My Writing Ramblings: Count to Three and Then Begin
Greetings fellow writers.
It’s a quick catch up from me this week. As I get ready to begin to write my novel, I have been thinking a lot about what starting my book will actually mean to me.
Many people announce that they would like to write a book. It is said that everyone theoretically has a book in them.
However, despite what the overwhelming feeling of standing in front of books in a book shop will tell you, it is only a small percentage of the people who say they want to write a book, who then go on to get the courage and the motivation to get their bum in a seat and apply pen to paper or fingertips to keyboard (whatever your preference is.)
So, even beginning a book is a huge achievement.
Read advice then forge your own routine. Each person’s process will be unique to them.
Read, jot down ideas and practise your craft. Confidence is bred from experience and that can only mean one thing. You need to write.
by 
Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: A World Without…
Friday 3rd March 2017: A world without….
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.
Today’s prompt is about imagining a world without.
There are many things that we, as humans feel that we can’t be without. Make a list of the things in your own life that you feel fit this category.
Then pick one and use it as inspiration for a story. Your character has just woken up and found themselves without this object. It’s an object that becomes important to their survival. What happens?
by A Moment With: Caroline Lea Chats About Writing & Editing Her Novel, When The Sky Fell Apart
Caroline Lea
Massive happy hellos to Caroline Lea and her stunning debut novel, When The Sky Fell Apart which has just been released by Text Publishing.
Jersey, June 1940: it starts with the burning man on the beach just after the bombs land, obliterating the last shred of hope that Hitler will avert his attention from the Channel Islands. Within weeks, 12,000 German troops land on the Jersey beaches, heralding a new era of occupation.
For 10-year-old Claudine, it means a re-education under German rule, and as she befriends one of the soldiers, she inadvertently opens the gateway to a more sinister influence in her home with devastating consequences.
For Maurice, a local fisherman, it means protecting his wife at all costs. He has heard the whispers from France of what the occupiers do to invalids like Marthe and he is determined to keep them away from her – even if it means endangering his own life.
Edith, the island’s unofficial homeopath, is a Jerriais through to her bones. She sees her duty as caring for those who need her in their darkest time, but even she can’t save everyone, no matter how hard she tries.
And as for English doctor Tim Carter – on the arrival of the brutal Commandant, he becomes the subject of a terrifying regime that causes the Jersey locals to brand him a traitor, unaware of the torment he suffers in an effort to save them.
It’s over to Caroline where she is chatting about her writing process and the magic of editing. I’ve also reviewed the book too.
I’ve always written, but it took having children to compel me to finish my first novel. Perhaps it was the escapism writing offered, or the fact that motherhood has shown me both that I am a huge control freak, and that parenting is hard (why didn’t someone warn me that my kids would have opinions, or that they might prefer fistfuls of sugar to steamed broccoli?). The result was WHEN THE SKY FELL APART, which was written in six months during my children’s nap-times. Children provided me with a useful time constraint—I always respond well to a deadline—and writing provided me with characters I could control, so that it mattered less when my children drew on their faces with sharpie marker pens.
There were many surprises along the road to publication, not least of which was the amount of criticism writers must be willing to accept. The key is to acknowledge it, struggle back up, dust yourself off and continue to write, ignoring the monkey on your shoulder, babbling that you’re a failure. Writers are masters of self-sabotage. It’s easy to sit in front of a blank screen, paralysed by the idea that, whatever you write, it won’t be good enough. At the other end of the spectrum is the eviscerating experience of writing something ‘good’, only to feel utterly shattered by critical feedback from an agent or editor. All this emotional battery can leave hopeful writers feeling like the end product might not justify the years of tears and crushed egos, but I think that the problem is often that we expect to be ‘good’ too soon: we don’t allow ourselves to write badly.
Bear with me. I’m not suggesting that you send out your first draft of poorly shaped plot, with under-developed characters (I tried this with the first draft of my second novel: the response from my wonderful and longsuffering agent was polite but brutal). But I am saying that good work often starts with ‘bad’ writing, and with forgiving yourself for writing badly, and then being ready to endlessly reshape, rework, edit and redraft. This is where the magic happens. Imagine that you’re a sculptor. The first, roughly hewn block of wood will look be underwhelming. You’ll spend hundreds of hours sawing, chiseling, sanding and varnishing it before you have anything worthy of display. On the other hand, there may be things that remain in your novel through all twenty redrafts: WHEN THE SKY FELL APART starts with a burning man on a beach, and the first sentence, which was the impetus for the whole novel, has never changed: When he was on fire, the man smelt bitter.
by March’s Novel Kicks Book Club: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Penguin, Jan 2015
Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.
I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.
The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.
This month, it is All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the ‘natural wonders’ of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself – a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all.
by Blog Tour: The Witchfinder’s Sister by Beth Underdown – Book Review
A big welcome today to Beth Underdown and the blog tour for her novel, The Witchfinder’s Sister which is due to be released by Viking tomorrow (2nd March 2017.)
‘The number of women my brother Matthew killed, so far as I can reckon it, is one hundred and six…’
1645. When Alice Hopkins’ husband dies in a tragic accident, she returns to the small Essex town of Manningtree, where her brother Matthew still lives.
But home is no longer a place of safety. Matthew has changed, and there are rumours spreading through the town: whispers of witchcraft, and of a great book, in which he is gathering women’s names.
To what lengths will Matthew’s obsession drive him?
And what choice will Alice make, when she finds herself at the very heart of his plan?
Based on the true story of the man known as the Witchfinder General, this exquisitely rendered novel transports you to a time and place almost unimaginable, where survival might mean betraying those closest to you, and danger lurks outside every door.
Alice has just lost her husband. With little option available to her and nowhere else to go, she has to return to the home of her brother, Matthew Hopkins, ‘the Witchfinder General.’
Many rumours are circulating about Matthew’s conduct. Alice doesn’t want to believe her brother is capable of these things. The longer she is around her brother, the harder it is to avoid the feeling that the rumours are true.
It was easy to sympathise with Alice. She is governed by her circumstances and isn’t really respected by the men around her. Most of all, her brother.
by Competitions: Winner of February’s Blind Date with a Book
The end of February is here and so it is time to announce the winner of this month’s Win a Blind Date With a Book competition.
It is very easy to judge a book by its cover. I know I do it. Our competition is one with a twist. It’s your chance to win a blind date with a book.
I didn’t reveal what the title was of this month’s book was nor did I reveal the cover. All I did reveal is that this book was about a boy and a girl, looking to the future and trying to escape the past. Learning how to let go and live.
Congratulations to Christina from Surrey who has won this month. I hope you enjoy your literary blind date.
March’s competition will be coming soon.
by My Favourites: Supporting Characters
Jennifer Ehle & Susannah Harker, Pride & Prejudice, BBC, 1995
Literature is full of many great characters; heroes and heroines that I’ve loved. What I find though, when these books and characters are written about, it is the main characters that get most of the attention. There are so many supporting characters that are not talked about half as much as they should be.
With so many to choose from, I had a hard time trying to decide which ‘sidekicks’ were my favourites. This list could change tomorrow but for now, these are my favourite supporting characters in literature.
Jane Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennett is the type of girl that you want for a friend. She is kind and fiercely loyal and knows her mind. I believe though that Jane is sometimes over looked for the more popular Lizzie (do not take this for Lizzie hate. I love her.)
Jane is the quiet Bennett sister. She’s seen as the bestest bet in terms of making a good marriage and is seen as beautiful but I feel there is so much more to her than beauty and prospects. Unlike Lizzie, Jane sees the good in everyone and in every situation and is always keen to seek out the positive.
Rupurt Grint (Ron Weasley,) Warner Bros/JK Rowling
We all know Harry Potter. I adore this series of books. These are the books I go to when I am having a bad time and want something comforting. We all know of the main character of course. Harry Potter is one of the most recognisable fictional heroes but I want to take a moment to admire Ron Weasley. Hermione is also a great character but I think Ron is my favourite.
It must be hard to be in the shadow of his friend and yet he rises above and is always there for Harry with his loyalty and humour. Harry would be nothing without his friends. Ron can be hilarious but he can do the serious thing. Plus, I want to visit the Burrow. It sounds so amazing.
Speaking of loyal friends, I couldn’t have a list like this and not mention Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings.
If you need a friend, Sam is the one you want to have. Frodo fell at the last moment and it was Sam who helped him get the ring to where it needed to be in order to destroy it. Sam is why they succeeded in my opinion. Had he not carried Frodo that last bit up the hill, then it would have all been for nothing. Sam doesn’t want much in life. He wants love and the people around him. He never had an adventurous side like Frodo and yet he followed him.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Off on a Tangent
Tuesday 28th February 2017: Off on a Tangent.
For our writing exercise today, I thought we could go back to generating ideas.
Find an A4 piece of paper and draw a box in the middle of the page.
Pick up the book that is closest to you. Open it and write down the first word you see in the box you’ve just drawn.
