Blog Tour: Win a copy of Campari for Breakfast by Sara Crowe
We’ve been so delighted to be part of the blog tour for Campari for Breakfast. To celebrate the paperback release of Sara Crowe’s debut novel, thanks to Sara and Transworld, we have two copies to give away.
How to enter:
Simply comment on this post by the closing date which is 23.59 on Tuesday 3rd February 2015. The two winners will then be chosen at random from the entrants and announced on the Novel Kicks blog on Wednesday 4th February 2015. UK only. Good Luck!
(The winner will also be notified via e-mail. We will use the address you provide when you enter the draw. Don’t worry, it’s safe with us. Also don’t forget to check your junk folder. I try to get the prizes to you as quickly as I can. In this instance, the prize is coming directly from Sara’s publisher so please allow up to 28 days for delivery. If you’ve not received your prize after this time, please contact us via the blog and not social media as there is a danger with social media that we may miss your message.)
About Campari For Breakfast:
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Blog Tour: Campari For Breakfast by Sara Crowe
We are very happy to be welcoming Sara Crowe back to Novel Kicks to celebrate the paperback release of her debut novel, Campari for Breakfast (which is released by Transworld tomorrow.) Sara has kindly shared an extract from her novel. Enjoy.
(Warning: some bad language.)
Sue
Sunday 4th January 1987
It was easy persuading Dad to let me leave. In my heart I’d hoped he would object, but since it would give him more time alone with Ivana, he didn’t. Persuading myself was easy too. Stay in Titford or go to Egham? Most of my friends are having gap years picking strawberries, living in communes, whereas I want to go straight into life with no gap, and earn good money doing it. And so Titford holds nothing for a girl of my ambition any more.
It’s an understandable and terrible fact that Dad’s taste has deserted him since we lost mum. I think he just got so lonely that anybody would do. He met Ivana at Titford golf club. She was playing a round with his boss and Dad was to take them to dinner. She’d really been after the boss, but settled for Dad’s attentions because the boss was a terrible lecture. I don’t know much about her, other than she comes from somewhere in Denmark. She just appeared out of nowhere like bad wind.
The only things I have to show for my life so far are a love of words and some interesting relatives, and mum always drilled me to make the best of what I’ve got. So in the end my decision has absolutely nothing to do with Dad or Ivana. Ultimately I think Green Place will be a good place to write.
by Review: Campari For Breakfast by Sara Crowe
Campari For Breakfast is the first novel for actress and author, Sara Crowe.
Sue is mourning the loss of her mother and is not happy that her father seems to be moving on so soon after her mother’s death. Estranged a little from him, she goes to live with her Aunt at Green Place in a home that is pretty much falling down around them. Sue begins to try and rebuild her life as she tries to find the truth about her mother. In the process, she discovers a lot about herself and the people closest to her. This book is told from the point of view of Sue in 1987 and of her Aunt Coral, in the form of journal entries starting from when she was a girl.
I have to admit, I didn’t know what to expect from this book when I read the blurb but from the first few pages, I was hooked and could not put it down. Sue is a wonderfully original voice who is trying to discover who she is. She wants to be a writer and her short story, snippets of which are featured occasionally through the book are very witty.
Sue is very innocent and naive at the beginning of her story but I found that she’d come into her own a bit by the end.
The supporting characters were a cross between wonderful Continue reading
by Review: The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom
I love Mitch Albom’s previous novels (he sits alongside Nicholas Sparks in the ‘authors who succeed in making me cry’category.) The Five People You Meet in Heaven would easily make my top ten. As a result, there was a high expectation for this book (first impressions – I loved the cover.)
It focuses mainly on three people: A young girl (Sarah) who wants to stop time forever. An older man (Victor) who wants to do all he can to extend his time and finally Dor, the time-keeper, who becomes obsessed with measuring time and eventually becomes Father Time. He is sent on a journey to find Sarah and Victor in order to be able to complete his mission and escape the prison he has found himself in.
This book is only 256 pages and so I read it over the course of twenty-four hours. The chapters are short which for me makes it very easy to read. Mitch has a very relaxed style to his writing that I love and therefore I find that the themes he covers are easier to digest as a result.
by Novel Kicks attends An Audience With David Nicholls
I was very excited to hear that David Nichols was returning to his home town to host ‘An audience with.’ I was very fortunate to be able to attend this recent event at The Point in Eastleigh, Hampshire (In association with Eastleigh Library 25th Anniversary events.)
When we arrived, we promptly found our seats in the main auditorium. I have to admit, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I had never been to The Point before despite having lived near Eastleigh for nearly two years. I have quickly become a fan of the venue. It’s big enough to not feel cramped and small enough that I didn’t feel a million miles from the stage area where two chairs and a table had been placed in the middle.
To begin with, David talked about how Libraries play a huge part for him and how he will often find himself writing in the British Library as well as the London Library. He then chatted about his time in theatre and how through working there he found his love of words.
by Book Club
