Of Love and Other Wars – we have ten copies plus ten posters to give away.
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
Thanks to Sophie and the lovely people at Simon and Schuster, we have ten copies of, Of Love and Other Wars, to give away. As well as the book, each winner will also receive a poster of the stunning book cover.
About the book:
At a rally in the Royal Albert Hall, two Quaker brothers, Paul and Charlie Lamb, sign a pledge of peace that only one of them will honour. Meanwhile, in a draughty Victorian mansion in Hampstead, Mr. Morningstar wonders why his wife, a crystallographer from dynasty of diamond cutters, turns into a cursing somnambulist at night, while their daughter, Miriam, comes home from her shifts at the munitions factory with her stockings inside out. As the streets throng with khaki, the Lambs and the Morningstars must decide how to do good in a world transformed by evil. Should a scientist use her skills to maximise civilian casualties? Should a Quaker stand by as millions are murdered? And is it possible to 
love someone if you hate their convictions? When the two families are torn apart by war, Paul is forced to choose between his conscience and the woman he loves.
To enter: Continue reading
by 
Discussions : Only One Book?
Today’s discussion – Are you able to only pick one?
We will read many things in our lifetime, get engrossed in many stories, care about a variety of characters as if they were real people – friends we’ve known, loved or lost and we will visit lands and countries without even leaving our homes.
Books have that magical ability to completely transport us to somewhere else. Novels give us a glimpse into another world.
Of course, if you ask anyone who is into reading, they will probably be able to list many books that they have enjoyed or not liked and will give you many reasons for their decisions.
There are also so many lists Continue reading
by Book News : The Creative Writing Student’s Handbook
Creative Writing Matters, 2014
A new creative writing handbook from the founders of the Exeter Novel Prize.
Being a new writer can be scary and there is a minefield of information available. I have my fair share of ‘how to’ writing books. However, this one looks particularly helpful. Margaret James was my tutor for a writing course I did with the London School of Journalism a couple of years ago and her advice was very valuable. Now, along with Cathie Hartigan, Margaret has placed her writing wisdom into one e-book. I will definitely be getting my hands on this one.
The blurb:
This new handbook takes students through the entire creative writing process. You will find plenty of practical advice, helpful exercises, lots of tips and links to useful websites in this indispensable handbook for new and seasoned writers alike. Continue reading
by A Moment With Pippa Croft
Pippa Croft is the author of The First Time We Met.
What was that first moment that you realized you wanted to become a writer?
I can tell you exactly. I was watching a BBC period drama called North & South in November 2004. Although I’d always worked as a journalist and copywriter, I’d shied away from writing fiction. I was worried that I’d be rubbish at it and I didn’t have any inspiration. North & South suddenly – and out of blue – inspired me to have a go at writing some fan fiction, which was quite a new thing back then. I shared my story on an Internet forum and haven’t stopped writing since. In my role as a journalist, I also actually got to do a phone interview with the sexy star of North & South, Richard Armitage.
What authors, books, or ideas have influenced you most?
Jane Austen, definitely, Continue reading
by Literary Fact : Henry Fielding
22nd April.
Henry Fielding was born on this day in 1707. Born in Somerset, England, he was educated at Eton College. He was an english novelist and his works included Tom Jones and Amelia.
His sister Sarah was also a successful writer and John, his brother, was a magistrate.
by The Illusionists Blog Tour – Review
The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas.
London 1870.
A terrifying place for a young, beautiful woman of limited means. But Eliza is modern before her time. Not for her the stifling if respectable conventionality of marriage, children, domestic drudgery. She longs for more. Through her work as an artist’s model, she meets the magnetic and irascible Devil – a born showman whose dream is to run his own theatre company.
Devil’s right-hand man is the improbably named Carlo Bonomi, an ill-tempered dwarf with an enormous talent for all things magic and illusion. Carlo and Devil clash at every opportunity and it constantly falls upon Eliza to broker an uneasy peace between them. And then there is Jasper Button. Mild-mannered, and a family man at heart, it is his gift as an artist which makes him the unlikely final member of the motley crew.
Thrown together by a twist of fate, their lives are inextricably linked: the fortune of one depends on the fortune of the other. And as Eliza gets sucked into the seductive and dangerous world her strange companions inhabit, she risks not only her heart, but also her life…
by The Illusionists Blog Tour – We Chat to Rosie Thomas
The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas.
We are very happy to welcome Rosie and her blog tour for The Illusionists which has just been released by HarperCollins. We chat to Rosie about her book, her fantasy dinner party guests and where in history she would like to go…
Can you tell us about The Illusionists and how did the idea originate?
In one sense The Illusionists is about imagination and reality, and I have taken stage magic as a means of illustrating how we don’t always know the difference between the two. Devil Wix, my anti-hero hero, is struck as a young boy by the gift of ‘wonder’ in a harsh world, and he sets out to create wonderment through magic and illusion. The setting is Victorian London, starting in the 1870s, so it’s quite creepy and gothic in places. It’s also a love story between Devil and Eliza Dunlop, who is a modern woman looking for more from her life than marriage and motherhood. There’s also a cast of strange characters including a dwarf, an engineer of automata, and a woman made of cogs and springs. Their theatre of magic and illusion, the Palmyra, is a character too. The idea for the story came to me when I was researching a classic ‘box trick’ for a scene in The Kashmir Shawl.
