Competition Winners – Liberty Silk by Kate Beaufoy
Thanks to Kate and Transworld, we had three copies of Liberty Silk to give away to celebrate it’s release in the UK.
Well done to Rebecca Carden from Cambridgeshire, Charlotte Ingham from the UK and Tammy Tudor from Greater Manchester. You’ve all won a copy of the book.
About Liberty Silk:
One beautiful dress is the key to three brave women’s destinies.
France 1919: Jessie is celebrating the last heady days of her honeymoon. But when her husband suddenly disappears she finds herself bereft. Until a chance encounter thrusts her into the centre of the intoxicating world of Parisian high life.
Hollywood 1945: Lisa has come a long way from her quiet, unassuming life in London and is taking Hollywood by storm. But all that glitters is not gold, and as the smoke and mirrors of the lifestyle she so longed for shatter around her there are some secrets she can never escape.
by 
Fiction Friday – 250 words
Friday 18th July 2014 – 250 words.
Fiction Friday is our weekly 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: 250 words. Using the prompt ‘They couldn’t figure out what to say to each other,’ write a story that is no more than 250 words. What are these two people going to do? What are they going to say to next?
by More Books To Kick Start Your Writing
As a new writer, the first battle for me was knowing where to begin. With so many ‘how to’ books on the market, it’s hard to pick which one could be right for you.
We posted our ‘five books to kick start your writing,‘ last year. As there were so many I wanted to pick, here are a few more I think you may find helpful as you find your own path to writing your first book.
I have lost track of the amount of people who have recommended this book to me. Whenever I am talking about ‘how to write’ books with other writers, this book (along with Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott,) will always comes up accompanied by the sentence, “have you read it? You should, it’s fantastic.” Part memoir, it also offers invaluable advice and a tool kit for aspiring writers. Stephen is one of the most successful writers so I don’t think you can go far wrong with On Writing. (Hodder Paperbacks.)
by Courses and Competitions: New Children’s Author Prize 2015.
National Literacy Trust and Bloomsbury Children’s Books want to find talented new authors of children’s fiction.
They are inviting you to submit your stories for eight to twelve-year-olds.
The first prize will be a publishing contract with Bloomsbury (including advance payment of £5,000 for your work,) as well as the use of “Winner of the New Children’s Author Prize 2015 from Bloomsbury and National Literacy Trust,” and a prize ceremony in your honour, with press, authors and publishers in attendance.
Shortlisted authors will get the use of “Runner up in the New Children’s Author Prize 2015 from Bloomsbury and National Literacy Trust,” as well as signed book bundles plus an invitation to attend the prize ceremony with the opportunity to meet agents, editors, press and others.
The competition will be closed for entries on 30 September 2014 at 5pm.
by A Moment With…Paige Toon
Paige Toon worked at various magazines before becoming Reviews Editor at Heat Magazine. Her novels include The Longest Holiday and One Perfect Summer. Her new book, Thirteen Weddings was released in May. Today, Paige shares her five writing tips with us.
1. Write what you want to, not what you think you should.
2. If you’re stuck on a tricky scene, move on to something you want to write about and come back later.
3. Make sure your grammar and spelling is perfect before you even think about sending your book off to an agent. Ask someone you trust to check it over.
4. Consult the Writers & Artists’ Yearbook to find a few agents that are right for you – there are tips inside to help you draft a letter.
5. Don’t feel too disheartened about rejection – you can always self-publish your book and spread the word that way. It might just be that what you have written is not quite right for an agent at that particular time, but that’s not to say you won’t ever get a book deal. Don’t give up!
You can find out more about Paige by visiting www.paigetoon.com
Follow Paige on Twitter: @PaigeToonAuthor
by Book News: Jodi Picoult Releasing Novella.
Hodder & Stoughton, August 2014
On 4th August, Jodi Picoult will be releasing a novella exclusive to eBook. It’s called Larger Than Life and it’s available now to pre-order.
This book is focusing on one of the characters who will then feature in Jodi’s new novel, Leaving Time which is due for release in November.
It looks fantastic and the cover is beautiful too. We will be pre-ordering our copy.
About the book:
Alice is a researcher studying memory in elephants, and is fascinated by the bonds between mother and calf – the mother’s powerful protective instincts and her newborn’s unwavering loyalty. Living on a game reserve in Botswana, Alice is able to view the animals in their natural habitat, as long as she obeys one important rule: she must only observe and never interfere.
Then she finds an orphaned young elephant in the bush and cannot bear to leave the helpless baby behind. Alice will risk her career to care for the calf. Yet what she comes to understand is the depth of a parent’s love.
Preorder at Amazon.
by Novel Kicks Chats To Amy Bird
Amy’s first book, Yours is Mine was released by Carina in 2013. We catch up with her to chat about her latest book, Three Steps Behind You (which was released in March of this year.) We talk about her book, her writing rituals and James McAvoy.
Hi Amy, can you tell us about Three Steps Behind You?
Three Steps Behind You is a twisting tale of toxic friendship, psychopathic fixation and author identity. Set in North London and Soho, it tells of Dan, a crime writer who believes he has to experience everything in order to write about it. Method writing, if you will. But underlying Dan’s writing is the obsessional need to get closer to childhood friend, Adam, and Adam’s wife, Nicole. And he’ll keep trying until he achieves it – however brutal the method. The book is all first person through the eyes of Dan, so you really enter into his psychotic little world.
What attracted you to the psychological thriller genre?
I’m a big fan of Hitchcock, who is a real master of the psychological thriller on-screen. There is such technical skill in keeping an audience hooked, even as they feel uneasy, and I wanted to have a go myself. It’s also fun as a writer to create the very intense worlds that a thriller needs. You really immerse yourself in the world of your characters and the style of the genre. For Three Steps Behind You, I wrote my first draft in three months, which was a delightfully claustrophobic experience. Hopefully the reader then shares in some of that intensity.
Do you have any writing rituals?
I try to keep those to a minimum because I think they can be an excuse for not writing unless the ritual is complete – which would mean you couldn’t snatch small bits of time here and there to write. When I’m having a day devoted to writing, though, I generally go for a walk before I write, to wake my brain up, and remind myself about the outside world. Then as soon as possible after I return, I’ll draw back the curtains in my study, fire up my laptop, take off my watch, and start to write.
by Share a Puffin Book – Charlotte’s Web
This summer Puffin are bringing a series of timeless and unforgettable stories to life for a new generation of readers to discover as A Puffin Book – including Goodnight Mister Tom, Charlotte’s Web, Watership Down and Tarka the Otter. The new editions feature beautiful new cover designs, including iconic cover images and new artwork, as well as additional content, such as material unearthed from the Puffin archive, activities inspired by the books (such as make your own origami Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat!), background information on the story, as well as quizzes, author profiles, fun facts and much more.
As part of this, Puffin are asking readers to choose their favourite story from twenty titles. It was not hard to pick my favourite. For me, it had to be Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.
I think I was about ten when I first read Charlotte’s Web. This book had such a large place in my childhood and it’s one that I’ve picked up to re-read many times. Recently, on hearing that my husband had never read this book, I insisted he did as for me, it’s one that needs to be read whatever age you are.
