Book Extract: The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook by Tessa Barrie
I’m so excited to be welcoming Tessa Barrie to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook.
The remote village of Didsbrook is thrown into turmoil after its best-known resident, the former actress turned best-selling novelist Jocelyn Robertshaw, is found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Villagers are appalled to learn that the charismatic Jocelyn died from Hemlock poisoning. Police claim she shot and ate a quail that had ingested hemlock. A theory disputed by all who knew her well. The animal-loving Jocelyn would never kill anything, but due to the lack of forensic evidence, police rule death by misadventure.
Jocelyn’s young protégée, Lucy Fothergill, determined to discover the truth about what happened to her mentor, discovers a hidden stash of Jocelyn’s notebooks, revealing jaw-dropping secrets from Jocelyn’s past. The impression Jocelyn gave the world that she lived a near-perfect life was an Academy Award-winning performance.
Believing the events from Jocelyn’s past may have led to her death forty-eight years later, Lucy begins to piece together the clues that lead to the truth.
The sleepy village of Didsbrook is about to wake up!
Tessa has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
In 2018, the renowned actress turned best-selling author Jocelyn Robertshaw was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the small village of Didsbrook, and her young protégée Lucy Fothergill is determined to uncover the truth about what really happened to her mentor.
An Introduction to the village of Didsbrook, written specifically for the opening reading at the launch on 27th July 2025
By twenty-first-century standards, the village of Didsbrook is remote. It nestles in the heart of the West Downs National Park, an area of exquisite natural beauty and home to a diverse range of indigenous wildlife, as well as hundreds of Friesian cows. It is more accessible on horseback than by road, and Mr Beeching axed its railway station in the 1960s.
The village is a magnet for those who value privacy and a slower pace of life, with the added charm of its historical significance and cultural richness. Although many assume it is a pastoral dead end, they would be mistaken. The inhabitants of Didsbrook represent an eclectic mix of retirees and creatives, often a combination of both. The village serves as a vibrant hub for actors, writers, and artists. Every morning, alongside the dawn chorus and the gentle lowing of cattle, the sounds of vocal warm-ups and the click-clacking of keyboards can be heard drifting on the breeze.
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Book Extract: The Next Breath by Laurel Osterkamp
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Laurel Osterkamp back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Next Breath.
Can you fall in love again while still holding onto the memory of someone you’ve lost?
Robin thought she’d done the hard work of moving on. A decade after her first love Jed died, she’s finally in a new relationship with Nick—a man who’s everything Jed wasn’t: stable, sincere, and ready for a future. But when Robin agrees to perform in the play Jed wrote for her before his death, she’s flooded with memories—and guilt. Jed’s ghost lingers in her dreams, encouraging her to move on, but her emotions keep pulling her backward.
Caught between two stories—one that ended in tragedy, the other still unfolding—Robin must confront her grief, her fears, and the secrets she’s been keeping from Nick.
The Next Breath is a deeply moving novel about love, theater, and the quiet strength it takes to face the future when your heart is still tied to the past.
Lauren has shared an extract from The Next Breath with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Jed stood on the porch, alternately breathing and coughing. He didn’t have a beer, just a bottle of water that rested against the railing. I stood next to him. “Hey. What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
“Too smoky in there. I need a break.”
“Yeah…” It was a cool night; fall was resigning to winter. Hugging myself, I pulled on the sleeves of my belted sweater, worn over a black t-shirt and stretch pants. My beatnik look.
“What’d you think of the play?”
He coughed so he could speak. “You were brilliant.”
“Right.”
“No, really.”
“I’m pretty much the scenery, Jed.”
He shook his head. “That’s not true. During Jacques’ ‘All the world’s a stage’ speech you have this great look on your face. I love how you respond to him.”
“Why?”
by Book Extract: Murder Most Wilde by Helen Golden
It’s so wonderful to be welcoming Helen Golden back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Murder Most Wilde.
In the world of amateur theatre, the drama isn’t all onstage…
Tragedy Strikes the Windstanton Players
Popular local actor, Noel Ashworth, who collapsed during the rehearsal of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, was pronounced dead at the scene. As shock ripples through Windstanton’s tight-knit amateur theatre group, the Fenshire Police are looking at them as suspects.
I can’t let Perry’s acting debut end in disaster! With the cast spooked and the local police under-resourced, Bea—along with Perry, Rich, Simon, and her trusty Westie, Daisy must shift through the cast’s petty jealousies and diva behaviour to unmask the killer before they strike again.
When the show must go on…will everyone make it to opening night?
Helen has shared an extract from Murder Most Wilde with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Perry Juke is excited to take on the part of Algernon in The Windstanton Player’s adaptation of The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde. As rehearsals begin in the village hall, Perry is settling into the role and looking forward to opening night. Four weeks before the preview they move to the Windstanton Theatre Royal for their rehearsal in the historic theatre and everyone seems a little nervous. For Perry it suddenly feels very real…
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Perry Juke’s chest tightened as he stepped onto the stage of the Windstanton Theatre Royal. The smell of dust and old wood enveloped him, and a thrill of excitement shot down his spine. He looked out towards the red velvet seats, then up at the glittering chandelier. This is it. I’m a real actor now.