Which authors do you admire and is there a book that’s stuck with you?
I like Anthony Trollope. There’s so much sly wit and energy in his books, but he is full of human sympathy too and he doesn’t caricature the way Dickens does. I’ve always loved Georgette Heyer – such lightness and sparkle. Continue reading
by Fiction Friday – Opposites
Fiction Friday
Friday 18th April 2014.
Fiction Friday is our weekly prompt where the internal editor is asked to step out. We post a prompt. Use it as inspiration to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you like. Once you’ve finished, post in the comments below. Don’t edit, just post.
Today’s prompt: Take a story you love. Maybe one you liked as a child or a snippet of a book you’ve read recently. Swap all the characters around. Make the hero the sidekick and the villain the hero? Maybe the adult who offers advice is the nervous and unknowing character? What if the hero’s best friend is actually the villain? Have a go at swapping everyone around.
by Quick Spotlight – Uglies
Simon & Schuster Childrens Books (29 Mar 2012)
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Set in the future, in a time when people live in small independent cities and everyone is pretty. Well not at first, but on your sixteenth birthday you are given an operation to turn you from an ugly into a pretty. For 15-year-old Tally Youngblood, this day cannot come quick enough. That is, until she meets another young girl named Shay, who is not so eager to get the operation. Tally quickly learns that all is not as it seems and that being ‘Pretty’ may come with a price.
I quite enjoy reading young adult books, as they are often fantastic and supernatural; easy reading with lots of action and this book did not disappoint. I read it in a night as I just had to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen next. The characters are well-formed but not overly complex and the storyline is predictable yet very well delivered; all the things to look for in an easy, fun read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. So much so that I went out and bought the sequels.
by Bella's Scribblings : I don’t do Marmite or a Short Story by any other Name
Bella Osborne
I don’t do Marmite (it is the work of the devil) and I also don’t do short stories. Short stories are incredibly difficult to get right, whether you are writing them for magazines, for competitions or just for fun. They will almost always come with a word limitation (hence the short) and despite this huge restriction there is an expectation that there is a whole story wrapped up in the prose (hence the story).
My track record with stories has seen me fill a whole exercise book at school with one story much to the mixed reaction of my English teacher who was wonderfully encouraging but with a pile of other marking to do, my lengthy witterings were not always timely. My next attempt at a finished story was my novel ‘Acting on Impulse’, the first draft of which came in at one hundred and twenty-eight thousand words. So you can see my ability to be succinct has not improved over the years.
So when my writing tutor asks the class to write a Short Story I break out in a cold sweat (and curse the fact that I sit next to both the radiator and the draughty window), my mind goes a complete blank and I decide categorically that I can’t do it. I will then spend the whole week trying to think about a plot based on whatever criteria has been set and will almost always conclude that it’s impossible to fit any of my ideas into anything shorter than ‘War and Peace’ or ‘Ivanhoe’ at a push (approx. 587k and 192k word counts respectively, in case you were wondering).
by A Place To Call Home Blog Tour – Review
Sphere, April 2014
A Place To Call Home by Carole Matthews.
Ayesha flees her abusive husband in the middle of the night. Scared and alone, they go to London where they take shelter in the home of reclusive pop star, Hayden Daniels. Ayesha and her daughter Sabina soon find a family with the occupants of Hayden’s home. Crystal and Joy, the other people taking refuge in the house soon become Ayesha’s friends as she tries to find her feet and her new life for her and Sabina. However, she doesn’t stop looking over her shoulder wondering when and if her past was going to catch up with her.
This book tackles quite a dark subject of domestic abuse with sensitivity, warmth and humour. The characters drew me in from the first page as I wanted to know whether Ayesha and Sabina were going to be OK. At the beginning, Ayesha is very timid and very unsure of herself and I loved seeing how she progressed for the better through the book whilst she was with Hayden, Crystal and Joy.
The mix of characters were fascinating, funny and loveable. I especially thought Crystal was great. I want to be her friend. Despite the bad things in her life she still manages to be positive. I disliked Suresh immensely and although I am ashamed to say it, I still could feel little sympathy for him, even at the end.
by A Place To Call Home Blog Tour – We Chat To Carole Matthews
A Place To Call Home is the fantastic new novel from Carole Matthews.
We’re very happy and excited to welcome the lovely Carole Matthews and her blog tour to Novel Kicks. Her latest book was released by Sphere on 10th April and we chat with Carole about it as well as what writing rituals she has and which fictional character she’d like to meet.
Can you tell us about A Place To Call Home?
Yes, it’s a story about a woman who escapes an abusive relationship and flees with her daughter. She ends up living with a rag-tag of characters in a place that she comes to feel safe. When that’s threatened she does everything she can to save it. The story is about finding a place to belong and making a family out of a fairly disparate bunch of people. It’s very heart-warming and a little bit teary too.
Do you plan and do you edit as you go?
Yes, I do a lot of planning and have a four or five page synopsis when I start out that I pretty much stick to. I start every morning by editing what I’ve written the day before and, then, when I’ve completed one draft, I go through it all again.
by News : Donna Tartt Wins Major Fiction Prize.
