Competitions: Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Winner
Bloomsbury, July 2017
The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is the indispensable book for writers and we have a copy of the 2018 edition to give away to one lucky winner.
Congratulations to Vicky from Worcestershire, who has won a copy of the current edition of The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. An e-mail is on its way to you.
The latest edition was published by Bloomsbury on 27th July and includes a foreword by David Lodge.
The yearbook has been helping writers get onto the publishing ladder for over 110 years.
The 2018 edition also includes some fantastic new content and has over 4,000 listings of contacts across media and the publishing world.
Eighty-two articles from fifty authors means that it is packed with advice, inspiration and practical guidance to navigate the publishing industry. Poets, screen and stage writers, novelists and journalists have contributed.
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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: A Forced Reality
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: You are picked at random to take part in a reality TV show that will be shown across the whole of the nation.
If you refuse, you will be put on trial and face a possible death sentence so you don’t have much choice but to take part.
You have to get past so many rounds and be the only one standing to win. Write a scene at a point in this story – the part that has appeals to you.
by NK Chats To…Martine McDonagh
Hi Martine. I am so pleased to be welcoming you to Novel Kicks today. Would you tell us a little about your book, Narcissism for Beginners and how the idea originated?
Hi Laura. Some years ago I became fascinated by extremely narcissistic characters and their modus operandi, particularly those who set themselves up as gurus and ‘spiritual’ leaders, and wanted to explore the effect they have on those people closest to them.
What’s your favourite word and why?
Ubiquitous. Hard to say why, it’s just a really satisfying word to say. There are very few words with that qu sound in the middle preceded and followed by the i sound, so maybe that’s it. Also, it makes you sound clever.
What’s your typical writing day like – do you have any writing rituals etc?
Unfortunately there’s no such thing as a typical writing day as my job takes up most of my time and I rarely stay in one place for longer than a week, so at the moment writing has to be done whenever and wherever I can fit it in. There’s always tea though, that’s a given, and sometimes coffee made with cream.
Did you plan much prior to writing your novel? Do you think it’s better to wait for a complete first draft before editing?
This novel has seven different narrative voices so I needed to do some planning to make sure I didn’t get into a complete muddle. I know not everyone does, but I always write a first draft in longhand from start to finish before I do any rewriting. I think it takes at least one draft to work out which story I actually want to tell.
What’s the best and most challenging thing about being a writer?
Well, the best and the most challenging are definitely not one and the same. The worst is trying to balance being a writer with earning a living; writing always seems to lose that particular fight in my experience.
But the best aspects of writing are almost endless. Writing presents an opportunity to always be learning something new, in terms of skill and technique of course, but also when it comes to researching new ideas and subjects you never even knew you were interested in. I love the start of a new project when you’re like a kitten chasing after balls of wool rolling off in all directions.
by Book Review: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Penguin, May 2015
Jane hasn’t lived anywhere for longer than six months since her son was born five years ago. She keeps moving in an attempt to escape her past. Now the idyllic coastal town of Pirriwee has pulled her to its shores and Jane feels as if she finally belongs. She finds friends in the feisty Madeline and the incredibly beautiful Celeste, two women with seemingly perfect lives – and their own secrets.
But at the start of a new term, an incident involving the children of all three women occurs in the playground, causing a rift between them and other parents. Minor at first but escalating fast, until the whispers and rumours become vicious and spiteful, and the truths blur into lies.
It was always going to end in tears, but no one thought it would end in murder . . .
I am a big fan of Liane’s novels but for some reason I didn’t read this novel until after the TV series came out which of course i couldn’t help myself and watched.
Normally, I can’t read a book after seeing an adaptation on the screen. However, this was not the case for this book.
From the moment I picked it up, I was hooked and I couldn’t stop reading.
It was good to see three main female characters. They are all very different and yet in some ways, similar. They are all hiding their own secrets and facing their own demons. They all become connected in a way they couldn’t imagine.
Celeste’s perfect life may not be as perfect as it seems. Madeline is never one to take anything lying down and is quite a positive person but even she isn’t completely happy. Jane is new to the area but there is a reason she’s there.
by Blog Tour: The One That Got Away by Annabel Kantaria
The One That Got Away is the latest novel by Annabel Kantaria. It’s due to be released by HQ in paperback and eBook tomorrow.
Everyone has one. An ex you still think about. The one who makes you ask ‘what if’?
Fifteen years have passed since Stella and George last saw each other. But something makes Stella click ‘yes’ to the invite to her school reunion.
There’s still a spark between them, and although their relationship ended badly, they begin an affair.
But once someone gets you back, sometimes they’re never going to let you go again…
Stella and George were a couple at school. However, when a big event occurs., George leaves and they end up not seeing one another for a few years.
The next time they do, it is at a school reunion. As soon as George sees Stella, all the old feelings come rushing back and they are soon having an affair.
Stella wants George back and she believes he wants the same thing.
This book is told from the point of view of both Stella and George so as I was reading, I did get a really good all round idea of what each of them felt and thought. It pulled me into the story very quickly. My allegiance switched between them many times throughout the novel. The narration and the plot really had me questioning what was going on pretty much all the time I was reading.
This meant that I couldn’t stop reading! Seriously, I was incredibly addicted to this book. It didn’t really leave my sight for the 24 hours that it took me to read it.
by Book Club