The characters are so relatable (even now as I read it as an adult.) Fern is the motherly figure, Charlotte is the best friend every person wishes they had. The animals were like a family. They are so likeable (even Templeton is redeemable,) and I think it was this element that pulled me into the story.
by Blog Tour – What a Girl Wants by Lindsey Kelk
We are very happy to welcome Lindsey Kelk back to Novel Kicks. Her new book, What a Girl Wants will be released by Harper on 17th July 2014. As part of her blog tour, we had a chat with Lindsey about anthems, favourite words and writing advice…
Hi Lindsey, can you tell us about your new book?
It’s called What a Girl Wants and it’s the follow up to last summer’s About a Girl. It’s fun, funny read, all about the choices people have to make in life and what the consequences might be if they make the wrong ones!
Which three words would best describe you?
Loyal, funny, tired
What song would be your anthem? Which one do you think Tess would pick?
Get Up by SLeater-Kinney. Tess would really struggle because she’s not good with music or bands. She’d probably let Amy choose it for her – actually, she should choose I Knew You Were Trouble!
Favourite word and why?
It would be one of the bad ones so I can’t say. Such a sense of satisfaction…
by
Thanks to Kate and Transworld, we have three copies of Liberty Silk to give away.
To enter, comment on this post with your name and county by the closing date which is Thursday 17th July 2014 by 23.59. Three winners will then be chosen at random from the entries and announced on the Novel Kicks blog on Friday 18th July 2014. UK and Ireland only.
(Winners will also be emailed via the email they provide when entering the competition.)
Good luck.
About Liberty Silk:
One beautiful dress is the key to three brave women’s destinies.
France 1919: Jessie is celebrating the last heady days of her honeymoon. But when her husband suddenly disappears she finds herself bereft. Until a chance encounter thrusts her into the centre of the intoxicating world of Parisian high life.
Hollywood 1945: Lisa has come a long way from her quiet, unassuming life in London and is taking Hollywood by storm. But all that glitters is not gold, and as the smoke and mirrors of the lifestyle she so longed for shatter around her there are some secrets she can never escape.
London 1965: Cat, headstrong and independent, drawn to danger and passionately opposed to injustice, has no idea of the legacy that precedes her. Once past secrets are unveiled, she has the chance to find out what liberty really means…
An evocative story of survival, betrayal and the invincibility of love.
by Blog Tour: Liberty Silk by Kate Beaufoy
We are very excited to welcome Kate Beaufoy and her blog tour to Novel Kicks. Her new book, Liberty Silk was released by Transworld on 3rd July. We chat to Kate about her book (look out for our review soon,) her writing tips and the fictional character she’d like to meet…
Can you tell us about Liberty Silk and how the idea came about?
After writing a dozen novels as Kate Thompson, I really wanted to write something different. The idea for Liberty Silk came about when I found a cache of my grandmother’s letters in the attic. Written nearly a hundred years ago, they were entertaining, moving and full of fascinating detail about life after the Great War, when she and her artist husband spent their honeymoon traveling through France and Italy. I decided to use the letters as a backdrop to an epic story spanning three generations and three continents, and – because I was writing in a different genre – I took the opportunity to avail of a nom de plume. Beaufoy was my grandmother’s maiden name.
Are you a planner, and do you edit as you go?
Most of my plans consist of scraps of paper covered in indecipherable handwriting, which I discover lying around the house after the novel has been finished. Lots of my ideas get trashed during the writing process, as do some characters. I’ll fine a note to myself saying something like: ‘Louisa’s star sign is Gemini’, and then I’ll wonder ‘who the hell is Louisa?’
I never used to edit as I wrote, and was in the habit of notching up massive daily word count of two to three thousand words (one day I worked for thirteen solid hours and notched up six thousand!), but these days I edit rigorously and continuously – I’m lucky if I manage a thousand words a day (this does not suit all writers, many of whom prefer to finish before they edit). As for how the book ends: I usually have the last sentence in my head all the way through, from day one. And I always, always cry when I finish a novel. I’m actually inconsolable.
Is there a book you’ve read that has made a big impact on you?
I wish I could say there was, but I think that the impact books make is a cumulative thing. I don’t remember a time I couldn’t read, and every book I’ve opened since has made some kind of impact on me, whether positive or negative. You can learn a lot about writing from reading books that you consider badly written, and asking yourself why.
Do you have any writing rituals?
I can write mostly anywhere, but I love a space where I can spread notes, books, print-outs, photographs, etc. I know immediately where I can lay my hands on something, even though it all looks madly disorganised. I also prepare a flask of very strong black coffee at the start of every writing day, and often eat lunch at the computer. I do try and exercise every morning, but sometimes I start work almost the minute my eyes open, and spend the day working in bed, especially when I’m approaching the end of a novel. Then I lock myself away for thirty-six hours until I type ‘The End’.
If you could time travel for a day, where would you go and why?
It depends on the book I am working on. For Liberty Silk I should have loved to have travelled to the French Riviera in the 1920s to meet up with the crowd of hedonists I wrote about – Coco Chanel, Pablo Picasso, Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, who was the darling of the jazz age. And of course, there is the allure of 1940s Hollywood, an era that also features in the book. It seems über glamorous, but during the days of the big studios women – even some of the most fabulous stars – were treated like so much cattle. The book I am currently working on is set during the Victorian era; but since much of the action takes during the time of the Irish famine, I can say that it is one of the periods in history I would emphatically least like to visit.
Is there a fictional character you’d like to meet?
I would like to meet Teddy Lloyd, the cool, rather sexy art master in Muriel Spark’s famous novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The character is said to be based on my grandfather, who was a remarkably charismatic man.
Favourite Word?
It changes every day. Yesterday it was ‘lachrymose’, today it is ‘svelte’.
Five tips for new writers?
1: Here is a brilliant trick! I learned it by accident, when I cut and pasted an extract of my work into the body of an email and read it back. Either do just that, or reformat your writing, using a different font and paragraph layout. This helps you to read it with a completely new sensibility.
2: Don’t announce to anyone who isn’t a close friend that you’re embarking on a novel. You will regret it every time someone asks if you have finished it/found an agent/when your publication date is.
3: An extension of tip 2, above: Don’t be tempted to post details of your progress on social media. Aspiring writers will not love you when you declare that you have completed 100,000 words when they are struggling with their first chapter.
4: When your first draft is finished, don’t show it to ANYONE who does not love you. Even the best of friends can have an agenda, and Schadenfreude is an occupational hazard. You don’t need to be told that you’re the new Donna Tartt, but you do need to be handled with kid-gloves.
5: Try not to let your research show. You may have done painstaking homework on beautiful Bugatti motors, but your reader does not need to know that the 1919 models were fitted with overhead camshaft 4-cylinder 1,368cc engines.
About Liberty Silk:
One beautiful dress is the key to three brave women’s destinies.
France 1919: Jessie is celebrating the last heady days of her honeymoon. But when her husband suddenly disappears she finds herself bereft. Until a chance encounter thrusts her into the centre of the intoxicating world of Parisian high life.
Hollywood 1945: Lisa has come a long way from her quiet, unassuming life in London and is taking Hollywood by storm. But all that glitters is not gold, and as the smoke and mirrors of the lifestyle she so longed for shatter around her there are some secrets she can never escape.