The Goldfinch wins the Pulitzer for Fiction.
American novelist Donna Tartt has won this year’s Pulitzer prize for Fiction for her third novel, The Goldfinch.
The book is set in modern day New York and tells the story of a young man as he tries to come to terms with the death of his mother. A film adaptation is rumoured to already be in the works after the producers behind the Hunger Games have optioned Tartt’s novel.
The Goldfinch has also been nominated for a Baileys Woman’s Prize for Fiction (formally the Orange Prize.) The winner will be announced on 4th June at the Southbank Centre.
Speaking to USA Today, Tartt said that she was ‘very happy, delighted and surprised’ to win her first major literary prize.
by Discussions :
Will e-readers spell the end for bookshops?
With the invention of the e-reader and companies like Amazon, Kobo and the iTunes stores giving us instant access to books, it’s making it easier to get books without even having to leave our homes.
Bookshops and Libraries have struggled as a result – the latter suffering closures due to budget restraints and Borders was certainly an example of a high street store losing the pricing war with the online retailers.
We have seen many well-known stores disappear from the high street in recent years. Places like Woolworths, HMV and Blockbusters have all struggled and failed to stay ahead of the game when it comes to keeping up with online rivals like Love Film and Netflix. Even supermarkets are posing a big threat not only to them but to bookshops.
by Book News : Maeve Binchy
Maeve Binchy’s final book to be released on 24th April.
Chestnut Street is a collection of linked stories (which have been complied by her husband from a store of unpublished stories,) and is due for release in hardback by Orion on 24th April (it is available for pre-order.) It’s the final book from the wonderful Maeve Binchy who passed away in 2012.
About the book:
Just round the corner from St Jarlath’s Crescent is Chestnut Street. Here, the lives of the residents are revealed in Maeve Binchy’s wonderfully compelling tales:
Bucket Maguire, the window cleaner, who must do more than he bargained for to protect his son. Continue reading
by News : JK Rowling to be Guest Editor on Woman’s Hour
Five women to be guest editors on Woman’s Hour for one week.
BBC Radio Four will be handing over Woman’s Hour to five female guest editors for one week.
‘The five guests, including JK Rowling, ‘will explore areas that resonate with them, including personal insights into the changes they would like to see in women’s lives,’ according to the Woman’s Hour website.
The Harry Potter author will be presenting the first day on ‘takeover week,’ which will kick off on Continue reading
by Writing Room : The Gate
Writing Room is our online writing group.
Every month, we focus on a specific theme or area of writing. Anyone can take part. Just post any contributions in the comments box below.
For April, study this photo. What does it inspire? What do you think is behind it? How did you find it? Is it a secret garden or somewhere where you shouldn’t be? Is it on an estate where you have been sent to live or being forced to stay? Maybe you are trying to hide and this is where you end up. Write up to 500 words describing what you see and what it makes you think about. Continue reading
by NK Chats To.... : Portia MacIntosh
Portia is the author of How Not to be Starstruck and Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place.
Hi Portia, thank you for joining us. Can you tell us about Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place and How Not to be Starstruck?
My books tell the tale of music journalist Nicole Wilde, and the situations she finds herself in thanks to her famous mates, newsworthy relationships and generally chaotic lifestyle. Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place takes place over 24 hours, and sees Nicole’s rockstar best friend get drunk and go missing in a hotel, whereas How Not to be Starstruck takes place over several months and is more of an insight into that kind of lifestyle.
What’s your writing process like? Planning, editing?
Messy. Finding time to write is something that I have found difficult to fit in (which you can read more about in my guest post, My Constantly Changing Writing Space). When you’re touring, going to gigs and sleeping in different places, you can’t always have access to a laptop. Sometimes you have to use a pen and write on bits or paper, or write entire chapters in the notes app on your phone. Editing is something I have to make time with a laptop for. I’m just so lucky to be living in an age where my laptop, phone and tablet all link together and share information. I still have to type up my written notes the old-fashioned way though [laughs].
by The Best Thing I Never Had Blog Tour – Team Leigha or Team Harriet?
Erin Lawless talks about her main characters.
The Best Thing I Never Had is the new novel from author, Erin Lawless. It’s published by Harper Impulse and was released in March. We are delighted to welcome Erin to Novel Kicks today as part of her blog tour for her new book and we ask the question, who’s side are you on?
I’m asked quite a lot: #TeamHarriet or #TeamLeigha?
Most people find it quite straight forward. “Team Harriet!” they cry. “Who would ever be on Team Leigha??” My editor at Harper is, I answer with a smile. “But Leigha is such a BITCH!” they answer, appalled. Indeed she is, but then again, Harriet is a selfish idiot whose actions cause a hell of a lot of drama, so why should she be championed over her brittle best friend? #TeamDemi, I usually say, avoiding the question entirely – he’s the only halfway decent character in the whole book!
