Book Extract: The Unswitchable by Yoav Blum
I’m so excited to be welcoming Yoav Blum to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, The Unswitchable.
A world where identity can be borrowed, traded, or escaped creates an instantly intriguing premise in The Unswitchable by Yoav Blum. The contrast between universal shapeshifting and one man’s inability to change forms the center of a story shaped by danger, secrecy, and shifting trust.
In a society where identity has become fluid and interchangeable, the idea of being permanently anchored to one body carries unexpected consequences. The Unswitchable imagines a world transformed by the Switch-Bracelet—technology that allows people to step into new forms for convenience, ambition, or escape. Amid this culture of effortless reinvention, one person’s inability to switch turns into a dangerous anomaly. When a dying stranger occupying a temporary body delivers a message tied to a part of his life he never understood, the fragile distance he keeps from the world collapses. Assassins with ever-changing faces quickly descend, hunting for something he carries without knowing. With no way to hide inside another body and no certainty about who is approaching him at any moment, he must navigate a maze built on deception, borrowed identities, and shifting allegiances. His unchanging self—once isolating—becomes the only reliable constant in a chase that forces him to confront the truth of why he alone remains unswitchable.
Yoav has shared an extract from The Unswitchable with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
(Content: Violence)
*****beginning of extract*****
She took a deep breath, her eyes cast down toward the glass of water in her hands. The light of the setting sun snuck through the open window behind her, painting the back of her right shoulder.
I looked at her, trying again to decide whether to believe her story.
She shuddered. The air in the room suddenly felt different, or perhaps I just imagined it. When she lifted her eyes toward me, I saw something that wasn’t there a moment earlier. Urgency, panic, maybe.
“Dan?” she asked.
The tone of her voice changed. It was the tone people use when they want to say something important, or when they’re suffering from amnesia and have no idea who you are. I wagered on the former.
She moved toward me, abruptly, stepping into the light of the setting sun.
“Dan?” she asked again.
by 
Book Review: A Christmas Caroline by K.L. Crear
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming K.L. Crear to Novel Kicks and the blog blitz for her book, A Christmas Caroline.
Caroline’s got frugality down to a fine art. She can make a tin of soup stretch for days, considers “reduced to clear” her love language, and thinks Christmas is just a daft excuse for people to throw their money away on tinsel trimmed tat.
But Christmas Eve night takes a turn when her best mate, Marlene, drops in for a chat. Lovely, right? Except Marlene’s been dead for seven years and she’s got a message for Caroline, she will be visited by three spirits and if she doesn’t pay attention, her future’s looking bleaker than the contents of her fridge freezer.
Caroline’s convinced she’s having a hallucination. Ghosts? Surely not! But as the night goes on, she starts to wonder if she might just learn something worth more than her latest discount voucher. And for someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, this might be the wake-up call she didn’t see coming.
Move over Ebenezer! This modern, laugh-out-loud retelling of the Dickens classic has a new Scrooge in town. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella.
*****
Caroline is not a fan of Christmas. She’d much rather spend 25th December alone than spend any money and time with others. In fact, to be more accurate, she’s not a fan of people and spending money throughout the year either.
However, she’s about to be shown the errors of her ways by a very specific group. Can Caroline find merriment in the festive season and beyond?
Oh I do love a festive story and this one did not disappoint.
by Book Review: The Garden of Shared Stories by Clare Swatman
It’s so exciting to be welcoming Clare Swatman back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Garden of Shared Stories.
Emma is at an all-time low the day she meets Nick. She sits down in a quiet rose garden in her local park, and from nowhere a handsome man sits next to her and turns her world upside down.
Over the weeks, she and Nick meet regularly, always in the same place, always at the same time. They discover they have a lot in common – shared heartbreak, and shared dreams. They tell each other stories about the people they’ve lost – things they’ve never told anyone else. Bit by bit, they get to know each other, and fall in love.
But there’s a catch, because however much they have in common, they have one big thing keeping them apart… twenty years apart. Because when Nick is sitting in the garden it’s 1999 – two decades before Emma is there.
Emma never expected to fall in love again, but now she has, she’s not going to give up on it without a fight. But how do you turn something impossible into a happy ever after?
*****
Emma is mourning the loss of her husband, Greg whist Nick is trying to move on after the death of his wife, Dawn. Through a twist of fate, they both find themselves visiting the bandstand in the town gardens at the same time. Will they see where life takes them or will they be kept apart by a force stronger than fate?
I have been a fan of Clare Swatman’s books for a long time and never pass on an opportunity to jump onto one of her blog tours if I can and so, I couldn’t wait to get started on The Garden of Shared Stories.
I want to start by saying how pretty this cover is. Stunning.
OK, so down to the story. In one word, masterful.
The author wastes no time in tugging at the heartstrings and pulling the reader right into the story and taking hold, not letting go until the end.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: You Find Yourself Back At School
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing flash fiction prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Don’t edit, just write. Once you’re done, you’re welcome to share in the comments but there’s no obligation.
Today’s prompt: You Find Yourself Back At School.
After wishing they could go back to school and change the day where things started to go wrong but with the knowledge of life they’ve built in adulthood, your character wakes up and finds themselves in their old childhood bedroom. They are fifteen.
They go to school. Write about a school day in their life that changed everything – they are staring in the christmas show maybe? What do they do differently? Is there something that they misremebered?
Have fun.
by NK Chats To… Darryl Barkwill
Hi Darryl, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell us about your latest book, FC Farce and what inspired the idea?
Thanks Laura. FC Farce follows the mis-adventures of a lower league English football team. Initially known as Henlon Wanderers, the team is reluctantly inherited by Graham Farce.
After a series of mishaps, the club is forced to reform as FC Farce, which sets the tone for what lies ahead. Their debut season turns out to be a hilarious, ridiculous chaotic whirlwind, packing in just about everything that can go wrong at a football club. And at the centre of all the chaos is Graham, who is forced to try to restore the club’s reputation and ultimately save it from relegation.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals like needing silence, coffee etc?
With two young kids, I was often writing FC Farce quite late at night, it was the only time I could get peace and quiet. No huge rituals, but at times, when I was struggling for motivation, I would open a beer and try to let my mind open up a bit! Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t…
What’s your favourite word and why?
Win. Because all wins are good. Football team ‘wins’. Quick ‘wins’. Massive ‘wins’.
How do you approach the planning, research, writing and editing processes?
Planning wise, I tried to get a strong ending first and work towards that. The ending is what the reader will remember, so it has to be strong. In FC Farce’s case, the research mainly came from my own experiences of being a football fan. The events were unique but inspired by events I’ve found amusing.
I aimed to write around 500 words a day, enough to see progress but not make it too heavy. With the editing, being a new author, I sent the first draft to a beta reader to get some professional feedback. That gave me great tips on how to elevate my writing.
If you were compiling a playlist for FC Farce, which songs would you include?
by Book Club
