Novel Kicks Book Club: Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
Hello October.
This month is my favourite for many reasons and not just because it’s when I have my birthday. There is something about October. It’s Autumn and Halloween all in one and, it’s a chance to rewatch shows like The Gilmore Girls, have hot chocolates and best of all, pull out the autumn themed novels.
So, I have chosen Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood as the book club pick for this month.
Even the cover has me wanting to grab a cup of tea, chocolate, a warm blanket and a comfy chair whilst I disappear into this novel.
Anyone is welcome to take part in our book club, whether you’ve already read it and want to talk about it or if, like me, you’ll be jumping in during this month.
I’ve posted a question below to kick start the discussion. I look forward to seeing you there.
About Rewitched –
IT’S TIME TO REDISCOVER HER MAGIC . . .
Belladonna Blackthorn hasn’t lost her magical spark, but she hasn’t seen it in a while either. Balancing work at her beloved London bookshop, Lunar Books, with handling her toxic boss and concealing her witchcraft from those around her – Belle is burnt out. Perfecting the potential of her magic is the last thing on her mind.
by 
NK Chats To… Helga Jensen
Hi Helga. Thank you so much for inviting Novel Kicks onto the blog tour for A New Life in Amsterdam. What’s your writing process like? Do you plan much?
Firstly, I think of a fabulous location and then work from there. For example, my latest book is set in Amsterdam. From there I will think of all the things that the place offers and work out a story. Naturally, A New Life in Amsterdam just had to be about a canal boat as I pictured what life would be like living on the canals of Amsterdam. Then I usually think about the characters and jot down the pivotal moments on a huge poster. From there, I just start writing. I am definitely not a planner as I start off with a seed of an idea and I literally let my characters take me on their journey as I write. I love working this way as I think if I planned anything I would be too focused on keeping to that story and it wouldn’t be natural.
Out of all the books you’ve read, which have had the most impact on you?
Oh, that’s a really good question. I always remember reading two books by Jane Green back in the early 90s. Mr Maybe and Jemima J. They appealed to me at that age and made me want to write something similar. I grew up with Jane Green and Sophie Kinsella books and I can safely say that both writers made a huge impact on me as I dreamed of being just like them.
Do you have any writing rituals? Do you prefer to work in silence?
I need complete silence. I can’t even take a laptop to a coffee shop somewhere. I have to be in my study, door closed, and nothing but silence. Any disturbance will send me off track and I will lose that line in my head. I love the idea that writers can work with music and churn out a best-seller but, for me, silence is golden!
by Book Extract: Kalahari Passage by Candi Miller
I’m pleased to be welcoming Candi Miller back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Kalahari Passage: Koba book 2
Koba and Mannie have been in jail. Their crime, loving each other across the Apartheid colour bar in southern Africa. Koba escapes her captors and using her bush skills, finds her way across the semi-desert to her former tribal home. But adapting to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle after a decade away, has challenges. And her mortal enemy is on her trail.
Meanwhile Mannie absconds during his parole and sets off on a sub-continental road trip to find his beloved Koba. But will his new comrades persuade him to join them across the border for training in deadly guerrilla warfare? And what will that mean for his future with Koba?
Under tragic circumstances the lovers meet, but the danger they are in means they face heart-breaking choices.
Kalahari Passage is an action-packed story of a search for identity and love. Readers will be spellbound by Koba’s world where an ancient culture dances, trances and lives in harmony with the land.
Candi has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
Koba, an indigenous Ju|’hoan girl, has found safety her among her people, making friends with |Kuni and her musician husband, Bo Fingers. Koba decides to decamp with them to avoid her stalker, the man she calls Lion. She has suitors too, unwanted. Koba is secretly in love with Mannie, Frog-boy, a young white man from whom she was separated by the government.
In italics is the interior dialogue Koba has with her conscience, aka Insect. (A bit like Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, but bawdy.)
Something had been decided in the group. Everyone except ∥’Aoka Sour, looked content. Gaps began to appear in the circle as people rose and said goodnight.
Koba grew uneasy, nervous as a wildebeest that finds itself in a thinning herd. She scanned the remaining faces for clues and started when another large log was thrown into the fire. All the cooking is done, people go to their sleeping mat; why the wood-wasting? she wondered, until it occurred to her that a decision had been made to leave the area.
She gazed up at the night sky again, calculating her options. The Big Rain will have washed away my footprints, but Lion won’t give up easily. Better to hide in the herd, although I seem to get many unspoken looks in this noisy place.
Use your intelligence, Bushgirl. There are few marriageable women in the group. That is why you are eaten by eyes.
by Book Review: The Silver Tide by J.H.Mann
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming J.H.Mann back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, The Silver Tide.
Cornwall, 1863. On a windswept beach, Maggie Pascoe watches in horror as her family is lost to the sea. Her father and three brothers are among dozens of fishermen from the town of St Branok who perish in a summer storm.
Destitute and alone, she finds comfort in her friendship with widow Norah Bray, whose young son also drowned in the disaster.
But the tragedy was no accident. As Maggie battles to uncover the truth, she hides a devastating secret – one that could destroy her bond with Norah forever.
Inspired by a true story, The Silver Tide is a powerful tale of love, betrayal and one woman’s courageous fight for justice.
*****
When an unexpected summer storm devastates the town of St Branok, Maggie loses everything when the sea claims her father and three brothers. She finds comfort in the company of her friend, Norah whose own son also died.
As time passes, something isn’t adding up for Maggie. As she begins to investigate the tragedy, she meets opposition at nearly every turn.
Can she find out what happened whilst keeping herself safe? Can she keep a secret from Norah that threatens to tear their friendship apart?
Having previously enjoyed The Echoing Shore, I was eager to return to St Branok and the latest book in the Wild Cornwall series.
If The Silver Tide is your introduction to this set of books, it can be read as a standalone. I do recommend the previous novels. They are excellent.
The author wastes no time in pulling the reader right into the action whilst setting a heart-breaking scene. I felt like I was there, willing them to stay on land, knowing what awaited them on the water.
by Book Review: The Gameshow by Alexander Raphael
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Alexander Raphael to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, The Gameshow.
In a waiting room hidden high away from everyone, six disgraced celebrities are desperate to recover their heavily tainted reputations. An incredibly controversial new gameshow is offering them a route back to the big time, along with a $7.2 million cash prize.
But with no consolation prizes and serious consequences every time someone loses out, will signing up prove their salvation or their downfall?
*****
In an attempt to rehabilitate their images, six celebrities agree to go on a brand new gameshow. If they win, they get millions, more fame and maybe a new start. If they fail, something worse awaits them. Standing between each of them and the prize are each other, mixed with pure luck. WIll they come out the other side unscathed or will they have to face what they fear most?
You know that moment when you read the blurb of a novel and you know immediately you are going to completely get pulled into the story before you even begin? That was the case with me and The Gameshow.
This novel features TV executive, Selina and six disgraced celebrities, Linda, Nate, Madison, Denzel, Yasmeen and Jed. All six have been cancelled in the eyes of the public and have nothing to lose and everything to gain when they sign up to a new gameshow. Between rounds, they are forced to live in one apartment and are completely cut off from the outside world – think Black Mirror and Big Brother crossed with a big splash of the I’m a Celebrity Bush Tucker Trials.
by Book Club
