Cover Reveal: The Talisman – Molly’s Story by Eliza J. Scott
Happy Monday all. I’ve got a cover reveal today… The Talisman – Molly’s Story by Eliza J. Scott.
Molly’s dream of taking over her childhood home at Withrin Hill Farm with husband Pip and their three children has finally come true. And, as they settle into the stunning Georgian farmhouse, with their plans to diversify into glamping nicely taking shape, the family couldn’t be happier.
But tragedy suddenly strikes, and Molly’s world is turned upside down.
Heartbroken and devastated, she struggles to face each day. True to form, her fiercely loyal best friends, Kitty and Violet, rally round offering love and support, but Molly doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to smile again. Until the day a tall, dark stranger with twinkly eyes arrives…
Follow Molly’s story in book 2 of the Life on the Moors Series set in Lytell Stangdale, a picture-perfect village in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors, where life is anything but quiet.
A heart-warming story of love, friendship and hope.
OK, so here comes the cover. Drum roll………
by 
NK Chats To: Jenni Keer
Hi Jenni, thank you for joining me today. Your novel is called The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker. Can you tell me about it and what inspired the story?
You are very welcome – it’s lovely to be here. Your virtual sofa is very comfy!
Hmm… how to sum up my book. I guess The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker is a heart-warming story with a variety of themes. I set out to write a romance but the book became so much more and, in a way, is two love stories; Lucy and George, but also Lucy and Brenda. It was the powerful intergenerational friendship between these two women and how they deal very differently with Brenda’s dementia diagnosis, that became the central theme. For the romance, I was initially inspired by a locket of my mother’s and my working title was Lucy’s Locket until it was picked up by the publisher. This mysterious piece of jewellery leads to lots of mishaps and comedy moments for Lucy but also makes her reassess her romantic options in life. It was a fun book to write.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you need coffee? Silence?
I weave my writing around part-time work, care for my mum and the hectic taxi service I appear to be running for my four teenage sons. My most productive times are during the school day – when the house is silent, and evenings – when it is not. I also work at the weekends when I can. I’ve developed a cunning strategy that involves wearing enormous headphones as a signal that I’m writing. If there is a lot of noise, I play music (I have a playlist of familiar songs so I’m not distracted by them) but I also cheat and pretend I’ve got music on so the boys leave me alone. It’s coffee during the day, and wine or tonic water at night – although the wine is only for weekends. Interestingly, some of the best comedy scenes have been wine-fuelled.
The other thing I do, to combat the isolation and to spur me on, is to meet up with my writing buddy, Clare Marchant, in our “virtual” office. It means we check in throughout the day with wordcounts and this accountability helps us both to focus. I do hate it when she leaves the virtual biscuit tin empty though…
Do you have a certain place you like to write?
I have an office – which is actually a desk in the corridor between the living room and the downstairs loo. I’m lucky to have this permanent space as a lot of writers work on the kitchen table or on their laps. It’s a total mess, like Lucy’s desk, but it’s mine. I have two screens set up (invaluable for editing) so it’s tricky for me to move. Research and planning I can do anywhere.
What’s your writing process like from planning to editing?
Planning – ha ha ha. You are funny. I am such a pantser and every time I begin a new novel I’m determined to plan. My second book for Avon (out next summer) was the first time I’d had to write a synopsis before writing the book and boy was that hard – but I did it. I’d like to get better at planning, but my brain doesn’t work that way and I’m what I like to call “an onion writer” – I write in layers. I get a rough first draft down and then I go over and over and over it, perfecting, editing, adding description etc. until I’m happy. Luckily, I love editing and always see it as an opportunity to make the story even better. Some of my best ideas come right at the end of the process and then I have to go back and weave it all in. I honestly don’t know how people plan.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Radio GaGa
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Radio Gaga.
Turn on the radio and make a note of the first three songs you hear.
These are now the three themes that will make up your story.
Combine them all together, including any characters mentioned in the song. So for example, you have to include Loretta if you hear Get Back by the Beatles.
by Book Extract: When Polly Met Olly by Zoe May
I am happy to be welcoming Zoe May to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her novel, When Polly Met Olly.
Polly might spend her days searching for eligible matches for her elite list of clients at her New York dating agency, but her own love life is starting to go up in smoke.
Even worse, she can’t stop thinking about the very person she’s meant to be setting her latest client up with… surely it can’t get any worse!
But then Polly bumps into oh-so-handsome Olly, who heads up a rival agency, and realizes that perhaps all really is fair in love and dating war…
I have reviewed the book below but first, Zoe and HQ have shared an extract today.
***** beginning of extract*****
Chapter One
Surely, I’m not qualified to be a matchmaker?!
You’d think getting a job at a dating agency might actually require you to have found love, or at least be good at dating, but apparently not. I’ve been single for three years and I haven’t had a date for six months, yet I’m pretty sure I’m nailing this interview.
‘So, what kind of message would you send Erica?’ Derek asks, handing me a print-out showing a dating profile of a pretty, tanned brunette. Derek is the boss of To the Moon & Back dating agency, although with his nicotine-stained teeth, lurid purple shirt stretching over his giant pot belly and cramped city office, he’s not exactly what I imagine when I think of Cupid.
What kind of message would I sent Erica? When Derek says ‘you’, he doesn’t mean me, as in Polly Wood. He means me pretending to be 34-year-old bachelor Andy Graham, because that’s what my job as a matchmaker would involve. While Andy, and the rest of the busy singletons on the agency’s books, are out earning the big bucks, too busy to trawl internet dating sites looking for love, I’ll be sitting here with Derek, firing off messages on their behalf in the hope of clinching dates. It’s a little morally questionable I suppose, since the women will be chatting to me beforehand, and will no doubt become enamoured with my witty repartee and effortless charm, but to be honest, I haven’t really given the moral side of it much thought. According to Derek, it’s what all dating agencies do, and anyway, ethics somehow stop being so important when you really need cash.
I try to put myself in the mindset of Andy, while thinking up a message for Erica. I only know about him from reading a form he’s supposedly filled in, which Derek gave me to study five minutes earlier. According to the form, Andy is an ex-army officer turned property surveyor. He grew up in a small town in Ohio where his family still reside. His younger brother, aged 31, has already settled down with a wife and three kids, and reading in between the lines, I get the impression that Andy feels he’s beginning to lag behind. He works long hours, reads Second World War history books in his spare time, enjoys visiting aviation museums and likes to play tennis at the weekends. Oh, and he has a penchant for Thai food.
by NK Chats To… Rachel Burge
Hello Rachel. Thank you for joining me today. Can you tell me a little about your debut novel, The Twisted Tree?
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
The story is about a girl called Martha who can tell things about people just by touching their clothes, as if their thoughts and emotions have been absorbed into the material. It started the day she fell from the tree at her grandma’s cabin in Norway. The day she became blind in one eye.
Determined to find out why she has this strange ability, Martha returns to Norway, hoping that her grandma can give her answers. But when she gets there, she finds her grandma is dead and a peculiar boy is hiding out in her cabin. From then on, things start to get spooky!
What inspired you to write it?
The book is based on Norse mythology, in particular the story of Odin hanging from the world tree, Yggdrasil, and finding the runes in the well.
As I began to research the myths, I came across the Norns, three mythical women who dwell in Yggdrasil and weave fate. In Viking culture, magic was the preserve of women and associated with their work, predominantly spinning and weaving. Odin’s wife Frigg was a practitioner of magic and a weaver (of clouds), and is often depicted at a spinning wheel.
Putting the two ideas together – weaving cloth and magical ability, I came up with the idea of being able to tell things about people by touching their clothes. It was then a journey of discovery for me to figure out why my main character had this gift.
Which came first: character, theme, setting, etc?
I started out with the genre I wanted to write (a ghost story) and a theme that interested me (darkness) and brainstormed ideas from there. This led to me wanting to write about a blind/partially sighted character – which later happened to work beautifully with Norse mythology.
The story takes place in winter in the Lofoten Islands, when there is near-permanent darkness. The theme also influenced Martha’s character arc. She refuses to ‘see’ the truth about her mother and grandmother’s relationship, and her journey is about finding the courage to accept the darkness within her / the parts of herself that she doesn’t like.
The theme came first, but the story only clicked into place once I decided to use Norse myth.
What was your writing process like?
Once I was confident I had a ‘high concept’ idea and a strong character arc, I worked out a rough outline. That makes it sound like the process was straightforward, but I took numerous wrong turns and introduced and abandoned many story elements along the way.
How do you work: music or silence?
I prefer to write to music, or if there’s a really great storm outside, the howl of the wind.
There were a few pieces of music I listened to on a loop while writing The Twisted Tree, most of them by the Norwegian band Wardruna. If I’m working on a particularly scary scene, I will listen to a horror movie soundtrack and also light candles and burn incense – which has the added advantage of warning everyone in the house not to disturb me!
by Book Review: The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding
A land under occupation. A legendary sword. A young man’s journey to find his destiny.
Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He’s never questioned it; that’s just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend Cade are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they drop. Unless they can somehow break free . . .
But what lies beyond the prison walls is more terrifying still. Rescued by a man who hates him yet is oath-bound to protect him, pursued by inhuman forces, Aren slowly accepts that everything he knew about his world was a lie. The rules are not there to protect him, or his people, but to enslave them. A revolution is brewing, and Aren is being drawn into it, whether he likes it or not.
The key to the revolution is the Ember Blade. The sword of kings, the Excalibur of his people. Only with the Ember Blade in hand can their people be inspired to rise up . . . but it’s locked in an impenetrable vault in the most heavily guarded fortress in the land.
All they have to do now is steal it . . .
Set in fantasy world with echoes of our own, The Ember Blade is part of the Darkwater Legacy and is one of the most enjoyable pieces of fantasy writing I have had the pleasure to read in some time. The story centres around Aren, a young man living in a country under occupation.
Raised to believe that the occupiers, the Krodans, are superior and that he should emulate them, he is in for a rude awakening when his Father’s past catches up with him.
He finds himself with a band of rebels seeking to regain control of their country’s most sacred relic; The Ember Blade.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Showing and Telling
Today in the writing room, I wanted to look at showing and telling.
As I am trying to write my first novel, I am finding out the hard way that it is very easy to tell and not show. It’s a very quick trap to fall into.
Convert the following sentences into something that is showing action rather than just telling.
She felt tired.
He came home drunk.
He loved her.
They hated each other.
by
Hi Peter, thank you for joining me on Novel Kicks. When did you start writing?
I have been writing since I was seven years old – my original ambition was to be a scriptwriter. I find the world we live in very interesting and I enjoy observing human behaviour, and that’s really my approach. I’m constantly taking note of what’s happening around me as you never know where you might find inspiration for a character or piece of plot.
How did you get your big break?
My first ‘break’ was at age seventeen, when I won a national short story competition run by the BBC and got to read my story out on air. It was hugely exciting! However, my first professional writing job came along a few years later whilst I was living in Toronto and working on a children’s television series called Polka Dot Door. I was a gopher – it was my job to basically run errands. One day we were due to film an episode, but the writer hadn’t turned in the script. The producer asked if I could write one there and then, and I said ‘okay!’
How much research do you do for each novel?
My novels tend to be very research-driven. I first had the seed of an idea for Absolute Proof when I received a mysterious call from someone claiming to have proof of the existence of god – just like Ross does – thirty years ago. In the decades that followed I did a great deal of research, ranging from speaking to religious leaders about the consequences absolute proof would have for believers, to living as a monk for five days in the extraordinary monastic commune of Mount Athos. It’s been an extraordinary journey!
Who inspires you?
When I was 14, I read Graeme Greene’s Brighton Rock, and it totally changed my life. It’s the book that made me realise I wanted to be a writer, and also the reason that my Roy Grace series is based in Brighton. Greene has a way of describing characters, in just a few sentences, which makes you feel you know them inside out, and his sense of “place” is almost palpable. Brighton Rock is for me an almost perfect novel. It has one of the most gripping opening lines ever written too – ‘Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to kill him.’
What advice would you give to new and aspiring writers?
Reading extensively and intelligently is the most important thing – read books that have done well in the genre you want to write in and analyse what you like about the author’s style. Once you’ve started writing, make time to write every single day. Find a comfortable number of words to do each day and stick to that number. I am comfortable with 1,000 words. For some it might be 500, 200 or even 2,000 – as long as you are consistent, the number doesn’t matter.
And you must love your characters – or no one else will!
by My Writing Ramblings: My Reading Goals for 2019
Happy New Year everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic New Year. 2019 has arrived. I will now spend at least the next month incorrectly writing 2018 instead of 2019.