One of my all-time favourite reviews of Best Thing states that “when a writer can make you feel sorry for the novel’s antagonist, she has great talent”. The novel’s antagonist is undoubtedly Leigha, but that’s not the same as saying she’s “the bad guy”. Leigha hurts, and is hurt in return. A brittle, nervy over-achiever from a broken home, an erstwhile ugly ducking who has been suffering under the weight of unrequited love for as long as she can remember – the now gorgeous, popular Leigha seems from the outside to have everything she wants. Unfortunately, the only thing she ever wanted was something she could never have. And she’s just coming to terms with it all when the same scenario hits her again – bam! She’s left reeling and lashing out. Leigha’s no monster; she’s someone who deserves your pity.
by The Best Thing I Never Had Blog Tour – Review
Harper Impulse, March 2014
The Best Thing I Never Had by Erin Lawless.
Five years ago they’d been seven friends at university that laughed hard and loved harder. Nicky and Miles, the couple that were always meant to be… Leigha and Adam, maybe not. So when Harriet and Adam grew close, during those endless days in the library and too many seminars they (well, Adam) hadn’t prepared for, they did the one thing that changed everything. They kept a secret. And when it came out, it all fell apart. When the day comes for bridesmaids to be chosen and best men to fulfil drunken promises, Nicky and Miles’ wedding isn’t just a wedding, it’s a reunion – loaded with past hurts, past regrets, past loves. (Warning, the review contains a small amount of spoilers.)
This begins with a prologue set in 2012. Nicky is about to get married and wonders whether she’s made the right decision to ask her three ex Uni housemates to be her bridesmaids.
The majority of the book then flashes back to 2006. Seven friends who are all in their final year at university, the story does flick between them all at the beginning as each of the characters are established but once that settles, I found myself getting completely involved in the story, deciding who I liked and didn’t. Although it is told from the point of view of seven people, Erin’s writing makes it easy to follow as everything flows well. It’s not long before everything becomes a little complicated Continue reading
by NK Fiction Friday : A Fairytale Story
Fiction Friday
Fiction Friday: 11th April 2014.
The idea of Fiction Friday is to write. We post a prompt every friday. Use it as inspiration to write for a minimum of five minutes. Then, keep going for as long as you can. Once you’re done, don’t edit, just post in the comments below.
Today’s prompt: Fairytales.
Write about a cowardly girl who must save a princess, evade an unwanted lover and defeat a tyrant before she can return home. Things become complicated because of a jealous rival. Assistance comes in the form of a magic ring.
by Ghostwritten Blog Tour – NK Chats to Isabel Wolff
Blog Tour: Ghostwritten by Isabel Wolff.
Isabel Wolff is the author of A Question of Love, Forget Me Not and A Vintage Affair. We were very pleased to be invited onto the blog tour for her new novel, Ghostwritten which was released by HarperCollins on 27th March. We had a chat with Isabel about her new book, her ideal dinner guests and her best writing moment so far…
Can you tell us about Ghostwritten?
The novel is set in present day Cornwall and on wartime Java, and is about a ghost writer, Jenni. Jenni loves her job because it satisfies her curiosity about other peoples’ lives – she specialises in memoirs; it also means that she can immerse herself in their lives and not think about her own life too much. One day Jenni is commissioned to write the memoirs of a Dutch woman, Klara, who grew up on a rubber plantation on Java. After the Japanese invasion Klara was interned in a prison camp, with her mother and younger brother: approaching 80 she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary story of survival. Jenni is excited by this new commission, until she learns that Klara lives in Cornwall, in the very village that still holds terrors for Jenni after a traumatic incident there when she was a child. Reluctantly, Jenni accepts, and goes to Polvarth. As she listens to Klara’s story, she finds striking coincidences with her own life, and with the tragedy that has haunted her for so long. With Klara’s help she starts to lay to rest the ghosts of her past.
by Ghostwritten Blog Tour – Review
Ghostwritten by Isabel Wolff.
A childhood mistake. A lifetime of regrets.
Jenni is a ‘ghost’: she writes the lives of other people. It’s a job that suits her well: still haunted by a childhood tragedy, she finds it easier to take refuge in the memories of others rather than dwell on her own. Jenni has an exciting new commission, and is delighted to start working on the memoirs of a Dutchwoman, Klara. As a child in the Second World War, Klara was interned in a camp on Java during the Japanese occupation – she has an extraordinary story of survival to tell. But as Jenni and Klara begin to get to know each other, Jenni begins to do much more than shed light on a neglected part of history. She is being forced to examine her own devastating memories, too. But with Klara’s help, perhaps this is finally the moment where she will be able to lay the ghosts of her own past to rest?
I have read books based around the time of World War II but this is the first one I have read that tells it from the point of view of the Japanese occupation. From reading the blurb, I was intrigued but didn’t know what to expect.
by Competitions : A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke – Winners
Winners of our Single Breath Competition.
Thanks to Lucy and Harper, we had three copies of A Single Breath to give away.
Well done to Emma in Birmingham, Vanessa in Glamorgan and Kat who have all won a copy of the new novel from Lucy Clarke.
About the book:
When Eva’s husband Jackson tragically drowns, she longs to meet his estranged family. The journey takes her to Jackson’s brother’s doorstep on a remote Tasmanian island. As strange details about her husband’s past begin to emerge, memories of the man she married start slipping through her fingers like sand, as everything she ever knew and loved about him is thrown into question. Now she’s no longer sure whether it was Jackson she fell in love with – or someone else entirely…
by Books Need Us Blog: The London Book Fair
By Maria Vassilopoulos – Books Need Us.
