Book Extract: A Not So Quiet Christmas by Suzie Tullett
Please help me welcome Suzie Tullett to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her festive novel, A Not So Quiet Christmas.
A solo getaway at an English country cottage is a pleasant way to spend the holiday—but it takes two to really make things merry . . .
Antonia prefers a quiet Christmas. She’s happy to spend it on her own, watching Hallmark holiday movies in her pyjamas, eating what she wants, when she wants.
Antonia’s friend Jules, on the other hand, loves a big Christmas celebration and plans on travelling to the Yorkshire Dales for a festive break. But when Jules breaks her leg, she persuades Antonia to make the trip on her behalf. Arriving at the little cottage, Antonia meets the handsome property agent Oliver. But she can’t escape the weird locals—or avoid embarrassing situations like mistaking a cow for a burglar.
As Christmas approaches, the attraction between Oliver and Antonia grows. She could choose to return to the bustling city and spend it alone. Or she could choose love and have a not so quiet Christmas . . .
Suzie has shared an extract with us today. Enjoy!
*****beginning of extract*****
Letting agent, Oliver Chase, offers to show confirmed city girl, Antonia, the local sights. He fails to mention that she’ll be seeing everything in one hit. From the top of a mountain…
Chapter Nine
With my cheek squashed against the icy rockface, I clung to the mountainside like a limpet as if my life depended on it. I didn’t know who or what howled the loudest – me or the swirling winds that whipped around my already contorted face. As the gusts threatened to rip me from what little security I had, flying without wings was not how I’d imagined my final moments. “Tell Jules I’m sorry for ruining her Christmas,” I said while I still had the chance, voice raised and mid-wail.
“I’m the one who’s sorry, Antonia,” Oliver said, calling up from the ledge below. “If I’d have known your legs weren’t long enough…”
“I know, I know. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing!”
“Are you sure you can’t go any higher? There can’t be much more than a metre left.”
“If I could, don’t you think I’d be up by now?” Peeling my cheek off the rock, I carefully glanced about me. Double checking all the nearby indents and protruding rocks, it was no good. They were all out of my reach. I tilted my chin and looked down to see Oliver’s concerned expression and Frank’s head poking out of the man’s rucksack. As tears rolled down my face, I couldn’t believe Oliver had suggested I go first. The other way around and he could have shimmied up with Frank, then reached down and yanked me the rest of the way.
by 
NK Chats To… Eliza J. Scott
Hi Eliza, thank you for joining me today and for inviting me onto your blog tour for A Cozy Countryside Christmas. Can you tell me about your book and what inspired it?
Well, without giving too much away, A Cosy Countryside Christmas centres around Ella Welford and Joss Campion. The couple were childhood best friends, until Joss left the village rather abruptly. When he returns, sparks fly but neither of them are keen to do anything about it. When they find themselves thrown together in an unexpected drama high on the snowy moor top… I’m afraid to say anything further would give too much away!
How long does it typically take you to write a book and what’s your process like?
It can take between three to four months per book. As for my writing process, I tend to start by drafting character profiles, jotting down as many details as possible. Then I set out a rough draft of the outline of the story so when I start to actually write it, I have an idea of the journey I’d like my protagonists to take. Having said that, I tend to let them take the lead and see what challenges they face on the way to their happy ending. I’m a mix of plotter and pantser – plotty pantser or pants plotter; I’m not sure which is applicable!
Which fictional world would you like to visit and why?
I loved The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe books when I was younger (actually, I still do), so I’d love to slip through the back of the wardrobe and visit Narnia. Can I be cheeky and name two? I’d love to have a wander around Enid Blyton’s Enchanted Wood too – and maybe have a quick scramble up the Faraway Tree.
Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?
by Book Extract: A Winter Wedding at Mistletoe Gate Farm by Helen J Rolfe
I am delighted to be welcoming Helen J Rolfe to Novel Kicks today. She’s here with her latest novel, A Winter Wedding at Mistletoe Gate Farm which has been published today.
It’s almost Christmas in Heritage Cove – the village tree is all lit-up, the bakery is full of festive treats, the tea rooms and waffle shack are welcoming locals inside out of the cold, and for some of the residents of the Cove, snow might not be the only thing they’re wishing for this year…
Tilly is overjoyed when an estranged relative comes to Heritage Cove wanting to make amends. But as she lets him in to her life and Tilly’s Bits ‘n’ Pieces – the shop she owns and loves – her friends aren’t so sure whether everything is quite as it seems.
Benjamin’s parents run Mistletoe Gate Farm, selling Christmas trees, wreaths and mistletoe. Benjamin has always thought his family was as firmly rooted in the ground as the rows of Norway Spruce and Fraser Firs. But when he finds a letter that rocks his world he realises he may not be able to do anything to prevent the changes coming their way.
Benjamin and Tilly have been falling for one another since the summer but will family complications put an abrupt stop to what is looking like a burgeoning romance?
