Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Wedding Lottery
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 wedding lottery.
A system is introduced that means marriage partners are chosen by a lottery.
You don’t meet your spouse to be until the day of the wedding.
Write about one wedding. What happens? What conflict emerges?
by 
Review: The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft
Avon, December 2016
I am now a Master Milliner…well, perhaps not, but I know a whole lot more about hat creation than I ever did before. They go on your head. Correct?
Here I am, fresh from having survived the new Sue Moorcroft novel, The Christmas Promise. Don’t get worried, by survived, I mean that Sue’s stories are always emotional roller-coasters, she’s that good.
Lucky enough to obtain an advance copy of this novel, I settled down to immerse myself, knowing that my attention would never be allowed to wander, no chance of skipping even a word here and I wasn’t disappointed.
All wrapped up in a snowy cover, don’t be fooled. Sue is a master of emotions and here, you’re going to be pulled left, right and centre before the conclusion; actually, afterwards too however, you’ll need to read the book for that little Easter egg.
Ava is to a degree, damaged emotionally, as are all good characters and we follow her in a journey of trust, who to trust, how much to trust them, learning to trust herself even. She dislikes Christmas due to her parents attitude to it when she was growing up and now finds herself caught up as the victim of Revenge Porn. Riding to her rescue is Sam. Ah, to have his qualities would be wonderful…I digress. Stumbling into each other, attraction is mutual but Sam is just as traumatised as Ava in his own way and so we watch them bond over his mother’s cancer struggle, Ava’s feelings of perceived guilt over those pictures, getting close but neither feeling able to make that final step that will enable them to become the couple we know they should be.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Looking Ahead
Tuesday 27th September 2016: Future Predictions
Today’s Prompt is looking into the future of your characters.
Make a list of your main characters in a work in progress or favourite novel.
Pick a year in the future (make it at least thirty years.)
Write about what the world would be like?
What will your characters be like?
What would they be doing?
Is it a future where technology has expanded even more? Has everything gone back to basics? Dystopian? Expanded to other planets?
by 25 Bookish Facts About Me
I’ve seen people do this tag on You Tube and it looked pretty fun so I thought I would give it a go. It’s the twenty five bookish facts about me. If you fancied doing this too, please do in the comments box below. I love tags like these. So here we go…..
Fact one: Despite all of the books I’ve read in my life so far, I can actually be quite a slow reader. It can take me quite a while to get through some books. It’s usually a sign that there is something about the book that I am not quite gelling with and that I am finding it hard going. Sometimes it’s because I keep falling asleep as I tend to read before bedtime.
Fact two: One of my favourite book series growing up was The Sweet Valley High series. I adored them and I think they are pretty much all I read for a good couple of years. I was very much an Elizabeth in that I loved writing and books but I wanted Jessica’s confidence. I loved the TV series too. Anyone now got the theme tune in their heads?
I am surprised I didn’t start writing Sweet Valley High fan fiction. I was so excited to get my hands on the new book in the series that came out a while ago. It was good to find out what happened to these characters I grew up with.
Fact three: I have many favourite characters from literature but I think one of my absolute favourites (because Harry Potter can’t be my answer for everything,) is Don Tillman. Don is the main character from The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. Don doesn’t really do subtle but he is such an adorable man. His heart is in the right place. He has a lot of charm and is loveable. Despite the bluntness he displays sometimes, he is a very good man.
Penguin
Fact four: OK, so you know when I said that I can’t include Harry Potter in every answer and fact? Well, this one was unavoidable because the fictional world I want to visit is Hogwarts. I want to go to school and learn potions, transfiguration, charms and play Quidditch. OK, I am more likely to be in the crowd cheering having fallen off the broom too much to be able to play but it would be so cool.
Fact five: I am trying to write my first novel and have been for a while (and could if I got out of my own way.) It’s called The Back Up Plan and currently focuses on Carrie, Dylan and Sarah.
Fact six: The first book I read that made me go wow as I made my way through it was The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I read it when I was sixteen and it made such an impact on me that even now, it is a book I still think about a lot. Whenever I hear The Day We Find Love by 911 and A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton (yes I know, my music taste hasn’t improved with age either,) I think of this book as these were two songs I was listening to a lot when I was reading this novel.
Fact seven: My favourite place to read is in bed. This is one of the reasons I actually quite like winter evenings. It’s the perfect excuse to snuggle under my duvet, stay warm and make my way through a good book. I find it really relaxing.
Face eight: My favourite things to eat and drink when reading is a mug of tea and biscuits. My tea of choice is good old Tetley or everyday brew from Tea pigs. I also collect mugs and I love going to my shelf, picking a mug and making some tea. It’s the small things. Ha ha. My favourite biscuits are chocolate digestives or hobnobs and jammie dodgers (unless I have Fox & Son’s Jam creams,) and yes, I dunk!
Egmont Children’s Books
Fact nine: My favourite book is The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. I really do wish I had discovered this book earlier than I did. It’s such a beautiful story and has such a lovely message. I will forever own a copy.
Fact ten: I’ve previously never been too keen on audiobooks. In the past, I have tried and failed to get through an audiobook. I am trying to improve. I am currently making my way through The Glittering Art of Falling Apart by Ilana Fox and really enjoying it so I am coming around to the idea. I am trying to make more of an effort to listen to them and are finding they are great in the car.
Fact eleven: I struggled deciding on the contents of this fact as I love so many but If I were only allowed to own three books (which was be a sad state of affairs indeed,) they would be Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling. This is my favourite Potter book and I can’t imagine not owning one, Bridget Jones Diary as Bridget is a wonderfully flawed character who I imagine would be great to hang around with and Bookends by Jane Green. I read this when I was living by myself in London so it reminds me that I can do things that scare me and get through the experience.
Fact twelve: If there were no intervening factors getting in my way, the characters I would most like to have around for a dinner party would be Severus Snape (just so I could listen to the voice,) Elphaba from Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (as I relate to her a lot,) Aslan, as he is just a cool dude and also a big cat and I love cats and finally Becky Bloomwood from the shopaholic series as I imagine she is just really great fun to talk to.
Fact thirteen: I collect bookmarks (as well as mugs.) I have all the bookmarks my Nan collected in her lifetime from all the places she has visited and when I can, I’ve carried on the tradition.
Fact fourteen: Although I have tried to, I very rarely re-read books once I’ve read them.
by A Moment With Laura Briggs: Self Publishing Vs. Traditional Publishing
I’m happy to be welcoming a fellow Laura to Novel Kicks today. Author, Laura Briggs talks about Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing and the pros and cons of each. Over to you, Laura.
First of all, thanks to Laura for inviting me to appear on Novel Kicks with a post on self-publishing vs. traditional publishing. I’ve learned a little about both in recent years and hope my experiences may prove useful to some of you reading this.
Let me start by saying that my publisher, Pelican Book Group, is nothing less than excellent. I love working with them and plan to submit more manuscripts to their company in the future. I also love self-publishing and am grateful to have the opportunity for both.
Now—let’s get to some pros and cons on publishing!
The Pros of Traditional Publishing:
•Professional Editing: This is an obvious one, but I can’t stress it enough. Freelance editors cost a few hundred on average, so yes, professional editing gives traditional publishing an edge.
•Professional Cover Design: Another obvious one, I know, but important. Not everyone has the software, or the know-how to make a good cover, even with so many high quality images available via sites like Dreamstime. The cover often serves as your book’s first impression, so it needs to be good.
•Professional Marketing: Let’s face it—marketing is tough. And hugely competitive. Book review bloggers are swamped with requests and even buying ad space from a popular service like Bookbub is difficult to achieve. Some publishing companies have better methods of getting your book out there. Some don’t. It depends on the publisher, and of course, even authors with a traditional publisher must still do some of their own marketing.
•It Has More Options Than Before: There are many small and up-and-coming publishers who will take unagented submissions from writers these days. There are even divisions of bigger publishing houses, like HarperCollins, I believe, that welcome unagented submissions. They may not pay author advances like big companies do, but some are quite generous on the royalties.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Planets Meeting
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 the planets around us.
The planets are all getting together for their annual solar system conference. What they talk about and where they meet is up to you.
However, the only rules…. Venus likes Mercury. Jupiter is grumpy and Neptune doesn’t like Earth (is jealous of earth,) so they can’t sit next to one another.
by Writing Room: Seeing Is Not Always Believing
Tuesday 20th September 2016.
Today’s prompt: Seeing is not always believing.
Senses are obviously very important. Visual is what we most rely on.
For today’s exercise, describe a place of importance but only use smell, hearing, touch or taste.
Anything but visual descriptions.
by Blog Tour: The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan – Review
To everyone who knows her now, Zoe Maisey – child genius, musical sensation – is perfect. Yet several years ago Zoe caused the death of three teenagers. She served her time, and now she’s free.
Her story begins with her giving the performance of her life.
By midnight, her mother is dead.