London 1965: Cat, headstrong and independent, drawn to danger and passionately opposed to injustice, has no idea of the legacy that precedes her. Once past secrets are unveiled, she has the chance to find out what liberty really means…
An evocative story of survival, betrayal and the invincibility of love.
Visit Kate’s website at http://www.katebeaufoy.com
Liberty Silk was released by Transworld on 3rd July and is available in paperback and e-book. Buy from Amazon.
by Fiction Friday – A Letter
Friday 11th July 2014 – A Letter.
Fiction Friday is our weekly 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 find a letter. It could be from anyone – from an old friend, from a younger self. It could be a letter written to your grandmother years before. It’s up to you. Make your piece up to 500 words if you can. In it, there must be some kind of revelation or secret revealed.
by Bella’s Scribblings – Character Building With Mr Potato Head…
Bella Osborne
I love Mr Potato Head – there I’ve said it out loud (this isn’t a pet name for my husband in case you were wondering). The character in Toy Story is exactly the way I would have expected that toy to be had it come to life. Believe it or not this is a column about writing, I know sometimes you have to get a shovel to dig it out but trust me I will get there eventually.
Anyway, Mr Potato Head, sadly my eight year old informs me that she is too big to play with him now and he can go to the charity shop. It is such a shame, he was a brilliant toy. We had hours of fun swapping over his assorted limbs and accessories. Thanks to Disney, Mr Potato Head now has a ridiculous amount of outfits and extras, he can be a king or a chef or even Mickey Mouse from Fantasia! In my day you had to use an actual potato and stick bits into it (yes I am that old, please stop sniggering).
Whilst playing with the modern version it struck me that building characters is very similar (see I told you there was a connection to writing, my sincerest thanks for bearing with me). He has a selection of different coloured eyes one of which is a scary frowny pair. Just like Mr PH a character’s features change when they are angry, they may have a particular way that their face contorts. Perhaps their face doesn’t change much, they may keep their emotions concealed. Perhaps they think that they conceal them well but there is a chink, a flicker of something that gives away their true feelings.
I had some feedback a while ago that my main characters were strong but that my supporting ones needed to be more rounded. I assumed that they didn’t mean just fatten them up with cake. So I pondered this for a while because I feel that the approach I use to make my main characters rounded is by exploring their emotional connections and the underlying reasons as to why they react the way they do in each situation I place them in. How they reveal themselves, their thoughts and feelings all helps to develop them for the reader. This is tricky to do with the supporting cast.
by No Mercy by John Burley – Competition Winners.
As part of of the Blog Tour for No Mercy, we had two copies of the book to give away thanks to John and Avon.
Well done to Carol Peace and Tracey Walsh who have both won a copy.
About the book:
The peaceful town of Wintersville is a place safe from the crime and congestion of city life, where neighbours feel like family. It’s the perfect place to live.
But when a teenager is discovered brutally murdered in the woods, it becomes clear that a psychopath is roaming the streets. Dr Ben Stevenson, the town’s medical examiner, and father of two young boys, becomes entangled in the hunt for the murderer, determined to keep his family safe.
But as Ben uncovers the dark secrets of his seemingly quiet community, he confronts a truth that will haunt him forever and puts those he loves in serious danger.
(No Mercy was released by Avon on 3rd July 2014 and is availalbe in paperback and e-book.)
by Events – Red Author Network Event
We all love to read a good book. If you’re a writer just starting out or have thought about writing a novel – seeing your name on the cover, then this event could be just what you’re looking for to give you encouragement and inspiration.
Red Magazine are holding an author network event, How To Write Your Own Bestseller, on Thursday 7th August 2014. It starts at 6.30pm and ends at 8.30pm. It’s being held at British Museum in London.
The panel have 36 best-selling novels between them. Join Lisa Jewell, Freya North and JoJo Moyes for an in-depth discussion on their novels, how they plot, write and get published.
Tickets are £40 which includes a drinks reception and a fabulous goody bag. I’ve been to previous Red author events and in my opinion, they are very helpful and worthwhile if you’re writing a novel.
For more information and to book your ticket, visit www.redonline.co.uk
by Novel Kicks Chats With Kathryn Freeman
Kathryn Freeman made herself a new year resolution back in 2010 to make time to write her novel. Too Charming was released digitally by Choc Lit in September 2013. Her new book, Do Opposites Attract? was released on 7th July 2014. We chat with Kathryn about her book, her theme song and Scooby Doo…
Hi Kathryn. Thank you for joining us. First, can you tell us about your route to publication? How important was joining the RNA New Writers scheme to you?
At the time it felt as if my route was a long and bumpy one, going nowhere, but looking back now it could have been so much worse! I didn’t write my first book until around 5 years ago, but once I’d got the bug I couldn’t stop writing. Of course there followed several years of disappointments when I sent the first few books off to agents and publishers and the rejections flooded in. Then I did my research (umm, perhaps I should have done this first?) and sent the next two manuscripts to the NWS. That, I believe, was my turning point. I followed their advice and submitted the amended versions to Choc Lit – and was stunned and delighted when both were accepted.
Can you tell us a little about your new book, Do Opposites Attract?
The story line came from my desire to write about a rough, gruff hero who’d had a dubious upbringing but was trying to put it all behind him. He became Mitch McBride, Chief Medical Officer for a charity called Medic SOS who provide medical aid to areas devastated by a natural disaster. While he’s out working in a tornado hit part of South America, he meets Brianna Worthington, his opposite in every way.
by Writing Room – Showing, Not Telling
Writing Room is our online writing group.
We post a prompt. Once you’ve written your piece, post it in the comments box below. Anyone is welcome to take part and it’s an opportunity to post work plus give and gain feedback.
Today, we’re looking at showing, not telling.
I came to the party. Kelly was there. I said hello. She looked at me.
Rewrite these sentences to show the following: the character is happy to see Kelly, is anxious, fancies Kelly and finally, not expecting to see Kelly.
by Blog Tour: The Atlas of Us by Tracy Buchanan
I’m pleased to welcome Tracy Buchanan to Novel Kicks. As part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of The Atlas of Us, we have an extract from the book. Happy reading!
Her voice trails off, her eyes losing focus as the bus slows down. A large spiky roof with gold spires comes into view, a mountain shrouded in trees behind it. As the bus draws closer, the whole temple appears before us, curved and ornate with tiered icing-sugar walls and arched windows fringed with gold. Two painted tiger statues adorn its entrance, looking ready to pounce on the frantic relatives and tired- looking officials hurrying around the busy area in front of it. This must be where the foreign embassies are: white canopies, rows and rows of photo boards, lines of desks weighed down with paperwork and flags.
I try to find the Union Jack among all the other flags, as if it might blur the strangeness of this place a little. But all I can see is a tiny beige monkey that is weaving in and out of the table legs. I make a mental note to tell the girls about it. They’ll want to know things like that when I get back. They don’t need to know about the bodies I’ve seen floating in the sea, nor the turned-over cars.
by Blog Tour: The Atlas of Us by Tracy Buchanan – Review
The Atlas of Us is about family, loss, resilience, reconciliation and hope…
When Louise Fenton flies to Thailand to find her mother, Nora, after the Boxing Day tsunami, she fears the worst when the only trace she can find is her mother’s distinctive bag. In the bag is a beautifully crafted atlas owned by travel journalist Claire Shreve, with her notes and mementos slipped in-between the pages. The journal tells the story of Claire’s struggle to find her place in the world following a life-altering revelation, and a tumultuous love affair.