I had a very lovely and quiet Christmas with family and friends. One of the things I love most around this time of year is that it’s an opportunity to start again; new challenges, new goals and a brand-new slate. I am in the middle of setting my new writing goals for the year and I endeavour to gain more ground with this than I did last year (I hope.)
One of the things that I did manage to do before midnight on 31st December was to finish my Goodreads reading challenge and believe me I did cut it fine. I think I had about an hour to go.
I like challenges like this because these days, with things like Netflix and the Internet, it’s very easy for me to slip into a routine where I will just sit and watch telly. Therefore things like the Goodreads challenge will mean I will decide to read a book rather than box set a TV series. I blame Netflix for my dry reading spells last year.
My challenge in 2018 was 52 books; roughly one a week. I felt that this was doable. However, it’s amazing how quickly life can get in the way and I realise that I did go little chunks of time without reading which is something that I want to change this year. Therefore, because I never learn, my target for this year is 54 books.
The good thing about the Goodreads challenge is that you can set your own goals.
by Novel Kicks Book Club: I Invited Her In by Adele Parks
HQ, Sept 2018
I am excited to be picking the first Novel Kicks book club for 2019 and it’s a great one (in my humble opinion.)
I have chosen ‘I Invited Her In’ by Adele Parks.
I am looking forward to discussing this book and I hope you join me in the comments below. You can take part from the comfort of your own armchair.
As usual, I have posted a question to kick things off.
About I Invited Her In:
‘I invited her in… and she took everything.’
When Mel hears from a long-lost friend in need of help, she doesn’t hesitate to invite her to stay. Mel and Abi were best friends back in the day, sharing the highs and lows of student life, until Mel’s unplanned pregnancy made her drop out of her studies.
Now, seventeen years later, Mel and Abi’s lives couldn’t be more different. Mel is happily married, having raised her son on her own before meeting her husband, Ben. Now they share gorgeous girls and have a chaotic but happy family home, with three children.
Abi, meanwhile, followed her lover to LA for a glamorous life of parties, celebrity and indulgence. Everything was perfect, until she discovered her partner had been cheating on her. Seventeen years wasted, and nothing to show for it. So what Abi needs now is a true friend to lean on, to share her grief over a glass of wine, and to have some time to heal. And what better place than Mel’s house, with her lovely kids, and supportive husband…
by
Hi Gila, thank you for joining me today. Your novel is called Passport Control. Can you tell me about it and what inspired the story?
Passport Control is a coming of age novel about a twenty year old Canadian girl who feels forced to leave the home she shares with her father and, in her desire for revenge, goes to the one place he’s kept a secret all of his life, his home country Israel. Other than odds and ends, she doesn’t know anything about his past life there.
She finds herself in a dormitory with a range of Israelis from Jewish to Arab and struggles to navigate her way through the politics and culture around her. Along the road she falls in love, encounters murder, and discovers a shocking family secret.
The story was originally a short story written in a creative writing class with author Steve Stern. It was inspired by my own experience coming to Haifa University around the same age as my heroine, Miriam Gil and similarly struggling to navigate my various roommates, who all came from different cultures and backgrounds. At least that was the initial kernel behind my twelve-page short story. It evolved over time into a father-daughter story, and a family betrayal story with a side order of romance.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you need coffee? Silence? Do you have a certain place you like to write?
I have five children between the ages of 11 and 20. So my writing day has evolved over time with the ages of my children.
In the early days, I used to type a lot one-handed while nursing and later had to be done by 1 p.m. when nursery school closed.
Now, I have a lot more quiet during the day–which is vital for me to write–and yes, rivers of coffee. I write in my converted bomb shelter adjacent to the front door, so my writing is punctuated all day with, “Mom, is there any food?” as the kids come and go and the snoring of my dog.
What’s your writing process like from planning to editing?
My writing process has changed a lot over the years. I am much more of a planner these days.
I try to write at least two sentences for each chapter that explain the point of each one. At a certain point, I just write and usually the first three or four chapters are the first to go later on as I “write myself into the story.” But not always. Each novel is its own journey.
I don’t wait for perfection if that’s what you mean. You just have to dive in.
What’s your favourite word and why?
My favorite word is balagan. That’s a Hebrew word with no single English translation.
It means mess, disorder, confusion but also problem and difficulty.
So, you could say, “today was a balagan,” or “my thoughts are a balagan” or “your room is a balagan!”
Try it! It’s a fun word to say.
Which song best describes you?
“Shout” by Tears for Fears.
What elements do you think make up a good novel?
Great novels are written by authors who excel at location in time and space.
If you feel as if you are really in Elizabethan England or in South Africa during Apartheid, or in downtown Toronto…you’ve got the elements of a great novel. I can’t think of a time when someone told me they loved a short story or novel and couldn’t tell me exactly where and when it was taking place.
Full disclosure: I teach an online Setting & Description course and I can’t believe how many new writers send me first drafts that take place Anywhere / Anytime. It’s not as intuitive as you might think.
by Book Extract: Wildflower Park: Build Me Up Buttercup by Bella Osborne
Happy New Year everyone.
It’s lovely to be welcoming back Bella Osborne to Novel Kicks (we’ve missed you,) and the blog tour for the first part in a four-part serial, Wildflower Park: Build Me Up Buttercup.
Life’s not always a walk in the park…Escape the everyday with Part One of a brand-new four-part serial from the author of Coming Home to Ottercombe Bay.
Anna thought she’d found The One… until he broke off their engagement exactly one year before their wedding day. Now faced with a different type of countdown, Anna moves into her own place on the edge of the gorgeous Wildflower Park, hoping that a bit of greenery and a fresh start will do her the world of good.
With a little help from her good friend Sophie, a no-nonsense rescue cat and an attractive new work colleague, Anna is doing well moving on with her life… until her ex fiancé is hired into her team at work. But that proves to be the least of her worries, because she’s been swept off her feet by someone she really shouldn’t be falling for…
As much as she needs a new beginning, can Anna overcome her the difficulties in her past that prevent her from moving forward?
I have reviewed the novel below but first, Bella and Avon have shared an extract from part one of Wildflower Park: Build me up Buttercup. Enjoy.
***** beginning of extract*****
Seven o’clock came and Anna checked her mobile. She wanted this to be over. She wanted Liam to come in, take his things and go with as little small talk as possible. She was moving on with her life and this was a key milestone along her journey. The knock on the door made her jump and she shook her head at her own silliness.
‘Hi,’ she said, opening the door. Liam appeared relaxed and casual, the polar opposite of how she was feeling. ‘Come in.’
They walked through to the lounge and Anna pointed at the box of random items. ‘Here you go. I think that’s everything.’
‘This is nice,’ said Liam, having a good gawp around the room.
‘Thanks,’ said Anna. She wanted to pick the box up and thrust it at him but she wouldn’t be so rude.
‘So,’ said Liam, rubbing his hand across his chin. ‘Have you been okay?’
‘Yes, terrific, thanks.’ She said it too enthusiastically and Liam looked a little taken aback. Or was that hurt?
‘Oh, that’s good.’ He pursed his lips. Liam wasn’t paying attention; he was still inspecting the room and it annoyed her.
She wondered why he wasn’t just taking the box and leaving. He sat down on the sofa. Her sofa. Anna folded her arms. ‘Did you want a coffee or something?’ she asked out of politeness, which irritated her further. She was so British.
He smiled and she wondered why. ‘A coffee would be great – or something stronger. Have you still got the bottle of Châteauneuf you took?’
***** end of extract*****
by Book Extract and Giveaway: Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
A lovely Christmas welcome to Francesca Hornak and the blog tour for her latest novel, Seven Days of Us.
It’s Christmas, and the Birch family is gathering for the first time in years.
Olivia, the eldest daughter, has returned from treating an epidemic abroad and must go into quarantine for seven days. Her mother has decided it’s the perfect opportunity to spend some ‘special time’ together. Her youngest sister wholeheartedly disagrees. Her father isn’t allowed an opinion.
When no one can leave the house, seven days for the Birches feels like an eternity.
Especially when they’re all harbouring secrets. One of whom is about to come knocking at their door…
I have one copy of Seven Days of Us to give away (details on how to enter at the bottom of the post but first, Francesca has shared an extract with us today. Enjoy!
(Language warning.)
***** beginning of extract.*****
Prologue
17 November 2016
Olivia
Cape Beach, Monrovia, Liberia, 1.03 a.m.
. . .
Olivia knows what they are doing is stupid. If seen, they will be sent home – possibly to a tribunal. Never mind that to touch him could be life threatening. But who will see them? The beach is deserted and so dark she can just see a few feet into the inky sea. The only sound is the swooshing drag of the waves. She is acutely aware of the tiny gap between their elbows, as they walk down to the surf. She wants to say, ‘We shouldn’t do this,’ except they haven’t done anything. They still haven’t broken the No- Touch rule.
The evening had begun in the beach bar, with bottled beers and then heady rum and Cokes. They had sat under its corrugated iron roof for hours, a sputtering hurricane lamp between them, as the sky flared bronze. They had talked about going home for Christmas in five weeks, and how they both wanted to come back to Liberia. She told him about Abu, the little boy she had treated and then sobbed for on this beach the day he died. And then they’d talked about where they’d grown up, and gone to medical school, and their families. His home in Ireland sounded so unlike hers. He was the first to go to university, and to travel. She tried to explain how medicine represented a rebellion of sorts to her parents, and his eyes widened – as they had when she confessed to volunteering at Christmas, to avoid her family. She had noticed his eyes when they first met at the treatment centre – they were all you could see, after all, behind the visor. They were grey-green, like the sea in Norfolk, with such dark lashes he might have been wearing make-up. She kept looking at his hands, as he picked the label on his beer. Like hers, they were rough from being dunked in chlorine. She wanted to take one and turn it over in her palm.
By the time the bar closed the stars were out, spilt sugar across the sky. The night air was weightless against her bare arms. ‘Will we walk?’ said Sean, standing up. Usually she stood eye to eye with men, but he was a head taller than her. And then there was a second, lit by the hurricane lamp, when they looked straight at each other, and something swooped in her insides.
Now, ankle deep in the surf, their sides are nearly touching. Phosphorescence glimmers in the foam. She loses her footing as a wave breaks over their calves, and he turns so that she half-falls into him. His hands reach to steady her and then circle around her waist. She turns in his arms to face him, feeling his palms on the small of her back. The inches between his mouth and hers ache to be crossed. And as he lowers his head, and she feels his lips graze hers, she knows this is the stupidest thing she has ever done.
The Buffalo Hotel, Monrovia, Liberia, 2.50 p.m.
Sipping bottled water to quell her stomach (why did she have that last drink?), Olivia waits to Skype her family. It is strange to be in a hotel lobby, a little bastion of plumbing and wi-fi – though there is no air-con, just a fan to dispel the clingy heat. And even here there is a sense of danger, and caution. In the bathrooms are posters headed SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HAAG VIRUS, with little cartoons of people vomiting. The barman dropped her change into her palm without contact – guessing, rightly, that most white faces in Monrovia are here for the epidemic, to help with ‘Dis Haag Bisniss’. Another aid worker paces the lobby, talking loudly on an iPhone about ‘the crisis’ and ‘supplies’ and then hammering his MacBook Air with undue industry. He’s wearing a Haag Response T-shirt and expensive-looking sunglasses, and has a deep tan. He’s probably with one of the big NGOs, thinks Olivia. He doesn’t look like he’d ever brave the Haag Treatment Centre or a PPE suit – not like Sean. Last night keeps replaying in her mind. She can’t wait to see Sean on shift later, to savour the tension of No-Touch, of their nascent secret. Anticipation drowns out the voice telling her to stop, now, before it goes further. It’s too late to go back anyway.
Olivia realises she is daydreaming – it’s five past three and her family will be waiting. She puts the call through and suddenly, magically, there they are crammed onto her screen. She can see that they’re in the kitchen at Gloucester Terrace, and that they have propped a laptop up on the island. Perhaps it’s her hangover, but this little window onto Camden seems so unlikely as to be laughable. She looks past their faces to the duck-egg cupboards and gleaming coffee machine. It all looks absurdly clean and cosy.
Her mother, Emma, cranes towards the screen like a besotted fan, touching the glass as if Olivia herself might be just behind it. Perhaps she, too, can’t fathom how a little rectangle of Africa has appeared in her kitchen. Olivia’s father, Andrew, offers an awkward wave-salute, a brief smile replaced by narrowed eyes as he listens without speaking. He keeps pushing his silver mane back from his face (Olivia’s own face, in male form), frowning and nodding – but he is looking past her, at the Buffalo Hotel. Her mother’s large hazel eyes look slightly wild, as she fires off chirpy enquiries. She wants to know about the food, the weather, the showers, anything – it seems – to avoid hearing about Haag. There is a lag between her voice and lips, so that Olivia’s answers keep tripping over Emma’s next question.
