Blog Tour: Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent – Liz’s Approach to Writing
I am pleased to be welcoming Liz Nugent to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her new book, Lying in Wait.
‘My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.’
Lydia Fitzsimons lives in the perfect house with her adoring husband and beloved son. There is just one thing Lydia yearns for to make her perfect life complete, though the last thing she expects is that pursuing it will lead to murder. However, needs must – because nothing can stop this mother from getting what she wants …
I’ve reviewed the book below but first, Liz chats to us about her approach to writing psychological thrillers. Over to you, Liz….
I have always been interested in the psychology of killers. What makes them tick, how they deal with the horror of what they have done. Two books which were hugely influential were John Banville’s The Book of Evidence and Sebastian Faulks’ Engleby. Both were first person narratives about deeply flawed men.
I used to work on a TV soap opera and one day in a story meeting, we were discussing a character who had just killed somebody and I insisted that he must be extremely distressed and I said ‘You know the way when you dream you’ve murdered somebody and you wake up in the horrors?’ Everyone just stared at me and that was when I realised that I was the only one who had those nightmares. I kill people in my sleep!
In real life, I am a pacifist and actively avoid confrontation, so I’m not sure from where this murderous side of my psyche comes, but I hope it has given me an edge when writing from the point of view of murderers!
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Interview: Todd Lawton, Co-creator of Mobile Book App Litsy
Todd Lawton (left) & Jeff Leblanc (right) – Co-founders of Out of Print and creators of Litsy
Todd Lawton, along with best friend, Jeff Leblanc is the co-founder of Out of Print which has been selling literary themed merchandise to support reading initiatives for the past six years and has donated more than 1.7 million books to communities in need.
Recently, the pair launched their new app, Litsy (which is a social community app for readers.) I’ve been talking a look at the app and it’s brilliant. On it you can discuss books with other readers, review books and you can even add quotes from your favourite books. Todd has joined me today to talk about Litsy. Welcome Todd, can you tell me a little about Litsy, how it came about and how it works?
Before Litsy, I helped create Out of Print—a literary lifestyle brand that sells literary apparel and accessories. We started Out of Print because we felt there was bookish conversation to be had outside the solitude of reading. Why not wear your favorite titles and authors for everyone to see? It’s invites a special kind of dialogue. Another inspiration for us were bookstore shelf talkers, the “staff picks” signs with personal recommendations and anecdotes. We wanted to extend these conversations; we wanted more people, from anywhere in the world, to join the conversation. That’s when we created Litsy. On Litsy, users can share any book moment on the go, and other readers, not algorithms, are there to engage and recommend your next favorite titles.
It’s been downloaded in over 119 countries. In your opinion, what is it about that is making it so popular do you think?
I think users appreciate having one central place for all things book related. Rather than going to one platform to review, and then another to blurb, and then another place to write down a quote, and then another to post a picture, Litsy users can organize their reading stacks, post, and engage in the same place. There isn’t the noise of other content competing with the books—it’s only books.
by Competitions: The Choice on DVD Winners
It’s time to announce the winners of our competition. We had three DVD copies of the film adaptation of The Choice to give away.
Congratulations to Cheryl Hadfield, Alexandra Crisp and Martin Turner who were picked at random and have all won a copy. An e-mail from me will be on its way shortly (make sure to check your spam folder.)
When feisty medical student Gabby Holland (Teresa Palmer) moves in next door to perennial ladies’ man Travis Shaw (Benjamin Walker), it sends them both on a romantic journey neither ever dreamed possible. After a whirlwind courtship, Gabby and Travis wed and build a family together, making every decision hand-in-hand until one of them is forced to make the most important choice of their life alone. A poignant and life-affirming celebration of love, marriage and family that explores the most heart-wrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
(The Choice, adapted from the novel from Nicholas Sparks was released by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on 4th July 2016. It stars Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Maggie Grace, Tom Welling and Tom Wilkinson. Certificate: 12.)
by Blog Tour: Hungry For Love by Lucy Beresford – Review
Jax is about to cancel her wedding to Jonty. On the day. By text. A scrumptious celebration of survival for anyone who’s longed for love or felt unworthy of it, Hungry for Love will show you the importance of self-respect and that love can be found where you least expect it.
Jax is the daughter of Majella, famous British television chef and author of Food of Love, a best-selling cookery book due for re-issue. But if there s one thing Jax loathes more than her ex-fiancé, it’s cooking. So when her boss orders her to use the week she’d booked off for her honeymoon to attend a cookery course in Majorca, Jax fears her life cannot get any worse.
When tragedy strikes closer to home, Jax is forced to re-assess her relationship with food. As learning to cook inflames her desires, she must decide whether her plan post-Jonty to starve herself of men is such a great idea. Maybe there is a recipe for love out there, after all?
We meet Jax on the morning of her wedding. However, instead of it being the happiest day of her life, she’s about to cancel her wedding… by text.
Needless to say, she’s not in a happy place. She has support from her sister Caryl but not so much from her mother, famous TV chef, Majella.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Mirror Mirror…
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:
Your mirror begins to talk to you and tells you that you’re the fairest of them all. You believe it. It also says that it can grant wishes. You get a wish every day. All you have to do is say the words ‘mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?’
All is going well to begin with but then….
by Book Club