The Perfect Girl is an intricate exploration into the mind of a teenager burdened by brilliance, and a past that she cannot leave behind.
Zoé and her mother Maria moved from Devon to Bristol to start a new life following a big tragedy. Maria is now married to Chris and along with his son, Lucas, Zoé and Maria seem to be getting their lives back on track. Tessa, Maria’s sister is also living near by.
Zoé finds that she isn’t going to really find protection from her old life when it very much catches up with her. When more tragedy strikes the family, Zoé is worried she is going to become suspect number one but is she really to blame?
I loved Burnt Paper Sky so I have been waiting patiently and excitedly for Gilly’s new novel, The Perfect Girl which is due its paperback release on Thursday (22nd September.)
The Perfect Girl has a great build up of suspense across the novel. It is set in a very short but very tense space of time. The lives of the characters are complicated and fascinating.
by My Writing Ramblings: Taking Myself Seriously?
It is amazing how quickly a week can go and how little you can actually achieve. It has been seven of those days that seems to have merged into one. Where the day job (or in my case this week has been my first lot of night shifts for months) has taken priority.
I have been trying to sneak bits and pieces in here and there. I’m still making my way through Emma. I am a little behind. I am not too worried about that. Reading Austen was never about how quickly I could get through them. If you’re reading along with me, how are you getting on?
I have been writing about two hundred words of a short story this week to make sure I at least write something. My planning has got to a stage where I need to sit down and map out plot so it is not something I have been able to do this week as I don’t want to rush it. I have done that before and it has not got me far. I am so tired from my shifts though that once I do get home, I just want to sleep. Surprisingly, I am not actually getting too worked up about it. I am still working my way through the plot in my head. That counts…right?
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Woods For The Trees
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: Woods for the trees.
What does the picture inspire?
If you need further inspiration, how about this… There are two characters – one male and one female and they are just about to enter the woods. It is up to you whether this man and woman get on and why they are going into the woods. It is also up to you what happens once they go into the woods.
by Blog : Gill Paul Chats About The Launch Party For Her New Novel, The Secret Wife
The Secret Wife is the latest novel by Gill Paul and it was released by Avon on 25th August 2016.
A Russian grand duchess and an English journalist. Linked by one of the world’s greatest mysteries . . .
Love. Guilt. Heartbreak.
1914
Russia is on the brink of collapse, and the Romanov family faces a terrifyingly uncertain future. Grand Duchess Tatiana has fallen in love with cavalry officer Dmitri, but events take a catastrophic turn, placing their romance – and their lives – in danger . . .
2016
Kitty Fisher escapes to her great-grandfather’s remote cabin in America, after a devastating revelation makes her flee London. There, on the shores of Lake Akanabee, she discovers the spectacular jewelled pendant that will lead her to a long-buried family secret . . .
Haunting, moving and beautifully written, The Secret Wife effortlessly crosses centuries, as past merges with present in an unforgettable story of love, loss and resilience.
Gill Paul has joined me today to chat about the launch event for her new novel (which sounds amazing and I am looking forward to reading it.)
Hi Gill. Congratulations on the release of The Secret Wife. What was the launch party like?
I organise parties like military campaigns with master lists covered in arrows and squiggles only I can decipher. There were lots of elements to this one, which I’d been planning since June, when the Open Russia Club kindly said I could hold The Secret Wife launch there. Among things to arrange were:
• Lots of booze, including vodka I’d brought back specially from St Petersburg.
• Several different types of canapés: caviar on blinis, smoked fish on rye, chopped egg, cream cheese and beetroot, and two trays of gluten-free ones.
• Cupcakes (made by my powerhouse friend Karen, CEO of Orenda Books).
• A large screen showing home movie footage of the Romanovs with a Tchaikovsky sound track.
• Four boards with postcards of Fabergé eggs pasted on them.
• A table for the lovely Waterstones bookseller Maria to heap up the books.
• Postcards of Tatiana and Dmitri for guests to take as bookmarks.
Like most military campaigns in history, this did not go entirely to plan. It turned out there was no way to fix the Fabergé boards to the walls so we propped them on the floor and no one could see them once the crowds arrived. The television screen was too low down so not everyone could get close enough to watch the incredibly moving pictures of the Romanov girls prancing around in their white dresses and Alexei playing at being a soldier. The music my friend Lee had spent so long mixing couldn’t be heard over the chatter in the room. And worst of all, I forgot to bring my makeup bag to the club with me!!
Several guests arrived early, including Linda Hill – which was great because these early birds were the only people I got to have a proper conversation with all evening. Suddenly, at 6.30, a crowd arrived en masse, the room filled up, and all I could do was wave, air kiss and smile. My editors Eloise and Phoebe acted as bar staff, and were so good at it there’s definitely another career waiting for them should the publishing thing not work out. I seemed to spend the rest of the evening signing books, trying desperately not to spell anyone’s name wrong.
by My Favourites: Book Worlds
J.K Rowling. Bloomsbury. 2001.
I have always loved reading and always will. There is something so magical about being able to escape to another place for a while. Whenever I feel anxious and want to relax, I pick up a book. It can be such a comfort.
One of the things I love most about escaping into a book is that I get to experience all of these different worlds. I get to travel, get to know the characters and see life through their eyes (it appeals to the part of me that is incredibly nosey.)
Having loved reading since I was young, I have visited many places and worlds. Some I have loved, some I have found intriguing and there’s some where I’ve outright wanted to pack up everything and go and live there.
I don’t think it is any surprise to anyone then that the first book world that’s my favourite is the world Harry Potter inhabits. From the moment I started reading these I fell in love with the magical world. I want to be able to own a wand and do magic. I want to go to school at Hogwarts and learn spells, potions and transfiguration. I don’t think there would ever be a dull day. This is the one world where I would like to actually go live rather than just visit. Can I head to the Hogwarts Express now?
C.S.Lewis. HarperCollins Children’s Books. Nov 2009.
Narnia is another world I would love to go and visit (although unlike Hogwarts, I am not sure I’d want to live there.) The stories and the world of Narnia is something I’ve been reading since I was a young child. When I was little, it was the characters within the world that I loved the most and the power to overcome someone like the white witch. As I grew older, I began to appreciate the whole world.
Is it strange though to say that I love the bit with all the snow (yes, coming from the christmas freak.)
My favourite bit is the part with Father Christmas. The setting is just so magical. The imagery you also get at the end where Cair Paravel is described as being by the sea with what I imagined as a beautiful view. It would be somewhere nice to go on holiday.
Never Never Land – the land where you don’t have to grow up. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t wait to grow up and become an adult. I ignored all of the warnings my Mum gave me when she told me to not be in such a hurry and… yes… she was right.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Setting
Tuesday 13th September 2016: Setting.
For today’s writing exercise, we’re going to be looking at setting.
Choose a place that you know well. Place your work in progress or an idea you’re thinking about developing into this setting.
Now think of an event that began up to a month before the beginning of your story.
Then, by only describing the place/setting reveal as much as you can about the story and the characters.
by Today’s New Releases: 8th September 2016
Hello, hello, hello. How is everyone? Thursday has rolled around again. This week has gone incredibly quickly I must say. Here on Novel Kicks, Thursday means a new list of new book releases.
Rupert Campbell-Black is back in Mount which is the latest novel by Jilly Cooper.. It has been released by Bantam Press in hardback and eBook today.
Rupert is the anti hero we all love to hate and hate to love. We find Rupert consumed with his grey horse, The Love Rat. He longs to beat Roberto’s Revenge, the horse owned by his rival Cosmo Rannaldini. This obsession means abandoning Penscombe and his wife, Taggie.
The fort at home is being held by Rupert’s assistant, Gav. Gala also arrived at Penscombe. Gav is attracted to her. The bad news for Gav is that a returning Rupert is also dangerously tempted.
Riders is so delicious and so it’s good to see Campbell-Black make his return.
If you’re a fan of Jilly’s novels, be sure to pick up a copy of Mount.
The Protector by Jodi Ellen Malpas has also been released today this time by Orion. From what I get from the blurb of this book, it sounds as though it would make a great book to take with you on holiday if you’re managing to escape the impending Autumn weather and the darker mornings that seem to be sneaking up on us.
People think they know Camille. They see her as a beautiful spoilt daddy’s girl who uses her father’s money to fund her lifestyle. Camille however is desperate to have a life free from his strings. She has fought hard for the happiness and independence she now has but she soon finds that her father’s ruthless business dealings threaten her new life.
Camille prepares herself for the measures her father will take to protect her. That is until she meets Jack. He is hired as her bodyguard but he has his own issues. Jack soon finds out that his perception of Camille is incorrect.
I’ve not read any of Jodi Ellen’s novels before but this one sounds very intriguing and a good place to start. This book feels as though it would be a good insight on first impressions and how incorrect they can initially be.
by
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. All I will reveal is that the themes include ‘childhood, siblings, friendship, family, triumph and tragedy.’