Use that word as a starting point. What does that word make you think of. Write an arrow out from the box and write it down. Does the first word inspire anything else? Use each word you write down as inspiration for the next.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Fictional Best Friend
Friday 24th February 2017: Fictional Best Friend
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.
Today’s prompt involves a fictional best friend.
Out of all the fictional characters you like (or don’t like,) which one would you like to hang out with for the day?
What sort of things would you get up to? Where would you go?
Build a short story around these ideas. Begin with the sentence, ‘we left at 9am.’
by Blog : Blog Tour: Micro Thriller Challenge With Rachel Abbot To Celebrate The Release of The Sixth Window
I am super pleased and excited to be welcoming Rachel Abbott back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her fabulous new novel, The Sixth Window.
Eighteen months after Natalie Gray loses her husband Bernie in a horrific hit and run accident, she finds love with his best friend, Ed Cooper, and moves into his home with her teenage daughter Scarlett. But she begins to suspect Ed has a dark side –and even darker intentions.
Natalie has to get her troubled child to a safer place, but when Scarlett starts to hear voices coming from the empty apartment next door it seems she has unwittingly moved them into the heart of danger.
DCI Tom Douglas is also chasing the truth. As his investigation into the suicide of a teenage girl draws him ever closer to Natalie and Scarlett, will he be too late to protect them from the threat they face, or from the truths that will tear their lives apart?
For this blog tour we have something special and a little bit different. Rachel and I have co-written a little micro thriller. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.
by My Writing Ramblings: General Catch Up
Greetings one and all. How has everyone’s week gone? It’s hard to keep the smiles going when there is so much negativity going on in the news and bad weather going around isn’t it?
I just wanted a catch up this week. It’s been a little bit of a quiet one. I’ve managed a little work toward the novel and hope to start writing on 1st March.
As we race toward the end of February, I am looking back on this month and finding that it went by in a bit of a blur.
My weeks tend to be like that if I am with the day job especially when I am working more night than day shifts. Night shifts are a curious thing. It makes you feel as though you have permanent jetlag (I call night shift me, ‘zombie Laura,) but there is something lovely about being awake in the early hours. It’s always so quiet.
When work does get in the way (or other commitments,) it’s easy for me to fall out of any routine I have begun to build up.
I will have my days off, start to develop routines and habits and then the work days will come and the motivation will waver. I am not sure why this happens. It’s not all the time but it’s frustrating all the same. Tiredness is such a productivity killer.
by
Sphere, December 2016
Christie Chapman is a single mum who spends her days commuting to her secretarial job in London and looking after her teenage son, Finn. It’s not an easy life but Christie finds comfort in her love of crafting, and spends her spare time working on her beautiful creations. From intricately designed cards to personalised gifts, Christie’s flair for the handmade knows no bounds and it’s not long before opportunity comes knocking.
Christie can see a future full of hope and possibility for her and Finn – and if the handsome Max is to be believed, one full of love too. It’s all there for the taking. And then, all of sudden, her world is turned upside down.
Christie knows that something has to give, but can she really give up her dreams and the chance of real love? Will Christie find her happy ending in . . . Paper Hearts and Summer Kisses.
Knowing this story is based on a real-life person (Christie Chapman – look her up and also read her review on Amazon.co.uk) added a slice of intrigue to my reading. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t pretend to know any of Christie’s actual story, but if it was as heart-rending and inspiring as PH&SK portrays, then all hats should be doffed to the lady and her son.
Our main characters are Christie and her son Finn and it’s through Christie’s eyes that we see her struggle to support her son, whilst bringing him up as a single parent, not made any easier by the constant worry caused by Finn’s mysterious headaches, which never go away and keep him off school. Her parents are a wonderful source of support and when Christie finds herself jetting off to the USA for a crafting course by an up and coming US-based company, this is thanks to her mother.
by Blog Tour: Extract From If Ever I Fall by S.D Robertson
A lovely big massive welcome to S.D Robertson and the blog tour for his new novel, If Ever I Fall which was released by Avon on 9th February 2017.
Dan’s life has fallen apart at the seams. He’s lost his house, his job is on the line, and now he’s going to lose his family too. All he’s ever wanted is to keep them together, but is everything beyond repair?
Maria is drowning in grief. She spends her days writing letters that will never be answered. Nights are spent trying to hold terrible memories at bay, to escape the pain that threatens to engulf her.
Jack wakes up confused and alone. He doesn’t know who he is, how he got there, or why he finds himself on a deserted clifftop, but will piecing together the past leave him a broken man?
In the face of real tragedy, can these three people find a way to reconcile their past with a new future? And is love enough to carry them through?
Stuart and Avon have kindly given me an extract from the novel to share with you today. I have also reviewed the book below. Enjoy.
Morning, Jack. You’re up bright and early.’
Miles is unloading a large bag of beans into the built-in coffee machine above the oven. I smile at him, say good morning and accept his offer of breakfast. But behind the facade I’m cracking up. How did I get here? I’ve no memory of waking, getting dressed and coming downstairs. And what happened yesterday? Or the day before? My memory’s all messed up: confused by shadows of half-remembered dreams.
The last thing I remember for sure is being in the car with Miles in the village and that weird incident in the hardware shop. Was it real or a dream?
I should tell Miles what’s going on. He is a doctor after all. But I’m not sure I trust him. I’m not convinced he’s ever taken me to the hospital. He says I’ve been there, but I’ve no memory of it.
There’s something off about all of this. What if he’s drugging me? Mind-altering substances could explain a lot. Maybe even what I saw – or thought I saw – in the shop. How has this not occurred to me before?
I wait until he’s finished with the coffee machine and then, as he looks at me, hold my hand to my stomach and wince.
‘Problem?’ he asks.
‘Stomach cramps. Think I’d better get to the toilet.’
‘Oh dear. Hope it’s not the crab we had last night.’
Crab? I’ve no memory of that. Shutting the kitchen door behind me, I head to the foot of the stairs. I wait there for a moment, to make sure he’s not coming after me. Then I slip out of the front door.
It’s cold outside this morning, another biting wind blowing in off the sea. Again, I don’t have my jacket with me, but there’s no time to find it now. I have to get out of here. As far away as possible. And it has to be now.
by Courses and Competitions: From First Draft to Final Draft
Writers & Artists and William Ryan have joined together to present a ten-week course called ‘From First Draft to Final Draft.’
Through this course, essential elements of the writing craft and how you can apply it to your own manuscript will be discussed. It also includes exercises that will directly involve your novel-in-progress.
The course consists of evening sessions which take place on Wednesdays for ten weeks (this excludes two reading weeks.) The sessions run from 6pm until 8.30pm.
Held at Bloomsbury in Bedford Square in London, it runs from 15th march 2017 until 31st May 2017 and it is £1250.00.
The course features feedback on your novel’s premise and sample chapters by William and a literary agent, practical sessions based around your own writing, three critiques and twenty-five hours of advice from a combination of authors and publishing professionals. You will also get a copy of The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook which is essential for any writer.
For a more detailed course breakdown, details of who will be speaking and details of how to book (including how you could potentially pay in instalments,) visit: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk
by
Today I am pleased to be saying hello to author, Fiona Mordaunt and the blog tour for her novella, The Frog Theory which was released by Clink Street Publishing on 14th February 2017.
Tragedy and comedy in perfect proportion.
Kim and Flow are the best of friends, living on a council estate, making money selling drugs.
Just around the corner in a smarter part of Fulham is Clea, a well-heeled young woman coping with a violent home life at the hands of her twisted step-father.
The Principal runs a famous college for problem teens. Fostering guilty secrets which distance her from her own children, she resists the advances of a man she sees on the train every day.
When Kim and Clea meet by chance, Kim is smitten but worried about her. Using the anecdote of the frog theory – that it will jump straight out of boiling water and live, but stay in and die if heated slowly from cold – he wakes her up to the dangerous situation she’s in at home.
Serendipity and a cake-fuelled food fight that goes viral will bring Kim, Clea, Flow and The Principal together in weird and wonderful ways in this frenetic, laugh-out-loud story about love, conscience and lion-hearted nerve.
I have reviewed the book below but first, thanks to Fiona and Clink Street Publishing, I have an extract to share with you. Enjoy.
Smart Shoes – Kim meets the principal for the first time.
Kim was used to teachers and probation officers trying to make an effort, trying to understand him, gently coaxing; this was new. ‘What kind of fucking teacher are you? You don’t know anything!’ he accused. It had taken a lot for him to come there and try for once in his life. ‘Sitting behind there in your smart suit with your smart nails and your smart hair and, and…’ he searched for something else to say.
‘My smart shoes?’ she suggested with a raised eye-brow.
Kim shifted awkwardly.
‘I couldn’t see your shoes.’
From the waist down she was concealed by a large, low-skirted desk. Strewn across it were some letters showing her home address, he memorised it, might come in useful. ‘I’m sure they’re smart, though,’ he added politely as an afterthought, wishing to appear respectful after a less than perfect beginning.