Louise treks across Thailand’s scarred landscape, exploring Claire’s atlas to try to make sense of the connection between this woman and the mother she is so desperate to find.
As devastated people are beginning to put their lives back together, Louise uncovers the secrets that nearly destroyed Claire and the man she loved – the same secrets her mother has been guarding all these years …
This book has such a beautiful cover but from the blurb, I was intrigued to find out how the author was going to tackle the subject matter (the story is set around the tsunami that happened in 2004.)
Told from the point of view of two seemingly unconnected women, Louise and Claire, the story immediately drew me in. It does jump around between the two storylines but this helped build up the mystery and suspense – that urge to keep turning the page as I wanted to know what would happen. I particularly resonated with certain aspects of Claire’s life.
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We’re very happy to welcome Kerry Fisher to Novel Kicks. As part of her blog tour to celebrate the release of The School Gate Survival Guide, Kerry talks to us about her new book, her writing rituals and The Famous Five.
Hi Kerry. Can you tell us a little about The School Gate Survival Guide and how the idea originated?
The idea came to me years ago when I lived in Italy and noticed that social snobbery was mainly confined to job title and geographical location – north vs. south. I was often introduced as ‘Dottoressa (Doctor) Fisher’ even though I’ve got a degree in languages! (I was always terrified there’d be some medical emergency and I’d have to say, ‘I can’t help with the heart attack but I can give you a hand with the subjunctive’.) When I came back to Britain, I noticed that there were all sorts of little social judgements constantly taking place – where you came from and your job was just the beginning. So I decided to write a humorous book about class and thought that the school gates would make a perfect comedic vehicle – a kind of Downton Abbey in a contemporary school setting.
If you were told you were only allowed to pick three things to survive, what would they be?
I’m not going to count my family as they’re a given. My needs are very few, but I couldn’t survive without the friends I’ve know for years. I don’t think anything can compete with that feeling of flopping down with a glass of wine and bouncing from topic to topic without having to fill in any back story. The dog is pretty vital – I love walking her and seeing the changing seasons. If I didn’t have her to exercise me, I’d have to spend even more time being ridiculed by my children when I hula-hoop on the Wii Fit! I don’t care about ‘stuff’ – I hate shopping and am still dinosauring about with an ancient mobile, much to the despair of my daughter. If I were really pushed for something else, I’d have to say, as a service to humankind, I should continue to have pedicures to avoid contaminating the environment with my aesthetically displeasing duck-billed platypus feet.
by Blog Tour: The School Gate Survival Guide by Kerry Fisher – Review
Feisty Maia Etxeleku is a cleaner for ladies who lunch. She spends her life wiping up spilt Sauvignon and hoovering around handbags before rushing back home to skivvy after her children’s feckless father on an estate where survival depends on your ability to look the other way.
But an unusual inheritance catapults her into a different world where no child can survive without organic apricots and Kumon maths classes – and no woman can contemplate a week without Pilates and pedicures.
As she blunders through a middle class minefield, dashing from coffee mornings to her mops and buckets, she is drawn to the one man who can help her family fit in. But is his interest in her purely professional or will her modern My Fair Lady experiment end in disaster?
Maia is a character with whom the reader can immediately empathise with and I liked her straight away. She had an honest feeling about her. She is a mother of two who is working hard to make a better life for herself and her two children, Harley and Bronte. Her partner, Colin, is very little help. He’s lazy, unemployed and feels entitled to sponge off Maia who struggles to make ends meet working as a cleaner.
by Blog Tour: The School Gate Survival Guide by Kerry Fisher.
The School Gate Survival Guide was first published as The Class Ceiling. It’s now got its new titile as was released as an e-book by Avon earlier this month with the paperback release following later in the year. We were very pleased to be invited to take part in Kerry’s blog tour to celebrate the release of her new book.
Below is an extract from the book. Enjoy.
Posh women with dirty houses sometimes phone me. Posh men never do.
Until today, when this solicitor bod burst into my morning with the sort of booming confidence it would be impossible to argue against. My ears closed down, rejecting the steamroller voice, pushing away his words.
‘I’m sorry to be the bearer of ghastly news.’
I’d just got home from my worst job cleaning the changing rooms at Surrey’s grottiest leisure centre. The phone rang while I was in the shower scrubbing away the taint of old plasters and plughole cack. As I clumped down the stairs wrapped in a towel that barely covered my backside, I was praying that the call was from Colin, with good news about work. Instead I stood in the kitchen, holding the phone away from my ear so I didn’t drip water into the receiver while Mr William Lah-di-dah bellowed away at a slight distance, a sort of old Etonian-cum-Clanger. Then I heard it.
‘I’m afraid Professor Rose Stainton passed away last Friday.’
by Blog Tour: John Burley talks about his debut novel, No Mercy
We are pleased to welcome John Burley to Novel Kicks. As part of his blog tour for his debut novel, No Mercy, John talks to us about how his job experience and knowledge contributed to his plot.
My experience as an Emergency Department physician came in handy during the writing of NO MERCY. The novel merges the genres of medical thriller, crime, murder mystery, and psychological suspense. It’s fueled by adrenalin, the drug that got me hooked on emergency medicine in the first place. I tried to bring a level of realism to the medical scenes, to convey the intensity of these environments and how they affect the people working there. NO MERCY is a story about bearing witness to the struggles of others, and the E.R. is a place for that, as well.
My wife is a forensic psychiatrist, and I also incorporated her experience into novel. The story involves a serial killer who terrorizes a small town. We tend to think of such individuals as extremely rare. But many serial killers are sociopaths, and what I learned through discussion with my wife is that sociopaths are present in almost all communities. About 4% of men and 1% of women fit the diagnostic criteria. They frequently blend in to the community, and are harder to identify than one might imagine. Not all sociopaths become serial killers, of course, but for many of them the potential is there. If that doesn’t make you lock your doors at night, I don’t know what will.
by
Thanks to John and Avon we have two copies of No Mercy to give away to celebrate it’s release on 3rd July.
To enter:
Comment on this post before the closing date of Wednesday 9th July 2014 at 23.59. The two winners will then be chosen at random from the entrants and announced on the Novel Kicks blog on Thursday 10th July 2014. The two winners will also be contacted via the e-mail they provide when they enter the competition. UK and Ireland only.
About the book:
The peaceful town of Wintersville is a place safe from the crime and congestion of city life, where neighbours feel like family. It’s the perfect place to live.
But when a teenager is discovered brutally murdered in the woods, it becomes clear that a psychopath is roaming the streets. Dr Ben Stevenson, the town’s medical examiner, and father of two young boys, becomes entangled in the hunt for the murderer, determined to keep his family safe.
by Blog Tour: No Mercy by John Burley – Review
The peaceful town of Wintersville is a place safe from the crime and congestion of city life, where neighbours feel like family. It’s the perfect place to live.
But when a teenager is discovered brutally murdered in the woods, it becomes clear that a psychopath is roaming the streets. Dr Ben Stevenson, the town’s medical examiner, and father of two young boys, becomes entangled in the hunt for the murderer, determined to keep his family safe.