With festive cheer weaving its way through the Cove as two local favourites plan their wedding, there’s more than one relationship that could receive a little Christmas magic…
Helen has shared an extract with us today. Enjoy as we head to Heritage Cove.
This extract is taken from a scene at Mistletoe Gate Farm as Benjamin thinks about Tilly and begins to worry about what is going on at home with his own family…
*****beginning of extract*****
He wandered over to the trees closest to where he was. These were the Nordmann firs in heights ranging from three to eleven feet. They were fatter at the bottom than some of the other varieties, with excellent needle retention. He reached out to touch the rounded needles of one and then another, and the one after that. Any of them could have a place in Tilly’s cottage – she’d be spoilt for choice. They’d all look spectacular with their dense foliage and deep, rich colour, and nothing beat that farm-fresh smell of citrusy pine that came with every tree. He wondered how she was getting on. She’d been flustered last night, unable to think straight when she’d got the call about the break-in at her parents’ house. She didn’t have the sturdiest of relationships with her mum and dad, by the sounds of it, and some people might have used that as a reason not to leap to attention in their hour of need, but not Tilly. She thought of others and put them first whenever she could. It was one of the things he loved and admired about her the most.
by Book Review: My Lucky Night by Olivia Spring
Romance Can Happen When You Least Expect It…
She hates Christmas. He’s about to change her mind…
Cassie isn’t a fan of Christmas. After a string of unlucky incidents during the festive season—including getting dumped—this year she decides to spend the day at home. Alone. No men. No complications.
But then her nightmare boss demands she track down this year’s most coveted Christmas gift—and the only person who can help is an annoyingly sexy Frenchman she’s just met.
Nicolas might look hot, but Cassie can tell he’s also arrogant, irritating and in love with himself. Exactly the kind of guy she hates. Plus, he’ll only help her find the gift if she helps him with something in return…
Could Cassie’s festive fortunes finally be about to change? Can she learn to love Christmas again? And will Cassie get lucky in more ways than one?
*****
Cassie isn’t a fan of Christmas. After a string of bad luck in previous years, she has decided that she’s spending the day at home, alone. No dinner, no tree. She’s simply ignoring Christmas.
When she literally bumps into a handsome French stranger, she dismisses him as rude. However, fate keeps pushing them together. She wonders if Christmas can be magic after all.
This is the second book in the ten-year crush series but can be read as a standalone. I didn’t feel like I was playing catch up at all.
Cassie is a wonderful character. She’s funny, flawed and real. She’s also had a lot happen to her so immediately, I wanted things to work out for her.
Nicolas is a lovely male lead. He’s a bit mysterious to start with and it was great to gradually learn more about him.
by A Moment With… Barry Kirwan
I am very pleased to be welcoming Barry Kirwan back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his latest novel, When The Children Return. This is the second book in the Children of the Eye series.
Ten years have passed since the Axleth invaded Earth and a few hundred humans escaped aboard the ship Athena, piloted by the Artificial Intelligence who calls himself Ares. Now, the refugees approach Earth, determined to take back their home. But something has followed them from deep in space, and as war breaks out on Earth, humanity must decide who is the real enemy.
I have reviewed the book below but first, Barry is here to share his writing process with us. Over to you, Barry.
My friends, family and colleagues all know I have a full-on day job, so the question they all ask, is when (the hell) I have time to write? I usually joke that I have a clone and a time machine, although I can’t quite recall which came first…
More seriously, I don’t sleep that much. You could call it insomnia, but I have no trouble falling asleep. It’s just that several times a week I wake up really early, like 3 or 4 in the morning. It’s actually a really great time to write, because nobody is emailing you, it’s dead quiet, and my mind is lucid, full of possibilities, whereas later in the day, frankly it’s knackered, and needs to veg out in front of Netflix or something. That early in the morning I’m writing in the kitchen, a cup of tea once an hour. If I have a good idea, I can’t type fast enough, and my tea goes cold…
Often I work in brasseries in the morning (e.g. from 7-9am), as I live just outside Paris, and the coffee is good, and the noise and bustle somehow stimulates my mind in a different way, maybe because I have to focus. I need to have the idea of the chapter, at least how it begins, and what’s at stake, before I can start. I never just start writing, hoping that somehow it will be good. It won’t be, not for me, it’ll be rubbish. So, I have to have the idea, a direction, and then I see where my fingers take me. I also need to have a sense of urgency, because I aim to write very pacey novels, and that is not just down to tricks; I have to feel that way when I’m writing.
I’m mean to my characters. A lot of crap happens to them. If they could meet me I person in the real, I don’t think I’d last long. But I do suffer with them, and can get quite emotional when I’m writing, which can be awkward when sitting in a busy brasserie, shedding a tear into my espresso macchiato. It’s rare I put tears on the page though, rather I leave it understated, and usually the reader gets it, and they feel it too when a character is having a really rough time, or gets killed off.
by Book Club