‘Sit down and tell me your name,’ said the principal.
He did as he was told.
by My Favourites: My Writing Playlist
Warner Bros. 2016
I love music. It’s one of my great loves along with books. It doesn’t take long after a song I like comes on before I am tapping my foot, singing under my breath or if I’m alone in the house or in my car full on singing and belting it out.
Music is also a big part of my writing routine. I’m not one of these people who can write in silence. Being in silence reminds me of exams and I hated exams. I’d always be worried that I’d say something to myself out loud, embarrass myself et cetera so I don’t have great associated memories.
Writing with music playing calms me down, makes me smile and helps me to focus on the job at hand. Now onto my playlists. I debated whether to share my taste in music (as some of it is very questionable,) but here goes.
Listening to music has been made so much easier with Apple Music and Spotify. As I said, my music taste is a little bit strange. Its full of all sorts of songs (plenty of them cheesy, you know the embarrassing kind.) My iPod and playlists are full of those songs you can’t help but love but are quick to skip over if there are people with you. You know what ones I mean.
When I’m writing, I like songs and albums that will either make me happy or chill me out. I find music a little bit less distracting than TV box sets (although that doesn’t stop me playing back to back episodes of Gilmore Girls.)
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Character and Dialogue
For today’s writing exercise I wanted to look again at characters and dialogue.
Turn on the TV and try to catch any programme or film that is currently ending (basically in its end credits.)
Whilst watching the end credits, try to write down as many names as you can. Names that you like, dislike or intrigue you. Maybe a name triggers an idea for story in the future?
Once you have a list, pick three names that stand out to you the most and write a short bio for each of them. Write it like you would a CV.
Now place all of them in an interview situation where you are only allowed to use dialogue. They can all be in a group interview or in separate rooms. Logistics is up to you.
by Blog Tour: Author Interview with Mhairi Macfarlane
Who’s That Girl is the brilliant novel from Mhairi Mcfarlane. I’m so incredibly excited and honoured to be welcoming her to Novel Kicks today. I’ve reviewed Who’s That Girl below but first, I have a chat with Mhairi about her book, her writing process, who from the fictional world she’d like to hang out with and writing advice I am going to print out and pin to my desk.
Hi Mhairi, it’s lovely to welcome you to Novel Kicks today. Could you tell me a little about your novel, Who’s That Girl?
Lovely to be here! Who’s That Girl? is about Edie Thompson, 36, who is caught kissing the groom on his wedding day. She has her reasons, but no one wants to hear them, and it causes a scandal that sees her carefully managed life in advertising in London fall apart. She she has to go home to Nottingham and face her demons, and her grumpy younger hippy sister, Meg. She gets a temporary assignment ghost writing a celebrity biography and meets a hot new actor, Elliot Owen. Together they help each other tackle fame and infamy.
What’s your writing process like? Are you much of a planner or edit as you go?
I am such an ex journalist in this respect: I edit like fury as I go along, I don’t know how else to be: it has to feel more or less right or I can’t move forward. It’s a good thing in it that I tend to be quite clear in my tone and intent from the start, and I don’t have – my editor gives side eye here – HUGE rewrites later, but it doesn’t make me all that speedy, either. I have to bully myself to move on and not torture myself over it being exactly where I want it and polished to a high shine. Which no first draft ever is, really.
If you mean plot planning, I work to a rough A to Z outline but there’s a fair amount of free styling along the way.
Do you have any writing rituals for example writing in silence, chain drinking coffee?
Oh I hammer through great pails of black coffee definitely. No rituals, I’m not one of those ordered Kon Mari-ish writers with five fresh pens and a 9am on the dot start at a sun lit desk and all that. I can’t cope with music when I write, way too distracting, but oddly I can cope with the bang and clatter of a coffee shop, so if I get cabin fever, I take my laptop to Caffe Nero. Then of course I sit down next to five shrieking students and I start scowling as if they’ve brought their lattes into my library.
by Cover Reveal: Lost For Words by Stephanie Butland
Our second cover reveal of the evening (we are being spoilt today) comes from Stephanie Butland.
Her novel, Lost For Words is due for release by Zaffre in April. A novel based in a bookshop is one I am really looking forward to reading. Plus, the name of the main character is just fabulous.
About Lost For Words:
Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look closely, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are things she’ll never show you.
Fifteen years ago Loveday lost all she knew and loved in one unspeakable night. Now, she finds refuge in the unique little York bookshop where she works.
Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past. Someone is trying to send her a message. And she can’t hide any longer.
Lost for Words is a compelling, irresistible and heart-rending novel, with the emotional intensity of The Shock of the Fall and all the charm of The Little Paris Bookshop and 84 Charing Cross Road.
One, two, three…. time for the cover!
by Cover Reveal: The Secrets of Ivy Garden by Catherine Ferguson
It is cover reveal time here at Novel Kicks.
The featured cover is for the fantastic new novel from Catherine Ferguson. It’s called The Secret of Ivy Garden and it is Catherine’s fifth novel. It is due for release by Avon on 3rd April 2017.
About The Secrets of Ivy Garden:
When Holly breaks up with her boyfriend Dean, she’s at a loss as to what to do next. But things go from bad to worse when her beloved grandmother Ivy dies – and Holly is left in charge of sorting out Ivy’s house and garden. As she sorts through her grandmother’s belongings and makes her way through the wilderness outside, Holly soon finds that there is more to Ivy than meets the eye, and uncovers a surprising family secret that changes everything…
This is a heart-warming and hilarious story from Catherine Ferguson about starting over, learning to garden and most of all learning to love.
Are you ready for the cover… drum roll…..
by Book Review: The Other Side of You by Amanda Craig
Abacus, February 2017
Will must run from the gang that controls the estate where he lives or die. He has witnessed the murder of his Aunty and so he is running for his life. He needs to find somewhere to hide
In doing this, he ends up in the area outside the estate he has known all of his life. It’s all very different. People don’t walk around looking over their shoulder and businesses thrive.
He finds shelter in what he calls a ‘glass house.’
Soon after that, he meets Padma and falls in love. He feels he could actually make his life better. Then his past catches up with him.
This book is based around/ is an updated version of Beauty and The Beast. When I started reading, I did wonder how this was going to be achieved. The story is so well-known. It’s all be integrated really well.
The description of the green house and the plants are so vivid. I felt as though I was there. The writing is fast paced and page turning.
I read this in pretty much one sitting (it’s a hundred pages long) but it drew me in. I even like how Amanda included the roses.
Will has been told he is one thing all of his life. He assumes that all he has ever known is all he will ever be. Escaping shows him a different path. You’ve just got to want it. Also, first impressions and appearances are not always to be trusted.
This is a great addition to the Quick Reads library. I enjoyed it very much.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Start The Next Sentence With
Friday 17th February 2017: Start The Next Sentence With….
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.
Today’s prompt: Use the last word of each sentence to begin the next one.
For example, The cat came in from outside. Outside was cold. Cold was making it’s presence known.
Start off your piece off with the following sentence; ‘I looked at the clock. I couldn’t wait.’
by My Writing Ramblings: Books, Books, Books!
Hello all. How is everyone?
This week has been a little bit of a quiet one for me. It’s mostly been consisting of night shifts which has meant that I have been mostly trying to sleep during the day. That sounds amazing when you’ve not got people ringing the doorbell and buses thumping by. Oh, and a cat craving attention. Even when I close the door, we will meow until I have opened it.
It’s that law of when you need to sleep, you can’t and when you get to work, all you want to do is fall sleep. Then when you get to sleep, you wake up and clock watch. My head will remind me of things before I sleep – embarrassing moments in my life (it likes reminding me of those.) My to-do list, that I need a drink of water. It will helpfully wait until I have almost dropped off. Does this happen to anyone else?
I have been managing t0 get a lot of reading done this week which is great. I have read some great books this month too; Who’s That Girl by Mhairi Macfarlane, If I Ever Fall by SD Robertson and The Sixth Window by Rachel Abbott (reviews and blog tours coming soon.)
by Stationery Spotlight: Letters and Doodles to Kickstart Creativity
Abrams, September 2016
Finding the time to write can sometimes be hard to do. Work, school runs, bedtime routines… there are many things in life that can get in the way.
The other battle is once you’ve sat down to write, your inspiration disappears and that blank space on the page can be incredibly daunting. No matter how long you sit there, the words will not come.
This is why I like writing prompts. Your brain is like a car engine. It works better when it has warmed up. Today I wanted to share two books that I’ve found so helpful.
Form letters by Laura Olin is a series of letters where you fill in the blanks. In the form of a workbook, it has a series of pages that include a letter to an internet friend who you’d like to know better, a note of encouragement to yourself, a letter to your sibling, your valentine and the ex whose instagram you’re stalking.
‘Fill in the blank notes to say anything to anyone.’
