As Daisy explores the gorgeous village of Upper Finlay, she glimpses the possibility of a different life. The Derbyshire Dales offer up new friends, new opportunities, and a distractingly dishy object of attraction in the form of local bookstore owner Alex (and his bumbling Great Dane.) When Daisy discovers Alex’s business is in trouble she steps in to save the day.
But London’s Calling – literally. The life Daisy ran away from is calling her back. Why then, is she so reluctant to heed its call?
Daisy’s got a decision to make: Will she play it safe, and return to what she knew? Or is she brave enough to take a leap of faith and create a bold, new life for herself in the last place she’d ever expected?
Daisy Does it Herself is a sweet, uplifting romantic comedy about the power of self-confidence, friendship and of course love! Fans of warm and witty romantic comedies with a guaranteed happily-ever-after will be entranced.
*****
In one day, Daisy finds herself out of a job and out of a home. To make it worse, she walks in on her boyfriend kissing another woman. She leaves, just wanting to get away.
In her attempt to escape London, she finds herself on a train and eventually in Upper Finlay in Derbyshire.
Taken in by Alex, the handsome and friendly owner of the local bookshop, Daisy slowly starts to potentially see another life for herself. Will she go back to the familiar or jump into the unknown?
by A Moment With… Tony Bassett
I am pleased to be welcoming Tony Bassett to Novel Kicks. He’s here with the blog tour for his novel, Out For Revenge.
When notorious gangland boss Tadeusz Filipowski is released from prison, several people start looking over their shoulder.
A volatile character, not shy of picking fights, Filipowski plans to expand his drugs empire and put his competitors on a backfoot. That’s until he turns up dead. Very dead.
DS Sunita Roy of the Heart of England police is handed the case but it’s a challenge to find the killer of a man with so many enemies.
DCI Gavin Roscoe would lend more support but he is busy nailing down suspicions of corruption plaguing the force.
Soon, however, the investigations will bump into one another. And unless Roy and Roscoe can get to the bottom of the mystery, they could well become the next victims.
OUT FOR REVENGE is the fourth gripping standalone mystery in the Detectives Roy and Roscoe crime fiction series by Tony Bassett.
*****
Without further ado, it’s over to Tony to talk about his writing process when writing his crime series.
The days of the fictional English male detective bustling round quiet country villages solving murders are almost certainly numbered.
Books based on popular characters like Morse and Barnaby will, of course, always sell extremely well.
But writers new to the crime genre have to accept such characters may be a dying breed. This is why, in such a competitive market, anyone wishing to write crime novels with any chance of success has to be more inventive.
That explains why I chose for my series of crime novels set in the Midlands a female detective from a West Bengali background.
Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy is a twenty-five-year-old law graduate who has recently joined her Midlands CID department.
by Book Club