But as Ben uncovers the dark secrets of his seemingly quiet community, he confronts a truth that will haunt him forever and puts those he loves in serious danger.
I do love a good mystery so I was intrigued to read this book once I had read the book blurb. The first few pages are a little graphic but at the same time, you’re immediately plunged into the story, the action and the lives of these people portrayed in the book.
Ben works in the local CO in the small town of Wintersville – a safe place that sees very little in the way of violent crime until the body of a teenager is found mutilated near the local high school which marks the beginning of a spree of murders.
by July’s Book Corner – Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Book Corner is our monthly online book club.
How it works…
Anyone can take part in our book club. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below.
This month, our pick is Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.
About the book….
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To Elgie Branch, a Microsoft wunderkind, she’s his hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled wife.
To fellow mothers at the school gate, she’s a menace. To design experts, she’s a revolutionary architect.
And to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, quite simply, mum.
Then Bernadette disappears. And Bee must take a trip to the end of the earth to find her.
by Mick’s Musings – Feeling Sorry For Myself
Hi everyone and welcome to the week leading up to one of the most important dates of the year. Now, just in case my lady wife reads this entry, this does not include (in no particular order); your birthday, your sister’s birthday, our wedding anniversary (I am perfectly aware it will be 20 years next year btw) , the cat-who-must-not-be-named birthday, the multiple theatre dates on the calendar and of course, December 19th, when we first met (or a day or so either side.)
So what am I on about today? Well, whilst sat in my chair, trying to dedicate enough concentration in keeping anything I eat inside. I’m not feeling too well at the moment, had to go home from work yesterday and had an interesting night which didn’t involve much in the way of sleep. Of course, that gave me plenty of time in which to do a multitude of other things. I could have read War and Peace (ok, ignore that, me being silly as usual), or I could have continued writing a short story I’ve had on the go for a while, but it’s a little hard to balance a laptop whilst constantly trotting to the littlest room to throw up.
What did I do then? Even in this digital age, most of us will still have shelves full of bound bits of paper called, books. How wonderful it is to open a crisp new (or in this case, has been sitting there unread for a good while) tome and start to lose yourself in a new story. So, this’ll be a bit of a plug I suppose, but I feel no shame as it was a lovely little story. You will likely have heard of Michael Morpurgo, but this isn’t one of his most recent stories. This is from 1996 and is called ‘The Ghost of Grania O’Malley’ and for the first time I can recall, the heroine has cerebral palsy. Now, it’s not high-brow literature, there’s no real romance involved (after all the 2 leads are both young children) but it’s a sweet little story that I just couldn’t put down. The story brings together such topics as preserving nature, human greed for gold and ghost pirates; all the usual. But you’re rooting for Jessie and Jack from page 1 and I can’t recall 212 pages whizzing by so quickly. Got a few hours and want to relax the mind? Search out this book people. I’ve been a fan of Mr Morpurgo for a while now and if you’ve never read any of his books, you could do a lot worse than to start with this one. Continue reading
by Fiction Friday – Lottery Fever
Fiction Friday
Friday 4th July 2014 – Lottery Fever.
Fiction Friday is our weekly 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: Invent a character who has just won the jackpot on the lottery. What happens next? What does he/she do when he/she finds out? How does he/she handle the win? Who do they tell and how does it affect their life?
by Review: The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
The Long Mars was released by Doubleday, June 2014.
2040-2045: In the years after the cataclysmic Yellowstone eruption there is massive economic dislocation as populations flee Datum Earth to myriad Long Earth worlds. Sally, Joshua, and Lobsang are all involved in this perilous work when, out of the blue, Sally is contacted by her long-vanished father and inventor of the original Stepper device, Willis Linsay. He tells her he is planning a fantastic voyage across the Long Mars and wants her to accompany him. But Sally soon learns that Willis has ulterior motives …
Meanwhile U. S. Navy Commander Maggie Kauffman has embarked on an incredible journey of her own, leading an expedition to the outer limits of the far Long Earth.
For Joshua, the crisis he faces is much closer to home. He becomes embroiled in the plight of the Next: the super-bright post-humans who are beginning to emerge from their ‘long childhood’ in the community called Happy Landings, located deep in the Long Earth. Ignorance and fear are causing ‘normal’ human society to turn against the Next – and a dramatic showdown seems inevitable . . .
The Long Mars is the third instalment of the Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.
It’s set several years after the second book. A general summary of the story is that, following a massive natural disaster on Datum earth, there is a mass relocation of people out into the stepwise worlds. It follows three main story arcs, the first is a long distance trek into the far reaches of the long earth, another across Mars and a third one to find an emerging breed of humans who exhibit intelligence far superior to our own.
by Novel Kicks Chats To Jon Rance
Jon’s previous novels include Happy Endings and This Thirtysomething Life. His new book, This Family Life, was released today. We chat to Jon about his new book, his writing rituals and the character he’d like to meet.
Happy publication day, Jon. Tell us about your new book, This Family Life and what inspired it?
Hello. It’s great to be back on Novel Kicks! This Family Life is the sequel to my debut novel This Thirtysomething Life. I always knew I wanted to write a sequel because I fell in love with the characters from the first book and I knew I had continue their story. Both books are in some ways autobiographical and I use lots of experiences from my own life as a parent. There’s just so much comedy in being a father.
The difference to the first book is that this is a much bigger story. The first book really focused on Harry going through pregnancy with his wife Emily, and the book covered the nine months until they had their baby. This Family Life takes us through their whole first year of parenthood, and includes more characters, some old ones return and a few new ones are introduced. This reason it’s called This Family life is because it focuses on Harry and Emily’s family a lot more. With the introduction of baby William, his grandparents are much more involved than the first book, and so we really see the whole family in all its complicated, hilarious, uncomfortable, and brilliant best.
If you loved the first book then I think you’re going to love this even more. I’ve tried so hard to make this sequel even better than the first book, and hopefully I’ve succeeded. It’s definitely a very real, honest, hilarious and heartwarming story about family life and being a new parent, and one that I hope my readers will be able to relate to and laugh along with.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Just lots of tea, coffee, and me staring at a blank screen waiting for inspiration. I think every book is a little different. I think the beginning process for me is the nearest I have to a ritual. When I start writing a book, it’s very much me just brainstorming ideas and I spend a long time writing down completely unrelated bits of lines, character info, jokes, ideas for scenes, and then eventually, after lots more coffee and tea, I start writing the actual book. I also wear my lucky underwear through the whole year-long process – which my wife isn’t very excited about.
by Novel Kicks Chats To Sue Watson
Sue was previously a journalist with national newspapers and magazines before moving on to being a TV Producer for the BBC. Deciding that she’d love to write a novel, Sue became a writer. Her latest book, Love Lies and Lemon Cake was released today. We chat with Sue about her book, her writing process and cake.
Are you a planner? Do you edit as you go? How many words do you aim for on a first and last draft?
I’m not a planner as such, I have a worked out synopsis but I like to allow the characters to develop while I’m writing. I usually write a first draft then add layers as I go over and over it – a bit like icing a cake! I start with about 90 thousand words and after editing and layering and cutting end up with about 80 thousand.
Can you tell us a little about Love, Lies and Lemon Cake (we love that title,) and how the idea came about?