In the Book trade we are currently in the middle of the London Book Fair, the biggest trade event we have in the UK! If you’ve been before then some of what I’m about to say will be familiar to you. If you are coming along then it may help, and if you are thinking of going next time then it will hopefully give you a good picture of what to expect.
What is it?
The London Bookfair has been going since 1971 and originally was a much smaller event – read more here. Nowadays the emphasis for the publishing business is around meeting their sales teams and bookstore buyers, showcasing new products, reminding customers about their past and best-selling titles and selling and acquiring international rights.
What’s there?
Basically most of the UK book trade under one roof. As the big publishing conglomerates have the plush stands its easy to spot them but also great to explore the medium and smaller publishers. There is also a digital zone were you can find out about the latest content driven technology. Each year a different country becomes the Market Focus – for example this year it’s Korea, so it’s quite interesting generally to see what publishing looks like in a different international market. There are seminars throughout the 3 days and these range from finding a job in publishing to marketing a children’s book – if you want to do a bit of networking then these are a good idea.
by Courses and Competitions : The Bridport Prize, 2014
The Bridport Prize’s mission is to ‘encourage emerging writers and to promote literary excellence.’
The closing date for the prize is Saturday 31st May 2014 and it’s open to all nationalities. You must be aged 16 or over. They offer three categories – Poems, Short Stories and now Flash Fiction. Overall, there is over £15,000 in prize money.
The poem and short story categories each have a first prize of £5,000. The second prize offered is £1,000 and the third prize is £500. An additional 10 supplementary prizes (for each category) will be awarded £50 each.
The short stories have a word limit of 5,000 words (not including the title,) and are £9 per story entered. The poems should be no longer than 42 lines and it’s £8 per poem entered.
by Book News : Lisa Jewell
The new novel from Lisa Jewell due for release in July.
Lisa is the author of Ralph’s Party, Before I Met You and The House We Grew Up In. Her new book will be called The Third Wife and is due for release from Century on 3rd July. It’s available to pre-order now. We massively adore Lisa’s books. We’re looking forward to reading the new novel.
About the book:
London 2011: In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman is killed by a bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide? A year later, her devastated husband, Adrian Wolfe, is determined to find out. Adrian and Maya had only recently married, and he’d always believed they were happy together. His children from his two previous marriages loved her. Continue reading
by Mick's Musings : Inspiration
As writers, we’re always on the look-out for this, this flash – or ‘Pow’ as my friend Bella puts it – that will set off that spark which will ignite a new story. We don’t know where it comes from or what, if anything, it will bring. But when it comes, there’s this desperate need to grab what it brings with both hands and scribble it down.
I’m sat here listening to The Beach Boys ‘Pet Sounds’ album. My all-time favourite. In fact, I have 4 separate single album versions of it, a 4-disc box-set and enough outtakes to sink the Titanic. It’s music I find easy to listen to and it relaxes my mind. But does it provide the ‘Inspiration’? It physically hurts me to admit it, but no, it doesn’t.
What did this week was driving into work on Tuesday and on came Tina Turner and Private Dancer. An idea well, the seed of an idea came into my head and I desperately kept hold of it until I got into work and then I typed down what I could remember. A cup of coffee later to settle the beating heart and there’s the idea for a story, about a situation I very much doubt I would ever have come up with without that moment.
by News : Longlist Announced For Desmond Elliott Award
Nathan Filer’s novel amongst the long list for the Desmond Elliott Prize
The Shock of The Fall by Nathan Filer is amongst the ten authors who made the long list for this year’s Desmond Elliott Prize. This award celebrates first time British and Irish authors.
Nathan was also the recipient of the Costa Book of the Year Award in January. Other authors who made the list include Kate Clanchy, Donal Ryan and Eimear McBride for her novel, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing which took nine years to publish after being rejected several times.
The shortlist will be announced on 26th May and the overall winner will be announced on 3rd July and will win £10,000. Good luck to all the nominated authors.
by NK Chats To.... : Lorna Peel
Lorna is the author of Only You.
Her second novel, Into the Unknown is due for publication next year. Hi Lorna, thank you for joining us.
Can you tell us about your book, Only You?
Thirty-one year old divorcee Jane Hollinger teaches adult education classes. Her self-confidence and self-worth is very low, as she hadn’t known her ex-husband was cheating on her. Jane’s sister and best friend subscribe her to a dating website but little do any of them know that Jane’s fantasy man is a student in her family history evening class! Through Jane, I wanted to explore what it would really be like to be in a relationship with a famous person but you wish they weren’t famous because you are a very private person who prefers to live a quiet life? Could you love that famous person enough to be able to put up with all the intrusions the relationship would bring with it?
Can you briefly describe your writing style?
With Only You, it was a very informal and light conversational style. Into The Unknown, my forthcoming WWII historical romance, was a little more formal.
by NK Fiction Friday : Strange Days
Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: 4th April 2014
Fiction Friday
The aim of Fiction Friday is to shut away your internal editor for a while. We post a prompt. You write for a minimum of five minutes and then, keep going for as long as you can. Once you’re done, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: In approx 250 – 350 words, describe the strangest day you can imagine. What’s the setting? What’s happening? Who is it happening to?
by
A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke – we have three copies to give away.