How to enter:
All you have to do is comment below with your name and county (although county is optional.) The closing date for entries is Thursday 29th September 2016 at 23.59.
by News: Another Screenplay Release For JK Rowling
Little, Brown. November 2016
There has been so much divided opinion since Harry Potter and The Cursed Child was released at the end of July. For me, it was lovely to be back in the magical world that these wonderful characters inhabited. Yes, there were elements for me that didn’t quite add up but regardless, this was another piece of the world I love so much and that is better than nothing. It is for that reason that I am excited for the upcoming release of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them which is due to be released in cinemas on 18th November (it is starring Eddie Redmayne as main character, Newt Scamander.)
When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt’s fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone . . .
Inspired by the original Hogwart’s textbook by Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original screenplay marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books.
This film is based on the short book JK Rowling wrote especially for Comic Relief. That short book was based on the textbook that is required reading for students of Hogwarts.
At a recent trip to the cinema, I saw the trailer for this film. I’ve only got to hear that music and I am back to when I was reading all the Harry Potter books for the first time. It never fails to make me smile.
To carry on the trend of releasing screenplays in conjunction with their performance counterparts, the original screenplay is being released on the same day.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Coming Home
Tuesday 6th September 2016: Coming Home
Write a story about a man named Max. He is twenty-six years old. He’s just returned home after a ten year absence. He’s returned for his mother’s funeral.
What is the reaction of the people he returns to? Why has he not been back for so long? What made him leave home at sixteen?
Write in the first person and up to two thousand words.
What if it was a twenty-six year old girl named Rachel? How would the story be different?
by Author Interview: Vicki Wakefield Talks About Her Novel, Inbetween Days
I’m pleased to be welcoming Vicki Wakefield to Novel Kicks today. Vicki is the author of the YA novel, Inbetween Days which was released by Text Publishing on 26th August.
Jacklin Bates has life figured out – dropped out of school, moved in with her runaway sister, in love with an older boy. But why does she have a sinking feeling that she still needs her mum? Perhaps because she’s stuck in Mobius – a dying town with the macabre suicide forest its only attraction – stuck working in the roadhouse and babysitting her boss’s demented father.
Vicki, thank you for joining me today. Can you tell me about your typical writing day?
There are no typical days. I write when I feel like it, or when a deadline forces me knuckle down. It’s not that I don’t love writing, it’s just that I focus best when my slate is clean. I tend to deal with family, housework, bills, pets and life first, and then I breathe out. I can be epically productive or utterly paralysed. There’s no middle ground.
Do you have any writing rituals (coffee, silence?)
I’m terribly provincial. I can’t do cities, hotel rooms, libraries or cafes (I wish I could, but I either get distracted or lonely). I like to be outside; I like my dog under my feet. I prefer to write at night when everyone else is asleep, and I need tea, wine, chocolate or biscuits (not necessarily at the same time, but I’ve been known to go on a bender). I keep only one working file, so any changes are lost forever (I’m told this is the equivalent of base-jumping, but to me it’s a superstition, like wearing your lucky stinky socks for every game).
Do you edit as you go and plan much prior to beginning a book?
I’m always thinking about a new book long before I finish working on my current one, so the planning can take place years before I write a single word. I keep notebooks filled with random ideas and drawings to help me get to know the world and the characters, and I’ll usually have my opening paragraph perfected before I open a new document (the blank page scares me). Planning in advance helps me to decide whether a story has legs, and drawing helps me to refine my characters before I begin. That said, I’m not a plotter. I trust that the story will take me where it needs to go. I do edit as I write the first draft (against most advice on writing first drafts). It’s my way of feeling out the story. My ideas change so often and so unexpectedly that I worry the novel would be unfixable if I ignored my instincts and tried to write through.
by
‘I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.’ – Douglas Adams.
Happy Friday all.
I can’t quite believe that August has gone and we’ve now reached September.
It’s been one of those weeks where the day job has kind of taken over. I’ve been on mid shifts which on the whole don’t bother me but it’s meant that productivity of everything else has been put on the back burner. This includes the Austen challenge.
However, I now have a few days off so I will be back on track with finishing Emma before I know it…I hope. For the people doing the Austen reading challenge with me, the book for September is Mansfield Park.
My deadline to begin my novel was yesterday. I’ve not fully finished my planning so I’ve not started writing yet. Not finishing my planning has been my number one procrastination excuse. No more. I have given myself one more week.
I have so many feelings about beginning my novel. It has been something I have been talking about for such a long time. It’s this thing that has been built up in my head. I do worry about whether I am going to be able to begin it and keep going this time. However, I also think about when I’m a lot older and what I would regret more. Finishing a novel that possibly is not publishable but I’ve done it or not starting. Plus, there is also editing.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: It’s All Mythical
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: It’s all mythical.
For today, write a story that is based on or uses figures and creatures from mythology. Any time period or culture. Your choice.
For example, what if Thor met up with his best friend once a week at a bar. His best friend is a basilisk by the way.
by September’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Quirk Books, August 2013.
Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.
We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our 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.
For September, we’re reading Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.
As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine s Home for Peculiar Children.
by Competitions: August’s Blind Date With A Book – Winner
It’s time to announce the winner of August’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 include secrets, lies, murder mystery and betrayal.
Well done to Christine who has won this month’s book. Keep your eyes peeled for September’s competition which will be coming soon.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Titles and Dedications
Novel Kicks Writing Room: Tuesday 30th August 2016.
Today’s prompt is a little different.
Today, jot down ten potential book titles for a current or future work in progress. Once you have ten, pick the one you think is most suitable.
Also write your acknowledgements page and dedication for the novel you’re working on or just about to start.
Once you’ve done that, pick a title and keep that, the acknowledgements and dedication somewhere nearby for when you need a boost and or inspiration.
You can do this!
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: A Villain With A Happy Ending?
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: A Villain with a Happy Ending.
It’s always good to see things from another point of view. What is the villain in fairy tales got their happy ending? What if they are not evil but been misunderstood. Rewrite a fairy tale from the villains point of view.
What is going on with the evil stepmother? Is she evil or is Cinderella not as nice as she seems? What about the ugly step sisters? What if Gaston told his story? The witch in Hansel and Gretel? How different would the stories be if the villains got the happy ending?
by Latest Book Releases Including Gill Paul, Bella Osborne and Katie Flynn
Hello. I hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday evening. It’s time for another week of great book releases. It’s a perfect evening for settling down with a book and like I try to do every week, I wanted to share a few with you.
The first book out today is The Secret Wife by Gill Paul (released by Avon.)
This one sounds great. It appeals to my love of history and I am interested in the history surrounding the Romanov family.
The general information on this novel is a Russian Grand Duchess and an English Journalist are linked by one of the worlds biggest mysteries.
In 1914, Russia is on the brink of collapse. The Romanov family face an uncertain future. The Grand Duchess Tatiana has fallen in love with Officer Dmitri but events take a catastrophic turn that puts everything in danger.
In 2016, Kitty escapes to her Great Grandfather’s cabin. There she discovers a jewelled pendant that will lead to the uncovering of a big family secret.
The second novel out today is A Family Holiday by Bella Osborne.
We took part in the blog tour for this book when it was released on Kindle earlier in the year (to read my review, click here.) I absolutely adored 
this book and couldn’t put it down. If you’re a fan of Katie Fforde, Carole Matthews or Jill Mansell, you will love A Family Holiday.
Charlie is a nanny to four children. When tragedy strikes, Charlie needs to decide to move on or fight for the children she loves. There is also the added distraction of the children’s uncle, Felix.
Charlie gets the opportunity to have a family holiday to Antigua and this leaves Charlie wondering whether the turquoise seas can wash away to present troubles. A Family Holiday was released today by Harper Impulse.
The House on Sunset Lake is the third novel released today. By Tasmina Perry, it’s released via Headline Review.
This is another one that sounds like I’d really like it. Even by reading the blurb to the book, I can imagine myself in front of this big house.
Casa D’or, the mysterious plantation house on Sunset Lake has been in the Wyatt family for over fifty years. Jennifer returns to it one summer full of hope but by the end, she will have a broken heart. Casa D’or stands neglected twenty years later and Jennifer has closed the door on her past.
A reunion though will stir up old ghosts for both of them and reveal the dark secrets the house still holds.
by Blog Tour: Out of Bounds by Val McDermid – Review
I’m pleased to be welcoming Val McDermid to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her new novel, Out of Bounds. This is the latest novel in the Inspector Karen Pirie series and has been released today by Little, Brown.
There were a lot of things that ran in families, but murder wasn’t one of them . . .’
When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car, a routine DNA test could be the key to unlocking the mystery of a twenty-year-old murder inquiry. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is an expert at solving the unsolvable. With each cold case closed, justice is served. So, finding the answer should be straightforward, but it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself.