If you need something to get the creativity going, this book could be perfect. You never know what these letters will spark.
by Valentine’s Day: My Favourite Couples
Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet
It’s Valentine’s Day. I can’t help but get caught up in all the romance of this day. I know a lot of people don’t consider it an important day but I can’t help myself. I am soppy. Always have been. Hey, I like Disney. It would be hard not to be a little sucked in by all the happy.
I love romantic stories. The stories where there are two people who are meant to be together. I love that moment when they get out of their own way and get their happy ever after. I am such a sucker for the rom coms and books about love.
The boy gets the girl and the girl gets her man.
No matter how many times I watch it, I l adore the end of Valentine’s Day where Calvin ends up with Kara, Reed gets with Julia. Kate manages to get home to see her little boy. The end of Love Actually just makes me happy full stop. The end of Enchanted when Giselle and Robert get their happily ever after. I just love it.
So, this got me thinking about my favourite couples. Who are they I hear you cry.
Elinor and Edward Ferrars and Marianne and Colonel Brandon – Sense and Sensibility.
These two couples are just fantastic. No one can do romance like Jane Austen. I know my favourite should be Darcy and Lizzie (they are amazing) but there is something about the couples in this novel/film that make me smile.
Elinor is the sensible one. She’s the sister that remains level-headed and serious. Edward I feel has more of a playful streak. They complement one another.
Marianne of course needed a little bit more time to fall in love with Colonel Brandon (OK, so Alan Rickman had a big hand in this character being one of my favourites. I mean come on, that voice. I still get sad when I remember that he’s gone.)
Marianne gets there in the end. He is stable, loyal and kind and he loves her. Yes, Willoughby seems more fun at first glance but you want the guy who’s going to ride through a rain storm to find you.
Rosie and Alex from Where Rainbows End are amongst one of my favourite couples of all time. I have mentioned this novel a few times on this blog. I don’t think I will ever stop loving it. It would be in my list for books on a desert island for sure.
I fell in love with their story pretty much from the moment I picked up this novel.
The Rosie and Alex in the film are great but I much prefer the Rosie and Alex from the page.
The novel spans from when they were children until they are in their fifties whereas the film only covers to thirties (I appreciate you can only get so much into a film.)
You get such a wide understanding of these characters from the book. I got to know them and care about them. They were like a set of friends that I wanted to match make and shout at for not getting on with it.
Rosie and Alex should be together if only they could be honest with one another. These characters are proof that it’s never too late to pursue love and right wrongs.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Writing Prompts
In the writing room today, I thought I would keep it simple.
Pick one prompt from each of the following and use them as inspiration for a short story with a maximum word count of 1,500 words.
A)
A carpenter
A teenage boy
A cartoonist
An actress/actor
B)
In a penthouse apartment
In a dentist waiting room
In a lift
On an island in the middle of the ocean.
by More Books I’d Like To See Adapted For Film & TV
Macmillan, Feb 2017
Once again, I have embarked on the Goodreads reading challenge for 2017. Last year, I managed to get to the target of forty books but it was seriously by the skin of my teeth. I finished the last page of my book about three minutes before Big Ben donged in the new year. I know how to rock my new year you know.
This year, I have increased my book target by.. wait for it., one. I didn’t want to go crazy with the target as you can see.
As I was setting my target, I ended up having a look through all the books I have read and logged since I joined in 2013. I’ve read over a hundred and seventy books. I know there are some I’ve not logged. One hundred and seventy. That, for me is an incredible number.
I then got to thinking about how many of them had been adapted into movies. The Girl on The Train for example. In a year where Hidden Figures will be coming to the big screen and adaptations of A Handmaid’s Tale (can’t wait,) and Anne of Green Gables are coming to streaming services, I thought I’d look through my list of ‘read’ books in my Goodreads list and share the ones I’d like to see adapted.
The first one on my list is one that I have mentioned recently and that is Before You Go by Clare Swatman. I love this novel so much. I absolutely adored this book. It was in my January favourites and even though it’s been days since I finished it I am still thinking about it. It has a Me Before You feel to it.
As I was reading, I could imagine the scenes in the book as a movie. I could see the settings so clearly. It would make a great adaptation. It would be one that made you cry though. For sure.
Zoe and Ed are two characters I loved very much and grew to care about. I am not sure who I would cast in the roles. No one seems right for me. I can cast my own stories but not always been good at casting other stores.
Zoe and Ed have been together for years. When Ed dies, Zoe is devastated but soon finds herself getting the chance to change her past and then hopefully, her future.
Black Dot Publishing, June 2016
Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott is a book I’d like to see adapted into a film. Actually, all of her novels would translate well. Although a film would be good, I can also see this as a TV show. I think it could be as good as Thorne: Sleepyhead.
Rachel’s novels are so moreish that I always manage to storm through them quite quickly. She is very good at the tension which is what you need for a good crime adaptation. I can hear the soundtrack music already.
Kill Me Again had me on the edge of my seat all the way through. Tom Douglas and Becky Robinson are worthy enough to fill the gap we have for a good detective duo (which is what I am going to need after Bones finishes.)
Maggie thinks she knows her husband. She comes home one evening and Duncan has disappeared. She also is not the only one looking for him. When a woman who looks like Maggie is murdered, DCI Tom Douglas is brought into investigate. If you’ve read it, who would you have in the main roles?
by Blog Tour: The One by John Marrs – Review
A big welcome today to John Marrs and the blog tour for his novel, The One which was published as an eBook in January with the paperback following in May 2017.
How far would you go to find THE ONE?
One simple mouth swab is all it takes. A quick DNA test to find your perfect partner – the one you’re genetically made for.
A decade after scientists discover everyone has a gene they share with just one other person, millions have taken the test, desperate to find true love. Now, five more people meet their Match. But even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking – and deadlier – than others…
Chris’s verdict on The One:
Imagine a world where all it takes to find your prefect partner is a simple DNA test. Should you follow the science and seek out that person, or follow convention and see where your heart leads you?
The book follows the stories of several individuals who are drawn together because they have received a notice from the DNA match website identifying their match. The characters are a strange group – Intellectuals, officials and even a serial killer.
I found that the book asks various questions; if you find your perfect match will you love them? If you fall in love with someone other than your match then will it, or can it, work out? And if you have met your perfect match will they love you despite your flaws?
The stories all occur simultaneously, following linear time though out the book, with individual chapters for each character which works wonderfully so as to draw you though the book as you always want to know what is going to happen to X or Y next.
by Blog Tour: The Hit by Nadia Dalbuono – Review
The Hit by Nadia Dalbuono was released on 9th February 2017 by Scribe UK.
The investigation of a hit-and-run in Rome leads Detective Leone Scamarcio on a deadly journey to confront his Mafia past.
When Leone Scamarcio is called to investigate an apparent hit-and-run, it seems like a job for a traffic officer, not one of Rome’s top detectives.
But when the victims are kidnapped on their way to the hospital, and Scamarcio discovers that they are the family of one of the country’s top television executives, the infamous Micky Proietti, things start to get interesting. Everyone, it seems ― from Premier League footballers to jilted starlets and even the Calabrian Mafia ― has an axe to grind with Proietti.
As Scamarcio delves into the underbelly of Italian show business, he discovers a possible connection between this investigation and his own Mafia father’s right-hand man. To solve the case he must travel home to Calabria, but can he finally banish the ghosts of the past?
My verdict on The Hit:
Detective Leone Scamarcio is back for his third novel in The Hit.
High flying TV executive Micky Proietti seems to be living the charmed life. He has a successful and lucrative career, a beautiful wife and a perfect son.
Then, when the three of them are in an accident, it is only due to the quick thinking of the driver that they are not all killed. Micky makes it to the hospital, his family doesn’t. They disappear. They’ve been kidnapped. Scamarcio is then in a race against time before this family is hurt further. His enquiries soon unearth secrets he didn’t expect and the investigation means he has to go back to his own past too.
This was my introduction to this series. I had not read the previous two novels. For the overall plot, this wasn’t an issue. You can pick this up and follow it. However, the only advantage in reading the first two before this one is that there are certain passages that elude to an incident in Scamarcio’s past so reading more in the series might give you more of an insight into that.
by My Writing Ramblings: My Writing Space
Hello all. How is everyone’s week going? Can you believe we are already hurtling toward the middle of February? It’s incredible really.
I have been a little obsessed with Grey’s Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, Lucifer and reading loads this week. I always like to snuggle in and make my way through box sets when I am not working. It is so cold at the moment and I am not good with the cold at all to the point where the boy will make fun of me. I give as good as I get though.
Loads of TV time means lots of looking at Pinterest too. I can lose hours on that and You Tube.
I’ve been looking a lot at office spaces (I have been doing a little bit of planning as I have been looking at homes for my characters. Promise.) I am so nosey and love looking at other writer’s writing spaces.