Thanks to Lucy and the lovely people at Harper, we have three copies of A Single Breath to give away.
Harper, March 2014.
About the book:
When Eva’s husband Jackson tragically drowns, she longs to meet his estranged family. The journey takes her to Jackson’s brother’s doorstep on a remote Tasmanian island. As strange details about her husband’s past begin to emerge, memories of the man she married start slipping through her fingers like sand, as everything she ever knew and loved about him is thrown into question. Now she’s no longer sure whether it was Jackson she fell in love with – or someone else entirely…
To enter: Continue reading
by A Single Breath Blog Tour – The Places That Inspired The Novel
A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke.
We are happy to welcome Lucy Clarke to Novel Kicks. As part of her blog tour for her second novel, A Single Breath, she tells us about the places that inspired the novel.
I first visited Tasmania in 2011, and fell in love with its wild beauty and its remote shacks. I knew I wanted to set my next novel there, so once I had the loose plot line in place, I returned the following winter on a research trip. I spent an incredible month doing a recce of the island, working out where specific events in the novel would take place, as well interviewing many locals, including two fascinating marine biologists. While I was there, I also learnt to scuba dive, which gave me a beautiful insight into the underwater world, and helped me write the freediving scenes within the novel.
Here are a selection of photos from my research trip, which inspired the story of A Single Breath.
A real Tassie shack! A bit more rustic than Eva’s
My husband and friends preparing fish on a gutting bench like Saul’s
A graceful sea dragon similar to the one Eva and Saul see while freediving
The Cape Bruny lighthouse inspried the scene where Callie takes Eva to visit a lighthouse on Eva’s wedding anniversary
Exploring the wild beaches of Bruny island
Hiking with my husband near the cape where the bushfire happens
Learning to scubadive – my first glimpse of the underwater world in Tasmania
Over-excited by all the wild Tasmanian beauty!
My perfect choice of creative fuel – a berry muffin and clotted cream. Heaven!
Writing on the beach
by A Single Breath Blog Tour – Review
A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke
Eva and Jackson are married, happy and in love but when, on a trip to Dorset, Jackson falls into the sea and drowns, Eva’s life is shattered. She knows that she can’t live without him. She decides to go to Tasmania, where Jackson grew up to meet his family, friends – the people who knew him as well as she does but when she arrives, she starts to find out more about Jackson’s past and that things are never as they seem.
From the first chapter, I knew this book was going to make me cry and I was right. Eva looses everything that she loves in one moment and the tone of the book really helps convey the grief she is feeling in an honest way. As a character, she’s fairly lost and doesn’t know what to do in order to get to the end of each day and I really did empathise with her. I wanted to give her a hug. We can all relate to loss in some way.
There were moments of this book that were truly heart-breaking (hence the making me cry part,) and I really wanted to know what happened at the end. I finished the book both Continue reading
by Bella's Scribblings : Mummy Lit – What?
Bella Osborne
So I was looking at the calendar and I got a little excited as it was nearly Mother’s Day and I love Mother’s Day. It’s a day that I thought I would never get to celebrate after a rocky road to becoming a Mummy but thankfully we made it via the scenic route and each year it is an utter pleasure to receive a homemade card and cold toast for breakfast from my daughter.
I was slightly wrong footed when I was discussing my writing with another writerly type person (we like to seek each other out, there’s safety in numbers) and we started discussing genres. I will call my writerly type person Bonita, for that is not her name. I explained to Bonita that I thought my writing was Romantic Comedy with a slightly darker side and went on to regurgitate my short blurbs on novel number one and my current work in progress. She agreed whole heartedly for novel number one which could be described as Notting Hill meets Eastenders and is about a womanising Hollywood actor, Tim, who falls in love with an ordinary woman called Kate. However, when I started to talk about my second novel which has the working title Virtual Family, there was lots of head shaking from Bonita (it’s a good name isn’t it?).
by Book Corner :
Book Corner is our online book club.
April’s book – The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer.
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 The Shock of The Fall by Nathan Filer. This was Nathan’s debut novel and he was the winner of the Costa Book of the Year award for 2013 for this book.
About the book: Continue reading
by Book News : Emily Giffin
The One and Only is the new release from Emily Giffin.
Emily is the author of Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Where We Belong. Her new novel is due for release by Ballantine Books on 20th May. You can get a sneak peek of chapter one on Emily’s website.
About the book:
Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.
by Skeletons Blog Tour – Review
Skeletons by Jane Fallon
Michael Joseph, 2014
Jen has discovered a secret. It’s not hers to share, but is it hers to keep? If she tells her husband Jason, he might get over the shock but will he forgive her for telling the truth? She might drive a wedge through their marriage. If she tells someone else in Jason’s family – the family she’s come to love more than her own – she’d not only tear them apart but could also find herself on the outside: she’s never really been one of them, after all. But if she keeps this dirty little secret to herself, how long can she pretend nothing is wrong? How long can she live a lie?
Jen knows the truth – but is she ready for the consequences?
Jen leads a happy life. She is happily married to Jason, she has two daughters and she is very close to her husband’s family – her sister-in-law being her best friend.