Meanwhile, Karen finds herself irresistibly drawn to another case, one that she has no business investigating. And as she pieces together decades-old evidence, Karen discovers the most dangerous kind of secrets. Secrets that someone is willing to kill for . . .
Out Of Bounds is the latest instalment of McDermid’s successful Karan Pirie series of crime thriller novels. The story follows Inspector Karen Pirie of Police Scotland’s Historical Case Unit. When a teenage joy rider in a stolen car ends up in hospital his DNA casts new light upon a twenty two year old cold case, but finding the answers are never as simple as they should be and getting to the bottom of this problem is a complex and twisty task.
In the meantime Karen is drawn to another case, stepping on toes and winding people up in the progress as it is not her case, when an apparent suicide has her digging into a decades old bombing from the IRA era.
This is the first book from this series which I have read and I am pleased to say that it stands on its own very well, as relevant and concise backstory is provided as required in a subtle way unlikely to frustrate those already familiar with it.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Childhood Stories
Tuesday 23rd August 2016: Childhood Stories.
Think about a story you used to be told when you were little about something that happened in your parents or grandparents childhood.
Write down as much information as you can remember.
Now take that incident and write about it in the first person and present tense. Who was there? What happened?
by Blog Tour: If I Only Had A Duke by Lenora Bell – Author Interview and Book Review
I’m very happy to be welcoming Lenora Bell to Novel Kicks today and her blog tour for the latest novel in the Disgraceful Duke series, If I Only Had a Duke which is due to be released by Piatkus on 30th August 2016.
After four failed seasons and a disastrous jilting, Lady Dorothea Beaumont has had more than enough of her family’s scheming. She won’t domesticate a duke, entangle an earl or vie for a viscount. She will quietly exit to her aunt’s Irish estate for a life of blissful freedom. Until an arrogant, sinfully handsome duke singles her out for a waltz, making Thea the most popular belle of the season.
Well, the duke ruined her plans and now he’ll just have to fix them.
Dalton, Duke of Osborne, is far too heartless for debutantes or marriage – he uses dalliances to distract from his real purpose: finding the man who destroyed his family. When his search leads to Ireland, the last thing he needs is the determined, achingly innocent Thea, who arrives in the dead of night demanding he escort her to her aunt. His foolish agreement may prove his undoing. The road to the Emerald Isle is fraught with unforeseen dangers, but the greatest peril of all might just be discovering that he has a heart . . . and he’s losing it to Thea.
I’ve reviewed the book below but first, I’ve had a chat with Lenora. Hi Lenora, thank you so much for joining me today. First, can you tell me a little about your typical writing day and how many words you aim to write on a daily basis.
Hi Laura! Thanks for having me here at Novel Kicks! I see you have a cat named Buddy. Every writer should have a cat, don’t you think? They’re such good companions for long writing sessions. They just curl up and sleep to the sound of your clicking fingers on the keyboard as if it were rain pattering on a tin roof. (Yes, Lenora, I totally agree!)
Writing for me is both agony and ecstasy. There is a certain amount of slogging through the trenches that needs to happen before the words on the page learn to fly. A typical writing day for me means churning out extremely rough stream-of-consciousness pages and then spending three times as many hours trying to wrestle those rough pages into something fit to be seen by other eyes. I may have ten rough pages and only produce one edited page *sigh*. But when things go right there truly is no better feeling.
Do you have any writing rituals (plenty of coffee, writing in silence etc?)
Coffee, of course! Absolutely necessary for those late night writing binges. I find what helps me the most to focus on the emotional heart of scenes is to do some yoga and light a candle before I write, and then stop every hour or so and take a quick yoga break. It helps me focus as well as helps stretch all those cramped writing muscles.
Your new book, If I Only Had a Duke is the second in the Disgraceful Duke series. Can you tell me about it?
I’m so excited about this book! It’s the second in the Disgraceful Dukes series and is loosely inspired by the Wizard of Oz. If you read it with that in mind you’ll find subtle references throughout the novel. This is the story of Lady Dorothea Beaumont, who’s had more than enough of her family’s scheming and just wants to escape from London and live a quiet life as a spinster, and Dalton, Duke of Osborne, who uses public spectacle to distract from his true purpose—finding the man who destroyed his family.
How did you approach writing this novel in terms of planning and research?
I worked closely with my fabulous editor at Avon Books, Amanda Bergeron, on planning and plotting. Sometimes my plots tend to wander and she always reined me in and redirected me to the heart of the story. As for research, I read books and watched videos on everything from Regency-era traveling coaches, ships, and gaming hells to etiquette and recipes for trifle. It was tons of fun!
by Competitions: Five Copies of Ready Steady Mo! -Winners
Thanks to Hodder Children’s Books, we had five copies of Ready Steady Mo! to give away. All you had to do was answer the following question;
What sport is this book about:
A) Cycling
B) Running
C) Swimming
And of course, the answer was B, Running.
Congratulations to Susan Dias, Maryanne Pike, Naomi Farquharson, Katie Skeoch and Charlotte Rooney who have all won a copy.
Ready, Steady Mo! is a fun, action-packed rhyming picture book that will get kids reading, and running too.
Run on the pavement
Run on the grass
Run in the playground
Perhaps not in class!
by Book Cover Reveal: It’s a Wonderful Life by Julia Williams
OK, so we are technically still in Summer but I am a little obsessed with Christmas (if you’ve not guessed already) and one of the things I love most about this time of year is the Christmas themed books that get released.
That is why I am over excited to be part of the cover reveal for the new novel by Julia Williams.
Her new novel is classic Julia, it’s due out on the 3rd November 2016 and it’s Christmas themed. It’s called It’s a Wonderful Life (I just say that and get the festive feels.)
Isn’t this cover just beautiful? I absolutely LOVE it. What do you think of the cover?
Christmas with the family. Cosy, relaxing…and a total nightmare?
Driving home for Christmas, Beth has everything she wants. The kids and the house, the career and the husband. So why is it that when the New Year comes, she can’t stop thinking about her old college boyfriend?
Her husband Daniel is tasked with bringing a struggling school up to scratch, but when family life catches up to him, can he be a good father and a good teacher at the same time?
Beth’s sister Lou has just been dumped…again. Single and childless, she can’t help but be jealous of her sibling’s success. But is the grass really always greener?
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Mythical Creatures
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: Mythical Creatures.
There is a meeting today. The attendees are a dragon, a fairy, a mermaid, a unicorn and bigfoot. They are all meeting up for their weekly catch up over a drink.
Write about their evening. What would they talk about? Do they get on well? What would their day have been like?
Write up to 1,700 words.
by Latest Book Releases: 18th August 2016
Notting Hill Press, 18th August 2016.
Hello all. It’s another Thursday which means another load of book releases. I wanted to share a couple of them that I am looking forward to reading.
I love Michele Gorman’s style of writing and therefore have really enjoyed all the books I’ve managed to read so far. Life Change (which is due out on Kindle today,) is released by Notting Hill Press and sounds great (this book was originally released as Bella Summer Takes a Chance which is one of Michele’s books I’ve not read.)
Michele is really good at the feel good romantic comedy and this book sounds like it is no exception.
The general information on the story is that Bea has been through some big life changes recently (including loosing her job, her flat and finishing a long-term relationship over a takeaway.) With no boyfriend, no job and nowhere to live, things are very shaky for Bea for the first time in thirty-eight years.
Things are not made any easier but the fact that dating has moved on too. With online dating and apps she has no idea how to date anymore.
She used to dream of a music career but the best she can do is performing to drunks in pubs. She’s beginning to wonder whether anything is easy after all.
by My Back To School Stationery Wish List
As you may have guessed, I have a bit of an obsession with stationery. There is nothing like a new notebook or finding a nice pen.
I did used to dread September and having to go back to school after having six weeks off. The one thing I did look forward to though was the chance to go shopping for all the back to school supplies – you know; the beautiful rucksack that costs more than your pocket money allowed or the five pack of pritt stick your brain convinces you that you’re going to need for the new year at school and will then spend the next nine months in the back of your draw.
As we’re nearing September, I wanted to share my wish list for back to school stationery. I can still want all these even though I’m not at school anymore and haven’t been for a while right? Please? Pretty please? (I’ve tried to include links as I love posts like this and I like knowing where I can get things if any of the items takes my fancy.)
The first item I’ve chosen for my back to school wish list are these Polka Dot Gel Pens from Paperchase (I could seriously spend all my money in that place if I didn’t stop myself. Somehow I don’t think my lack of rent money would be appreciated though.)
What I love about these is that they are so colourful. You have green, purple, blue, red and yellow so if you’re like me and you like to use various colours to brighten up a planner or a notebook then these are perfect.
They are soft grip and retractable too so perfect for those long note taking sessions.
(A pack of five is £4.00 at http://www.paperchase.co.uk)
The second thing on my wish list is also from Paperchase and it is this Purr Maids A5 subject notebook.
