A Moment With Chris Whitaker: Five Books I Wish I’d Written
I’m happy to be welcoming Chris Whitaker to Novel Kicks today. His debut novel, Tall Oaks was released by twenty7 in April of this year with the paperback edition due to be released in September.
For fans of Twin Peaks and The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair, this brilliant debut is dark yet hilarious, suspenseful and sad. Everyone has a secret in Tall Oaks . .
When three-year-old Harry goes missing, the whole of America turns its attention to one small town. Everyone is eager to help. Everyone is a suspect.
Desperate mother Jess, whose grief is driving her to extreme measures. Newcomer Jared, with an easy charm and a string of broken hearts in his wake. Photographer Jerry, who’s determined to break away from his controlling mother once and for all. And, investigating them all, a police chief with a hidden obsession of his own . . .
Missing persons, secret identities and dangerous lies abound in a town as idiosyncratic as its inhabitants.
Chris joins us today to chat about the five books he wishes he’d written. Over to you, Chris…
The Body by Stephen King (part of the Different Seasons collection)
Probably better known by the name of the movie it inspired, Stand By Me, The Body is a coming-of-age masterpiece set in the town of Castle Rock, Maine in the summer of 1960. It’s told in the first person and narrated by Gordie Lachance, as he and his three friends set out to find a dead body located 40 miles away. It’s funny, sad and poignant. It was definitely an inspiration when it came to capturing the issues of bullying, friendship, and fitting in, that the teen characters of Manny, Abe, and Furat face in Tall Oaks.
by 
July’s Book Club: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Welcome to the Novel Kicks online book club.
We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.
The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.
For July, we’re reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
When Henry VIII tires of pretty young Mary Boleyn, her powerful family instructs her to promote her sister, Anne, as a replacement. But Anne Boleyn, newly returned from the French court, intelligent and spirited, doesn’t agree to be Henry’s mistress – only his wife. Pitting the king’s desperation for an heir against his powerful advisors – Wolsey, Cromwell and Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk – what Anne brings about will change the course of a country’s history.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Alien Question Time
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.
An alien invites you to dinner. You are told you can ask him/her five questions. Using dialogue, create those questions and then get the alien to answer them. What is the aliens reaction to your questions? Is the alien friendly?
by Latest Book Releases – 30th June 2016
It’s Thursday which means the release of some more fantastic titles.
Get Even by Martina Cole (Headline, 30th June 2016.)
Get Even is the latest from Martina Cole.
Playing grown-ups, the future is theirs for the taking.
Sharon Conway and Lenny Scott are childhood sweethearts. Everyone says they are too young, but nothing can keep them apart. Sharon doesn’t question Lenny’s business dealings and it isn’t long before his reputation as a hard man destined for the top means they are living the good life with their sons.
It leaves a stain on her heart for ever.
But one night Lenny doesn’t come home. It isn’t the first time he has gone AWOL. But it is his last. He is found murdered – beaten to death in an act of brutality that shocks even the police. And Sharon never knows why.
Old wounds will surface.
Now, twenty years later, Sharon is about to find out the truth. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Revenge is long overdue. The time has come to…
GET EVEN.
The Plumbery School of Comfort Food by Cathy Bramley (Corgi, 30th June 2016.)
This book was originally published as a four-part serial but it’s now the complete series in one book and it gets its release today. This book had me at its title.
Verity Bloom hasn’t been interested in cooking anything more complicated than the perfect fish finger sandwich, ever since she lost her best friend and baking companion two years ago.
But an opportunity to help a friend lands her right back in the heart of the kitchen. The Plumberry School of Comfort Food is due to open in a few weeks’ time and needs the kind of great ideas that only Verity could cook up. And with new friendships bubbling and a sprinkling of romance in the mix, Verity finally begins to feel like she’s home.
But when tragedy strikes at the very heart of the cookery school, can Verity find the magic ingredient for Plumberry while still writing her own recipe for happiness?
The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger (Harper, 30th June 2016.)
From the author of The Devil Wears Prada comes The Singles Game and with Wimbledon in full swing (see what I did there… I’ll get my coat), it is the perfect book for this time of year.
When Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Silver makes a pact with the devil, infamously brutal tennis coach Todd Feltner, she finds herself catapulted into a world of stylists, private parties and secret dates with Hollywood royalty.
Under Todd it’s no more good-girl attitude: he wants warrior princess Charlie all the way. After all, no-one ever won by being nice.
Celebrity mags and gossip blogs go wild for Charlie, chasing scandal as she jets around the globe. But as the warrior princess’s star rises, both on and off the court, it comes at a high price. Is the real Charlie Silver still inside?
Sweeping from Wimbledon to the Caribbean, from LA to mega yachts in the Med, The Singles Game is a brilliantly entertaining romp through a world where the stakes are high – and no-one plays by the rules.
by Competitions: June’s Blind Date With a Book Winner
It’s time to announce the winner of June’s Win a Blind Date With a Book competition.
It is very easy to judge a book by its cover. I know I do it. Our competition is one with a twist. It’s your chance to win a blind date with a book.
I didn’t reveal what the title was of this month’s book was nor did I reveal the cover. All I did reveal is that the themes include ‘Family, Mystery, Secrets and Sibling Relationships.’
Well done to Jessica Askew from Essex. I hope you enjoy your blind date and I will be in touch via e-mail shortly.
The new competition for July will be posted soon.
by Book Club
