Novel Kicks Chats To Amy Bird
Amy’s first book, Yours is Mine was released by Carina in 2013. We catch up with her to chat about her latest book, Three Steps Behind You (which was released in March of this year.) We talk about her book, her writing rituals and James McAvoy.
Hi Amy, can you tell us about Three Steps Behind You?
Three Steps Behind You is a twisting tale of toxic friendship, psychopathic fixation and author identity. Set in North London and Soho, it tells of Dan, a crime writer who believes he has to experience everything in order to write about it. Method writing, if you will. But underlying Dan’s writing is the obsessional need to get closer to childhood friend, Adam, and Adam’s wife, Nicole. And he’ll keep trying until he achieves it – however brutal the method. The book is all first person through the eyes of Dan, so you really enter into his psychotic little world.
What attracted you to the psychological thriller genre?
I’m a big fan of Hitchcock, who is a real master of the psychological thriller on-screen. There is such technical skill in keeping an audience hooked, even as they feel uneasy, and I wanted to have a go myself. It’s also fun as a writer to create the very intense worlds that a thriller needs. You really immerse yourself in the world of your characters and the style of the genre. For Three Steps Behind You, I wrote my first draft in three months, which was a delightfully claustrophobic experience. Hopefully the reader then shares in some of that intensity.
Do you have any writing rituals?
I try to keep those to a minimum because I think they can be an excuse for not writing unless the ritual is complete – which would mean you couldn’t snatch small bits of time here and there to write. When I’m having a day devoted to writing, though, I generally go for a walk before I write, to wake my brain up, and remind myself about the outside world. Then as soon as possible after I return, I’ll draw back the curtains in my study, fire up my laptop, take off my watch, and start to write.
by 
Share a Puffin Book – Charlotte’s Web
This summer Puffin are bringing a series of timeless and unforgettable stories to life for a new generation of readers to discover as A Puffin Book – including Goodnight Mister Tom, Charlotte’s Web, Watership Down and Tarka the Otter. The new editions feature beautiful new cover designs, including iconic cover images and new artwork, as well as additional content, such as material unearthed from the Puffin archive, activities inspired by the books (such as make your own origami Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat!), background information on the story, as well as quizzes, author profiles, fun facts and much more.
As part of this, Puffin are asking readers to choose their favourite story from twenty titles. It was not hard to pick my favourite. For me, it had to be Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.
I think I was about ten when I first read Charlotte’s Web. This book had such a large place in my childhood and it’s one that I’ve picked up to re-read many times. Recently, on hearing that my husband had never read this book, I insisted he did as for me, it’s one that needs to be read whatever age you are.
The characters are so relatable (even now as I read it as an adult.) Fern is the motherly figure, Charlotte is the best friend every person wishes they had. The animals were like a family. They are so likeable (even Templeton is redeemable,) and I think it was this element that pulled me into the story.
by Competitions: Win a copy of Liberty Silk by Kate Beaufoy.
Thanks to Kate and Transworld, we have three copies of Liberty Silk to give away.
To enter, comment on this post with your name and county by the closing date which is Thursday 17th July 2014 by 23.59. Three winners will then be chosen at random from the entries and announced on the Novel Kicks blog on Friday 18th July 2014. UK and Ireland only.
(Winners will also be emailed via the email they provide when entering the competition.)
Good luck.
About Liberty Silk:
One beautiful dress is the key to three brave women’s destinies.
France 1919: Jessie is celebrating the last heady days of her honeymoon. But when her husband suddenly disappears she finds herself bereft. Until a chance encounter thrusts her into the centre of the intoxicating world of Parisian high life.
Hollywood 1945: Lisa has come a long way from her quiet, unassuming life in London and is taking Hollywood by storm. But all that glitters is not gold, and as the smoke and mirrors of the lifestyle she so longed for shatter around her there are some secrets she can never escape.
London 1965: Cat, headstrong and independent, drawn to danger and passionately opposed to injustice, has no idea of the legacy that precedes her. Once past secrets are unveiled, she has the chance to find out what liberty really means…
An evocative story of survival, betrayal and the invincibility of love.
by Bella’s Scribblings – Character Building With Mr Potato Head…
Bella Osborne
I love Mr Potato Head – there I’ve said it out loud (this isn’t a pet name for my husband in case you were wondering). The character in Toy Story is exactly the way I would have expected that toy to be had it come to life. Believe it or not this is a column about writing, I know sometimes you have to get a shovel to dig it out but trust me I will get there eventually.
Anyway, Mr Potato Head, sadly my eight year old informs me that she is too big to play with him now and he can go to the charity shop. It is such a shame, he was a brilliant toy. We had hours of fun swapping over his assorted limbs and accessories. Thanks to Disney, Mr Potato Head now has a ridiculous amount of outfits and extras, he can be a king or a chef or even Mickey Mouse from Fantasia! In my day you had to use an actual potato and stick bits into it (yes I am that old, please stop sniggering).
Whilst playing with the modern version it struck me that building characters is very similar (see I told you there was a connection to writing, my sincerest thanks for bearing with me). He has a selection of different coloured eyes one of which is a scary frowny pair. Just like Mr PH a character’s features change when they are angry, they may have a particular way that their face contorts. Perhaps their face doesn’t change much, they may keep their emotions concealed. Perhaps they think that they conceal them well but there is a chink, a flicker of something that gives away their true feelings.
I had some feedback a while ago that my main characters were strong but that my supporting ones needed to be more rounded. I assumed that they didn’t mean just fatten them up with cake. So I pondered this for a while because I feel that the approach I use to make my main characters rounded is by exploring their emotional connections and the underlying reasons as to why they react the way they do in each situation I place them in. How they reveal themselves, their thoughts and feelings all helps to develop them for the reader. This is tricky to do with the supporting cast.
by No Mercy by John Burley – Competition Winners.
As part of of the Blog Tour for No Mercy, we had two copies of the book to give away thanks to John and Avon.
Well done to Carol Peace and Tracey Walsh who have both won a copy.
About the book:
The peaceful town of Wintersville is a place safe from the crime and congestion of city life, where neighbours feel like family. It’s the perfect place to live.
But when a teenager is discovered brutally murdered in the woods, it becomes clear that a psychopath is roaming the streets. Dr Ben Stevenson, the town’s medical examiner, and father of two young boys, becomes entangled in the hunt for the murderer, determined to keep his family safe.
But as Ben uncovers the dark secrets of his seemingly quiet community, he confronts a truth that will haunt him forever and puts those he loves in serious danger.
(No Mercy was released by Avon on 3rd July 2014 and is availalbe in paperback and e-book.)
by Book Club