It’s about a woman who’s disillusioned with her life, her marriage and her career. Discovering an old rucksack at the top of her wardrobe she is reminded of all the plans she’d had as an eighteen year old and when she opens it finds a list of all the things she’d planned to do with her life. She realises she’s barely ticked this list off – and decides to try and get her life back before it’s too late. Of course there’s a gorgeous man in the mix to help her achieve those dreams – and to add to his credentials he makes the most amazing lemon cake.
The story was driven by the title really. I used it as a chapter title in Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes which I wrote about 5 years ago and the title’s been in my head ever since.
by Fiction Friday – Time Travel
Friday 27th July 2014
Fiction Friday is our weekly 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 – Time Travel. Pick one of the three suggestions below then write a fictional story beginning with the line ‘as I walked toward the door.’
Is your character a person of that era? Has your character got there using time travel?
The day Elizabeth I found out she was going to be Queen.
1914 – the beginning of the First World War.
The day you were born.
by Book News: Judy Blume
Yearling, 1970
Judy Blume is to release a new novel. It’s for adults and will be the first in ten years.
In a statement via her publishers, Alfred A. Knopf, Blume said, “I’m both thrilled and terrified, my usual feelings at this point. I’ll be hiding out this summer revising, my favorite part of the process.”
Her previous novels have exceeded sales of 80 million. Titles include Forever, Blubber and most famously, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret – this was certainly one of the books I remember reading when I was a teenager and so I shall be waiting with excitement.
The new book is yet to be titled and there is currently little detail on its plot but it’s “pure Judy Blume – about family, friendships, love and betrayal,” according to Ms Blume’s editor.
The new book is due for release in summer 2015.
by
David Fickling Books.
Tessa has just a few months to live.
Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is sex.
Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up.
Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.
BEFORE I DIE is a brilliantly crafted novel, heart-breaking yet astonishingly life-affirming. It will take you to the very edge.
Sometimes a book will come along that moves me, really moves me. I’m an emotional person, so it’s (reasonably) easy to make me cry, and lots of books do, especially when the subject is around death. But to really, really move me is something different. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, The Timetraveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, The Love Verb by Jane Green, and now, Before I Die by Jenny Downham.
by Bella’s Scribblings – Boozy Book Club
Bella Osborne
My husband rolls his eyes when I mention that Book Club evening is approaching as his opinion of our book club is that it’s a boozy night out with the girls. This opinion may have been influenced by the rare occasions that I have fallen giggling into the house at some late hour.
Many pieces of advice that you will see for writers often say that you need to read. My writing tutor is forever drumming into us the benefits of reading and more importantly reading as a writer. By that she means, doing a bit of analysis as you read. Looking for things like how it starts, pace, seeing where the author have added description and where they have left it out, where they have utilised dialogue and how it develops the characters. Also trying to understand what the key things are that make you want to keep reading. That elusive page turning quality that is so often referred to but nobody can quite put their finger on exactly was it is. And also what it is for different people. This is, without doubt, great advice.
As a writer there is sometimes an expectation that you are well read, this is so not the case with me. I read the books I had to at school and ever since I have read the books I liked. So as an adult I have indulged my love of chick lit, or women’s fiction if you prefer, and this is a path from which I have rarely strayed.
So being the girly swot that I am, last year I joined a Book Club or more accurately I tagged along with a group of friends who decided that reading a book each month might be a nice thing to do. The aim was to become more widely read, to experience different genres and to do some analysis. We agreed we would put in random suggestions for the next book and draw one out each month. So far we have read a great selection from thrillers, to ghost stories, to historicals and a classic.
by Book News: Michele Gorman
Notting Hill Press, 2014
To celebrate the recent US and Canada launch of Michele Gorman’s The Curvy Girls Club, Michele’s short story, Weightless, is available for free for a limited time.
To get hold of your copy, simply email thecurvygirlsclub@gmail.com and they’ll send you a copy of Weightless, along with membership to the real Curvy Girls Club. The club was created by Michele and anyone is welcome. It’s a daily doze of loveliness for everyone.
The blurb for Weightless…
Annabel’s not surprised when nobody recognises her at her 10 year reunion. The spotty fat teen nicknamed AnnaBall by the school bullies is long gone. But standing on the edge of the popular crowd, she still feels like that girl. That is, until Jack, her teen crush, starts flirting with her. Much to her amusement, he has mistaken her for Christy Blake, Annabel’s chief tormentor before she moved to France in their last year.
by Fiction Friday – A Fly On The Wall
Friday 20th June 2014.
Fiction Friday is our weekly 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 fly on the wall. Many of us have said that we wish we could have been a fly on the wall on a conversation we want to hear. Write about a time where you did get to overhear a conversation. What was said?
by Novel Kicks Chats With Fiona Sussman
Can you tell us about Shifting Colours and where the idea originated.
‘Shifting Colours’ is a story of secrets, love and loss. Set against the violent backdrop of apartheid South Africa and then the calm of late twentieth century Britain, it traces the lives of Celia and Miriam – mother and daughter separated by land, sea and heart-rending circumstance.
Its genesis was a snapshot from a current-events programme I saw many years ago. I held the image in my head for a long time, knowing that one day I would elaborate a story from it.
What’s your writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals? Do yo prefer to write in silence?
I begin each day with a coffee expertly brewed by my husband, but only start writing after doing some sort of exercise (running/walking/Pilates) and then seeing my family off to their respective commitments. I’m usually at my desk by 9am and write through until 2pm, after which life again intervenes.
I try to write Monday to Friday and get very frustrated if I don’t manage to achieve this. I like to write in the silence of my study for a first draft, but for any editing and rewriting after that, I prefer to go down to a local coffee shop. I sit in the same corner each day – the owner calls it ‘my office’ – and a cappuccino and a piece of ginger-and-oat slice go a long way to improving my writing skills.
by Courses and Competitions – Literature Works
Literature Works are now accepting entries for the First Page Writing Prize 2014.
They seek opening pages (300 word limit,) of unpublished novels along with a 150 word synopsis from promising writers around the country. They are looking for openings of a novel that make them want to read on. The deadline for entries is September 30th 2014.
It’s £6 for the first entry and then £3 for all subsequent entries.
The first prize is £1500 plus reading from a literary agent. Second prize is £350 with the third prize being £150.
by Writing Room – Research
Writing Room is our online writing group.
We post a prompt. Once you’ve written your piece, post it in the comments box below. Anyone is welcome to take part and it’s an opportunity to post work plus give and gain feedback.
Today’s prompt is all about researching. Many writers find this a valuable thing when it comes to beginning their novel or story. There is no rule as to how much you need to do before starting your own work but it is valuable to at least know a little about what you’re writing about and getting a balance between fact and imagination in relation to your work.
by Book News: The Long Mars
Third book in the series due for release.
The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter is due to be released by Doubleday on 19th June. Not long to wait. It’s the third book in the Long Earth series and it’s available for pre-order now.
About the book:
2040-2045: In the years after the cataclysmic Yellowstone eruption there is massive economic dislocation as populations flee Datum Earth to myriad Long Earth worlds. Sally, Joshua, and Lobsang are all involved in this perilous work when, out of the blue, Sally is contacted by her long-vanished father and inventor of the original Stepper device, Willis Linsay. He tells her he is planning a fantastic voyage across the Long Mars and wants her to accompany him. But Sally soon learns that Willis has ulterior motives …
by A Moment With Marianne Kavanagh
Marianne Kavanagh is the author of For Once In My Life. She shares her writing tips for new writers.
