NK Chats To… Julie Houston
Hi Julie. Thank you for joining me today. Can you tell us about The Way We Are Now and what inspired it?
The Way We Are Now is my seventeenth novel and published by Boldwood. Slightly different from my other books in that it is perhaps a bit more of a Saga rather than a Rom Com. Still hopefully humorous in places – Maggy, Anna’s Mum was a delight to write as she is so funny and full of Yorkshire grit – but concentrating on the passion in the book. I loved writing Anna and Theo’s passion for each other, as well as Anna’s passion for the underdog and women’s rights. The book was inspired by hearing, on the radio, that the 1984 Miners’ Strike was finally having a formal, independent statutory inquiry into the policing of the Battle of Orgreave.
Which scene do you find the hardest to write?
Any scene that gets me on to the good bit, if that makes sense!
What’s your favourite word and why?
Fertiliser! Can’t hear it or say it without compulsively saying “Fertiliser” in a broad Norfolk accent. (Sorry, was this what you wanted?? LOL!!)
NK: Perfect. LOL.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals like needing coffee, silence, a particular place to write?
I certainly need silence! I’m a lark and like to be at my desk by 8am. If I’m not in court or been called in to teach – both great distractions! – then I’ll aim for 2000 words. I’m a total pantser and never know what I’m going to write until I start. I don’t allow myself a coffee until I’ve done so many words, and then I can treat myself. Nothing like a coffee to get the brain cells going. I’ll break for a run or the gym – I started doing Yoga a year ago and now do 3-4 classes a week No idea if it’s doing me any good, but I like to show off my balancing to my 97-year-old mother-in-law! My writing is constantly interrupted by my prevaricating on Ancestry, eBay, Rightmove and Social Media as well as chatting to my writing friends on WhatsApp. I might go for a walk around 4pm – our 16-year-old dog died last year, and I miss having him with me – and I’ve usually finished by 5.30pm. Continue reading
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NK Chats To… Jack Jewers
Hi Jack. Thank you for joining me today. Can you tell us about your latest novel, Seething Lane and what inspired it?
Hi Laura, and thank you for asking! Seething Lane is the follow-up to my first novel, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, which imagines what the most famous diarist in English history did after he finished writing his diary. In my version of events, he becomes a reluctant investigator working for the crown. Seething Lane begins when a strange young man turns up at Pepys’s office asking for help. He turns the boy away – an act with far-reaching consequences, which he soon comes to regret. Events lead him from the backstreets of London to the glamorous world of the theatre, where he is tasked with catching a killer. It’s part-adventure, part-murder mystery, and the theatrical world around which the story swirls was partly inspired by my own childhood, as the son of two actors.
What drew you to the historical fiction genre and why this time, place and person in particular?
Samuel Pepys kept his diary for nearly a decade, between 1660 and 1669. He had a front row seat at some of the biggest events in English history, such as the Great Fire of London, and some of his writing makes for gripping reportage. It’s also indiscreet, tender, and often very funny. Then, in the summer of 1669, he just stopped. When I first read his diaries, I was shocked to discover that he actually lived for over 30 years after that, and the little bits we know about his later life hint at a man whose adventures were just getting started. How tantalising that he didn’t keep a diary during those times too. But what if he did? Sounds like a good idea for a book!
What are the challenges when writing a historical fiction novel? What has been the highlight?
by Novel Kicks Book Club: The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor
Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Book Club.
Hello September.
The beginning of the ‘ber’ months is upon us. Although I am shifting to Autumn in my head, we are due another heatwave here in the UK apparently. Whether the weather is giving us warmth or showing us rain, there is always an excuse to settle down with a book. I am hoping you’ll enjoy this month’s book club pick.
The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor.
I have long been a fan of this author but am yet to read this novel from 2022. I can’t wait to get started. It sounds amazing.
So, how does our book club work?
It’s fully online so there is no reason to move from the comfortable spot you find yourself in to read. You can also join the discussion at any time in the month – whether you’ve already read it or, like me, will be reading it for the first time. I have put a question in the comments below to start the conversation.
I look forward to talking about this book with you.
About The Guilty Couple –
by Book Review: The Devil’s Debt by Rae Devine
I am so happy to be welcoming Rae Devine to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Devil’s Debt.
The Devil’s Debt is Episode Five of The Seven Gates, a short, high-heat dark paranormal romance series of vengeance, obsession and underworld power, featuring ritualised dominance and morally black and grey demons.
Ruthless. Sacred. Beautifully inevitable.
In the quiet hours of the Underworld, even faith begins to falter.
Lucien Vale – recruiter, collector of broken souls and reluctant heavy hand of Hell – has been stripped of his immortality through an act of betrayal from someone he once loved. Yet still loyal and devoted to Hell’s Queen, he accompanies her to locate a fallen prince of the Church whose devotion has long since curdled into complacency.
A cardinal who has heard every confession.
Forgiven every sin.
And slowly stopped believing any of it matters.
Every path leads back to the Devil’s bride.
Bella Blackwood. Gatekeeper. Devourer of sin.
A woman who turns confession into spectacle and indulgence into judgment.
The cardinal receives Bella and Lucien at the abbey with indifference and wariness.
But in their presence he is faced with a new kind of ritual.
Temptation.
And a force designed to test the limits of his faith.
At the Gates, apathy risks becoming the most damning sin of all.
Desire awakens what indifference tried to bury.
And Hell collects its debts with patient precision.
These stories are sins – brief, potent and cumulative.
Each episode is designed to be devoured in one sitting.
Seven Gates. One descent.
For readers who crave gothic atmosphere, infernal courts and dangerously seductive power.
Read free with Kindle Unlimited.
⚠️ Contains explicit sexual content, power exchange, violence and dark religious imagery.
*****
Having been stripped of his immortality through a betrayal, Lucien accompanies Bella as they pay a visit to a priest who is struggling with his devotion.
by Book Review: The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop by Jill Steeples
I am so happy to be welcoming Jill Steeples back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her new book, The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop.
Isla Stewart has a glittering publishing career in London, but when she’s unexpectedly made redundant, she faces an uncertain future.
Licking her wounds, Isla heads home to the Cotswolds. Keeping her devastating redundancy a secret from her proud parents, she seeks refuge at Finch’s, the enchanting bookshop she worked in as a teenager. With the owners struggling with their health, Isla steps in to manage the shop hoping to convince them that the business has a future.
Isla likes nothing more than chatting to people about books, but her safe haven is soon disturbed when she comes face-to-face with her first love, Charlie Brace, made worse by the arrival of Guy Madley, the incredibly handsome property consultant who has advice for owners Jon and Miriam.
As Christmas approaches, Isla has decisions to make. Does her future lie in London or can a whole heap of books and a sprinkling of festive magic offer a life that she could never even have dreamed of?
*****
Isla’s life in London lays in ruins after being made redundant. She heads home to the Cotswolds defeated, not wanting to tell anyone her news. When she begins to help at the bookshop she spent much of her teenage years in, she starts to remember why she loved publishing and literature in the first place. Little by little, can books, a guy named Guy, and a cat called Heathcliff help bring some magic back into Isla’s life right in time for the festive season?
by Book Club