Her sister Phoebe hovers behind their parents, holding Cocoa the cat like a shield. She is wearing layered vests that Olivia guesses are her gym look, showing off neat little biceps. At one point, she glances at her watch. Olivia tries to tell them about the cockerel that got into the most infectious ward and had to be stoned to death, but her mother is gabbling: ‘Have a word with Phoebs!’ and pushing Phoebe centre stage. ‘Hi,’ says Phoebe sweetly, smiling her wide, photogenic smile, and making Cocoa wave his paw.
Olivia can’t think of anything to say – she is too aware that she and her sister rarely speak on the phone. Then she remembers that Phoebe has just had her birthday (is she now twenty-eight or -nine? She must be twenty-nine because Olivia is thirty-two), but before she can apologise for not getting in touch, Phoebe’s face stretches into a grotesque swirl, like Munch’s Scream. ‘Olivia? Wivvy? Wiv?’ she hears her mother say, before the call cuts off completely. She tries to redial, but the connection is lost.
. 1 .
17 December 2016
Andrew
The Study, 34 Gloucester Terrace, Camden, 4.05 p.m.
. . .
Subject: copy 27th dec
From: Andrew Birch <andrew.birch@the-worldmag.co.uk>
Date: 17/12/2016 16:05
To: Croft, Ian <ian.croft@the-worldmag.co.uk>
Ian,
Copy below. If this one goes without me seeing a proof, I will be spitting blood.
Best, Andrew
- Do NOT give my ‘like’ the ‘such as’ treatment. It’s fucking infuriating.
PPS. It is houmous. Not hummus.
The Perch, Wingham, Berkshire
Food 3/5
Atmosphere 1/5
By the time you read this, my family and I will be under house arrest. Or, more accurately, Haag arrest. On the 23rd my daughter Olivia, a doctor and serial foreign-aid worker, will return from treating the Haag epidemic in Liberia – plunging us, her family, into a seven-day quarantine. For exactly one week we are to avoid all contact with the out- side world, and may only leave the house in an emergency. Should anyone make the mistake of breaking and entering, he or she will be obliged to stay with us, until our quaran- tine is up. Preparations are already underway for what has become known, in the Birch household, as Groundhaag Week. Waitrose and Amazon will deliver what may well be Britain’s most comprehensive Christmas shop. How many loo rolls does a family of four need over a week? Will 2 kg of porridge oats be sufficient? Should we finally get round to Spiral, or attempt The Missing? The Matriarch has been compiling reading lists, playlists, de-cluttering lists and wish lists, ahead of lockdown. Not being a clan that does things by halves, we are decamping from Camden to our house in deepest, darkest Norfolk, the better to appreciate our near- solitary confinement. Spare a thought for millennial Phoebe, who now faces a week of patchy wi-fi.
Of course, every Christmas is a quarantine of sorts. The out-of-office is set, shops lie dormant, and friends migrate to the miserable towns from whence they came. Bored spouses cringe at the other’s every cough (January is the divorce lawyer’s busy month – go figure). In this, the most wonderful time of the year, food is the saviour. It is food that oils the wheels between deaf aunt and mute teenager. It is food that fills the cracks between siblings with cinnamon-scented nostalgia. And it is food that gives the guilt-ridden mother purpose, reviving Christmases past with that holy trinity of turkey, gravy and cranberry. This is why restaurants shouldn’t attempt Christmas food. The very reason we go out, at this time of year, is to escape the suffocating vapour of roasting meat and maternal fretting. Abominations like bread sauce have no place on a menu.
The Perch, Wingham, has not cottoned onto this. Thus, it has chosen to herald its opening with an ‘alternative festive menu’ (again, nobody wants alternative Christmas food). Like all provincial gastropubs, its decor draws extensively on the houmous section of the Farrow & Ball colour chart. Service was smilingly haphazard. Bread with ‘Christmas spiced butter’ was good, and warm, though we could have done without the butter, which came in a sinister petri dish and was a worrying brown. We started with a plate of perfectly acceptable, richly peaty smoked salmon, the alternative element being provided by a forlorn sprig of rosemary. The Matriarch made the mistake of ordering lemon sole – a flap of briny irrelevance. My turkey curry was a curious puddle of yellow, cumin-heavy slop, whose purpose seemed to be to smuggle four stringy nuggets past the eater, incognito. We finished with an unremarkable cheese- board and mincemeat crème brûlée which The Matriarch declared tooth-achingly sweet, yet wolfed down nonetheless. Do not be disheartened, residents of Wingham. My hunch is that you, and your gilet-clad neighbours, will relish the chance to alternate your festive menu. We Birches must embrace a week of turkey sandwiches. Wish us luck
Andrew sat back and paused before sending the column to Ian Croft – his least favourite sub-editor at The World. The Perch hadn’t been bad, considering its location. It had actually been quite cosy, in a parochial sort of way. He might even have enjoyed the night in the chintzy room upstairs, with its trouser press and travel kettle, if he and Emma still enjoyed hotels in that way. He remembered the owners, an eager, perspiring couple, coming out to shake his hand and talk about ‘seasonality’ and their ‘ethos’, and considered modifying the lemon sole comment. Then he left it. People in Berkshire didn’t read The World. Anyway, all publicity, et cetera.
by Novel Kicks Gift Guide For Readers
The tree is up and decorated, Christmas lights have taken over my house and the Christmas novels and mugs have come out.
As my favourite time of year approaches, I, like everyone else am Christmas shopping. I want to continue my tradition of doing a ‘book lovers’ gift guide (a writing themed one will come later in the week.)
If you’re still looking for a gift for the bookworm in your life, I hope the suggestions below may prove to be the perfect present.
First of all, for anyone you know (or for yourself as it is Christmas gift buying law that you should buy a present for yourself,) that is a fan of Twilight. It’s been ten years since the first film was released and to mark this occasion, a 11 DVD box set has been released (or 6 discs if you prefer Bluray.)
The Twilight Complete Collection 10th Anniversary Special edition includes the four movies and their bonus content. It also includes an additional three hours of bonus content including ‘Twilight Tour: Ten years on’ which is a tour around the filming locations with a cast member. As well as this, there are cast interviews, a red carpet feature and a talk with Stephanie Meyer.
It is the perfect Christmas present for any Twilight fan.
(The Twilight Complete Collection 10th Anniversary Special edition is out now on DVD and Bluray.)
On
I had a chance to briefly visit the British Library recently. Having never been before, I absolutely fell in love with the building. Having a look at their shop online, they have many things that would make perfect gifts for readers.
One thing I did pick up on my visit was The Christmas Card Crime. It is a collection of stories that explores the darker side of the festive season (I love this cover too.)
Other products include homeware and stationery. Letters To My Future Self caught my eye. This is a great idea and would make a lovely stocking filler.
by
A few minutes of courage might change your life…
Emotionally, Tara Porter finds the festive period a challenge. Christmas Day is a reminder of the family she lost, and New Year’s Eve holds bitter memories of the biggest mistake of her life: marrying Garth Tewkesbury. Shunning invitations to celebrate, she seeks refuge in her flat with only her giant house bunny, Hercules, for company.
Professionally, though, it’s the best time of year. Tara’s thriving café, The Chocolate Pot, is always packed. With the café hosting a wedding and engagement party, it’s shaping up to be the café’s best Christmas ever.
When former nemesis, Jed Ferguson, threatens the future of The Chocolate Pot, Tara prepares for a fight. The café is everything to her and she’s not going to let anyone or anything jeopardise that.
Tara badly misjudged ex-husband Garth and, since then, has refused to let anyone in. After all, if you don’t let them in, they can’t hurt you. But has she misjudged Jed too? Is it possible that he’s not the arrogant, deceitful man from whom she bought the café 14 years earlier? Can she find the courage to find out for sure?
Tara runs a successful café and has done for the last fourteen years. However, she lives quite an isolated existence preferring to spend time alone with her house bunny, Hercules rather than socialising. She also has a complicated history surrounding her family and secrets she has preferred to keep hidden from people, even those she would call her friends.
These past events have caused her to be guarded but can she find the courage she needs to move on?
First… oh my, this book cover. I am totally in love. Immediately, before I’ve even started to read, I am in this Yorkshire town surrounded by snow and Christmas. With my husband being from Yorkshire, it brings back some lovely memories.
Tara is a wonderfully complex main character but she felt very real to me. I found her extremely relatable.
by Book Extract: I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas by CP Ward
I’m glad I found you this Christmas – an uplifting sweet romance set against the magical backdrop of Christmas.
Maggie Coates is frustrated. Her longterm boyfriend, Dirk, recently moved to London to take a job she fears puts him out of her league. Despite the assurances of her best friend Renee, Maggie is convinced Dirk is slowly drifting away. All Maggie wants is to get married and settle down, but maybe Dirk has other ideas.
Convinced by Renee to make one last throw of the dice, Maggie books a romantic holiday for two in the quaint Scottish village of Hollydell. But will Dirk show up?
And if he doesn’t, what if there is a perfect man waiting for her among the Christmas magic of Hollydell’s snow-laden streets? What if Henry, the humble reindeer farmer with the kind smile, turns out to be the man of Maggie’s dreams?
I’m glad I found you this Christmas is a glowing sweet romance which will leave you feeling warm inside and buzzing with Christmas spirit.
I am very pleased to welcome the blog tour for the first Christmas novel by CP Ward. He has shared an extract from I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas today. Enjoy.
***** start of extract*****
In this excerpt, Maggie has just arrived in Hollydell.
The tall pines, some hung with strings of Christmas lights, were a polite distance back from the road to allay any fears of wolves or bears, just in case she wasn’t still in Scotland after all, but during her little doze the train had somehow flown all the way to Switzerland or Canada and deposited her somewhere with lots of extra dangers to worry about. The road curved through the trees, refusing to let her see too far ahead, but while there were no signs of cars, someone had at least cleared a line through the snow on the pavement to allow the wheels of her little bag to move freely. She was glad now that she had brought her new boots and jacket, because among the trees the temperature was a couple of degrees cooler than out in the open.
She was starting to wonder if the curving road wasn’t some sort of elaborate joke, winding back to the train station where Andrew would be waiting to take her back to Inverness with a mocking grin on his face, when it suddenly opened out, revealing the village up ahead.
by NK Chats To… Emily Harvale
Hi Emily. Thank you for joining me today. Can you tell me a little about your novel, Bells and Bows on Mistletoe Row (I love this title) and what inspired it?
It’s lovely to be here. Thank you for inviting me.
I’m so pleased you love the title. The wonderful members of my Facebook group helped me choose it. There were three options and this was the most popular.
The idea of Bells and Bows came to me as I was staring at one of the churches I can see from my office. The bells were ringing because it was a Sunday morning. I love listening to church bells, so my mind was drifting as it so often does. Juliet Bell and Harrison Bow popped up in front of me and introduced themselves. I loved the fact that their names had a Christmas ring to them (excuse the pun) and because they both had siblings, Bells and Bows was born.
I firmly believe in love at first sight. I also believe a person can love another their whole life, even if they’re not actually together. I can tell you many true stories relating to both!
Anyway, because I adore Christmas, and because of their names, I decided to put all those things together and see where it went. Both main families in this book need to learn to discuss issues and to open up about their feelings.
They believe in ‘a stiff upper lip’ and tend not to talk to one another about anything meaningful. This Christmas, that’s all about to change.
One of the secondary characters is based on a dear friend of mine who is no longer with us, and he is the cause of a few misunderstandings in the novel.
From planning to edit, what’s your writing process like and how has it changed since the first book?
I don’t plan. I never have. I get an idea and I sit down and write whatever comes into my head, or whatever appears in front of me.
I often say that the story unfolds before my eyes and I simply type what I’m seeing. I write a very quick first draft and make notes about the characters, settings etc. along the way.
Then I leave it for a few days or so, do any research that’s necessary, and then write the second draft. I write as many drafts as it takes before I feel happy with the book. After that, it goes to my editor.
Any changes or suggestions she has, are discussed and if I need to rewrite anything, I do.
Which Christmas tradition is your favourite?
That’s a difficult question because I love them all. Preparing the Christmas cake and all having a stir of the mixture and making a wish is one I’ve loved all my life. Opening one present on Christmas Eve, is another.
Finding a Yule log, bringing it home and burning it is one I can’t do at the moment because I no longer have a real fire. I miss that.
I need to move home before next year. I want a real fire again. Buying about two hundred more Christmas cards than I’ll ever need – and then doing exactly the same every year. (I’ve got boxes and boxes of cards…but I’ve already bought more this year!) Hanging wreaths on the doors, front and back.
Putting up the Christmas decorations in November. Going to a carol concert. Christmas crackers. Making mulled wine and eggnog.