- Read a lot, and think about how other people write.
- Find a writers’ organisation that suits you. I went along to seminars and events organised by Spread the Word in London, which I really recommend.
- Find a good plot. Most novels tell a story. It’s not enough just to write well.
- Remember that writing a novel is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
- Don’t give up.
Buy For Once In My Life from Amazon.
For Once In My Life is published by Text Publishing, 29th May 2014.
by Fiction Friday – Lucky?
Friday 13th June 2014.
Fiction Friday is our weekly 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: Lucky. Friday 13th is unlucky for some. Write about a character who has always had bad luck except for Friday 13th when they seem to have a large reversal of luck. What happens? Is it all too much at once?
by
The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry, published by MacLehose Press (2 Jan 2014)
Here’s the blurb:
One morning a librarian finds a reader who has been locked in overnight.
She begins to talk to him, a one-way conversation full of sharp insight and quiet outrage. As she rails against snobbish senior colleagues, an ungrateful and ignorant public, the strictures of the Dewey Decimal System and the sinister expansionist conspiracies of the books themselves, two things shine through: her unrequited passion for a researcher named Martin, and an ardent and absolute love for the arts.
A delightful divertissement for the discerning bookworm…
I had seen this in my local bookshop and nearly picked it up a few times. Translated by Siân Reynolds from the french novel, it’s not a long book at 91 pages so it didn’t take long for me to read. I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. The main character, the librarian, is having a conversation with a man who has been locked in the library overnight and gradually, as the book progresses, you learn more about her view of the world, her thoughts and her feelings toward someone called Martin. You never hear the responses from the man – the narrative is a one way conversation; it’s all from the librarian’s point of view.
by The Luxury Of Being Read To.
Bella Osborne
As young children many of us were lucky enough to enjoy a bedtime story, read to us by our parents and many of us will have kept up this tradition. But once a child is able to read competently the gift of being read to somehow slips away. You don’t necessarily miss it as it’s part of you growing independent but I think there is a magic in being read to that disappears.
I have been known on occasion to partake of a frivolous extra holiday with a female friend and during those we would read to each other. Often it was magazine articles although some of the glossies are mainly photographs in which case it’s very difficult to make a soap stars kitchen sound exciting. However, it was still a relaxing and pleasurable experience all the same. At the time we felt it was the height of laziness!
I am in my second year of attending a local ‘Writing Fiction’ class where, those that would like to, read out short pieces or extracts each week for feedback and critique. As a new writer it is totally terrifying to read out your own work to twelve people (give me a PowerPoint deck, a microphone and five hundred in the audience any day!) However, as one of the listeners it is an enriching experience. Hearing something written and read by the author, usually for the very first time is quite a privilege and we are lucky enough to have a talented group of writers so each piece is a gem.
by A Moment With Lilian Carmine
Lilian Carmine is the author of The Lost Boys. The second in that series, The Lost Girl, was recently released by Ebury and is available in paperback and e-book.
Lilian, do you have any writing rituals? Do you prefer silence when you work?
I must have music to inspire me when I’m writing and a lot of coffee too. Those are the two essentials I must have before I begin to write anything.
What’s your best writing moment so far?
I love Tristan’s letter in The Lost Boys, it was a special emotional moment for me. And the ‘Without a word’ chapter in The Lost Girl was also very special to write.
by A Moment With Talli Roland
From My Head to the Page: Creating Main Characters.
Every book is different, but when it came to developing the main character for THE NO-KIDS CLUB, the ideas just flowed. Clare was there, waiting inside my head, already fully formed and biding her time under I finally sat down at the computer and started typing.
As with many of my characters, Clare contains a little piece of me. Like Clare, I never wanted to have children – for many of the reasons she outlines in the novel (although it’s fair to say I didn’t feel quite so vehemently about it!). I’d watched many of my friends become parents, marveled at how their lives changed, and wondered if having a baby really was worth all that upheaval. When Clare spilled out onto the page, a lot of my own sentiments did, too.
Of course, it’s never that easy. In any story, characters need to inhabit a world beyond their creator. I needed to figure out why Clare felt so strongly about not having kids, and how her character would transform and grow over the course of the novel. With each book, I ask myself what the main character wants in the beginning, who will stand in their way, and how their desires will change by the end. From there, I come up with ideas and scenarios that will either hinder or help the character’s development. I won’t give away the plot here, but let’s just say Clare’s notion of the life she thinks she wants is severely challenged!
by Novel Kicks chats to Mark Kotting
Mark Kotting’s novel, Teach Her was released by Legend Press in May. Mark had a chat with us about his novel, the simple way in which he deals with writer’s block and his favourite word.
Can you tell us about your novel, Teach Her and how the idea came about?
Teach Her is inspired by a teacher who i had the pleasure of sharing a class room with, she was nuts and had strange discipline methods.
Is there a character from fiction that you’d like to meet?
Jonathan Living Seagull.
Have you ever got writers block and if so, how do you deal with it?
I turn the music up.
Who would you invite to a fantasy dinner party?
I’d have to practise my table manners before I could come up with a list.
by Book News: Lee Child
The 19th book in the Reacher series due for release by Bantum Press on 28th August.
Fans of the Reacher novels will only have to wait until August to read the latest instalment.
About the book:
Jack Reacher walks alone. Once a go-to hard man in the US military police, now he’s a drifter of no fixed abode. But the army tracks him down. Because someone has taken a long-range shot at the French president.
Only one man could have done it. And Reacher is the one man who can find him.
This new heartstopping, nailbiting book in Lee Child’s number-one bestselling series takes Reacher across the Atlantic to Paris – and then to London. The stakes have never been higher – because this time, it’s personal.
It’s now available for pre-order.
by Events – The Romance e-Festival Weekend
This weekend, HarperImpulse will be running their first ever digital Romance Festival.
The festival is running on 7th and 8th June 2014.
It’s in conjunction with some of the world’s best loved publishers of romance. It’s two days of discussions, tips and giveaways for writers and fans of romance. Writers involved include Jill Mansell, Lindsey Kelk and Mhairi Mcfarlane.
The full line-up is available on the festival blog. For full timings and schedules of discussions, you’ll need to register for free by clicking this link.
You can also mention the festival on Twitter by using the hashtag, #Romance14
For more information, click here.
by Fiction Friday – Trapped
Friday 6th June 2014.
Fiction Friday is our weekly 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: Trapped. There is a power cut and as a result, your character is stuck in a bank vestibule with a stranger. What happens? How long are you there?
by Mick’s Musings – What’s That Nice Feeling?
Well, the psychotic cat from hell deciding not to sleep on your head for one. That wouldn’t be too bad if she didn’t dig her claws in when she dreams.
Opening a fresh bar of chocolate – I may be a man, but I’m still allowed that one ladies.
But, on this particular day, it comes from having finished the edit of my book (I’ll call it a novel if it’s ever published), including adding in the bit I’d forgotten when I first finished it. You know, that bit that is one of the things you first think of when you’re planning and only realise you haven’t actually written in until you’ve finished? You should have heard the language when I realised that. But, at least it doesn’t read like it’s been shoe-horned in. If it had, it would have to come out, no matter how much I love that bit.