This collection from Paperchase I think is among my favourites. It’s cats. That’s me pretty much sold. It’s so cute and like the pens, it’s very bright and colourful.
What I like about this notebook is that it has five sections with colourful dividers so you can keep all your notes for each subject separate and organised.
There are 100 sheets (so 200 pages.) It’s close ruled paper and it’s spiral bound which I find easier to use if taking notes (especially if you need to remove any. It really irritates me when I have to rip a page out of a notebook and it leaves a messy heap of the page behind.)
(Purr Maids Subject A5 notebook is from Paperchase and is £8: http://www.paperchase.co.uk)
by Book Review: Smoke by Dan Vyleta
W&N, 7th July 2016
Smoke opens in a private boarding school near Oxford, but history has not followed the path known to us. In this other past, sin appears as smoke on the body and soot on the clothes. Children are born carrying the seeds of evil within them. The ruling elite have learned to control their desires and contain their sin. They are spotless. It is within the closeted world of this school that the sons of the wealthy and well-connected are trained as future leaders.
Among their number are two boys, Thomas and Charlie. On a trip to London, a forbidden city shrouded in smoke and darkness, the boys will witness an event that will make them question everything they have been told about the past. For there is more to the world of smoke, soot and ash than meets the eye and there are those who will stop at nothing to protect it . . .
Imagine a world where sin were rendered visible by smoke; where evidence of your deeds and intents was visible for all to see. Large cities like London are hives of sin and corruption, wrapped in smoke and stained with soot, where the common people are forced to live in the thick of it while the very wealthy move out into the countryside away from the corruption and into the fresh air where their own smoke can dissipate.
The children of the wealthy are schooled in how to be mindful of their thoughts and actions so as not to smoke and it is in once such school that the story starts.
Thomas is a young boy who until very recently was home schooled, until a powerful sponsor secured his place at a well-respected school outside of Oxford. On a school trip into London to observe the sinful city Thomas sees something which causes him to question the true nature of smoke.
by My Writing Ramblings: Dream a Little Dream of Strangeness.
Happy Wednesday everyone.
How lovely has this weather been? It’s been absolutely gorgeous. On Sunday I went with some family over to Moors Valley Country Park near Bournemouth. I remember going there a lot when I was a child. There was such a magic to all the woods that seemed to go on for miles.
I would love reaching the climbing structures (and was very annoyed that I am now too big to go on them. It does suck being a grown up sometimes.)
If anything, the lake and the surrounding area is just as beautiful and I will never stop loving the steam train that runs around the park. As I passed the play area and saw the climbing frame, the zip wire and the area with the slide that looks like a castle, it brought back so many memories.
On Monday I also got a chance to spend the day at Sandbanks beach which is one of the most beautiful beaches. It was lovely to just swim in the sea and sit in the sun. As we had family staying, there has not been a lot of writing and planning but there has been a bit of chilling out and it’s been nice.
by Writing Room: Magazine Roulette
Tuesday 16th August 2016: Magazines Roulette.
For today’s prompt, we’re taking inspiration from magazines.
Try and gather up as many magazines as you can.
Cut out anything that catches your eye; pictures, words, phrases. (If you have no magazines, you could always use what is available online and write down any ideas on small bits of paper.)
Put them all into a bowl. Pick out two or three and write a short story based on each.
Don’t write more than three hundred words per story.
by
I am pleased to be welcoming Jane Lambert to the blog today and her tour for her novel, Learning to Fly.
Forty-year-old air stewardess Emily Forsyth has everything a woman could wish for: a glamorous, jet-set lifestyle, a designer wardrobe and a dishy pilot of a husband-in-waiting to match. But when he leaves her to ‘find himself’ (forgetting to mention the bit about ‘… a younger girlfriend’), Emily’s perfect world comes crashing down. Catapulted into a mid-life crisis, she is forced to take stock and make some major changes. She ditches her job and enrols on a drama course in pursuit of her childhood dream, positive that, in no time at all, she’ll be posing in Prada on the red carpet and her ex will rue the day he dumped her. Wrong! Her chosen path proves to be an obstacle course littered with odd jobs and humiliating auditions; from performing Macbeth single-handedly at Scone Palace to chauffeuring the world’s top golfers at St Andrews – and getting hopelessly lost.
If she is to survive, she must learn to be happy with less, and develop a selective memory to cope with more than her fair share of humiliating auditions. She tells herself her big break is just around the corner. But is it too late to be chasing dreams?
Jane has very kindly shared an extract from the novel. Enjoy.
******
It is never too late to be what you might have been ̴ George Eliot
Reasons for and against giving up the glitzy, glamorous world of flying:
Pros:
- No more cleaning up other people’s sick.
- No more 2 a.m. wake-up calls, jet lag, swollen feet/ stomach or shrivelled-up skin.
- No more tedious questions like, ‘What’s that lake/ mountain down there?’ and ‘Does the mile high club really exist?’
- No more serving kippers and poached eggs at 4 a.m. to passengers with dog-breath and smelly socks.
- No more risk of dying from deep vein thrombosis, malaria or yellow fever.
- No more battles with passengers who insist that their flat-pack gazebo will fit into the overhead locker.
- No more wearing a permanent smile and a name badge.
- No danger of bumping into ex-boyfriend and his latest ‘I’m-Debbie-come-fly-me’.
Cons:
- No more fake Prada, Louis Vuitton or Gucci.
- No more lazing by the pool in winter.
- No more ten-hour retail therapy sessions in shopping malls the size of a small island — and getting paid for it.
- No more posh hotel freebies (toiletries, slippers, fluffy bathrobes etc.).
- Holidays (if any) now to be taken in Costa del Cheapo, as opposed to Barbados or Bora Bora.
- No more horse riding around the pyramids, imagining I’m a desert queen.
- No more ice skating in Central Park, imagining I’m Ali MacGraw in Love Story.
- Having to swap my riverside apartment for a shoebox, and my Mazda convertible for a pushbike.
‘Cabin crew, ten minutes to landing. Ten minutes, please,’ comes the captain’s olive-oil-smooth voice over the intercom. This is it. No going back. I’m past the point of no return.
The galley curtain swishes open — it’s showtime!
I switch on my full-beam smile and enter upstage left, pushing my trolley for the very last time …
‘Anyheadsetsanyrubbishlandingcard? Anyheadsetsanyrubbishlandingcard? …’
Have I taken leave of my senses? The notion of an actress living in a garret, sacrificing everything for the sake of her art, seemed so romantic when I gaily handed in my notice three months ago, but now I’m not so sure …
Be positive! Just think, a couple of years from now, you could be sipping coffee with Phil and Holly on the This Morning sofa …
Yes, Phil, the rumours are true … I have been asked to appear on Strictly Come Dancing. God only knows how I’ll fit it around my filming commitments though.
Who are you kidding? A couple of years from now, the only place you’ll be appearing is the job centre, playing Woman On Income Support.
This follow-your-dreams stuff is all very well when you’re in your twenties, or thirties even, but I’m a forty-year-old woman with no rich husband (or any husband for that matter) to bail me out if it all goes pear-shaped. Just as everyone around me is having a loft extension or a late baby, I’m downsizing my whole lifestyle to enter a profession that boasts a ninety-two percent unemployment rate.
Why in God’s name, in this wobbly economic climate, am I putting myself through all this angst and upheaval, when I could be pushing my trolley until I’m sixty, then retire comfortably on an ample pension and one free flight a year?
Something happened, out of the blue, that catapulted me from my ordered, happy-go-lucky existence and forced me down a different road …
‘It’s not your fault. It’s me. I’m confused,’ Nigel had said.
by
Hodder Children’s Books, 26th July 2016
Ready, Steady Mo! is a fun, action-packed rhyming picture book that will get kids reading, and running too.
Run on the pavement
Run on the grass
Run in the playground
Perhaps not in class!
To Enter:
We have 5 copies to give away. To be in of a chance of winning, answer the following question before the closing date of Sunday 21st August 2016 at 23.59:
What sport is this book about:
A) Cycling
B) Running
C) Swimming
The winners will then be picked at random from the correct entries and announced on the blog and contacted via e-mail on or after Monday 22nd August 2016. UK only.
Good Luck.
by Extract: Because of You by Helene Fermont
Because of You by Helene Fermont is released today by Fridhem Publishing.
Because of You spans 36 years in the life of Hannah Stein, a Swedish teenager who arrives in London, at the tail end of the disco era, for a gap year before embarking on a teaching career. The people she meets change the course of her life irrevocably and the novel charts her changing personal and professional fortunes over the next three decades. Because of You is about love, coming of age, friendship, bereavement, stillbirth and rape. Its themes include redemption, acceptance, fidelity and family. Because of You is a story that every woman can relate to.
Thanks to Hélene, Fridhem and Palamedes PR, we have an exclusive extract to share with you. Enjoy.