Not together in the same pot, obviously. Hohoho! Setting the Christmas pud alight. Baking mince pies. Playing Christmas songs from October onwards. Yes, honestly. Ask my friends. It drives them nuts.
Ooh nuts! Spending hours trying to crack a brazil nut open and nearly losing an eye, or breaking several ornaments in the process. That’s a tradition not to be missed! Sorry. You only wanted one thing, didn’t you?
by Book Review: The Christmas Play Rehearsal by Sue Wickstead
It is Christmas time, and the school has been getting ready to perform their Nativity play.
With lines learnt and songs to be sung, it is time for the dress rehearsal. The teacher knows there might be a few problems to sort out, but at least they will know what to improve on or change along the way.
The Christmas Play Rehearsal is a picture book that focuses on a class of primary School children as they prepare for their Christmas Nativity play.
This book brought back so many memories of the Nativity plays I took part in when I was in first school. (I love this time of year. I was an angel.)
Sue has captured the process perfectly – how the prep and build up can be challenging but just as much fun as the main event.
This story is so much fun and I think it is a perfect book to share with your child whether they are currently taking part in a nativity or not.
It’s also good for little ones too I think as the illustrations are very colourful and beautiful. They capture the fun element perfectly.
by Book Review: One? by Jennifer L Cahill
I
t’s London in the mid-noughties before Facebook, iPhones and ubiquitous wifi.
Zara has just moved to London for her first real job and struggles to find her feet in a big city with no instruction manual.
Penelope works night and day in an investment bank with little or no time for love. At twenty-eight she is positively ancient as far as her mother is concerned and the pressure is on for her to settle down as the big 3-0 is looming.
Charlie spends night and day with his band who are constantly teetering on the verge of greatness. Richard has relocated to London from his castle in Scotland in search of the one, and Alyx is barely in one place long enough to hold down a relationship let alone think about the future.
One? follows the highs and lows of a group of twenty-somethings living in leafy SW4.
First thing I want to mention is the amazing cover on this novel. At first glance, it seems simple and beautiful but there are so many layers to it. Look at it long enough and you’ll see what I mean.
One? primarily follows Penelope and Zara as they navigate themselves through 90’s London joined by a few people along the way.
The characters have unique voices. All have their own personal goals, triumphs and struggles. They are all developed well as is the plot. I was desperate to know what would become of them all.
I could identify so much with these two ladies especially. I found myself moving to London in my early twenties having never been away from home before so Zara’s feeling seemed partially familiar. The overwhelming feeling of being alone in a big city.
by Book Review: Cuckoo by Sophie Draper
When her stepmother dies unexpectedly, Caro returns to her childhood home in Derbyshire. She hadn’t seen Elizabeth in years, but the remote farmhouse offers refuge from a bad relationship, and a chance to start again.
But going through Elizabeth’s belongings unearths memories Caro would rather stay buried. In particular, the story her stepmother would tell her, about two little girls and the terrible thing they do.
As heavy snow traps Caro in the village, where her neighbours stare and whisper, Caro is forced to question why Elizabeth hated her so much, and what she was hiding. But does she really want to uncover the truth?
Caro has spent most of her adult life trying to escape her childhood and her step mother.
When a death brings her back to the house that holds so many unhappy memories, she begrudgingly comes back.
The welcome she gets from most of the village isn’t warm. There is something that every one is holding back. Things at the house are even stranger.
Cuckoo is the kind of thriller I love! I devoured it quickly wanting to know what happens.
The pace and style of writing is great. There is a gothic theme to it. The atmosphere that is created is wonderful.
I ended up second guessing myself a lot. I thought I had it sussed but then something would happen and I’d quickly settle on something else. It wouldn’t be long until that changed again. It seriously kept my interest all the way through.
At the beginning, I knew something wasn’t right. I couldn’t figure out if it was the house, the village and its inhabitants, the house or the nature of the death of her step mother. Nothing is as it seems.
by Book Review: The Lights of Time by Paul Ian Cross
Engella Rhys is alone, adrift and on the run. Pursued by a secret agency, known only as the Hunters, she must stay ahead to stay alive.
As she travels through space-time using dangerously experimental technology, she only has one wish: to be reunited with her lost parents. After a close shave with a Hunter on the streets of New Shanghai, Engella escapes to find herself on a deserted beach. When she meets a kind stranger, who offers her food and shelter, Engella feels safe and protected for the first time in years.
But who is this woman? And why did their paths cross at the most convenient of times?
Engella soon discovers their lives are intertwined in more ways than she could ever imagine.
The cover of this novel is so beautiful and I love the title.
Engella has been running from the hunters for so long, she’s started to lose track of time.
She knows she can’t hide forever. Just when she thinks she’s been caught, she gets help from an unexpected source.
This is the first book in the Chronicles of Engella Rhys series. As it is the first one, there is a lot of scene setting as well as world and character building. However, I didn’t feel like this slowed the pace of the plot down. From the beginning, I was obsessed with reading this novel.
Engella is many things. She’s mysterious, fierce, vulnerable and strong. There is more to her than we see I am sure. All of the characters seem strong actually.
I very much got immersed into this world of time travel, sci-fi and mystery.
by Book Review: #Galaxy Girl by Bev Smith
You hate school. Your family is beyond annoying. Your only friend comes from a different planet, and she’s about to leave.
What’s a girl to do?
Fed up with life on Earth, Esme stows away on the spaceship taking Stella back to Planet Kratos.
So begins Esme’s adventure into a world beyond the stars. A world of strange creatures, thrilling journeys, heroic rescues and instant fame.
Oh, and school. Lots of school.
Along the way she discovers that friends may be greener on the other side, but they still can’t be trusted.
Millions and billions of light years away from Earth, she sets in motion a plan to escape. Unfortunately for her, they aren’t about to let their prize exhibit leave anytime soon…
Esme doesn’t feel like she belongs either at home with her family or at school. Her only friend, Stella comes from another planet and she is about to leave.
So Esme finds herself stowing away on a spaceship back to Stella’s home planet and is not quite prepared for what awaits her.
This book is a series of letters from the main character to her mother back on earth (they have some brilliant sign offs.)
This book is marketed for the younger reader. I am in my thirties and I loved it. I feel as though it is a story for all ages.
by Novel Kicks Book Club: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
I can’t believe we’re on the last book club for 2018.
If course, it has to be a Christmas themed book.
As it’s December, I’ve chosen Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
For people who know your Christmas movies, this is the book Christmas With The Kranks is based on.
This is one of my favourite films and I have been meaning to read this for a while.
Anyone can take part in our book club and from the comfort of your sofa.
As normal, I’ve posted a question below to get things going.
About Skipping Christmas…
Imagine a year without Christmas.
No crowded shops, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether.
Theirs will be the only house on the street without a rooftop Frosty the snowman; they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences – and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined.
by NK Chats To… Pernille Meldgaard Pedersen
Hello Pernille, thank you so much for joining me on Novel Kicks today. Your book is called Him With The Beard. Can you tell me a little about it?
Hi Laura, I´m so glad you would have me!
In Him With The Beard, we follow a little family whose life is turned upside down when the daughter Mille stops believing in Santa. We read the story from the mother´s, Stella, perspective.
It’s a sweet Christmas story about family, Santa Claus and the big question whether it’s possible to find a way back to the joy of Christmas when you discover that Santa isn’t who you thought.
What is your writing process like from planning to editing?
I always begin with a vague idea, often a funny scene, and work with the idea in my head for some while, before I begin writing it down on paper. I love the process of getting all the small pieces in the puzzle to fit.
And then I begin writing, writing, writing and writing. I´m one of those unwise people that edit and write at the same time, but I just know when something doesn’t work, and I would rather change it when I know what I can do differently than forgetting it and try to change it later.
From then on it’s off to beta readers and the editor and I do changes based on what they find. I´m not perfect, so I love getting feedback that can help me get my story better across to readers.
Is there a certain place you like to write and are there certain things you need like coffee/tea/music/silence?
I´m pretty easy to please. I just need my computer to write 🙂
I always write late at night or very early in the morning when it’s quiet. I´m also pretty tired at this point so it’s like writing drunk which can be a good thing because then my inner critic has gone to bed. Ha!
What elements do you feel need to be present in a novel?
I really like when a book has humour and a twinkle in the eye because I feel like the book becomes your friend and you share all these inside jokes that no one else understands (Even if the author wrote them like that).
I often wonder what kind of relationship other readers have with my favourite books, and now also what my book will give people.
What’s your favourite word and why?
I love this question! And I don´t know!
I´m such kind of person that often stops up to repeat a word because it sounds funny or delicious in the way it leave my lips.
I´m a Dane so the word “Hygge” is a word I use at least ten times a day. At least!
English words I like is: Dazzle, giggle or the hilarious Flabbergasted. I feel like I have to do the flabbergasted face to say this word!
Is there a fictional character you’d like to meet? What would you both do?
I´m thinking I would have a lovely day with Lily from Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon. Just walking around in an Australian conservation park, and say hello to kangaroos, wombats and koalas (NO SPIDERS PLEASE) and then have lunch in the shade of a big eucalyptus tree. If I’m lucky I might even get the chance to say hello to Lily´s sexy husband Ben.
by NK Chats To… Julie Houston
Hi Julie. Thank you so much for joining me today. Your new novel is called A Village Affair. Can you tell me about it and what inspired it?
Hi, and thank you so much for having me on your blog today. It’s much appreciated.
As writers, we’re always advised to write about what we know and “AVillage Affair”began its life under the guise of ‘Not in My backyard’ influenced, very much, by a real-life fight in my village where acres of fields and greenbelt land were in danger of having hundreds, if not thousands, of houses built upon them. As the main focus of the plot moved and centred upon the village school, the novel took on the handle “Little Acorns” and many of the school incidents are based on real happenings in the primary schools I have taught in over the years. Eventually Aria came up with the title “A Village Affair”which I love and which, I think, encompasses the different strands of the book.
What’s your writing process like (idea, research etc.) How do you approach editing?
At the start of a new idea/novel I sit at my desk with a brand-new exercise book. I like my novels to be very much character-based and so I come up with characters’ names, write what they look like and actually give them a family tree. This is important as I’m mainly writing about the characters in one town and one village and so I have to make sure they’re not too related to each other, especially if they’re going to end up together!! With “Holly Close Farm”,as nearly half of it is set during WW2, I did a huge amount of research about the WAAFs and Bomber Command. I really enjoyed this bit and it was quite hard work leaving the reading to actually write. I love editing. I must be the only writer who enjoys this bit. I love going back over what I’ve written, tweaking and adding and crossing out. In my early days as a writer I would write one chapter and then edit it to death the next day because I was so proud that I’d actually written another chapter. Now, with deadlines, I tend to just write and edit at the end. Editing means I’ve finished, which is always wonderful.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have a place to write? Cup of coffee? Write in silence?
I’m a lark: I’m much better writing at 6am than later in the day. I had the most beautiful writing room at one end of the house but my husband is now working from home and has commandeered it for his office. I’m in a cupboard – not literally, but it feels like it after the lovely office with views down the valley. I actually quite like my cupboard: it’s jampacked with books, piles of papers, computer and, usually, the dog. I write, plan for school if I’m teaching a couple of days and do some private tuition in there. It does tend to get a bit cosy. One day, I’ll have my office back!
I need silence, tons of coffee (morning) and Earl Grey tea (afternoon).
So, basically, if it’s a writing day, I’ll get up early, have a mug of hot water and lemon (my mum always did and I’ve done this for the past 30 years) answer emails, decide whether it’s a swim or a run, shower, have breakfast and read the paper about eleven and then really get stuck in. If I can write 2-3000 words a day I’m more than happy.
What’s the most challenging thing with writing a novel?
The start of any new novel. By the end of a novel I love my characters so much I can’t bear to leave them and start again. I feel very disloyal to my old friends and it takes a while to love the new ones.
How do you pick names for your characters?
Probably with names I wanted to call my own children but for which my husband didn’t share the same enthusiasm. So India, Clementine, Kit, Theadora and Fin were born! My daughter, Georgia, is really cross I didn’t stick to my guns and call her Theadora – shortened to Teddy – that Harriet names one of her twins.
In my “Work in Progress“(Book 7 and desperate for inspiration for an actual title) it’s been easy to come up with names because I have Patrick, the father – a bit of a lothario – who is a Cambridge educated Classics professor and gives all his four daughters names from Greek literature. I’ve ended up with Isolde, Pandora, Juno and Lexia.
What elements make up a good novel?