Jen then learns a secret. It’s a secret that has the potential to ruin her perfect life and the perfect family around her. It’s not her secret but she’s in a horrible position. Either way, people are going to get hurt.
by Skeletons Blog Tour: NK Chats to Jane Fallon
Blog Tour: Skeletons by Jane Fallon.
Photo credit: Lee Carter
Skeletons is the latest book from Jane Fallon (who also wrote Getting Rid of Matthew, The Ugly Sister and Foursome.) As part of her blog tour for her new book, we had a chat with Jane about the book, her fantasy dinner guests and her favourite word.
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve been given?
Keep moving forward. Don’t be tempted to go back and edit as you go along or you’ll just keep rewriting the same passage over and over again.
What’s Skeletons about and how did the idea originate?
Jen was the only child of only children whose father left when she was young. When she met Jason she fell in love with his big artsy bohemian family as much as with him. They’ve become her family too. His father Charles is much more of a father to her than her own. When the book starts Jen and Jason have been happily married for 20 years. And then she sees Charles in the street with a much younger woman and it’s clear they are more than colleagues. Jen knows if she tells Jason it will blow the family apart. But can she keep it secret?
by NK Fiction Friday : The Heist
Fiction Friday: 28th March 2014
Every friday, we post a writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keeping going for as long as you can. Once you’re done, don’t edit your piece of writing, just post in the comments below.
Today’s prompt is that your characters are in the middle of some sort of heist. How many people involved and the scale of the robbery is up to you. The first line is, ‘Just get on with it. We need to get out of here, now.’
Remember, don’t edit, just post.
by Competitions : Winners of our Half Bad Competition
We had two copies of Half Bad by Sally Green to give away.
Thank you to all who entered our competition to win a copy of the fantastic Half Bad by Sally Green.
Well done to Lisa in Manchester. She would like the ability to turn back time like Hermione could with the time turner in Harry Potter.
Also congratulations to Peter in Folkestone who would like the ability to fly.
You have both won a copy of Half Bad.
A bit about the book:
Half Bad is about one boy’s struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches. You can’t read, can’t write, but you heal fast, even for a witch. You get sick if you stay indoors after dark. You hate White Witches but love Annalise Continue reading
by Two nations, divided by a common book cover
By Michele Gorman.
I’ll never forget the day I first saw the cover for my debut novel back in early 2010. My editor emailed it to me while I was waiting to meet with my agent. I was sitting in a beautiful café on Piccadilly on a sunny February day (a rare thing in London). Excitement, tinged with nerves, fizzed when I opened that image. For months I’d wondered how Penguin would package the book that I’d spent years writing and rewriting until it was as perfect as could be. Would they take the same care over the cover? Would it reflect the story, about a young American woman named Hannah who moves to London only to find that she’s completely ill-equipped to live there?
It did, and I loved it. The cover fit perfectly with the story and perfectly with the romantic comedy genre in the UK – a pretty illustrated pastel cover. It reflected Hannah’s uncertainty, swept along and buffeted by London.
Then, about a month later, my agent took me out for dinner. “You’re not going to like what I have to tell you,” she said, pushing the cake we were sharing in my direction. “Penguin wants to change the title. To Single in the City. They feel that it has broader appeal.”
That explained why she’d been plying me with wine for two hours.
by Book News : Clemency Burton-Hill
The new release from the author of The Other Side of The Stars.
The new novel from author and actress, Clemency Burton-Hill is being released by Headline on 10th April 2014. It’s called All The Things You Are. We think it has a lovely cover and we’re looking forward to reading.
A little about the book:
When New York journalist Natasha Bernstein loses her job and discovers her fiancé has been keeping a dark secret, her world collapses. Turning to her family, she takes inspiration from her formidable grandmother Esther, who runs a community centre in downtown Manhattan. As she starts to rebuild her life, Natasha’s friendship with Rafi – the enigmatic architect working on Esther’s centre – restores her sense of wonder at the world and her faith in who she is. But when Rafi and Natasha take a trip to Jerusalem, they are plunged into a story far deeper than their own. Continue reading
by Book News : Ellie Campbell
To Catch A Creeper by Ellie Campbell.
Across The Pong Press. March 2014.
Today is publication day for To Catch a Creeper, the follow-up novel to Looking for La La.
The blurb for To Catch a Creeper:
Cathy is riding high in her brand-new job at a (surprisingly bitchy) top London advertising agency working with best friend Rosa. But when Rosa’s pregnancy goes amiss and enemies sabotage her new career, she finds herself leading a chaotic double life of lies and deception, hiding a shameful secret from all, especially husband Declan who appears in the throes of a nervous breakdown. Meanwhile she’s agreed to unmask the notorious Crouch End Creeper, a burglar terrorizing their neighbourhood. Little does she know that her meddling, assisted by fellow mothers (the Wednesday Once Weeklies) and the Neighbourhood Watch, will lead their dangerous opponent to murder. And that it’s not only the tall elegant transvestite who is placing herself at risk…
To celebrate publication day, Continue reading
by Peach Blossom Blog Tour: NK chats to Mingmei Yip
Novel Kicks chats to Mingmei Yip.