I always think that having a lovely writing space is important. It’s also very personal. Some people like it to look minimal preferring not to have clutter. I always wonder how people manage this.
by Blog Tour: Helen Fields Shares An Extract From Perfect Remains
A huge lovely welcome today to Helen Fields and the blog tour for her new novel, Perfect Remains (a DI Callanach thriller,) which was released by Avon on 26th January 2017.
On a remote Highland mountain, the body of Elaine Buxton is burning. All that will be left to identify the respected lawyer are her teeth and a fragment of clothing.
In the concealed back room of a house in Edinburgh, the real Elaine Buxton screams into the darkness…
Detective Inspector Luc Callanach has barely set foot in his new office when Elaine’s missing persons case is escalated to a murder investigation. Having left behind a promising career at Interpol, he’s eager to prove himself to his new team. But Edinburgh, he discovers, is a long way from Lyon, and Elaine’s killer has covered his tracks with meticulous care.
It’s not long before another successful woman is abducted from her doorstep, and Callanach finds himself in a race against the clock. Or so he believes … The real fate of the women will prove more twisted than he could have ever imagined.
Helen and Avon have kindly shared an extract from Perfect Remains. Enjoy!
Jayne Magee was about as unlikely a target as anyone could imagine. There was no suggestion that Elaine Buxton was a regular at any church at all, so religion wasn’t the link. The pathologist hadn’t been able to estimate Elaine’s time of death, meaning they had no established pattern to follow, only the knowledge that she’d been missing sixteen days before her body was found. This time, the abductor might keep Jayne alive for weeks or she could be dead already. The killer had become a male in Callanach’s mind. There was no evidence, nothing solid, only years of past cases and what was screamingly obvious. Maybe it was more than one person, he considered, but Ava was right about looking at personality first. He couldn’t see such an obsessive character working well as a team player.
Callanach met with Jayne Magee’s assistant, Ann Burt, that afternoon. She dropped a dripping umbrella into Callanach’s bin then removed and folded her headscarf before sitting down.
Callanach instinctively tidied his desk as she settled in. Stick thin, shrill and at the far end of her sixties, he guessed, Ann Burt told it like it was. She reminded him of his grandmother, distant though those memories were.
‘So I’m talking to the detective inspector, am I?’ she began. ‘You’re the third person I’ve repeated myself to today. Would you like to tell me what’s going on?’
by
*** This competition is now closed.***
A blind date with a book is a great way to discover new books, authors and genres.
It is very easy to judge a book by its cover. I know I do it. The cover is the thing that initially catches our eye in the book shop. It can sometimes completely sell the book or make you walk by it without giving it a chance. Our competition is one with a twist. It’s your chance to win a blind date with a book.
I’m not going to reveal what the title of this month’s book is nor will I reveal the cover or the author. All I will reveal is that this is a story about a boy and a girl, looking to the future and trying to escape the past and then learning how to let go and live.
This month’s book really is a cracker.
How to enter…
by My Favourites: What I Was Loving in January
I thought it was about time I did another favourites post. I do love reading these kinds of posts. There were plenty of things I loved in January, including stationery, a TV show and some music. I wanted to share them with you today. (Side note; I have not been paid to mention these products. I brought them with my own money. It’s simply that I’ve loved them.)
My first favourite is actually three items (slightly cheating but what can you do?)
I have become seriously obsessed (and yes, completely obsessed) with Kikki K. I am new to their products but I really can’t stop myself visiting the website. So many pretty things. I am certainly a Kikki K convert. What’s that? Oh, it’s my bank balance crying in fear.
The three products I have been particularly loving are:
This notebook from their sweet collection. I am a sucker for a notebook and this one is one of my absolute favourites.
It is hardback so fairly durable. The cover is so pretty and the illustrations carry on through the whole book.
The only thing I have been finding is that it is a little heavy. A small price to pay though for such a beautiful notebook. I am in love.
The second favourite is my diary. I was using the diary from the Busy B collection but then I discovered this. It is soooooo cute. It has a week to view, it has little pockets to put things like stickers in (it comes with a sheet too) plus it has sections for books I’d like to read, movies, websites and expenses which were all things that helped sell it to me. It’s very colourful. It never fails to cheer me up whenever i see it.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Develop Your Writing Habit
Today in our writing room, I wanted to talk about how important it is to develop a writing habit.
I am very guilty of not giving myself enough of a routine and being strict about it. It can be so easy for life to get in the way; that washing needs putting in, I need to tidy. It’s been a long day and i just want to have a bath and go to bed. The list can go on and on but you get the idea. A lot of my procrastination is also fear. A whole novel seems such a big task doesn’t it?
It’s time to look at it as smaller chunks of writing.
This week, look at your current writing habit. Does your current routine allow time to write? Are you finding you don’t have as much time as you’d like and the writing is the first thing to be put to one side?
by Book News: February Book Releases
A new month. We’re already reaching the end of the first week of February. How is that possible?!
There are some wonderful authors releasing books this month and I wanted to share a few of the ones I am looking forward to getting my hands on.
Norse Mythology is the latest release by Neil Gaiman and it sounds amazing. It’s released on 7th February by Bloomsbury.
I am fairly new to Neil’s books (although I loved Stardust when it was released as a movie.)
I am also interested in the subject matter of this book.
The norse myths are woven into our story telling. Neil Gaiman reaches back through time to the original source stories. Norse mythology is a thrilling and vivid rendition of the great norse tales; Ragnarok, Twilight of the Gods, Thor, Loki, Odin and Freya. These are all irresistible in Neil’s latest book (although Tom Hiddleston as Loki is pretty irresistible already if I am honest.)
Backstabber by Kimberley Chambers is due for release on 9th February by Harper Collins. Kimberley’s books always sound like they would completely draw me in. I might have to pull this up the TBR pile a bit.
One of them has a gun to his head. Who will pull the trigger?
King of the underworld, Vinny Butler goes into business with respected villain, Eddie Mitchell. It’s a match made in East End legend.
Friends and Family are treated all, enemies like rats.
Then a mysterious package arrives; dead creatures and threats. Someone is out for revenge. Who the enemy is, no one knows. There are some people you should never cross, some who can’t forgive or forget.
by Book News: Galaxy Quick Reads Release Six New Books
Six exciting new Galaxy Quick Reads titles released on 2nd February.
These books are part of the annual campaign to improve adult literacy.
This is the seventh year Quick Reads has been sponsored by Galaxy and the second year it has been run by the Literary Agency.
One in six adults struggle with reading in the UK. This year, Quick Reads will continue its work to break down the barriers that prevent people from picking up a book.
From a re-imagining of Beauty and The Beast, to a road trip in search of Poldark, the titles include books from Jenny Colgan and a special edition of Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers.
There is also a crime collection featuring Harry Bingham, Clare MacKintosh and Mark Billingham.
The first Quick read is Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers. Released by Ebury, this is a specially adapted book drawing on the landmark self-help book by the late, Susan Jeffers. This is the first time a self-help book has been released in this series and what a great one to kick it off.
Everyone has fears and worries that stop them from progressing and going for the things they want in life. The simple life-changing exercises in this book will teach anyone to turn uncertainty into action.
The second, released by Orion is Dead Simple. This is a collection of short stories from some of the UK’s best crime writers.
Authors featured include Mark Billingham, Clare MacKintosh, James Oswald, Jane Casey, Angela Marsons, Harry Bingham, Antonia Hodgson and CL Taylor.
There are eight stories that will have many twists and turns; a man who attempts to commit the perfect murder, a widow who is about to lose more than her husband and a murderer who, when is he is about to be hanged realises that there could be worse things that happen to him.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: You’re Animated
Friday 3rd February 2017: You’re Animated.
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.
Today’s prompt: you are animated.
Make a list of all your favourite animations (or as many as you can remember.)
Pull all the aspects that interest you about each one together into one world and then plonk yourself as an animated character right in the middle of it.
Write about one of the adventures that finds you whilst there.
by My Writing Ramblings: The Power of Yes and No.
Hello everyone. I hope you’re all having a wonderful start to February. January was a long old month (it always seems to be for me.)
I’ve attempted to jump into planning my novel over the last few weeks (at times I have been able.) I am discovering the power of yes and no.
I’ve previously not had a good track record when it comes to my writing time. I don’t always protect it. It has been easy for me to say ‘I’ll write some tomorrow.’
I am the queen of procrastination.
I think a lot of this is down to my attitude. I don’t see myself as a writer and so I reason with myself and say it doesn’t matter. Well, guess what… it does matter. It matters a lot.
One big lesson I am trying to take on board this week is the power of yes and no.
YES, I will make time to get to a specified word count so I gradually build my first draft. YES I will keep myself to that promise.
by Book Review: The Girl on the Beach by Morton S. Gray
Death By Choc Lit, January 2017
Who is Harry Dixon?
When Ellie Golden meets Harry Dixon, she can’t help but feel she recognises him from somewhere. But when she finally realises who he is, she can’t believe it – because the man she met on the beach all those years before wasn’t called Harry Dixon. And, what’s more, that man is dead.