When I read, I want a thumping good story. I want to know what happens next. I want to want to go to bed read to know what’s going to happen. I do like humour in a novel. It doesn’t have to be overtly laugh out loud. I think Liane Moriarty and Kate Atkinson are both superb writers, not only at weaving good stories but at having the ability to include some quite subtle humour. I aspire to both these wonderful novelists!!
by Book Review: Not Just For Christmas by Natalie Cox
Charlie hates the holidays, and this year is shaping up to be her worst yuletide ever.
Her boyfriend has left her for his personal trainer, her flat is out of bounds after a gas leak, and her mother has gone to spend Christmas in Melbourne with her fifth husband.
Finding herself single, mildly concussed and temporarily homeless, Charlie hesitantly agrees to dust off her wellies and spend the festive season in Devon, looking after Cosy Canine Cottages, her cousin Jez’s dog-care centre.
However, her plans for a quiet rural Christmas with only the four-legged friends for company are dashed as soon as she meets Malcolm the deaf Great Dane, Hugo, his gorgeous (but engaged) owner, and Cal, the undeniably attractive but unbearably haughty and patronising local vet.
I am very happy to be kicking off the blog tour for Not Just For Christmas, the new novel by Natalie Cox which is due to be released in paperback on 29th November by Orion.
Not Just For Christmas focuses on Charlie. Having just become single, she then has to move out of her flat when it gets damaged in a gas leak. Her mother is in Melbourne, her father in Russia, Charlie has no choice but to go and spend Christmas in Devon with her cousin, Jez. She soon finds herself alone though running Cosy Canine Cottages.
The setting for this novel drew me in to begin with. I love to visit Devon and this brought back memories of lovely holidays I have spent there and the friendliness of the residents.
by Book Review: A Little Christmas Charm by Kathryn Freeman
Would you swap sea and sunshine for tinsel and turkey?
Gabby Sanderson is used to being let down – even at Christmas. Which is why she’s happy to skip the festive season completely in favour of a plane ticket and sunnier climes.
But this Christmas could be different, because this time she might not be spending it alone. Can Owen Cooper charm Gabby into loving Christmas in the same way he’s charmed his way into her life, or is he just another person who’ll end up disappointing her?
This book is part of the Christmas Wishes series but it is also perfect as a standalone.
Gabby is used to being disappointed and let down so she has built up a few walls around her. Instead of celebrating the season, she goes as far away as she can from the festivity. I empathise with her.
Gabby is an interesting character. She has a confidence to her but she’s also vulnerable when you dig deep enough. I wanted it to work out. Whether it’s with Owen or not, I am not going to tell. I actually warmed to Gabby a lot quicker than I did to Owen. I could tell that there were reasons she was so guarded and the more you get to know what happened to her, the more I just wanted to reach in and give her a hug.
by Book Extract: Within The Silence by Nicola Avery
It’s Friday and we have a treat today. A lovely big hello to Nicola Avery and the blog tour for her new novel, Within The Silence.
Jon Stone is a revered psychiatrist, doting husband, loving father. But he has many secrets.
Maddy Stone, Jon’s daughter, has her own secrets. But she can’t tell anyone.
Zara, Maddy’s stepsister and best friend, faces a race against time. Can she unearth the family’s dark secrets before a tragic history repeats itself?
Two girls: one living and lost, the other scarred and silent, must join forces to prevent the unspeakable…
I have reviewed the book below but first, Nicola has shared an extract.
***** start of extract*****
‘You’ve been swimming already!’ Pippa scolded.
‘Less of the attitude, missy,’ said Zara, unwrapping her towel just enough to envelop her wriggling, laughing sister.
‘Can we go swimming now?’ Pippa asked, her smiling face lifted towards her sister’s.
‘You can come in with me in a minute,’ answered Zara, acknowledging Jon’s presence on the pool terrace.
‘Morning, Zara,’ Jon said, moving towards her and kissing her on the cheek. ‘Did you sleep well? And where’s Gareth?’
Zara smiled. ‘Last time I looked he was flat on his back, catching flies and snoring loudly.’
‘Some of us don’t have such luck, do we?’ said Jon, pointedly looking at Pippa, who bounced off across the grass towards the pathway leading down to the beach.
‘Have you seen Maddy?’ called Pippa, looking out at the Phoenix.
‘No, I haven’t seen her yet,’ replied Zara, watching Pippa’s shoulders drop in disappointment. ‘Are you sure she’s not still asleep?’
‘Nope,’ said Pippa, returning to the patio. ‘Her bed’s made up, so she must be down on the beach or on her boat. Can I go down and get her? We’re going out to the secret beach today, and she’ll need a good breakfast. And I want to check if my stuff’s already on board.’
Zara laughed as she attempted to hold onto her excited sister. ‘Wait a moment, sweetie, you can’t go down in your PJs.’
‘Oh!’ Pippa exclaimed, laughing as she peeled off her favourite Frozen pyjamas and tossed them under the table before running to get her tiny red swimsuit which was hanging by the showers. ‘I forgot. Nearly ready,’ she shouted, wriggling into the tight costume.
‘Here, let me help you,’ Jon offered, moving towards her.
‘No thank you, Daddy. I can do it myself,’ she answered.
Zara smiled at her sister’s feisty independence – and the fact that her bathing costume straps were all twisted around one armpit. Quickly readjusting the tiny costume, Zara grinned. ‘Why don’t we leave Maddy for a bit? She could be sleeping on the beach; you know how she loves the early mornings down there. She’ll come up when she’s ready.’
‘But it’s late. We’ve got lots to do today. She told me. And I need to make sure she hasn’t forgotten our plans.’
Zara dropped to one knee, pulling Pippa towards her and kissing her on the nose. ‘It’s still early, especially after a party. I’m sure she hasn’t forgotten.’
Pippa moved away from Zara, standing perfectly still as she stared longingly out to sea. Then, turning back towards her sister, she tried again.
‘Please come with me, Zara. I can’t go down there on my own. You know Daddy’s rules …’ Pippa tilted her head in her father’s direction, then gave Zara one of her lopsided grins.
by Book Review: An Impossible Thing Called Love by Belinda Missen
A second chance at love…
When globe-trotting Emmy first fell for first-aider William on a freezing New Year’s Eve, she really believed that their love would go the distance.
But when she returns to Australia, her letters start to go unanswered and her emails bounce back unread, Emmy decides it’s time to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and start afresh in London.
So she’s shocked when William walks in on her very first day at her new job! Even worse, he’s hotter than ever. But why did he disappear for so long? What has he been hiding? And could this really be their second chance at falling in love…?
Emmy first meets William on New Years Eve. Even though she has to return home to Australia, she thinks what she and William have will go the distance even with the miles between them.
However, her letters and e-mails suddenly start going unanswered. Just like that, William is gone. Emmy is heartbroken.
She tries to start afresh in London. She’s succeeding until her path once again crosses with William.
Could this be their second chance at happiness?
I loved this book from beginning to end. I knew it was going to give me warm fuzzy feelings but also break my heart in places too.
I immediately fell in love with Emmy and William. They are both very likeable and their relationship feels realistic (even if it does move quite fast.)
The scene that is set with Edinburgh and London is incredible and pulled me into the story and it really sets the tone nicely for the whole novel.
When these two main characters lose touch, I felt as heartbroken as Emmy did. I did wonder if things were not as they seemed. That’s all I am going to say. I don’t want to give away the plot and events of the book too much as that would spoil it obviously.
by NK Chats To… Alison Sherlock
A Way Back Home is the new novel from Alison Sherlock. Hello Alison, thank you so much for joining me today. Your new novel is called A Way Back Home. Can you tell me a little about it and what inspired it?
A Way Back Home is the third book in my Willow Tree Hall series, although they can each be read as standalone books. The story is about Will Harris, younger brother and ‘spare’ of the heir of Willow Tree Hall, his big brother Sam who was the hero in the first book, A House To Mend A Broken Heart. Will was great fun to write as I always pictured him as a playboy with a wickedly dry sense of humour but somewhat set apart from the rest of the family. Therefore it was only right that the heroine of the story would be a free-spirited woman called Skye who is the total opposite of Will!
What’s your typical writing day like? Is there somewhere you like to write? Write in silence? Cup of coffee or tea?
I walk Harry, our daft golden retriever, first thing in the morning and then spend the next hour trying to wipe off the mud which he has inevitably brought home with him. Once he’s sleeping off his big walk and snoring happily, I can finally get to work for the rest of the day. I always write on my laptop at a desk with the music on to begin with. And always with a large mug of coffee to hand!
What’s your editing process like?
I do a little editing as I go along but mostly I like to get the whole story down first. A Way Back Home was written in just over 9 weeks, the quickest I’ve ever done. Hopefully that’s a good sign…!
If you found yourself with an airstream trailer and time, where would you go and why?
I love America but have never seen the middle of the country so it would definitely be next summer driving right across the southern states. Hopefully my husband would be driving as I’d be as hopeless towing a trailer as Skye is in the story!
by NK Chats To… Amelia Mandeville
Amelia Mandeville joins me today. Her debut novel, Every Colour of You is released tomorrow by Sphere. Hi Amelia, thank you so much for joining me today. Your book is called Every Colour of You. Can you tell me a bit about it and what inspired the story?
Hello, thanks so much for having me!
My book follows the journey of Tristan, who is struggling with his mental health, and Zoe, who is the most positive person you’ll meet. It’s all about their friendship as very different people. I think my own personal struggles with mental health made me write this story. I also think it’s important for boys to be able to know that they can cry, they are allowed to not be okay, and talk about it.
What is your writing process like from research and plot development to editing?
It’s different for each book. This one, I spent a little bit of time planning, writing down certain lines I really wanted Zoe or Tristan to say, their characteristics. Then when I had the ending set in stone, I started writing. The editing was thorough, we did a lot of drafts before it got to my final draft, and I felt it just got better and better. My book would not be how it is, without Abby and Manpreet who edited.
Do you have any rituals when writing – a certain place to write, coffee, music, silence?
Music. I always have to listen to music. I think of my most chapters to myself when I’m driving on my own, listening to a song. There’s something about music. It really just gets me in my zone. Specifically sad, emotional, music.
Which author/book has most influenced you?
I think I always found Veronica Roth so successful, writing at such a young age. And obviously JK Rowling. Despite all those rejections, but her true talent eventually was recognized. I tried to remind myself that whenever I got rejections (I got a lot). I’m not saying I will ever be on the level of JK Rowling, but if she gave up, we would never have Harry Potter.
What is the best part of writing and what did you find the most challenging?
The best part is creating characters that you feel so much emotion and love with, its lovely. The hard part is the self-criticism, and comparison. Also when you hitting a writing block. I really do doubt my writing abilities when I’m in that state of mind. But once you’re out it’s back into doing what you love again.
Are you working on a new book? Are you able to tell me a bit about it?
I am! I’m keeping it secret. But I’m 20 thousand words in, and it will focus on duel narratives again. But it’s a very different story, with a very different situation.
by
A big lovely hello to Kate Rigby and the blog tour for her novel, Thalidomide Kid.
Daryl Wainwright is the quirky youngest child of a large family of petty thieves and criminals who calls himself ‘Thalidomide Kid’.
Celia Burkett is the new girl at the local primary school, and the daughter of the deputy head at the local comprehensive where she is bound the following September. With few friends, Celia soon becomes fascinated by ‘the boy with no arms’.
The story of a blossoming romance and sexual awakening between a lonely girl and a disabled boy, and their struggle against adversity and prejudice as they pass from primary to secondary school in 1970s Cirencester. The story deals with themes and issues that are timeless.
Kate has shared an extract today. In this excerpt, the headmistress Miss Bond reveals to Celia’s family that Celia has been seen skiving lessons school with Daryl.
****** start of extract******
When they got to the pudding – fruit salad with lychees, continuing the Chinese theme – Celia fought back tears as she racked her brain.
Her dad spoke first. “Was that you, Celia?”
“Was that me what?”
“What Barbara was just saying?”
Celia looked blank, whereupon Miss Bond repeated her question with due emphasis. “I thought I saw you yesterday, Celia, walking down the Tetbury Road during school hours with the young Wainwright boy.”
Shit bricks! Miss Bond had seen them.
“I wasn’t feeling well.” She said the first thing that came into her head. “I … had … I had a stomach ache. Daryl said he’d walk with me as far as town and I had to sit down so we went to a coffee bar. I needed to drink something.”
Her father had a look of restrained incredulity. “You didn’t tell your teacher or think of reporting to the sick bay?”
She had no answer to this but to say: “I didn’t think. I just wanted to go home.”
“That doesn’t explain why the Wainwright boy wasn’t attending his lesson,” Dad said.
“A case of skivitis, I suspect,” said Miss Bond. “Though he shouldn’t really be treated any differently from anyone else who breaks school rules. That won’t do him any good at all.”