As soon as Easter and Passover were over, Hannah organised a meeting between her grandmother and friends. “I booked a table at Cosmo,” she told the girls. “Ella and Granny’s old friends Katja and Tanya will be joining us.” May was approaching and with it, sunny hot weather. The ladies made the effort to look their best.
Opting to wear a light blue dress, her hair in a soft shade of red perfectly matching her lips, Zipporah admired Tanya and Katja’s bright kaftans, the latter wearing a turban to conceal her loss of hair due to old age. Meanwhile, Hannah assisted dressing Ella, choosing a lavender dress with matching jacket. Rosie and Sanna also made the effort to dress up.
Seated at the large table in the buzzing restaurant overlooking the crowd around them, Rosie kept thinking everyone looked wonderful. “You look years younger than your actual age!” she blurted out, referring to each by surname.
“Please don’t! Unless you refer to us by first name, we’ll feel ancient,” Zipporah whispered in her ear.
It was difficult choosing from the extensive menu. “I’m postponing my diet,” said Sanna. This place’s worth it.”
Nodding her agreement, Katja replied, “You’re a girl close to my own heart. Women are wrong assuming being thin as a stick’s attractive – men prefer a fuller, feminine figure!” Her Russian accent matched that of her friends’. Beaming, Sanna wholeheartedly agreed.
“I’d never contemplate cutting down on my food, neither would Tanya,” Katja added, winking at the larger woman seated next to her.
by
I hope everyone is enjoying their August. It’s time for this month’s Blind Date With A Book.
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. All I will reveal is that the themes include ‘secrets, lies, murder mystery and betrayal.
How to enter:
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: A Different Fate?
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 adore reading. I love getting to the stage where I can see where the character has ended up. However, I know I will sometimes read a book and wonder what would have happened had the story gone the way I thought it was going to go and didn’t.
Think about one of the books you’ve read where the ending didn’t finish the way you wanted.
Rework it the way you wanted it to play out rather than how it ended.
by Latest Book Releases: 11th August 2016
Hodder and Stoughton, 11th August 2016.
Sphere, 11th August 2016.
It’s Thursday. It’s come around quickly this week. I hope everyone has enjoyed what sunshine we have had. As it is Thursday, it is time for another list of new book releases.
What have you all been reading this week?
The first book released today is Acts of Love by Talulah Riley. If the name sounds familiar that is because she is also an actress and has been in St Trinian’s and The Boat That Rocked. Acts of Love is her debut novel and is about a girl called Bernadette who can be liberal with the truth. She has built her journalism career on lulling men into a false sense of security then exposing them publically through her tell all articles.
However, she may have met her match in Radley Blake. Despite her charms, Radley seems to immediately see straight through her.
This book sounds like a winner and I definitely will give it a read.
The second book released today is Rules: Things are changing at the little school by the sea which is the latest book from one of my favourite authors, Jenny Colgan. This is the second book in the Maggie Adair series and has been described as a Malory Towers for grown ups. I did love that series as a kid.
The basic plot is that it is a new year and the girls are breaking the rules. Which one of them will come out the other side unscathed?
Maggie loves teaching at Downey House. She is maybe less keen on planning her wedding to Stan whilst trying to ignore the crush she has on David who teaches at a neighbouring school.
Simone and Fliss have become friends. Zelda arrives and upsets things.
This sounds like this has the makings of a great series.
Simon & Schuster, 9th August 2016.
Mantle, 11th August 2016.
The third book released today is Miss You by Kate Ebelen. This is the debut novel from Kate and I think this is my favourite cover this week. It’s so simple but so pretty at the same time. This is the story of Tess. The motto she can’t seem to forget is ‘This is the first day of the rest of your life.’ She is in Florence for a final holiday before she goes to university. Her life is about to change.
Gus is also in Italy with his parents. He is being the dutiful son but he wants more. The paths of these two characters cross before the book covers the next sixteen years of their lives.
This book sounds like something I would really like. It has a cross between David Nicholls’s One Day and Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewell feel to it.
by Book Review: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne
Little, Brown, 31st July 2016.
This is the review that I’ve titled ‘Harry Potter and the Underwhelmed Reviewer’
Hands up who amongst us have waited with baited breath for a new Harry Potter story? That’s pretty much every one of us. Now, hands up all those who think that this is that story…don’t be so hasty. Yes, this is Harry Potter, and at the same time, no it’s not.
I was so excited when I heard that they were releasing a script-book of the stage-play (I’ve tickets for this for May 2017) that I was determined to drop all my other reading as soon as it arrived. This I did and being a script, it didn’t take as long to read as one of the canon novels we’re used to. It didn’t help that I read it in two sittings, at least that’s no fault of the book itself.
To the bread and butter question; is it any good?
Not an easy thing to answer actually. After so long in between official releases, those of us fans who’ve taken to getting our fix from some of the excellent fan fiction out there were perhaps always going to be the most critical, I’m certainly one of those. I can only give this 3 stars as I think the problem the author(s) came up against was trying to please everyone and when you try and do that, you generally end up pleasing no-one. It’s not quite as bad as that seems, as I did enjoy it. I did come away dis-satisfied though.
Why? Because of the above. Now, I don’t go in for spoilers/telling about the story, if I can at all help it in my reviews, so I’ll do my best here. But some of the things that happen to drive the story along are so contrived, that I’d really like to know who came up with the story? Whose idea was it and who fleshed it out? Characters act out of well, character, to what we’ve come to know about them (except when not in the canon universe – nearest I’ll come to having to give a spoiler alert), things happen that (nothing to do with the capabilities of magic here) are obviously just devices to drive the story along and I found myself saying out loud, ‘Puleeese….’
by The Book To Film Adaptations That I’m Excited About in 2016
Books have the ability to completely transport me to another world. I like escaping into the lives and surroundings of the characters so much. Film adaptations can bring what is in your imagination even more to life (and sometimes completely annoy you if not done properly.)
A lot of the films being released right now seem to be adapted from novels and I wanted to share some of the book to film adaptations that I am looking forward to with you.
Ambling Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures, Walden Media, Reliance Entertainment & The Kennedy Marshall Company. Distributed by Entertainment One.
The first book to film adaptation I am excited about this year is The BFG and is based on the novel from Roald Dahl
This was one of my favourite books growing up (it was tied with Charlie and The Chocolate Factory in terms of my favourite Dahl stories.) For those few who are not familiar, it’s about a young orphan named Sophie who one night discovers that a giant delivers dreams to children. Sophie is soon introduced to the big friendly giant who takes her on an adventure through Giant country.
I loved everything about this book from the plot to the big friendly giant to the illustrations. I wanted to meet the BFG so much. The imagery scared me and was exciting at the same time. I also was a big fan of the animated version. Anyone remember that?
The film version stars Mark Rylance (who I believe was in Bridge of Spies,) Rebecca Hall, Bill Hader and Ruby Barnhill. It was released in July and I’ve not yet got a chance to go and see it. I can be sceptical of adaptations of books from my childhood but if the trailer is anything to go by, it’s going to be excellent. Mark Rylance looks like he makes the perfect BFG.
(The BFG was released on 22nd July 2016.)
Another book to film adaption that is due out this year is Inferno which is adapted from the novel by Dan Brown.
Yes, for many, Dan Brown may not be the best writer in the world (he’s certainly ahead of me. He’s written a book and I haven’t…yet. I don’t mind his books.) However, he is incredibly good at picking an interesting subject matter and the man can definitely do cliff-hanger chapter endings. I am not sure what it is about Dan Brown’s novels that gets me completely hooked on them. These novels are certainly a guilty pleasure of mine.
Columbia Pictures
Inferno is not my favourite of Brown’s novels in all honesty but I am looking forward to seeing the film. I think Tom Hanks makes an OK Robert Langdon and the movies are perfect escapism.
The general gist of Inferno is that Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with no idea how he got there. Along with Sienna Brooks (who is being played by Felicity Jones who was in The Theory of Everything,) has to stop someone from releasing a deadly virus that has the capability to wipe out half the world’s population.
(Inferno is due to be released in cinemas on 14th October 2016.)
The third adaptation I am looking forward to seeing this year is the film adapted from JoJo Moyes novel, Me Before You. I remember being blown away by this novel (although I didn’t cry at the end. My friend thinks I’m a Vulcan because of it.) JoJo has written the screenplay for this so as a fan of the book, it can’t be in safer hands really.
This tells the story of Lou who is hired by the family of Will who is confined to a wheelchair after a motorcycle accident. She soon forms a bond with Will that she never expected.
This was released in June (and I’m so slow off the mark in going to see it.) I’ve heard some wonderful things about the film. It stars Emilia Clarke as Lou. It’s not quite how I pictured her but from the preview trailers I’ve seen, she suits the role well. It also stars Sam Claflin as Will (he was in the Hunger Games and Love, Rosie.) He makes a very handsome Will in my opinion. I look forward to catching this one when I can.