For a woman trying to outrun her troubled past and protect her son, Harry’s presence is deeply unsettling – and even more disconcerting than coming face to face with a dead man, is the fact that Harry seems to have no recollection of ever having met Ellie before. At least that’s what he says …
But perhaps Harry isn’t the person Ellie should be worried about. Because there’s a far more dangerous figure from the past lurking just outside of the new life she has built for herself, biding his time, just waiting to strike.
Recently, I’ve had the privilege of reading some novels before their published date; my thanks to those who’ve been so generous to allow me to do so, you know who you are. Around two weeks ago, I was accorded the honour of being sent a copy of the author Morton S Gray’s debut novel ‘The Girl on the Beach’, published by Choclit.
I’ve read a few debuts over the years and obviously some are better than others. If you’re lucky, you’re left doing a passable goldfish impression with your mouth simply repeating, ‘OMG! OMG! OMG! Whilst some honestly leave you wondering how on earth they got published. This novel sits firmly, as in set-in-stone firmly, in the former category. I finished it last night and just sat there enjoying a special feeling…you know the one where you know, you just know that you’ve found a special author and you’re going to be ticking off the days on your calendar until their next release!
Those who read my reviews will know that I don’t tend to give much away about the plot, it spoils the twists and turns – and there are plenty here – that a good author will sprinkle around their work. Ms Gray’s story is as much ‘Suspense’ as ‘Romance’ and considering the subject matter, this is just as well. Because of this, I have to explain what I mean and tell you a little more of the story than I normally would. I prefer to concentrate on how the writer…um, writes.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Writing To Your Various Selves.
Wednesday 2nd February 2017: writing to your various selves.
Write a letter to you future self. What would you say? Once you’ve done that, write a letter to your sixteen year old self?
Try and make the letters at least one complete side of A4.
Is there anything different between the two letters? What advice would you give to either self?
If you want, you could then repeat this exercise but write from the perspective of one or more of your characters.
by News: Baileys To End Women’s Prize For Fiction Sponsorship
Baileys to stop sponsoring Women’s Prize For Fiction.
Baileys have announced that they will no longer be sponsoring the Woman’s Prize For Fiction. The prize, co-founded by author, Kate Mosse had been sponsored by Baileys since 2014. They took over from Orange who had previously sponsored the prize for seventeen years.
‘We regretfully decided to make way for a new sponsor,’ said a spokesperson for Baileys.
They will remain sponsors of the 2017 prize before they make way for a new sponsor for 2018. This year’s long list is to be announced in March, the shortlist will be unveiled in April and the winner announced in June.
The Women’s prize for fiction is awarded annually to what the judges consider the best novel of the year in English by a female author. The winning author receives £30,000 in prize money. Previous winners include Zadie Smith and Lionel Shriver.
For more information about the prize, visit www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/
by February’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Emma by Jane Austen
Penguin Classics, 2009
Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.
I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.
The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.
As it’s almost Valentine’s Day, this month’s book is Emma by Jane Austen.
Beautiful, clever, rich – and single – Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others.
But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.
by Competitions: Blind Date With A Book – January’s Winner
It’s time to announce the winner of January’s Win a Blind Date With a Book competition.
It is very easy to judge a book by its cover. I know I do it. Our competition is one with a twist. It’s your chance to win a blind date with a book.
I didn’t reveal what the title was of this month’s book was nor did I reveal the cover. All I did reveal is that the themes included ‘obsession, relationships, secrets and loss.’
Congratulations to Kerry Parsons from Staffordshire who has won this month’s competition. I hope you enjoy your book.
February’s competition will be coming soon.
by Blog Tour: Clare Swatman Talks About Her Debut Novel, Before You Go
It’s blog tour day for the brilliant debut novel, Before You Go by Clare Swatman.
When Zoe’s husband Ed dies, her world caves in. But what if Zoe can get Ed back?
You find your soulmate . . .
Some people stare love in the face for years before they find it. Zoe and Ed fumbled their way into adulthood, both on different paths – but always in the same direction. Years later, having navigated dead-end jobs and chaotic house shares, romance finally blossoms. Their future together looks set . . .
Then the unthinkable happens.
One morning, on his way to work, Ed is knocked off his bike and dies. Now Zoe must find a way to survive. But she’s not ready to let go of the memories. How can she forget all of the happy times, their first kiss, everything they’d built together? Zoe decides she has to tell Ed all the things she never said.
Now it’s too late. Or is it?
I’ve reviewed Before You Go below but first, I had a chat with Clare about her novel and her writing process. Hi Clare, thank you so much for joining me today. Your new book is called Before You Go. Could you tell me a little about it and what inspired it?
Thank you for having me. Before You Go is the story of Zoe and Ed. When Ed dies Zoe is left grieving and wishing she could go back and say all the things she didn’t say to him before he died. Then one day, after hitting her head, she wakes up as her 18 year old self, and realises that, for whatever reason, she’s back in the very first day she met Ed, and that she’s going to get the chance to see him again. Slowly, she realises she might even have been given the chance to change the past – and her future. It’s a story about enduring love, and regrets, and second chances.
Most of my ideas are inspired by people’s real stories. I was a true life magazine journalist for years and found that people’s real stories were actually a lot more interesting than anything you could make up! The spark for this came from a story I read about a woman who had an accident and when she woke up she thought she was 17 and didn’t know who her husband and kids were. Although this isn’t what Before You go is about, it got me thinking about what it would be like to wake up as a 17 year old again – and that sparked the idea for the book.
Which writers inspire you?
Margaret Atwood has always been one of my favourite writers. I love the way she writes really simply but conveys so much. I also adore Maggie O’Farrell. For me her stories just flow beautifully and her characters zing from the page. Her writing makes me want to be better. Last year I also really enjoyed the quirkiness of The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon so I hope she becomes one of my favourite authors, and I love Kate Atkinson too; although her books require a bit of concentration, they’re worth it!
by Blog Tour: Liz Trenow Talks About The Inspiration Behind The Silk Weaver
A big welcome today to Liz Trenow and the blog tour for her new novel, The Silk Weaver which was published on Thursday by Pan Macmillan.
Anna Butterfield moves from her Suffolk country home to her uncle’s house in London, to be introduced to society. A chance encounter with a local silk weaver, French immigrant Henri, throws her from her privileged upbringing to the darker, dangerous world of London’s silk trade. Henri is working on his ‘master piece’ to make his name as a master silk weaver; Anna, meanwhile, is struggling against the constraints of her family and longing to become an artist. Henri realizes that Anna’s designs could lift his work above the ordinary, and give them both an opportunity for freedom…
This is a charming story of illicit romance, set against the world of the burgeoning silk trade in eighteenth-century Spitalfields – a time of religious persecution, mass migration, racial tension and wage riots, and very different ideas of what was considered ‘proper’ for women.
Liz talks to us today about what inspired her new novel. Over to you, Liz.
My love affair with Anna Maria Garthwaite began on a cold winter day in Spitalfields, East London. I was walking on air, excited by having just visited for the first time the very address at which my ancestors had started, nearly three hundred years ago, the silk weaving company that is still run by my family today.
Just a few yards along I noticed the blue plaque that reads: Anna Maria Garthwaite 1690 – 1763, designer of Spitalfieds Silks, lived and worked here. I was intrigued to discover that Anna Maria was probably the most celebrated textile designer of the eighteenth century whose silks were sought after by the nobility in Britain and America. She was noted for her naturalistic, botanically accurate designs and said to have ‘introduced the Principles of Painting into the loom’. It was thrilling to realise that my ancestors would have known, and very probably worked with this remarkable woman.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Eight Sentences and Paragraphs.
Friday 27th January 2017: Eight Sentences and Paragraphs.
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.
I find the news as depressing as you’d expect, especially at the moment. That is why I try to see story ideas within it. I love looking through articles. You don’t know what is going to trigger a story.
Today, head to a news site or grab a newspaper. Pick eight different news stories and write down the eighth line from each.
Use each sentence in a story. Each one should be the start of a new paragraph. Try and figure out a way to connect all of these random sentences.
by Catherine Bennetto Shares Her Favourite Alternative Romantic Novels
How Not To Fall In Love Actually is the brilliant debut novel from Catherine Bennetto.
Emma has a job in television which is distinctly less glamorous and exciting than it sounds. She’s managed to claw her way up the ranks from Tea-Maker and Rubbish-Collector to 2nd Assistant Director (heavy on the ‘assistant’. Even heavier on the ‘2nd’).
So when she finds she’s accidentally very pregnant and at the same time accidentally very sacked (well, less accidentally: she did tell her boss to stick his job up his bum), she knows things are going to have to change.
Luckily she’s also accidentally the heir to a lovely cottage in Wimbledon, with a crazy Doberman-owning octogenarian as a neighbour and a rather sexy guy as an accidental tenant. But this baby is coming whether she likes it or not, and she needs to become the sort of person who can look after herself let alone another human being – and quickly.