Celia wished they’d stop calling him the Wainwright boy. She wished they’d give him a chance instead of thinking the worst of him all the time, but the matter didn’t rest there. After Miss Bond had thanked them for a lovely evening and driven off in her Rover, her father’s smile evaporated, his face clouding over all serious.
“I mean, how d’you think it made me look,” he said, “hearing it second-hand from Barbara that my own daughter was absent from class?”
“It’s not fair. Other people don’t have to have the head telling their dads things. It’s like being spied on, isn’t it, Abby?”
But Abby was keeping out of it, collecting up the best glasses for Dad to wash, the best glasses being Dad’s department.
“Well, I want you to go upstairs immediately and write two letters of apology; firstly to the teacher whose class you missed and secondly to Barbara. Do I make myself clear?”
Mum started drying the glasses, dripping soap suds on the draining board as she picked them up. Then she said: “What were you doing with that boy anyway, Celia? We’d rather you didn’t keep that sort of company.”
by Book Review: Christmas Spirit by Nicola May
I am loving all the Christmas stories being released and I’m very excited to be part of the blog tour for Christmas Spirit, the novella from Nicola May.
It’s two days before Christmas – and Evie Harris finds herself both manless and jobless. After a chance encounter with handsome Greg (and egged on by her toy-boy-eating friend, Bea) she agrees to work at a homeless shelter on Christmas Day.
Striking up an unlikely friendship with homeless Yves, Evie begins an unwitting journey of spiritual awakening, all set against the sparkling winter backdrop of London landmarks.
A New Year’s Eve revelation is on its way . . . but will it leave Evie with a happy heart, or will she allow the pre-Christmas past to dictate her future?
Two days before Christmas, Evie has found herself without a job and without her boyfriend.
By chance, she meets Greg and ends up volunteering at a homeless shelter on Christmas Day.
This is also where she meets the mysterious Yves.
Evie embarks on a spiritual journey she doesn’t expect but could be the start of better things.
Oh my! This book.
From beginning to end this novella had me hooked. I don’t have anything bad to say about it. It’s not a long book but I devoured it very quickly because I did not want to stop reading.
Evie has many things happen to her. Still reeling from one thing something else quickly comes along. We’ve all had experience of that at one time or another.
Greg is a smashing love interest and the mysterious Yves adds some additional magic to this festive plot. Who is he? Where has he come from?
by Book Extract: Hush Hush by Mel Sherratt
Hush Hush is the new novel from author Mel Sherratt and her blog tour rolls into Novel Kicks today.
A killer is on the loose, attacking people in places they feel most safe: their workplaces, their homes. It’s up to DS Grace Allendale to stop the murders, and prove herself to her new team.
All clues lead to local crime family the Steeles, but that’s where things get complicated. Because the Steeles aren’t just any family, they’re Grace’s family. Two brothers and two sisters, connected by the violent father only Grace and her mother escaped.
To catch the killer, Grace will have to choose between her team and her blood. But who do you trust, when both sides are out to get you?
Mel and Avon have shared an extract today. Enjoy.
***** start of extract*****
Grace slowed down to catch her breath, and her run became a jog.
The house she was renting was around five miles from Bethesda Police Station, depending on which road you took, in a part of the city called Weston Coyney. Caverswall Avenue was just through a set of busy traffic lights and near to Park Hall Country Park.
The house was a pre-war semi, tucked away at the top of a cul-de-sac. Phil and Becky Armstrong, who lived next door, had been relieved to see her moving in, telling her in much detail about the rowdy family who had been evicted. It explained why it was clean and recently decorated, with a newly fitted kitchen and bathroom. Everything had been trashed before the last tenants had left.
Making sure the sound of the machine couldn’t be heard through the walls of the adjoining house was the first thing Grace had checked with her neighbours. There was nothing worse than the drone and pounding of a treadmill, especially in the early hours of the morning. Luckily, she had space for it at the back of the house in the small conservatory, and the couple told her they couldn’t hear anything. They said they didn’t mind a bit of noise here and there after what they’d had to live with for the past six months.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Fairytale Reimagined
Today in the writing room, I thought it would be fun to write a fairy tale.
We all know the classics; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc.
Writing no more than 1,500 words, pick a fairytale and put it into a modern setting.
You can merge a couple if you like.
For example, what if Cinderella worked for a cleaning company and had a lazy manager who was horrible. Sleeping Beauty worked in the city but couldn’t stop falling asleep in important meetings? Rapunzel has a fear of heights.
Have fun.
by Novel Kicks Book Club: After You by Jojo Moyes
Penguin, June 2016
Hello November.
For this month’s book club, I’ve chosen After You by Jojo Moyes.
This is the sequel to the fantastic Me Before You. Anyone can take part in our book club at any point in the month and you can discuss books from the comfort of your armchair so you don’t even have to go out in the horrible weather.
As usual, I have posted a question below to kick off the discussion.
About After You:
Lou Clark has lots of questions.
Like how it is she’s ended up working in an airport bar, spending every shift watching other people jet off to new places.
Or why the flat she’s owned for a year still doesn’t feel like home.
Whether her close-knit family can forgive her for what she did eighteen months ago.
And will she ever get over the love of her life.
by
It’s great to be welcoming Rosie Hendry to the blog today and the tour for her new novel, Christmas With The East End Angels.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – and the East End Angels are working hard to keep Londoners safe.
Frankie is trying hard to keep everything together. She can count on the support of the East End Angels, even in the face of family trouble.
Winnie’s beloved husband, Mac, is putting himself at risk every day in the bomb disposal unit and she’s finding it hard while he’s away.
Bella is growing in confidence and happiness. Her friendship with Winnie’s brother, James, is getting closer all the time.
Christmas on the Home Front is a hard time with loved ones far away – but the women of the Auxiliary Ambulance service are making do and mending.
This is the latest in the East End Angels series and my introduction to Winnie, Frankie and Bella. This does work as a standalone novel. I didn’t feel like I was playing catch up at all. Rosie’s writing style has an ease to it that made me get fully involved very quickly.
The women are working at Station 75 during WWII. Even though the Blitz has abated, there is still a threat that something will happen especially as news from abroad seems to only get worse.
I could tell straight away that the three main characters had a close friendship – one that would survive many things and the kind that you want during a turbulent time. I loved the three of them together and in this novel, they are joined by Rose, originally from Austria (so you know from the offset that her story is going to be emotional and heartbreaking.)
It was nice reading about an element of war-time London that I was less familiar with. It’s inspirational seeing how these women rallied and did what they could to ‘keep calm and carry on.’
The atmosphere Rosie creates really pulled me in to the world of these women. Despite the fact that it’s a bleak time in Britain’s history, these characters bring hope warmth, love and laughter. For me, this book is very much about them. Each girl is facing their own personal battle. It just happens to be set in WWII which makes their efforts to keep going all the more poignant.
by Book Review: Winter Without You by Beth Good
It’s a pleasure to welcome Beth Good to Novel Kicks and the blog blast for her new novel, Winter Without You which has been released today by Quercus.
After the tragic death of her boyfriend, Hannah Clitheroe is hiding away from the world. But when she discovers she’s inherited a house in Cornwall, she knows it’s time to face reality.
Her estranged grandmother lived in Kernow House for years, but Hannah soon realises someone else thinks it’s rightfully theirs: Raphael Tregar, a difficult man who quickly gets under her skin.
But as winter sets in, there’s one more thing that keeps her up at night, and the rising fear that she may not find her true home in Cornwall after all…
Winter Without You focuses on Hannah. Having recently lost her boyfriend, Hannah has retreated to Cornwall where her Grandmother has left her a house in her will.
It’s not going to be as straightforward for Hannah though especially when she meets her unfriendly neighbour, Raphael.
This is a love story that is further enhanced by the setting and the people.
Hannah has had her share of tragedy. From the beginning, she is very easy to empathise with and like and therefore is a wonderful lead character. I sense that beneath all the sadness and grief, she has a strength, determination and most importantly, a sense of hope about her. I very much wanted her to succeed and felt invested in her story.
Raphael (I love that name) is brooding and mysterious. He is also at times very unpleasant but I certainly wanted to be wrong about him.
The setting in which her recently acquired inheritance sits sounds absolutely beautiful – somewhere I would like to visit.
by Book Review: A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft
A big lovely welcome back to Sue Moorcroft. We are very happy to be the first stop on blog tour for her new novel, A Christmas Gift which has been released today by Avon.
Georgine loves Christmas. The festive season always brings the little village of Middledip to life. But since her ex-boyfriend walked out, leaving her with crippling debts, Georgine’s struggled to make ends meet.
To keep her mind off her worries, she throws herself into organising the Christmas show at the local school. And when handsome Joe Blackthorn becomes her assistant, Georgine’s grateful for the help. But there’s something about Joe she can’t quite put her finger on. Could there be more to him than meets the eye?
Georgine’s past is going to catch up with her in ways she never expected. But can the help of friends new and old make this a Christmas to remember after all?
Welcome to a Middledip Christmas! Yes, it’s ‘that’ time of year again and we can rejoice with the release of the latest novel from Amazon and Sunday Times best-selling author, Sue Moorcroft. And, even better, for long-standing fans, she’s taken us back to Middledip! Don’t worry if you’re new to reading this author, by the time you’ve finished reading this book, you’ll be dying to check her back catalogue to discover more of this enchanting village she has created.
So, what do we have here? Well, I’ll start by stating that you won’t get too much about the story itself from me, as I don’t believe in giving too much away (you’ll find that on other reviews), I prefer to concentrate on other things.
A wee snippet of story – Georgine France isn’t having the best of times since her boyfriend walked out on her, leaving her to deal with his debts, and when her sister comes to stay after splitting with her husband for reasons she doesn’t quite reveal, the prospect of producing the Christmas Play for the Performing Arts College she works for, suddenly turns into more work than she’d like. Throw in a blast from the past in the form of the enigmatic Joe Blackthorn, who has more than a few secrets of his own to sort through and you’ve got the enthralling tale of the year!
Sue is a (and I hope she’ll pardon me the choice of word) mistress of emotion, and she takes us through the wringer here, to be sure (Georgine’s father is not in the best of health either). All the main characters are beautifully rounded and, as is always the case with Sue’s novels, she has some of the best secondary characters that could be written. I always feel like I’ve been introduced to a new family by the time I’ve finished reading a Sue Moorcroft story, and that is just the same here.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Five Random Sentences
Today’s exercise is writing a story.
Today, I thought it would be fun to take five sentences and put them together into a story. Overall, try to make the piece 1,500 words and spread these out across the whole thing.
The five sentences are:
. He would believe me. I would make sure of it.
. The pineapples in my grandmother’s house had a mind of their own.
. Is it just me or did the cat just speak to me.
. I was getting really tired of this rush hour traffic.
. Ben knew that robbing the bank was a risk but one he needed to take.
by Book Review: The Witches of St. Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones
Imogen Edwards-Jones and the blog tour for her new book, The Witches of St. Petersburg joins Novel Kicks today.
The Russian Empire is on the verge of collapse. Revolution is in the air. The starving stalk the streets of St Petersburg and yet the Imperial Court still commute between their estates and organise their lavish balls.
Two sisters arrive in the city. Princesses from Montenegro; they are famed for their wild beauty and mystical powers. Initially ridiculed and outcast as the daughters of a provincial ‘Goat King’, they react in the only way they know how. They befriend the isolated Tsarina Alexandra and, using their gifts, they help her in her increasingly desperate quest to give birth to a son and heir. The circle closes. The girls are the gateway. Gurus, clairvoyants, holy fools and charlatans all try their luck. Then in one last, doomed, throw of the dice, the sisters introduce Rasputin into the Russian Court…
Based on the true story of the lives of Princess Militza and Princess Anastasia of Montenegro during the dying days of the Russian Empire, The Witches of St Petersburg is a tale of love, lust, power and betrayal at the heart of the Romanov Court.
Although I don’t know too much about it, this part of Russian history has always held a fascination for me and is why I wanted to read this novel especially as it is based on a true story.
Militza was the most fascinating character for me. Her relationship with her sister was also intriguing. There are very much outsiders and I can relate to that.
The overall setting was written so vividly and with much detail. You can tell how much work and love went into writing this book.
I did find it hard to keep up with who everyone was to begin with. There was a few times where I had to refer to the handy character guide at the beginning but this wasn’t a huge deal; just hard to keep up with all the Russian names.
The plot is engaging and had me wanting to keep reading. It has also made me want to find out more about this period in history.
by Book Review: Miss Marley by Vanessa Lafaye
I was very happy to be asked to join the blog tour for Miss Marley by Vanessa Lafaye. This novella is due to be released on 1st November 2018 by HQ.
