My Life In Books Tag
I follow many book related people on You Tube. One of my favourite types of video to watch are the tags. In my perusal, I came across the ‘My Life in Books’ tag.
It looked fun so I thought I would answer the questions myself. If you fancy having a go too then I’d love to read your choices in the comments. Tags like these fascinate me as everyone will have various answers and rarely will two be the same. OK, so here we go.
Find a book on your shelf for each of your initials.
I wasn’t sure whether this meant titles of books or the author so as it is for fun, I have done both. My initials are LEP (Laura Elizabeth.) Looking at my shelf, I have Lisa Jewell (the L) with 31 Dream Street. I loved this book when I read it. It’s very romantic and whimsical and the cover is beautiful.
For the ‘E’ initial, I have Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. I adored this book when I first read it. The behaviour of the characters (Rachel, Dex and Darcy,) are bad and yet I had sympathy for all of them. If you’ve not read this book (and the sequel, something Blue,) then I totally recommend them.
For P, I have The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory. I have seen the movie but am yet to read the book. I love this era of history and I know that it may not be completely accurate but I still love it.
For the book titles with my initials, I have Landline by Rainbow Rowell (which I still need to read. So many books, so little time.)
E. A novel by Matt Beaumont. It’s written in the format of e-mails. If you’ve ever worked in an office, then this book will have you recognising many of the characters. I love it. It’s hilarious.
Finally, I have P.S, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. I love this book (the film was OK but the book had more charm.)
Count your age along your book shelf.
Which book is it? I had to count, cough, thirty-five steps. The book is Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. This was a book that I borrowed from my friend Michelle. I’ve not read it or returned it yet (sorry Michelle) but it’s been on my TBR list for a while. I’ve heard it’s similar to Event Horizon.
Book set in your city, state and county?
I am originally from Bournemouth and this was the question I am struggling most with as I couldn’t recall any books set in my county or town. Then I spotted A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke on my book shelf. A fantastic book that is partly set in Christchurch which is close enough to where I grew up. Another book I totally recommend.
by 
A Moment With… Beth Underdown
Beth Underdown’s debut novel, The Witchfinder’s Sister was released by Viking in March 2017.
Beth is with me today to talk about her approach to the research process and how important it is to find your own system. Over to you, Beth….
When I started my first novel, I didn’t have a clue what I was up to. I floundered about, making a start on this scene or that subplot, interspersing writing with what began as a fairly scatter-gun approach to research – one week a book of sermons, the next an illustrated herbal, the next a broad political survey of the whole century in which my story was set. As the book progressed, my approach to research changed, and became about looking for answers to specific questions the story had raised. But to start with, my research strategy might best have been described as random.
I like to think that now, starting my second novel, some of what I learned with the first one will save me a bit of time and heartache. I’m hoping, for instance, that I’ve sharpened my instinct for which scenes and which subplots will be needed in this next book – which should be developed, and which should be allowed to die quietly before they embarrass me any further.
But what hasn’t changed, I’m realising, is that scatter-gun approach to the first weeks of research. As it turns out, scatter-gun is what I need.
Last year, after finishing my first novel, I breathed a sigh of relief. Having made it through months of active writing, during which I’d been afraid to read other people’s fiction in case I lost a grip on the voice of my own narrator, suddenly I was free. I started to read some of the great fiction that was coming out at the time: The Essex Serpent. The North Water. His Bloody Project. I also got a teaching job, so I started to read and reread a bunch of classics, to help prepare my seminars: Madame Bovary. The Hound of the Baskervilles. The Talented Mr Ripley. But despite these literary riches, I felt a bit bereft, and I didn’t know why. I was reading everything (or as much of everything as I had hours in the day to accommodate). So why did it feel like something was missing?
What I wasn’t reading, I see now, were my scatter-gun books. My weird books. Books published in the sixties and since forgotten. Books consigned to the dustiest end of the library or the forsaken corner of a second-hand bookshop.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Look, You’re a Superhero
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 is We Could Be Superheroes.