Catherine shares with us today her top ten alternative romantic novels. Over to you Catherine…
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
I’ve not seen the movie but you’d have to be living under a rock in Snezhnegorsk (Russia) to not know Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger played the main characters. And regardless of sexual orientation you’d be a fool, A FOOL I SAY, to turn either one of them down. Sadly, the written characters are much less lust worthily depicted…. But it’s a fabulous story with unique characters and a satisfyingly heart-wrenching conclusion.
Michael Joseph, 2012
ME BEFORE YOU
This book was so fascinating I read it in one day. A romance develops between two unlikely characters: Louisa; who is relatively normal, and Will, completely paralyzed, wholly dependant and with a very genuine, and not unwarranted, death wish. And oh how I wanted it to work out in the end! Couldn’t he just miraculously recover? But I’d have liked the story less and would have called it unrealistic and twee. So die he must, be sad she was, and cry I did.
BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY
Instead of the typical mid 20’s heroine working in advertising and wearing amazing shoes, meet Bridget; thirty-something with an average woman’s body and an average woman’s job, bumbling around London in big pants trying to hook up with the bad guy while accidentally falling in love with the geek guy. It was a refreshing change to the romantic comedy trope and I (along with scores of others) adored ridiculous, kind, forever-willing-to-dust-off-and-try-again Bridget.
by My Writing Ramblings: Do You Have To Be A Reader To Be A Writer?
Hello everyone. We’re over hump day and speeding toward the weekend. Yay!
I come to you today through a cloud of copious amounts of tea, coke zero and probably some of the worst night’s sleep I’ve had. Well, technically day’s sleep as I’ve been on night shifts for the last few nights.
Finding a positive in my sleepy, clumsy state, there is something I like about being awake at a stupid time of the morning (I will always prefer to be sleeping at night but when I can’t, I try to find good.) I like the stillness of the night time. The lack of busy. I find it incredibly calming.
When I don’t sleep, I read. I have been thinking a lot recently about the act of reading and why I like it. I do love the escape. I adore having access to the lives of the characters who inhabit the worlds I read about. I like discovering new book series and authors. There is not a lot that can beat that feeling I have when I discover an author and realise that there is already a vast catalogue for me to pick my next book from (which is pretty much what happened when I discovered Lisa Jewell for example.)
As I have been trying to write my own book, I have been wondering how much being a big reader helps with my writing.
by Blog Tour: Author of The Watcher Chats About His Book Journey
A huge big welcome to Ross and the blog tour for his new book, The Watcher.
She’s watching you, but who’s watching her?
Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. A keen birdwatcher, she can’t help spying on her neighbours.
Until one day Lily sees something suspicious through her binoculars and soon her elderly neighbour Jean is found dead. Lily, intrigued by the social divide in her local area as it becomes increasingly gentrified, knows that she has to act. But her interference is not going unnoticed, and as she starts to get close to the truth, her own life comes under threat.
But can Lily really trust everything she sees?
Chris has reviewed the book below but first, Ross chats to me about his book journey. Hello Ross. Can you tell me about your writing journey for The Watcher…
As I was struggling to open the door to my building with my key fob, while carrying a box of American proofs and a new coffee machine, a woman I’d never seen before held open the door just as I managed to catch the machine on its descent, the books taking the full journey to the ground and collapsing onto the carpet.
‘That’s a lot of books,’ she said.
‘Well,’ I said, tentatively, as it felt like I was on the precipice of a real world humble-brag, ‘it’s my first novel actually, so, pretty excited.’
‘What’s it about?’ She said.
Which drained my vibe and immediately posed me a problem, as the real answer, ‘spying on your neighbours as if they were birds’, might come across just a little, I don’t know, creepy.
‘It’s a psychological thriller.’ I said instead.
The idea for The Watcher had come to me as I took a look around this new build neighbourhood some eighteen months earlier, even before the estate agent showed us up to the flat. Stories of murder often take place in quaint villages or in grand old surroundings, I thought that maybe the unsettling ends of fiction could stand being regenerated too. Crime can tend to focus on so-called high or low life, worlds luxurious or gritty, I wanted to focus on the middle.
This neighbourhood was more comfortable, gleaming, somehow ambient, than any place I’d lived, but that didn’t mean it had any less capacity to disturb. So I decided to figure out what I thought about gentrification, this divided country and a few other things by telling myself a story.
I worked on the first 20,000 words heavily, both because I love beginnings and as I was aware that this is where readers are making all sorts of subtle decisions about the story. But it all came very quickly really, the other three quarters particularly so, in an at times sleepless rush, as I carried out the novel’s evil plan.
After encouragement and full manuscript requests, I decided it couldn’t be too awful and sent it to the one agent I wanted above all. She came back to me having read it in one breathless burst and said she wanted the book. Juliet Mushens, even more brilliant in person, was a perfect fit for the book.
Around three weeks later the book sold first in Germany, a surreal moment, then other territories in the coming days, followed by offers from the UK. Everyone I met during this process was passionate about books and gave me a mind-blowing introduction to the industry.
None more so than the whole team at Harlequin, soon to morph into HQ Stories, who got every aspect of the novel from the very start, even down to a shockingly perfect cover design that was waiting for me on a giant screen when we met.
They have managed to communicate the essence of the book in ways I couldn’t, which reminds me that I started this piece trying not to humble-brag, and that the book has just gone into the top 20 fiction hardbacks in its first week on sale. This, humbly, is not a brag belonging to me, but to many whose hard work has made this story I told myself be all it could possibly be.
HQ, December 2016
Our verdict on The Watcher:
The author paints a very vivid picture in your mind of the main character Lily. She lives in a new-build apartment in London on a development site where they are tearing down the old buildings to create the new.
As an avid birdwatcher Lily sees everything that is going on through her binoculars and soon enough she finds that she is watching more than just the birds and, unlike with birds, some of them are watching back. After the discovery of a body in one of the soon to be demolished blocks, she starts to try and piece together what happened from her observations.
I don’t want to say much more otherwise I might start to give things away. The book is written as a journal from the point of view of Lily. At first I struggled with the book as it is written in very short sentences, sometimes just a few words long, and I find this style of writing tiring to read.
However, within a few pages I realised that this style of writing was used intentionally as it gives a whole new dimension to Lily; it helped to build the structure of her mind in my head. I could start to see her more clearly, perceiving her movements like her words; short, sharp, fast and occasionally beautifully flowing – putting me in mind of birds first on the ground then on the wing.
It is clear that there is some trauma in her past, as the journal is written to someone whom she does not currently wish to speak and there are hints of rift and pain. The basic story is quite simple, but the true magic lies in the incredible execution.
All the information and the clues are there, but I didn’t see the truth until it punched me in the heart. I would recommend this book quite whole-heartedly. It drew me in and once I hit about half way I couldn’t have put it down if the house was on fire.
(Review by Chris Parish.)
About Ross:
Ross Armstrong is a British stage and screen actor who has performed in the West End of London, on Broadway and in theatres throughout the UK. His TV appearances include Foyle’s War, Jonathan Creek, and most recently, Ripper Street.
After gaining a BA in English Literature and Theatre at Warwick University, Ross went to RADA and whilst there he won the RADA Poetry Writing Award.
Ross is on Twitter. Follow the link to go and say hello: https://twitter.com/rarmstrongbooks
by Courses and Competitions: Mslexia Short Fiction Competition 2017
Back for its ninth year, the Mslexia short fiction competition is now open for 2017.
The competition is open to women of any nationality and from any country.
All genres are welcome.
The entries should be between 300 and 3,000 words (excluding the title.)
The first prize is £2,000. There are also two optional extras of a writing retreat at Gladstone Library and a day with an editor from Virago Press for the person who wins. Three other finalists will receive £100. All four entries will be published in the June edition of Mslexia.
The judge this year is Deborah Levy.
The closing date is 20th March 2017. The entry fee per story is £10 and they ask that you include a cover sheet with your entry.
For more information on this competition and also the new flash fiction competition, click on this link: https://mslexia.co.uk
by A Moment With Talli Roland: My Writing Process
Starting a new novel is always so exciting. Everything feels shiny and fresh, and you just know it will be the best book you’ve ever written.
I love that moment, before the inevitable self-doubt sets in. I don’t have any particular rituals when I sit down to write a new book, but I always sketch out the obstacles my characters will face and how I want them to change and grow by the end of the book.
I also think about their backgrounds and their internal conflicts, either as a result of their history or character traits. I often don’t have a picture of my protagonist in my mind, but I do need to ‘know’ them: their fears, their likes and dislikes, and what they want out of life.
I’ve tried both exhaustive planning and ‘pantsing’, and I usually fall somewhere in the middle.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Starting in the Middle
Tuesday 24th January 2017: starting in the middle.
A lot of writers, including myself, get hung up on that first sentence. I have restarted the first paragraph so many times I have lost count. The ending can also be hard to finalise. It’s sometimes tricky to know where you’re going.
