Blog Tour: Mile High by Rebecca Chance – Author Interview
I am very pleased to be welcoming author, Rebecca Chance to Novel Kicks today. Her novel, Mile High was released on 13th August 2015 by Pan.
First class is about to get dangerous . . . Pure Air’s new LuxeLiner is flying from London to LA – its inaugural journey – with a first-class cabin packed with A List celebrities. As the feuding crew compete to impress their famous passengers, the handsome pilot tries to win the attention of a pretty young stewardess.
But one VIP singer is battling something seriously sinister: watching her every step is a very determined stalker, someone who will go to any lengths to get the star to satisfy their desires. At thirty thousand feet there is nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide . . .
As part of her blog tour for her new novel Mile High, we got to chat with Rebecca.
Welcome Rebecca. Thank you so much for joining us. Your new book is called Mile High. Can you tell us a little about it and where the idea originated?
It’s a glamorous thriller set onboard a night flight from London to LA, on a very luxurious plane whose first class cabin is absolutely gorgeous! Because it’s a new route for the airline, there’s a whole gaggle of A-list celebrities aboard to publicise it – a beautiful singer who’s going through heartbreak, a very randy chef, an Oscar-nominated actress. And the airline boss too, who’s modelled on quite a famous one… But there’s also a stalker on board who’s determined to join the Mile High Club with the singer, so the tension builds all the way through to a very dramatic ending.
What planning did you undertake before beginning this book? Did you get any first hand accounts of what it is like to work as cabin crew?
OH yes! I have several flight attendant friends and they were fantastic at giving me advice and telling me all sorts of saucy behind-the-scenes stories! I sat down with them over drinks and listened for hours before I even started to outline as I wanted the book to be as accurate as possible.
What is your writing day like and where do you like to write? Do you have any writing rituals?
Get up around 9, have a very strong cappuccino, read through my Facebook and Twitter, read what I wrote the day before, tell myself I have to start writing before I turn on Judge Judy. Turn on Judge Judy….
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Blog Tour: Ally Hughes has Sex Sometimes by Jules Moulin – Review
Life is a juggling act for single mother Ally Hughes. Between the classes she teaches at the local university, a monster of a boss, a home that’s falling apart at the seams and a young daughter who doesn’t miss a trick, there isn’t time for anything else in Ally’s life. Especially romance.
Then she meets Jake, and for one incredible, mind-blowing weekend, anything seems possible. But timing is everything and as the weekend draws to a close, fate is not on Ally’s side.
Ten years later, and fate has Jake knocking at Ally’s front door. Now the one that got away is back, and Ally has some serious decision-making to do…
Is there such a thing as perfect timing? Or is love always a game of chance?
The premise for this book intrigued me so I was excited when asked to be a part of the blog tour for Ally Hughes has Sex Sometimes. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel but the title is brilliant. I love it. I feel that this book is exploring the idea that it is never too late to seek a happy ending. You just need to have the courage to take it.
It took a while for me to get into this novel but once I got into my stride, I found myself falling into it in a big way. I couldn’t stop reading. I got involved with the characters specifically Ally and Jake (I really liked them as a couple. Jake, even at twenty-one seemed a mature voice.) Ally is now in her forties. She has spent most of her time either raising her daughter or looking after her ailing mother. At the beginning of the novel, her daughter is now twenty and her mother has passed away and she finds herself at a point where she doesn’t know what to do – a situation many people find themselves in at some point in their lives. She can’t quite let go of the responsibilities that don’t exist anymore.
by Book Haul: Six Books with Beautiful Covers
I can’t believe we are almost in the middle of August already. Time is really flying. I thought it was time for another book haul. I’ve been sent or brought some great books over the last month and here are six of the ones I am looking forward to reading and six books where I love the covers.
All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (Penguin, 8th January 2015.)
I have heard so many good things about this book. It’s been recommended on You Tube as well as friends who have read it and said that it’s good. It’s a book I’ve been looking at for a while and so I brought it. The premise of it sounds interesting and relatable in that it deals with mental health. I am really interested and itching to read this book. The cover is pretty too. It’s due to be made into a film so I want to read it before it’s released.
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the ‘natural wonders’ of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself – a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. How far will Violet go to save the boy she has come to love?
by Blog Tour: Rembrandt’s Mirror by Kim Devereux
Kim Devereux
I’m very excited to be welcoming author, Kim Devereux to Novel Kicks. Her novel, Rembrandt’s Mirror was released on 6th August by Atlantic Books. As part of her blog tour to celebrate the release of her book, Kim talks to us about what drew her to write about Rembrandt and the challenges and research she faced. Over to you, Kim.
I remember seeing Rembrandt’s Self-portrait at the age of 63 in my early twenties. I remained standing in front of it in the National Gallery for a long time and tears came to my eyes. There is something so moving about Rembrandt’s relentless depiction of his own aging face and his steady gaze amidst the wrinkles and sagging flesh. All this he must have observed so carefully in a mirror. He has painted his own decay and yet it is somehow magnificent too, the pose full of dignity and strength.
Imagine what it must have felt like for Rembrandt to scrutinize his face for weeks or even months on end. This is how long it took to paint a large self-portrait. Throughout his lifetime he painted and drew himself at least seventy-seven times.
Who would take a selfie these days that highlights their own decrepitude and still manage to turn it into an absolute triumph? The late self-portraits do just that. I started to puzzled over the fact how, despite suffering heavy blows of fate towards the very end of his life, he still managed to paint breath-taking images full of love and beauty such as The Jewish Bride. It is this question – how he arrived at the late works – that drove me to write Rembrandt’s Mirror and what it would be like to see the world through his eyes. I feel he had an unconventional way of seeing. He was able to put pictorial conventions and prejudices to one side and see things afresh. I feel that he is able to home in on what it is that makes us human. He never objectifies anyone. You always get a sense of the person. He seems to empathize with his subject or he’s very good at painting a face in a way that makes us feel we can get a felt sense of the character on display.
by Blog Tour: The Hiding Place by John Burley – Review
We are happy to be welcoming back John Burley to Novel Kicks today and his blog tour for his novel, The Hiding Place. The e-book was released by Avon on 30th July 2015 with the paperback following on 27th August 2015. Here’s a little about the book:
Dr Lise Shields works alongside some of the most dangerous criminals in America. As a psychiatrist she goes further than many, trying to work out what motivates these depraved and deadly individuals. When she gets close to one patient, Jason, she realises that his story isn’t black and white, and perhaps they’ve got the wrong man. But in letting Jason in, and believing his story, Lise soon realises she has put herself in terrible danger as she uncovers secrets, lies and unanswered questions. Is Lise living on borrowed time? And when she reaches the point of no return – where will she hide?
The Hiding Place is set in a psychiatric hospital in the US which houses some of the most deadly prisoners in the country. It’s a dead-end where none of the patients ever leave as they are all guilty and incurable.
Dr Lise Shields works with some of the most difficult. One day a transfer patient arrives with no paperwork and no patient history. This patient, Jason Edwards, causes Lise to ask questions and seek answers to perceived injustices leading her further and further down the rabbit hole, into a web of concealed truths and covert observation.
Laura had read No Mercy, the previous novel by John Burley and had really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to reading The Hiding Place.
This book is a well written and throughly enjoyable psychological thriller. All the clues are there from the start but I didn’t see the end coming until a few pages from the end. It kept me turning the pages and drew me through the book, always tempting me on a page further. The mystery of the novel drew me in.
by Book Club