So, officially as Happy Bunny here – or at least until my wonderful readers (yep, I am creeping again) come back and tell me what a complete load of rubbish it is. Still, at least I like the main characters in this one – don’t get me started on my lead from my first book. I hate her!! Still like the actual story and don’t think it’s too badly written, for a first attempt, but oh the lead. Very few redeeming characteristics which, possibly, I could get away with if I was an established writer, so it could perhaps be re-visited at some point? Here’s where that time-machine would come in handy again. Continue reading
by June’s Book Corner – Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Headline, 2005
Book Corner is our monthly book club.
How it works…
Anyone can take part in our book club. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below.
This month, our pick is Stardust by Neil Gaiman.
About the book:
Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall – named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining…
by Competitions – The Separation Winner
Penguin, May 2014.
The Separation by Dinah Jefferies.
Thanks to the lovely people at Penguin, we had a copy of The Separation by Dinah Jefferies to give away.
Well done to Linda Russam. A copy of the book will be on its way to you soon.
About the book:
What happens when a mother and her daughters are separated; who do they become when they believe it might be forever?
1953, the eve of the Cartwright’s departure from Malaya. Eleven-year-old Emma can’t understand why they’re leaving without their mother; why her taciturn father is refusing to answer questions.
Lydia arrives home to an empty house – there’s no sign of her husband Alec or her daughters. Panic stricken, she embarks on a dangerous journey to find them through the hot and civil-war-torn Malayan jungle – one that only the power of a mother’s love can help her to survive.
by Fiction Friday – The Wedding
Fiction Friday
Friday 30th May 2014.
Fiction Friday is our weekly 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: The wedding. You are back in town for a wedding. You used to live in this place but not been back for a while. Why did you leave? Do you like the couple getting married? Are you seeing a group of friends that you’ve not seen for a while?
by Review – Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
When two girls are abducted and killed in Missouri, journalist Camille Preaker is sent back to her home town to report on the crimes.
Long-haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her mother for years, Camille suddenly finds herself installed once again in her family’s mansion, reacquainting herself with her distant mother and the half-sister she barely knows – a precocious 13-year-old who holds a disquieting grip on the town.
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims – a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.
Anyone that’s read Gone Girl would agree it has the best twist in it – and that the characters are seriously messed up. I can’t decide if the characters in Sharp Objects are AS bad, worse or better.
It’s written first person, which I always prefer (when done well) as it means you get really into the character’s mind, and discover things at the same time as they do – and as this is a mystery it’s good. Flynn does it very well.
by Competitions – Going Back Winners
We had three copies of Going Back by Rachael English to give away.
Well done to Janet from Bath, Lynne from Hertfordshire and Jackie from Wiltshire who have all won a copy.
About the book:
How do you know where you belong?
In June 1988, Elizabeth Kelly’s parents think she belongs at home in Ireland. Her boyfriend is certain of it. Unwilling to settle down just yet, she decides to spend the summer in Boston with her college friends. But the next four months change all of them, especially Elizabeth. Quiet and dutiful at home, she surprises herself and everyone else by falling for Danny Esposito, a restless charmer with a troublesome family.
More than 20 years later with opportunities in Ireland scarce once again, a new generation looks to America, awakening memories of a golden summer for their parents. When a crisis occurs, Elizabeth returns to Boston where she is drawn back into the life she once lived. But will she be able to reconcile the dreams of her 20-year-old self with the woman she has become?
(Going Back – published by Orion, May 2014. Available in paperback and e-book.)
by Bella's Scribblings : When is Swearing in Books Acceptable?
Bella Osborne
When it comes to swearing in books I think it’s fair to say that most of us who write will have found ourselves swearing at our books but is it right to use swearing IN the book?
I think this is an interesting dilemma when we live in a society where swear words are frequently used by pretty much all members of society. It is no longer a shock to hear someone swear. There is no longer a Mary Whitehouse or equivalent to protest bitterly about such things (for anyone that ticks the first two age boxes on surveys you may need to Google Mary Whitehouse). Swear words are scattered liberally in films and television which normalises them further. However, I still agonise over it in my writing.
I am not a very sweary person but when a particular set of circumstances convene I too will utter something my grandmother would not have approved of.
I know of an author who received a letter from a reader complaining about the swearing in one of her books and how it was unnecessary and unacceptable. It made the author look at their writing differently and they responded by cutting out swearing considerably in future books.
I used the ‘find’ function for swear words in my first novel and found initially twelve instances of strong swearing and was quite shocked. However, this isn’t me swearing this is the characters and right there is the nub of the discussion (sorry did it take a while to get there?) You see it’s not about how I am as a person or the people that hopefully will one day read my books, it’s about the characters depicted within the pages.
by The Separation Blog Tour – Dinah Jefferies On Her Main Characters
The Separation is the debut novel by author, Dinah Jefferies.
We are so happy to be welcoming Dinah and her blog tour to Novel Kicks today. Dinah chats to us about her main characters.
They say that a writer needs to fall in love with his or her characters, and I’ve discovered that can pitch you right into an emotional rollercoaster, in the way that a real love affair might. Take Emma, the second of my two main characters. Feisty and opinionated, but very loving, she was a delight to write. She has a temper, but I love her spirit, and her grief and anger at being separated from her mum, Lydia, and leaving Malaya, the country that she loves, is heartbreaking. As she says:
‘I imagined a fine line that ran halfway round the world. It was the invisible thread that stretched from west to east and back again; one end was attached to my mother’s heart and the other to mine. And I knew, whatever happened, that thread would never be broken.’
While Emma’s voice came in to my head straight away, it took longer to get to grips with Lydia. She’s sometimes misunderstood, but in some ways is a typical middle-class woman of the 1950s, when a wife was often under her husband’s control, and obliged to ask his permission about everything.
To make it worse, Lydia is a colonial wife just like my mother was. Not allowed to work and with not enough to do, through no fault of her own, Lydia, doesn’t turn to the increasingly early cocktail hour. Instead she sings, eventually in a night club, but she also makes her children’s clothes and her own. Lydia loves her children desperately, but trapped in a loveless marriage, she falls in love with Jack, and that costs her dearly, especially when she comes home to find her children gone, and is then faced with a hazardous journey through war- torn Malaya to find them.
by
Penguin, 22nd May 2014
The Separation is the debut novel from author, Dinah Jefferies.
Thanks to Dinah and the lovely people at Penguin, we have a copy of The Separation to give away.
To enter:
Comment on this post with your name and county (UK and Ireland only.) Comment before the closing date of Sunday 1st June 2014 at 23.59. The winner will then be picked at random from the entrants and announced on the Novel Kicks blog on Monday 2nd June 2014. The winner will also be contacted via e-mail within 24 hours. Good Luck.
About the book:
What happens when a mother and her daughters are separated; who do they become when they believe it might be forever?
1953, the eve of the Cartwright’s departure from Malaya. Eleven-year-old Emma can’t understand why they’re leaving without their mother; why her taciturn father is refusing to answer questions.
Lydia arrives home to an empty house – there’s no sign of her husband Alec or her daughters. Panic stricken, she embarks on a dangerous journey to find them through the hot and civil-war-torn Malayan jungle – one that only the power of a mother’s love can help her to survive.
by Book Club
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