When you’re writing a first draft, it is hard to allow yourself to just write.
I have a first sentence and a last sentence. The exercise today is to fill in the bit in the middle.
First sentence: Come on. We have to go else or we are not going to survive.
Last sentence: I was now by myself. I would have to set out to find them alone.
I know that on the surface it seems like it is a scientific-fi novel but you don’t have to keep it that way if you don’t want to. Have fun with it. Also, try not to edit whilst writing.
by My Favourite Book Covers – Part Two
I don’t think I will ever end my love affair with beautiful book covers. They are the thing that will attract me to a book. If it’s a pretty cover, I will sometimes stop reading and just look at it for a while (anyone else do that? Just me… ok.)
I have been thinking again about my favourite book covers. I did a post about this back in 2015 (want to see them, click here,) and I thought it was about time I thought about five more favourites.
It was hard picking just five. I think I have managed to narrow it down.
My first favourite is the 10th Anniversary edition of Looking For Alaska by John Green (HarperCollins Children’s Books, January 2015.) The original cover (which is black with a white daisy) is lovely but this cover is so beautiful.
Gold, the cover is gold. I brought a copy of this edition just because I loved the cover. I already had a paperback copy.
Miles’s life is one big non event until he meets Alaska Young. Alaska draws Miles into her reckless world and steels his heart in the process. His life will never be the same again.
My next favourite is Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (Penguin, October 2016.) This cover is simple but yet so pretty. Sometimes less is more and this was one of my favourites from last year.
Everyone thinks they know Libby – the girl once dubbed ‘America’s Fattest Teen.’ No one has looked past the weight to see who she really is.
She’s been trying to deal with the grief of loosing her mother.
Now she is ready for school. For new friends. For a new life.
My third favourite is The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley (which is due to be released by Bantam Press in March.)
This cover is absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to be able to add it to my book shelf. I absolutely adore it. The illustrations are just lovely and has such wonderful detail.
Alice was discovered on the Yorkshire Moors above Haworth as a baby.
Adopted but then later rejected by a horrible step-mother, Alice struggles to find a place where she belongs. Only baking brings her a sense of comfort.
When Alice does return to Haworth, she returns to baking. She makes friends but there are a couple of last twist and turns in her story.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Fiction Becomes Real Life.
Friday 20th January 2017: fiction becomes real life.
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.
Today’s prompt is about fiction becoming real life. Make a list of your favourite fictional characters. Now put them all together in a story. Somehow, they all end up in your living room. Write a scene involving them all. What happens? Who gets on and who doesn’t?
by Blog Tour: Relativity by Antonia Hayes – Review
I’d like to welcome Antonia Hayes to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her debut novel, Relativity.
Ethan is an exceptionally gifted young boy, obsessed with physics and astronomy.
His single mother Claire is fiercely protective of her brilliant, vulnerable son. But she can’t shield him forever from learning the truth about what happened to him when he was a baby; why Mark had to leave them all those years ago.
Now age twelve, Ethan is increasingly curious about his past, especially his father’s absence in his life. When he intercepts a letter to Claire from Mark, he opens a lifetime of feelings that, like gravity, will pull the three together again.
My verdict on Relativity:
First of all, I have to say how much I adored the cover for this novel. It is so beautiful and whimsical – it totally suits the story.
This book is told from three different perspectives which I liked as you got to understand the motivations behind each character. It’s told from the perspective of twelve-year-old Ethan, his mother, Claire and Mark (Ethan’s father who’s been absent from his son’s life since Ethan was a baby.) Ethan’s current situation is tied in with why Mark had to leave.
You know when you read the blurb for a novel and know you are going to like it? That is what happened between me and this book. From the moment I picked this book up, I couldn’t stop reading, to the point where I lost out on sleep because of it. I just kept saying ‘one more page.’
by My Writing Ramblings: A Tip For Staying Focused
Hello everyone. I hope you’re all having a good week. Can you believe we’re already halfway through January!
One of my new year resolutions was to try and be a little bit more productive. This is the year I want to start and complete my first book. Less talking, more doing.
I’ve been using something called the Pomodoro technique over the last few days. Many people have probably already heard of this but for those who are unfamiliar with it, it’s a helpful way to be more focused and disciplined.
There is a series of twenty five-minute sessions and then five minute breaks per twenty five minutes. During the timed session, you do one task and then completely focus on that. The phone goes to silent, the internet gets forgotten (yes, that one is hard to comply to.) You focus on one task for twenty five minutes.
Once that time is up, you walk away for five minutes. You get a cup of tea, have a little dance, grab some water. Then you come back and try again.
You know what, it works. I’ve managed to do some blog stuff, stay on top of my e-mail (for the most part,) and most importantly, some novel planning. Hurrah.
by Blog Tour: Gilding The Lily by Justine John – What Makes A Good Novel
The blog tour train rolls in today. I am pleased to be welcoming Justine John to Novel Kicks. Her latest novel, Gilding The Lily was released on 24th November 2016.
A gripping mystery of jealousy, murder and lies.
An invitation to her estranged, wealthy father’s surprise 75th birthday party in New York sees Amelia and her husband, Jack, set off across the pond to meet a whole new world of family politics.
Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, feels guilty about never liking her father’s women, so does her upmost to give his new socialite partner, Evelyn, the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all get along? But there’s something very dark, determined and dangerous about her…
When Amelia’s father, Roger, becomes ill, Jack grows suspicious that there is more to it. Amelia understands why, but no one else will believe them. They travel back to America to piece together the puzzle, but when Roger goes missing, the couple are driven to their wits’ end. It takes a DEA officer and a secret assassin to bring them answers, but the ruthless truth is something no one expected…
I’ve reviewed Gilding The Lily below but first, Justine talks to us about what she feels makes a good novel. Over to you, Justine.
I’ve read a fair amount of books and the ones that I enjoy most are the ones that keep me guessing until the very end, and then for it to be a real wow-factor.
I love to see body language in a setting or a discussion and I like to be able to understand what the character is feeling, so I get to know them, their peculiarities and their traits. That makes them real for me.
Recently I read a novel, where I guessed who the culprit might be half way through – but I also thought ‘no, this writer is too clever – she is leading me up the garden path and in the end it will be someone else’. It made the story almost more intriguing. But the end revealed that the killer was who I thought it was after all. For me it was a big let-down and I was truly disappointed. It also put me off buying the writers next novel. It was well written, grammatically speaking, and the paragraphs, points of view and story rolled and built up nicely. It was just the ending that let me down.
by Courses and Competitions: Chipping Norton Literary Festival 2017
The Chipping Norton Literary Festival is back for 2017.
Chip Lit Fest is due to take place between 27th – 30th April and the box office is open now for the many great events and sessions taking place over the four day event.
This excellent writing festival offers free and paid events featuring many workshops and authors. All venues are within a 10-15 minute walk of each other around the centre of Chipping Norton.
Events include Desert Island Books with Armando Iannucci, a talk with Veronica Henry as well as a writer’s workshop with Clare Bailey. Ian Rankin will be talking to Mark Billington, Nadiya Hussain will be talking about The Secret Lives of the Amir sisters, Sarah Phelps will be talking about writing for the screen and Emily Barr, the author of The One Memory of Flora Banks, will be talking about creating characters.
Each event is individually priced. For more information, call 01608 642350 or visit their website, https://www.chiplitfest.com
You are also able to keep up with all the latest news about the festival on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ChipLitFest
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Introduce Yourself
Tuesday 17th January 2017: Introduce Yourself.
Creating characters is one of the most important things when writing a novel. A writer needs to know their characters. They need to know their likes, dislikes, what scares them or what motivates them.
The more you know your characters, the more developed they will feel or at least that is what I am finding. Today, I thought it would be fun to introduce yourself. Write a biography with you as the character. To help, I’ve included some questions below. Then you could also pick one of your characters and complete this for them. Add more questions if you wish.
Name.
Age
Date of Birth
Education.
Favourite books, music and films.
Dislikes.
by Book Review: The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr
Released: 12th January 2017, Penguin
Flora is seventeen and longs to be like every other girl her age. However, Flora can’t remember anything past being ten for more than a few hours. She has anterograde amnesia ever since she was ten.
When she goes to a party, she ends up alone with her best friend’s boyfriend, Drake. They kiss and he leaves. When Flora wakes up, she remembers Drake, she remembers the kiss. Her first new memory for seven years.
She must be with Drake and so sets out to find him alone hoping that she will find him quickly and they can be together.
I found Flora to be such an interesting character. She had such an innocence about her that I felt the need to protect her, hoping that no one was going to take advantage. As far as all the other characters are concerned, I didn’t know who to trust much like Flora. She’s an inspirational character. Many could learn a lot from her.
As I read, I tried to put myself in her shoes – getting myself to a place and then waking up a while later having no idea how I got there. It was a terrifying thought and yet, she embraces the adventure. She forgets, starts again and keeps moving.
by Book Club
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