Before A Christmas Carol there was… Miss Marley
A seasonal tale of kindness and goodwill
Orphans Clara and Jacob Marley live by their wits, scavenging for scraps in the poorest alleyways of London, in the shadow of the workhouse. Every night, Jake promises his little sister ‘tomorrow will be better’ and when the chance to escape poverty comes their way, he seizes it despite the terrible price.
And so Jacob Marley is set on a path that leads to his infamous partnership with Ebenezer Scrooge. As Jacob builds a fortress of wealth to keep the world out, only Clara can warn him of the hideous fate that awaits him if he refuses to let love and kindness into his heart…
In Miss Marley, Vanessa Lafaye weaves a spellbinding Dickensian tale of ghosts, goodwill and hope – a perfect prequel to A Christmas Carol.
Jacob and his sister Clara Belle Marley know poverty. Banished to the workhouse after the death of their parents, they learn early how to look out for themselves. When they suddenly come into a small bit of money, they manage to build a better life. Whilst Clara eventually wants a family, Jacob is fuelled by an ambition to never be poor again no matter what it costs him.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is possibly one of my favourite stories. For me, it sums up Christmas and everything it should be about. So, as a fan, I am quite protective of it.
Saying that though, when I read about this story, I was intrigued. I love it when I can read something that gives me an insight into what happened before the story we all know and love; provided it is done right. This was done fantastically well.
Miss Marley is told from the point of view of Jacob’s Marley’s sister, Clara Belle. It follows she and her brother from when they are children to adulthood. It focuses on her relationship with her brother, his budding friendship and business transactions with a much younger Ebenezer Scrooge and touches on his relationship with Belle beyond what you see in A Christmas Carol.
Vanessa Lafaye really captured the essence of the original novel but brought something new to it. You can tell that she had a love and respect for the original book. She has brought another aspect to these characters. It’s great to be able to have an idea as to why Jacob appears to Scrooge covered in chains and regret.
This book is about one hundred and fifty pages so it doesn’t take long to read but it’s not hard to get fully immersed in it. I could imagine myself in London surrounded by these characters. Many points in the book had me particularly sad for one character in particular.
by
It’s the weekend which hopefully means a chance to snuggle up with a book for many of you. Today, Nia Lucas joins me with the blog tour for her new novel, Love Punked.
When her life is irrevocably altered by a post-Rave tryst on her mother’s floral patio recliner, Erin Roberts’ long-standing relationship with Humiliation takes her down a path that’s not so much ‘less well trodden’, more ‘perilous descent down sheer cliffs’.
Armed with a fierce devotion to her best friend and the unrequited love for the boy she might have accidentally married at age seven, when Erin falls pregnant at sixteen, life veers off at a most unexpected tangent.
Her journey to adulthood is far from ordinary as Erin learns that protecting the hearts of those most precious to you isn’t balm enough when your Love Punked heart is as sore as your freshly tattooed arse.
Whilst raising football prodigies and trying not to get stuck in lifts with Social Work clients who hate her, Erin discovers that sometimes you have to circumnavigate the globe to find the very thing that was there all along.
Erin has just turned sixteen. She is not the most popular of people with her peers but she knows that all she needs is her best friend Lees. If she could just get Daniel to fancy her too, it would make things even better.
However, when one night changes the course of her life, she has to make some very big adjustments with poignant and sometimes hilarious results.
From the first chapter, I knew that I was going to love Erin and her story.
With her being sixteen at the start of this novel, she is the same age I was in the middle of the 90’s (where this book is primarily set,) I found her very relatable. I saw flashes of awkwardness from my teen years in parts of her story. It made me feel quite nostalgic in places.
I couldn’t imagine being a mother at her age.
The plot is wonderfully developed, compelling and it all unfolds at a good pace. When I consider how this book begins, I really couldn’t predict how it was going to end.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Spooky Times
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Halloween is just around the corner and so the prompt is spooky themed.
Imagine you are a ghost in a haunted house. You are scared of everything and anything.
It’s 31st October. This is your least favourite day. This is the day people won’t leave you alone.
Write a conversation between the ghost and someone who is trick or treating.
by Book Extract: Second Chances at the Log Fire Cabin by Catherine Ferguson
The blog tour train rolls in today for Second Chances at the Log Fire Cabin by Catherine Ferguson.
It’s time to cosy up this winter…
When Roxy proposes to her boyfriend Mac in a moment of madness on live TV, she’s mortified when he rejects her. To escape the embarrassment, she takes a job working as cookery assistant at a Christmas house party at the idyllic Log Fire Cabin. Roxy hopes the new job will take her mind off Mac, because to her eternal annoyance, she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him…
But when Mac turns up at the cabin in unexpected circumstances, things begin to go awry. Can Roxy heal her own heart this Christmas? Or is someone waiting in the wings to help her…?
Catherine and Avon have shared an extract from the book below. Let me know what you think in the comments.
***** start of extract*****
If I don’t find work soon, I might have to move back in with Mum and Dad. As much as I love them, the idea of returning to the little backwater town on the south coast, where I grew up, and sleeping in my old single bed is not an appealing thought. I’d be miles from all my friends in Surrey.
And miles from Jackson . . .
A log shifts in the grate and makes me start. I stare into the flames, lulled by the seasonal cheer of the blaze and the thought that it will soon be Christmas. Whatever happens on the jobs front, I’ll still be spending the festive season with Jackson. It will be our very first Christmas together!
It’s so snug in the room, I feel myself starting to drift off . . .
I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m choking.
My heart is thundering as panic flares inside me. The hands of a faceless stranger are squeezing my throat and pressing on my face, blocking my airways. Slowly suffocating me.
I’m desperate to escape from the room but the door is locked. Pulling on the handle, I try to call out for help, but no sound emerges. Grasping to pull the obstruction away from my face, I find to my horror that there’s nothing there. The so-called hands choking me are invisible.
by Book Review: Roar by Cecelia Ahern
There is much excitement here at Novel Kicks today. I am delighted to be the first stop on the blog tour for Roar. This is the new novel from the brilliant Cecelia Ahern.
Have you ever stood at a crossroads, undecided…Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to roar?
From much-loved, international bestseller Cecelia Ahern come stories for all of us: the women who befriend us, the women who encourage us, the women who make us brave. From The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared to The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged her Husband, discover thirty touching, often hilarious, stories and meet thirty very different women. Each discovers her strength; each realizes she holds the power to make a change.
Witty, tender, surprising, these keenly observed tales speak to us all, and capture the moment when we all want to roar.
Roar is the latest novel from Cecelia Ahern. The book has thirty short stories that has something for every woman.
I have made no secret of the fact that I absolutely adore Cecelia’s novels. When I heard about this one, I was very intrigued to read it. Roar is slightly different to anything she has written before.
This assortment of stories carry a similar theme but all have something unique to say.
All the way through, it looks at women, our sense of self, self-esteem, our relationships with ourselves, with men and other women also.
It’s an interesting and very powerful look at how some of us look at the world and where we see ourselves within it.
by Book Extract: The Mischief Maker by Simon Maree
A big hello to Simon Maree who is here to share an extract from his novel, The Mischief Maker.
He’s just a soul whose intentions are good… Oh Lord, please don’t let him be misunderstood…
Joe has a problem. He is falling in love with his new housemate. Nothing unusual there, except for Joe is a poltergeist and this sort of thing just shouldn’t happen. Joe is suffering an existential crisis of no small proportion.
The object of his misguided affections – a feisty and self-assured teenager named Harriet. Will he be able to save her from something much darker than himself that lurks in the shadows of the Brighton house they share? Will she be able to help him on his newfound quest for redemption?
***** start of extract*****
I’d been waiting for someone like her for a great while. I had no idea how long. I’d all lost track of time. It could have been years, decades or even centuries. If I was given to clichés, I could say that it felt like an eternity, but nobody knows what that’s like (although I’m learning, slowly; one day at a time).
I knew that she was the one before I even laid eyes on her. I could feel the energy sparking off her like tiny shooting stars even as she turned the corner onto Westall Avenue and strolled past the terraced houses, gazing out at the small, grey strip of English channel visible across the main road at the bottom of the street, her blue eyes blazing with righteous indignation beneath that bible black fringe with the purple streaks, and her pretty little head all full of candyfloss and pop stars.
Her mother strode beside her; a handsome, confident looking, auburn haired woman with high heels and a briefcase, but I felt nothing. I had no use for her, except perhaps as a stooge of some sort.
They slowed as they got nearer to the house, studying digits on doors, the older woman checking and double checking the paperwork in her hand, until they found what they were looking for, the magical number 33 that hung upon the portal to my own little kingdom.
The wrought iron gate gave it’s usual grating complaint as Mummy Dearest pushed it open, walked past the tiny and somewhat forlorn front garden, and approached the door, my brand new obsession in her expensively perfumed wake.
I stared out at them from the downstairs front room bay window. I could barely control my excitement as Mrs. Businesswoman put her ‘A to Z’ of Brighton into her case and glared at her state of the art smartphone.
by A Moment With… Sandra Danby
I am pleased to say hi to author, Sandra Danby. As well as sharing an extract with me today, she is also talking about her latest novel, Connectedness and the origin of her story.
To the outside world, artist Justine Tree has it all but she always has a secret that threatens to destroy everything.
Justine’s art sells around the world, but does anyone truly know her? When her mother dies, she returns to her childhood home in Yorkshire where she decides to confront her past. She asks journalist Rose Haldane to find the baby she gave away when she was an art student, but only when Rose starts to ask difficult questions does Justine truly understand what she must face.
Is Justine strong enough to admit the secrets and lies of her past? To speak aloud the deeds she has hidden for 27 years, the real inspiration for her work that sells for millions of pounds. Could the truth trash her artistic reputation? Does Justine care more about her daughter, or her art? And what will she do if her daughter hates her?
This tale of art, adoption, romance and loss moves between now and the Eighties, from London’s art world to the bleak isolated cliffs of East Yorkshire and the hot orange blossom streets of Málaga, Spain.
Thanks for joining me today, Sandra. Over to you…
When I was writing Connectedness, second in my ‘Identity Detective’ series of adoption mysteries, I didn’t realise how much I was writing about food. Then a blogger friend who reviewed the book sent me an email saying I had presented her with a difficult biscuit dilemma.
While biscuits are something that remind Justine Tree of her childhood in Yorkshire, coffee is about romance in Spain. When she arrives as an art student in Málaga, Justine struggles to order a decent cup of coffee.
Then she meets Spanish student Federico who appreciates her difficulty and tries to help. I wrote this scene early in the genesis of the book and recreated it in our local bar in Spain, much to the bemusement of the waiter. I ordered six cups of coffee and tasted each in turn. The result was that I realised I liked café con leche, and my husband chose sombra. This is the coffee scene where Justine meets Federico for the first time.
****** start of extract*****
‘No quieres café?’ He looked at her as if she had asked for champagne.
Quickly Justine explained the difficulty she had ordering coffee, and then waited as Federico and the waiter exchanged a rapid dialogue interspersed with lots ofsí’sand no’s and much gesturing.
Finally Federico nodded. ‘Sí, vale.’
The waiter soon returned carrying a tray with six cups on it. Nodding first at Federico then at Justine, he retreated to the restaurant door beneath the shade cast by a large eucalyptus tree and watched.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: From The First To The Last
When you first decide to write a book, we are told that beginnings and endings are important but how you get from one to the other is what keeps a reader interested.
For today’s exercise, use the following line to start (or use one from one of your favourite novels.)
“From the beginning, she was in love with him.”
Write it at the top of the page.
Then, write the following last line at the bottom of the page;
“She couldn’t move. She just continued to hold the knife.”
(Again, feel free to use an ending from a favourite novel as long as it’s different to the one the first line came from.)
Using about 1,500 words, fill in the middle from your first line to the last.
by Book Review: No One Cancels Christmas by Zara Stoneley
Christmas books equal a very happy Laura and today, I am pleased to be welcoming Zara Stoneley and the blog tour for her new novel, No one Cancels Christmas which has been released today by Harper Impulse.
It’s the most magical time of the year, and for travel agent Sarah it’s also the busiest! But this year one man threatens to ruin Christmas for Sarah’s customers – Mr Grinch, Will Armstrong.
The Shooting Star Mountain resort is a magical place, and Sarah has fond memories of Christmas here as a little girl – visits to Father Christmas, husky rides in the snow and hot chocolate by a roaring fire. But as the resorts new owner, Will refuses to play snowball or to deck the halls with anything remotely resembling tinsel!
With customers complaining their Christmas is ruined, Sarah decides it’s up to her to convince Scroogey Will just how magical Christmas can be….
But getting Will into the Christmas spirit is hopeless – he is Bah Humbug personified! But as Sarah gets to know him better, she realises that underneath all the gloom is a man struggling with a pain of his own.