(Me Before You was released in cinemas on 3rd June 2016.)
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Hello Wednesday. How are you?
We are halfway through the week (unless like me you’re a shift worker.) I hope you’ve been making the most of the sunshine when it has dared to show itself (Sunday was incredibly warm.) What I love about summer is that I can emerge from the chair in my little writing nook and get outside for some fresh air and brightness. It is so quiet where I live and although it is surrounded by houses there is also a lot of woodland (perfect for if I need a walk for inspiration.) It is not near the beach (which I was only fifteen minutes away at the most growing up) but it is the next best thing for sure.
The Austen reading challenge is going OK. I am trying to read it around another book so not reading as quickly as I could be doing. Emma is one of the books I’ve not read so the plot is a little bit more unfamiliar to say, Pride and Prejudice. So far so good. Emma is actually quite a tragic character isn’t she. She’s so busy matchmaking that she doesn’t take care of herself.
The obsession I do have at the moment is Pretty Little Liars. I am a little late to the PLL party but I am wondering what took me so long. It’s so good. I’ve even got the husband watching it. All six and a bit series are currently on Netflix and I’ve managed to watch all of them. I am suffering from PLL withdrawal. This new obsession hasn’t helped my productivity one bit. I blame Netflix.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Starting Points
Tuesday 9th August 2016: Starting Points
Today’s writing exercise is about (as you’ve probably gathered from the title,) starting points. The idea of the blank page has frightened many a writer.
Write a series of paragraphs using each of the following as a starting point:
I remember when, I guess it all started when, It wasn’t until I was older that I….
What things did you remember or write about? Could they be used as a story? Can everything be merged to form the basis of a story?
by Author Interview: Emma Bennet
Emma Bennet is the author of I Need A Hero, His Secret Daughter and Snowed in for her Wedding. Emma joins me today to chat about writing, planning her novels and her dinner party guests.
Hi Emma, thank you for joining me. Do you have a favourite word?
I have several: pudding, serendipity and natty stand out as particularly wonderful to say. Actually, I managed to get ‘natty’ into my latest manuscript, a great moment!
How much planning do you do before beginning a book? What elements need to be in place?
I use an A4 notebook and write a basic outline over a page. I then expand on this over about three pages, and write short character profiles for my hero and heroine. I add to and refer to these sheets regularly! Once these are in place, I’m off!
Which novel would you like to live in for a day and why?
I think it’s got to be ‘Pride and Prejudice’: I’d love to chat with Lizzy, advise her mum on her nerves and dance with Mr Darcy!
Out of all the books you’ve read, which three have stayed with you?
It tends to be children’s books which stay with me the most. I absolutely love being able to share my favourites with my children. The top three would probably be Enid Blyton’s The Enchanted Wood, Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes and Catherine Cookson’s Nancy Nutall and the Mongrel (which never fails to make me cry!).
by Competitions: Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2017 Winner Announcement
The best-selling Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is back for 2017 and thanks to Bloomsbury, we had ONE copy to give away.
WELL DONE TO PIPPA GOODHART FROM CAMBRIDGESHIRE WHO HAS WON A COPY OF THIS YEAR’S EDITION. CONGRATULATIONS.
This book is an essential guide to all things media and publishing. It’s in its one hundred and tenth printing and it was released by Bloomsbury on 28th July 2016.
The Writers’ & Artists Yearbook is an indispensable guide to all areas of publishing. It has plenty of advice and guidance for writers and is packed with guidance of whom to contact if you’re wondering what to do next with your novel and looking to get published.
It’s 816 pages and it has over 4,000 listings including publishers and agents.
by Blog Tour: No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan – Extract and Review
I’m very happy to be welcoming Tracy Buchanan back to Novel Kicks and her blog tour for her new novel which is called No Turning Back (published by Avon on 28th July 2016.)
When radio presenter Anna Graves and her baby are attacked on the beach by a crazed teenager, Anna reacts instinctively to protect her daughter.
But her life falls apart when the schoolboy dies from his injuries. The police believe Anna’s story, until the autopsy results reveal something more sinister.
A frenzied media attack sends Anna into a spiral of self-doubt. Her precarious mental state is further threatened when she receives a chilling message from someone claiming to be the ‘Ophelia Killer’, responsible for a series of murders twenty years ago.
Is Anna as innocent as she claims? And is murder forgivable, if committed to save your child’s life…?
I have reviewed it below but thanks to Tracy and Avon, here is an extract from chapter seven of the book. Enjoy. (Warning, small amount of bad language.)
The Third One
‘My friends call me Coolio,’ the boy says.
I laugh.
‘Not for the reasons you think though,’ he adds. ‘It’s ’cos I once got my fingers stuck in a freezer door.’
I laugh again. This one’s funny.
‘I like it here,’ the boy says. We’re sitting in his garden, looking out towards the sea through the broken panels of his fence. It’s boiling hot and we’re both trying to huddle under a small tree, the one piece of shade out here. He’s new here, only been living in The Docks for three weeks.
I can’t help but look towards his pond. It shimmers under the bright exhausting sun and I have a flashback to the week before and the pale body that had lain prone in filthy water.
Guilt swirls with excitement. You said that will change, the guilt will eventually fade. I think you’re right, I’m starting to feel braver, fingers tingling with excitement.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: String a Sentence Together
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: String a Sentence Together…
For today’s prompt, use the following three sentences in a story.
‘The most beautiful smile I ever saw.’
‘Emma found something buried in the garden.’
‘Finally, the key gave way.’
by
Happy Wednesday everyone!
I can’t quite believe that we are already into August. The time is slipping by me in a surreal manner this year. Today marks the third year we’ve been in our current house and yet it doesn’t feel like five minutes since we moved in.
Before we know it we are going to be pulling those clocks back (I know, I said it. Ssshh, I hear you cry.)
This week I’ve been mainly trying to sleep and failing. Being wide awake at 2am isn’t so bad when I’m on my days off but on workdays it means copious amounts of tea and numerous walks around the building just to keep myself awake. In the last few days I’ve managed to spill tea all over the carpet (and my bag didn’t escape unscathed either,) drop things, walk into the occasional wall and drop a can of coke on a concrete floor, which had it spraying out absolutely everywhere. Lack of sleep does not do anything for my coordination. Ha-ha.
The writing side of my week has shown some progress. Most of my characters have had biographies written about them now. It’s nice to have a sense of who my characters are. They are becoming much more real to me now. Now it’s time to work on the plot.
One thing I have set myself starting this month is my Austen reading challenge. When thinking about it, I’ve realized that I have 
not read all of the Austen novels. I know!
So, the challenge is to read one a month for the next six months.
If you fancy reading along with me I am going to be reading them in this order…
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Opposing Characters Writing Exercise
Tuesday 2nd August 2016: Opposing Characters.
Today is about creating a brand new character. To do this, use people you know.
Create a character that is based on the personality traits of someone that means a lot to you but has the physical attributes of someone you don’t like.
You could also reverse it…. the physical traits of someone you love but the personality of someone you’re not so keen on.
by Author Interview: Lesley Thomson Talks About The House With No Rooms
Lesley Thomson
I’m pleased to be welcoming author Lesley Thomson to Novel Kicks today. Hi Lesley. Could you tell me a little about your typical writing day?
Hi Laura, great to be here.
My day starts at 6.45am when I walk the dog. In summer this is a lovely part of the day, with the sun shining on the ruins of the Priory behind our house and the grass lush and green. I know the other walkers who are out at that time and feel lucky to have such interesting conversations before breakfast. In the winter in the wet and dark, togged in waterproofs from head to foot with a torch strapped to my forehead, it’s more of an expedition.
I start work at 8.30 and break for coffee at 11am. I work until 1pm. If it’s a first draft then – after lunch and a longer walk with my dog – I do research. This is reading books and articles and taking notes. Perhaps setting up interviews. If I’m further on in the novel, I’ll continue redrafting until about 5pm.
Can you tell me a little about your book, The House with no Rooms and how the idea originated?
The House with no Rooms is a murder story set in Kew Gardens in the hot summer of 1976 and in 2014. Jack and Stella follow a series of clues to uncover a terrible secret that is forty year old.
I visited the Marianne North gallery in Kew Gardens. A 19th Century botanical artist, North painted plants and flowers on her solo expeditions around the world. There are 833 numbered pictures hanging in what looks like a house. My character Jack sees numbers as signs that dictate his actions and hold clues he must decipher. The story features the Palm House, the Queen’s Beasts and the Herbarium that stores thousands of dried specimens collected over two centuries. They are called ‘dead materials’. Add to this that the botanist’s chief tool of trade is the scalpel and I realised that the Botanical Gardens was the perfect place to set a scary crime novel.
Head of Zeus, April 2016
Do you have any writing rituals (needing coffee before you begin? Writing in silence etc.)
Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I have coffee at 11am. I drink out of a particular mug that I only use for work. I take the dog for walks at about the same time every day. While I work, I play Radio 3 although I like silence too. All this is less about superstition, I have found that a combination of ritual and routine gets me get into story and keeps me writing.
If you were only allowed to own three books, which three would you pick?
These would keep me going. I would need nothing else,
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.
Is there a fictional character you’d like to meet and why?
There are two. As an adult, I’d like an introduction to Sergeant Cuff in The Moonstone. He has a quiet ego, he knows he’s good at his work, but is prepared to be wrong. But of course he isn’t. He’s professional, honest, unflurried and gives people careful attention. He has a great sense of priority. What matters most to him is to grow roses. I’d love to have tea with him in the garden in Dorking that he moved to after he retired. I’m sure I’d come away wiser.
As a child, I wanted to meet Lucy in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. She is passionate, honest and brave. Actually I’d still like to meet her.
What advice do you have for someone who is thinking of or in the processes of writing a book?
A writer is privileged to live in more than one world, their fictional world and the ‘real’ one. Sometimes I find the former more real. Two bits of advice, if you’re writing a novel, keep going until the end. Then you’ve got something to work with. If you’re contemplating writing, stop contemplating and start! Never wait for the muse to strike because it tends to strike when words are already on the page, not when the page is blank. And as I said earlier, you might see if it helps you to establish a routine. Above all, keep going.
How do you approach the writing process? Do you plan much, edit as you go?
I have the idea and write a synopsis. Then I plan out the novel chapter by chapter. I consider what research will be needed. This might be interviewing experts in their field. For The House With No Rooms I talked to botanists, a botanical illustrator and the ex Met Detective Superintendent and District line driver who have helped me with the Detective’s Daughter series. I walk the places in my novels. The House with no Rooms demanded lots of visits to Kew Gardens, poor me… I start the research after I’m half way through a draft when I know what questions to ask.
I write a first draft, ploughing on without editing even if I’m not happy with it. Then I do another draft, editing, refining and rearranging scenes to ensure they work. By the time the novel is published I have completed at least six drafts.
What’s your favourite word and why?
Contentment. It is suggests satisfaction with one’s life and in the moment. I imagine I would feel contentment sipping tea in Sergeant Cuff’s country garden with the scent of roses on the summer air.
More about Lesley:
Lesley Thomson grew up in London. Her first crime novel A Kind of Vanishing won The People’s Book Prize in 2010. The Detective’s Daughter is a number one bestseller and Sainsbury’s ebook for 2014. Ghost Girl, the second in the The Detective’s Daughter series (2014) went to number one in Sainsbury’s e-chart and is another bestseller. The Detective’s Secret was published in 2015. The Runaway, an eBook short about Stella Darnell (the detective’s daughter) came out in July 2015 and the fourth in the series, The House with No Rooms in 2016.
For more information about Lesley, visit http://lesleythomson.co.uk
by
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
The best-selling Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is back for 2017 and thanks to Bloomsbury, we have ONE copy to give away.
This book is an essential guide to all things media and publishing. It’s in its one hundred and tenth printing and it was released by Bloomsbury on 28th July 2016.
The Writers’ & Artists Yearbook is an indispensable guide to all areas of publishing. It has plenty of advice and guidance for writers and is packed with guidance of whom to contact if you’re wondering what to do next with your novel and looking to get published.
It’s 816 pages and it has over 4,000 listings including publishers and agents.
The new content in this edition includes advice from Maggie Gee, Mark Billingham, Martina Cole, Alexander McCall Smith, Claire McGowan and Kate Harrison.
There are also articles on being a debut novelist, self publishing dos and don’ts and marketing yourself online.
TO WIN A COPY:
by August’s Novel Kicks Book Club: The Drowning of Arthur Braxton by Caroline Smailes
Welcome to the Novel Kicks online book club.
We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our 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.
For August, we’re reading The Drowning of Arthur Braxton by Caroline Smailes.
by Book Cover Reveal: Claudia Carroll’s ‘All She Ever Wished For’
I am very excited to take part in the cover reveal for the upcoming book release by Claudia Carroll. All She Ever Wished For is being published by Avon in the UK in October – 6th October to be more exact.
Ta-dah. The cover is absolutely beautiful. It is very dreamy and festive looking. The plot also sounds very compelling. I am looking forward to reading this novel when it is released.
What are your thoughts on the cover?
A gorgeous story of chance meetings and unexpected friendships. Because sometimes what you’ve always wished for isn’t necessarily what life has in store . . .
Marriage. It’s a dream come true. Isn’t it?
One wet winter night, two women meet on a bridge. One is Tess Taylor, a personal trainer on the way to meet her boyfriend for date night. The other is Kate King, a celebrity married to a handsome billionaire who just happens to make her cry. In the cold dark evening, there is nothing to link them together but the bridge they shiver on. Little do they know they’ll both hold the key to each other’s future marriage…
All She Ever Wished For tells the story of what happens when your dream is about to come true. And what happens when that dream turns into a bit of a nightmare…
Claudia Carroll brings you a Christmas gift filled with second chances, fateful encounters and a lesson in what true love means.
by Novel Kicks Competitions: July’s Blind Date With A Book Winner
It’s time to announce the winner of July’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 include ‘solitude, loosing yourself, keeping belief and survival.
Well done to Polly Bartlett from Poole. I hope you enjoy your blind date and I will be in touch via e-mail shortly.
The new competition for August will be posted soon.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Exam Time
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: Exam Time
You are one of five candidates for a job. You’re lead to a room where you are told you need to sit an exam. The first person to finish gets the job. You are not allowed to take anything with you. There are five desks, five exam papers but only one pen…
by Blog Tour: A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams – Review
Harper, July 2016
The blog tour train has arrived. Hello to Beatriz Williams who’s new novel, A Certain Age was released earlier this month by Harper. Here’s the blurb:
As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall of Fifth Avenue – a beautiful socialite of a certain age – has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young lover, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. But though times are changing, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question.
When Theresa’s bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the youngest daughter of a newly wealthy inventor, Theresa enlists her lover to present the family’s diamond rose ring to pretty ingénue, Miss Sophie Fortescue – and to check into the background of this little-known family. Yet even as he uncovers a shocking secret, Octavian falls under Sophie’s spell…
Divided loyalties and dangerous revelations lead to a shocking transgression and eventually Theresa must make a choice that will change them all forever.
My verdict on A Certain Age…
It took me a couple of chapters to settle into this book but once I had, I found it to be very compelling to the point where I couldn’t stop reading. This book beautifully captures what I imagine the twenties to have been like and the imagery is so vivid. I felt like I was in New York at the beginning of the 1920’s witnessing the lives of these characters.
The plot is developed well and has a good number of twists and turns. It didn’t turn out quite the way I imagined. There is mystery surrounding this story. You know me, I love a good mystery.
The story is told from the point of view of two women; Theresa (she’s been married to a wealthy husband for a number of years,) and 19 year old Sophie.
by Latest Book Releases: 28th July 2016
Century, 20th July 2016
It’s Thursday again. Is it me or did that week go incredibly fast?! It does mean that it’s time for some more book releases…
The first book is The Moment She Left by Susan Lewis which has been released today in hardback. The e-book version is also available.
Here’s the blurb:
Kesterly-on-Sea is full of secrets.
Some are darker than others; many are shameful. One is even deadly.
Andee is an ex-detective whose marriage is breaking up. So when a young female student disappears without trace, she throws herself into the search.
Meanwhile, the town’s beloved Rowzee Cayne has just discovered that she is terminally ill, and doesn’t want to burden her family and friends with the news.
Andee and Rowzee don’t know it yet, but their journeys are going to help them uncover a secret. One that is going to affect them more than they could ever imagine.
This one sounds like I’d really enjoy it. It’s got a lot of mystery and sounds very compelling. I shall definitely be giving this one a read.
Sphere, 28th July 2016
I See You by Claire MacKintosh has also been released today. I think this cover is so pretty. I have to admit, I’ve not read I Let You Go which was Claire’s debut novel but reading the synopsis for I See You, it’s one I will definitely pick up at some point. What do you think?
When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it’s there. There’s no explanation, no website: just a grainy image and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it’s just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.
Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make . . .
Truly Madly Guilty is the latest novel from the fantastic Liane Moriarty.
Michael Joseph, 28th July 2016
Despite their differences, Erika and Clementine have been best friends since they were children. So when Erika needs help, Clementine should be the obvious person to turn to. Or so you’d think.
For Clementine, as a mother of a two desperately trying to practise for the audition of a lifetime, the last thing she needs is Erika asking for something, again.
But the barbecue should be the perfect way to forget their problems for a while. Especially when their hosts, Vid and Tiffany, are only too happy to distract them.
Which is how it all spirals out of control…
It’s the week for suspense and thriller. There is something about Liane’s books that draw me in so I can’t wait to read this one.
by Book Club
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