Emily Shaw, the stage manager, clapped her hands. “Alright everyone, listen up! This is our first walk-through in the actual theatre. With four weeks to go before we open, I expect you all to be off-script. No excuses!”
Noel Ashworth raised his hand, a sickly sweet smile on his face. “But, Em, my dear,” he said in his best actor voice. “It’s only been a month since the first read-through. And I have the most lines of anyone, you know.”
by Book Extract: The Side Project by Laurel Osterkamp
I am delighted to be welcoming Laurel Osterkamp to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on her book, The Side Project.
For anyone who’s ever wondered “what if,” Laurel Osterkamp’s The Side Project is a deeply resonant story about second chances, unfinished business, and the redemptive power of storytelling.
Rylee once dreamed of moving to California and becoming a writer, but life had other plans. A decade later, she’s stuck in her Minnesota hometown, working odd jobs, caring for her teenage brother, and haunted by the incomplete novel her late father left behind. Carson was her high school love—the one who got away, or perhaps the one who ran. Now a single dad, he’s focused on providing for his daughter and avoiding the messiness of emotional entanglement. When the two are unexpectedly assigned as writing partners in a graduate workshop, a no-strings-attached collaboration emerges—but the emotional strings are impossible to ignore. With their final class approaching and unspoken truths threatening to break their fragile trust, Rylee and Carson must decide: will they keep editing their past, or finally write a new ending?
Laurel Osterkamp has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
I steel myself and step out of my car, determined to keep things businesslike today. The sight of Carson outside raking leaves, ruggedly adorable with Ferris running circles around his feet, does nothing to break my resolve. I tell myself: You’re here to work. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Hey, Rylee.” He grins, pushing up his sleeves. “You’re right in time to hold the leaf bag.”
I don’t have time to respond before a happy splash of black fur races past us, yipping and barking. I laugh, and Carson shakes his head, smiling as well.
“Ferris loves chasing leaves,” Carson says.
Ferris circles us. Running in the autumn wind, his mouth is full of fluttering colors and twigs.
I contemplate Carson’s leaf bag. “The hardest part is always getting in the first few handfuls of leaves. Did you know they have these cardboard insert thingies that keep the bag open?”
Carson holds his rake with one hand. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. My dad was excited when he discovered them at the hardware store. It used to be our thing, my dad and I, bagging leaves together.”
“Oh.” Carson’s mouth goes slack, and his eyes pool with sympathy. It’s like he backed over a bunny rabbit by accident. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up old memories.”
I wave off the awkwardness as if I’m shooing away bugs. “No worries. It won’t break me to hold the bag open, and I’ll even push down the leaves as you put them in.” My words come out in a rush. “Where should I put my computer?”
“I’ll put it inside. Do you also want me to take your purse?”
“Sure, thanks.” I hand him both.
He takes them through his front door as a gust of wind threatens to upend Carson’s carefully constructed leaf pile. I snatch up the rake, ready for battle. “You won’t escape me, bitches!” I yell at the flying leaves.
I look over to see Carson on his front stoop, watching my wild efforts like I’m a vaudeville spectacle he can’t quite believe. Embarrassed, I kick at the ground. “I didn’t want all your hard work ruined.”
by Book Extract: A Sister to Butterflies by Aaron Christopher Drown
It’s exciting to be welcoming Aaron Christopher Drown to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on his book, A Sister to Butterflies.
When a magical being from a hidden realm crosses into the human world, she makes a fateful mistake that binds her life to a human boy—and sets into motion a chain of events with devastating consequences. As the two grow up entwined by a love they don’t fully understand, their bond begins to tear at the seams of both their worlds. Now old and burdened by regret, she recounts their story to a mysterious child, revealing the truth behind a legend and the cost of the choices she made.
A Sister to Butterflies is a coming-of-age fantasy about love, sacrifice, and the deep, quiet magic of belief. Rich with emotion and mythic resonance, it explores what it means to belong—and what we lose when wonder fades.
Aaron Christopher Drown has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
This is not the first time you’ve heard this. Nor, I hope, will it be the last.
What’s amusing—or shameful, depending on how you come to see it—is how often I think I’ve sufficiently untangled my mind to tell my tale, yet still find myself uncertain where to begin. Part of me wishes not to have to begin at all since you’re too tiny to understand it anyhow. But the rest of me knows this is much more for my own benefit than yours—for the time being—and that as far as penance goes, what I’ve apportioned myself can hardly be considered severe.
So, for both our sakes, I’ll muddle through as best I can. Again.
The thing I always try to explain first, so that what I have to tell you makes any sense at all, is that there are indeed other worlds than this. A great many people take a great deal of comfort from believing that what they can reconcile with their eyes and ears constitutes the summation of existence. But I dearly hope you believe me when I say that creation is much too grand to contain but a single realm and a single way of being.
Some of these other worlds are far removed from here. Others press right up against this particular where and when but lie hidden—in the shade of a high hill, within the eddies of a brook, or even under one’s bed at a certain time of day. A drifting speck of dust flaring in a beam of afternoon sun might easily be the birth, life, and demise of an entire civilization.
by Book Club