With the big day approaching, Sarah realises that the magic and sparkle can wait. This year, she’s going to spend Christmas day with someone special her very own Mr Scrooge…
Sarah works in the travel agency belonging to her Auntie. When she gets into a bit of an e-mail war with the man who runs the Shooting Star Mountain Resort in Canada, it ends up with her going to stay there for a week in order to see why this holiday destination – one she remembers as a magical place, is now getting the reputation of being the worst place to be.
Sarah wants to see for herself what is going on and more importantly, she wants to help restore the place to its former glory. She also wants to give the manager, Will Armstrong a piece of her mind.
This is one of the things I love most about this time of year. All of the Christmas books. The festive feeling of curling up with a book set around Christmas makes me very happy indeed.
by Book Review: Cold Breath by Quentin Bates
Welcome today to Quentin Bates and the blog tour for Cold Breath released this month from Constable.
Gunnhildur reluctantly allows herself to be taken off police duties to act as bodyguard to a man with a price on his head . . .
Hidden away in a secure house outside Reykjavík, Gunna and the high-profile stranger, a guest of the interiors minister, are thrown together – too close for comfort. They soon find they are neither as safe nor as carefully hidden as Gunna and her boss had thought. Conflicting glimpses of the man’s past start to emerge as the press begin to sniff him out, as does another group with their own reasons for locating him. Gunna struggles to come to terms with protecting the life of a man who may have the lives of many on his conscience – or indeed may be the philanthropist he claims to be.
Isolated together, the friction grows between Gunna and the foreign visitor, and she realises they are out of their depth as the trails lead from the house outside Reykjavík to Brussels, Russia and the Middle East.
Cold Breath is the latest novel to feature Icelandic detective, Gunnhildur or Gunna as she is called for most of the novel.
She has been assigned a protection detail for a top-secret guest of a government minister. She is not sure about the man she has been asked to protect; whether he is who he says he is or is involved with illegal activities.
This book was my introduction to Gunna and I have to say, it wasn’t long until I couldn’t put this book down. It had mystery running right the way through it and I very much enjoyed trying to solve the puzzle along with Gunna. She is a strong female character.
The plot throughout was very nicely administered. It wasn’t given away too quickly and it was hard to work out how all the pieces fitted together – this was why I kept saying ‘one more page’ when I should have been asleep.
by
A big hello to Tracy Corbett and the blog tour for her new novel, Starlight on the Palace Pier.
After an injury derails her dream of becoming a professional dancer, Becca Roberts heads home to Brighton in search of a fresh start.
And, when a part-time dance teacher role becomes available at The Starlight Playhouse, it seems like her stars are finally aligning. The crumbling old playhouse might need a bit of tender loving care (and a lick of paint!), but Becca is more than up to the challenge.
That is until Becca’s first love (and first heartbreak), Tom, waltzes into the Starlight Playhouse, and she realises life by the sea might not be as simple as she thought…
I have reviewed the book below but first, Tracy and Avon have shared an extract with us. Enjoy.
*****Beginning of extract.*****
Becca was suffering with her second hangover in the space of forty-eight hours. She’d met up with a couple of old school friends last night and had ended up at Patterns. Why had she drunk so much? Her head hurt, her eyes hurt, even her hair hurt. But most of all her knee hurt. Too many gin cocktails coupled with dancing in high heels until the early hours had aggravated her injury…again. If she carried on like this she might never make a full recovery. But it was hard to remain focused on her rehabilitation when she knew her dancing career was over.
Still, she didn’t want to walk with a permanent limp, so she needed to dial down the abuse and let her knee heal, which was why she was sitting in the kitchen with an ice pack balancing on her knee. Two paracetamols and two ibuprofens had dulled the pounding in her head, but she still felt battered.
It wasn’t the best preparation for an interview. But then, she wasn’t even sure she wanted the job. Teaching was certainly an avenue lots of dancers chose after retiring, but they were usually the ones who’d had successful careers and had taken teacher training courses. She hadn’t done any of that. She’d never considered herself the teaching type. On the other hand, she needed a job. And Jodi was desperate for an ally, so Becca had contacted Carolyn Elliot-Wentworth and applied for the position.
She drank another glass of water and forced down a slice of toast, but she knew fresh air would be the only real antidote. A walk up to Preston Park would do her good, plus it would help strengthen her thigh muscles, something the consultant said was necessary to protect her knee from future injury.
Yesterday’s clouds had blown away leaving a lovely September day. It was warm enough that she didn’t need a coat, so she headed away from the marina up towards Victoria Fountain, reacquainting herself with her home town. Once a place filled with cheap housing, hippies and squatters struggling to make a living, Brighton had been transformed into a thriving town full of artists and celebrities.
by Book Review: Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks
Every Breath is the new novel from Nicholas Sparks and is due to be released by Sphere tomorrow.
Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. After six years with her boyfriend, she is no longer sure what she wants, and when her father becomes ill she heads to her family’s cottage at Sunset Beach in North Carolina to make some difficult decisions.
Tru Walls has been summoned across an ocean from where he was born and raised in Zimbabwe by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. In journeying to Sunset Beach, Tru hopes to unravel the mystery surrounding his mother’s life, but the letter will lead him in an unexpected direction.
When these two strangers’ paths cross, their chance encounter sets in motion a heart-breaking story – one that will transcend decades, continents and the workings of fate.
Tru has travelled to North Carolina from his home in Zimbabwe to meet a man he’s never met. His plan is to have this meeting and head back home as soon as possible. What he doesn’t count on is meeting a woman on the beach. She’s a stranger but he has the feeling that he’s met her before.
Hope has come to her family beach house one more time before it is sold. Whilst walking her dog she looses sight of him. Scottie is brought back by a handsome stranger. Like Tru she has a feeling that she knows him.
by Book Review: Oh! What a Pavlova by Isabella May
Kate Clothier is leading a double life: a successful jet-setting businesswoman to the outside world, but behind closed doors, life with Daniel and his volcanic temper is anything but rosy.
Some days – heck, make that EVERY day – cake is her only salvation.
Slowly but surely, the cities she visits – and the men she meets – help her to realise there IS a better future.
And the ley lines of Glastonbury are certainly doing their best to impart their mystical wisdom…
But will she escape before it’s too late?
Oh! What a Pavlova focuses on Kate. Professionally, she is a foreign rights seller for books but in her personal life, things are not looking so good for her. She’s been with Daniel for a few years and the abuse he displays toward her is getting worse every day.
The narrative does jump a round a little bit as it’s pretty much Kate’s story told in the first person.
It took me a couple of chapters to get into this novel as the subject matter isn’t a happy one. Despite this, I believe it was handled well. Some scenes in the book are very shocking.
Like Kate’s life, this book has many aspects. Kate sees her work trips away as an escape from the situation at home. At the beginning, it seems black and white and quite frustrating. The reader doesn’t quite know how someone like Kate could stay with someone like Daniel. She seems such a strong character. It isn’t until you get further into the novel that you begin to really understand the motivations and behaviours of the characters.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: New Worlds
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
You have a chance to step into your favourite fictional world with the author who created it.
Do you have a good time or is the author hard to be around?
Write about an incident that happens whilst inside the book.
by Events: The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2018
The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival for 2018 is here.
The festival is now underway between now and Sunday 14th October.
The festival welcomes Writers, Politicians, Poets and Actors. Everyone is there to celebrate the written word. If you want my opinion, it seems like a brilliant way to spend a weekend.
Happening at various locations throughout Cheltenham, there are interviews, panels and talks as well as family events and it’s all happening over the next three days. There are some free events as well as ones that require ticket purchases.
Today (Friday,) events include a short introduction to autobiography, how to make the most of your garden, social media: find your tribe and Cheltenham Writes which celebrates local authors.
by Book Review: ‘Tis The Season To Be Single by Laura Ziepe
All they want for Christmas…
Rachel is in shock. She was sure that her boyfriend was about to propose – not break up with her! Even worse, it turns out he’s been cheating on her…
Grace can’t bear the thought of spending another Christmas with her lazy, unappreciative husband. Surely it’s time to shake things up a bit?
Amber knows she should be happy that her best friend Jack is getting married, but there’s a little part of her that can’t help think ‘it was always meant to be me’!
With Christmas fast approaching, surely there’s no better time to be single – yet will the three friends manage to keep their promise and ban all men until the New Year?
‘Tis The Season To Be Single focuses on Rachel, Grace and Amber. They all work together in a big department store and have grown to be very close friends. When they all suddenly find themselves single at Christmas, they make a pact to go to the annual work ball together. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned.
This book is told from the point of view of all three women. Grace has realised she’s not happy in her marriage. Rachel has recently discovered that her boyfriend hasn’t been faithful and Amber says she actually doesn’t mind being single and doesn’t want a serious relationship.
Each character has a distinct point of view and voice. They were all very likeable, flawed yet wonderful characters and it didn’t take long before I got invested in their story.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Twenty Questions
Today, the writing room will be looking at getting to know your character by having a game of twenty questions with them using the questions below. Not everything you write has to end up in your novel but it will give you a better overall knowledge of them and how they would feel and react to things.
1. What do they look like?
2. What do they like to do to socialize?
3. How was their childhood?
4. One thing that really embarrasses them?
5. What group did they belong to at school?
6. What did they want to do when they grew up and what do they actually do for a job as an adult?
7. Name ten songs that are currently on their playlist?
8. Do they drink, smoke, take drugs?
by Book Review: Dreaming of Christmas by T.A.Williams
It’s the dream Christmas: snow, mountains… and, er, an ex-boyfriend. But can Zoe still find love in the Alps?
Dumped on Christmas Eve by her long-term boyfriend, it’s been a rough year for Zoe Lumsley. But then she gets an invitation she can’t refuse: an all expenses paid skiing holiday with old university friends.
The bad news: her ex, Grant, will be there with his new girlfriend. But so will her former flatmate Billy, the organiser, and in the meantime he’s done rather well for himself. As Christmas in the Alps approaches, it’ll be great to see the old gang. Some more than others…
My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC first of all.
This was my first book by T.A.Williams and believe me, I’m so annoyed! So very annoyed at myself, because it’s the first of this author’s that I’ve read! Dammit! On the plus side, as it’s the first, that means I’ve plenty more to look forwards to.
Now, if that isn’t a hint that this’ll be a very good review…I give up.
The main protagonist, a certain Zoe (Clumsly) Lumsley was dumped on Christmas Eve by her longtime boyfriend from university, Grant.
A year later, unhappy in her journalistic job and dreading the forthcoming Christmas anniversary, she finds solace in an unexpected all expenses paid holiday in Austria from another of her flatmates from university, albeit one now more known for being a reclusive IT billionaire. together with the other residents of the flat. This, unfortunately, includes Grant.
A series of adventures ensue with much skiing, quaffing of top quality wine and champagne, with all the protagonists having something to hide including, though she doesn’t realise it until near the end of the book, Zoe herself.
by A Moment With… Julie C. Gardner
Forgetting Ophelia is the new novel from Julie C. Gardner (released today by Velvet Morning Press.) She’s joined me today to talk about her life in books. Over to you, Julie.
I owe my obsession with reading, at least in part, to my sister Nancy. More specifically to her tonsils. I was seven and my sister was six the year my family drove from California to Texas to spend Christmas with our cousins. On the way, Nancy broke out in yet another of her fevers, her throat swelling up, her tonsils the size of tennis balls. It was a truly miserable situation.
For me.
Why? Because Nancy, who was my only playmate on this road trip, was suddenly quarantined. No more alphabet games in the backseat of our car. No songs or hand-slapping routines.
On a pit stop at my Aunt Elaine’s house in Arizona, my aunt took pity on me and my loneliness, whisking me away to a local bookstore where she bought me The Secret of the Old Clock.
I curled up with my new mystery, gobbling the adventures of this titian blonde named…Nancy.
The love was instantaneous. I wanted to be a titian blonde. I wanted to BE Nancy Drew.
I read every book of hers I could get my hands on. Then the Trixie Belden series. Harriet the Spy. A Wrinkle in Time. Island of the Blue Dolphins. By the time I was ten, I decided to be Judy Blume, not merely devour all her books.
When I was in fifth grade, my parents took me to a bank where they were handing out free copies of James A. Michener’s Hawaii. The book was roughly the size of a toaster. As I announced my plan to read all 1,000 pages of this sprawling saga, my parents chuckled. “Go ahead!” (Of particular interest were the sexy scenes, since I’d recently watched my school’s puberty films.)
By then my sister had had her tonsils removed, and I’d moved on to Little Women, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities. A bevy of classics littered my nightstand and saved me from being completely boy-crazy. (Rest assured, I was still plenty boy-crazy. Just ask Nancy and my parents.)
by Book Club
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