When given some medication after giving blood, you develop a superpower. This superpower is not an ordinary super power. It is very easy for it to get misunderstood.
When you first discover you have this power, you’re in a public place. Write a story about what happens from a first person point of view.
by Book Review: I Heart Forever by Lindsey Kelk
Happy publication day Lindsey!
I am so happy and excited to be a part of the blog tour for her new novel, I Heart Forever which has been released today by HarperCollins.
The day her husband Alex picks up a backpack and goes travelling, Angela Clark promises to stay out of trouble and keep both Louboutins on the ground.
So when her best friend’s boyfriend confides in her, it can’t hurt to help him pick out a ring at Tiffany’s surely?
And when her fashion magazine announces major changes, being terminally late and arguing with your boss isn’t that bad, is it?
Then suddenly there’s another big secret Angela’s got to keep – and the man she loves is still thousands of miles away. As the wedding of the year looms, and Manhattan switches on its Christmas lights, Angela is going to need her friends by her side as her old life looks set to change forever.
First, I want to take a moment to bask in the glory of this beautiful cover. It’s giving me the festive feels. One of my favourite covers of the year for sure.
I have long been a fan of the I Heart series so the idea that this could be the last one (a rumour I am hoping isn’t true,) makes me very sad. If this is the last we are seeing of Angela though, I personally was quite satisfied with the ending. That’s all you’re getting from me though in relation to the end of the novel. I don’t want to give too much away.
It’s been so great to catch up with Angela Clark. She’s like that old friend you don’t see for a while but when you do you’re immediately picking up the conversation where it left off. It was also excellent to see the supporting cast too- Jenny, Alex and Erin.
Angela is a flawed, funny, wonderful heroine to which many people will identify with. A character I’ve loved and will miss.
I Heart Forever sees Angela in New York (one of my favourite cities FYI,) working at Gloss Magazine and seeing Alex, her husband go off travelling for a while. Add to this a whole load of changes at work and Angela has a lot on her plate. She then has to keep a secret that is going to change her life. Angela certainly faces many challenges in this novel.
Lindsey’s writing seems so effortless and has such great humour that it was so easy for me to lose a day to this book, which I pretty much did. I couldn’t put it down. It’s the seventh book in the series so it is advantageous to have read the previous novels. However, you can read it prior to the others if you can’t wait as enough background information is given.
by NK Chats To… e. lockhart
A huge massive hello to e. lockhart (Emily) who is joining me today. Her new novel, Genuine Fraud was released by Hot Key Books on 5th September.
About Genuine Fraud:
Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete.
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two.
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream,
superheroes, spies, and villains.
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.
Welcome to Novel Kicks. I am so excited to have you as our guest today. What is your typical writing day like?
Thanks for having me! I sit down to work around 8:30 in my home office. The cat sits with me. Then I fret and bleed and feel sick and feel impressed with myself and despair and have flashes of inspiration.
Your new book is called Genuine Fraud. What is the premise and what inspired it?
It’s about two young women who look enough alike to share a passport. It was inspired by various superhero origin stories, the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, Victorian orphan stories including Vanity Fair and Great Expectations, action hero movies and my desire to write a feminist antiheroine story. Its a story that’s in conversation with all of those. And it’s a tale told backwards.
What are the challenges of writing a young adult novel?
YA readers love their books passionately, and tolerate neither bulls—t nor boredom. That’s an exacting and super-responsive audience to have.
What elements do you feel are important?
I try to get the inside of my head onto the page in the shape of a story that will be entertaining and emotional to read. I try to offer my brain up to the reader.
How do you approach the editing process?
The editor pushes me to be my best self. She pushes really hard and I can’t say I enjoy it. I revise my books about twenty times. Maybe more.
What is your process like when starting a novel (from idea to final draft,) and has it changed since writing your first book?
With Genuine Fraud, because it is told backwards, I had to lay the plot out ahead of time. Then I wrote the book from the last chapter to the first — in reverse order to how people will experience it. But after that came the twenty revisions.
by Book Club