Mingmei
is the author of Skeleton Women and Song of the Silk Road. Originally released in 2008, Peach Blossom Pavilion is due for release on 27th March and we’re happy to be part of Mingmei’s blog tour where we got the opportunity to have a quick chat.
Who are your favourite authors?
I read all of Anchee Min, Lisa See and most of Amy Tan’s books; all these women wrote about Chinese themes but attracted a broad readership. They have been inspirational for me. I like to think that I also have found readers of all sorts of background – my novels have been translated into nine languages so far.
My favourite authors who wrote in Chinese are Eileen Cheung, Continue reading
by Peach Blossom Pavilion Blog Tour: Review
Peach Blossom Pavilion by Mingmei Yip.
When Precious Orchid’s father is falsely accused of a crime and found guilty, he is executed, leaving his family a legacy of dishonour. Her mother’s only option is to enter a Buddhist nunnery, so she gives her daughter over to the care of her sister in Shanghai. At first, life at Peach Blossom Pavilion feels like a dream. She is schooled in music, literature, painting, calligraphy, and the art of pleasuring men. The beautiful Pavilion has a darker purpose as an elite house of prostitution. And even as she gets attention of China’s most powerful men, Precious Orchid never gives up on her dream to escape the Pavilion, be reunited with her mother, avenge her father’s death, and find true love.
This isn’t a book I would pick up just from browsing book shelves in a shop but I am glad we were given the opportunity to take part in the blog tour. Continue reading
by
We have two copies of Half Bad to give away.
To celebrate the blog tour for Half Bad by Sally Green, we have two copies to give away.
A bit about the book:
Half Bad is about one boy’s struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches. You can’t read, can’t write, but you heal fast, even for a witch. You get sick if you stay indoors after dark. You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one. You’ve been kept in a cage since you were fourteen. All you’ve got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.
How to enter:
To be in with a chance to win a copy of Half Bad, all you have to do Continue reading
by Half Bad Blog Tour: NK chats to Sally Green
As part of her blog tour for Half Bad, we chat with Sally Green.
Sally lives in north-west England with her husband and son. We loved her debut novel, Half Bad and were thrilled to be part of her blog tour. We chat to Sally about her book, her advice for new writers and which magical ability she’d like to have…
Thank you for joining us today, Sally. Can you tell us a little about Half Bad and how the idea originated?
Half Bad is my first novel and the first book of a trilogy. It’s set in the present day and most of the action takes part in the UK. It’s the story of Nathan a teenage witch. At the beginning of the story Nathan is a prisoner of the White Witches. He is being kept in a cage, not because of anything he has done, but because of what he is – a Half Code (half White Witch and half Black Witch) – and because his father is the most feared of the Black Witches. The story traces Nathan’s life from birth to his seventeenth birthday by which time he must escape White Witches and go through a Giving ceremony (receiving three gifts) to become a true, adult witch. Nathan’s life is full of physical hardship, even torture, but his mental struggles are as difficult as his physical ones. He is alone, abused and afraid of both the White Witches and the Black, and added to that he is not sure how he himself is going to turn out – whether his Black half or White half will dominate.
I think my first inspiration came from a storytelling festival I went to in 2009 (Festival at the Edge in Shropshire). I was steeped in folklore for three days and loved it, but it was noticeable that in virtually all the old stories three was a significant number (three suitors, three branches on a bramble, three wishes etc.). Continue reading
by Half Bad Blog Tour: Review
A wonderful debut from author, Sally Green.
Nathan is between good and evil. He is a half code: he’s half white witch and half black and therefore is on the edge of conflicting worlds – not really belonging anywhere. This is a fact that the council, his half-sister and the purest white witches don’t want to let him forget.
He is a prisoner of the council, being put through assessment after assessment, wondering whether each time is going to be the moment he’s given freedom as a white witch or whether he will be condemned and will face a darker future, if one at all.
His father is the most notorious black witch and the more he learns about his dark ancestry, the more he has to try and live down a reputation in the real world as he approaches his seventieth birthday and the traditional giving ceremony. He also wonders about his father. He wants to search for him and meet him.
This book is the first part in the series focusing on Nathan as a child and his struggles as a teenager. Continue reading
by NK Fiction Friday : Phone Call
Fiction Friday: Phone Call.
Fiction Friday
The aim is to use the prompt and 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.
Today’s prompt: Your character gets a phone call at three am in the morning. It wakes you up. When you answer, do you recognise the voice and know who it is? Is it a stranger?
by Book Reviews : The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Goldfinch is a story of loss, obsession, survival and self-invention.
Little, Brown. Oct 2013.
Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love – and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.
This was my ‘real life’ (as in not on NK) book club book in February. Usually one person suggests three or four novels, and the group votes their favourite. In January one of our members was raving about The Goldfinch, so we decided we’d skip the vote and just read this.
Four of us went to the meeting in March. Continue reading
by Bella’s Scribblings: Ideas Are Everywhere
Those of you that have ever admitted to another living person that you are a writer whether ‘wanna be’ or official will at some point
Bella Osborne
have had the question ‘So where do you get your ideas from?’ fired at you. Unlike me you may well have a very articulate response to this. You see, I’m not entirely sure where my ideas come from, they either just materialise (sometimes at night like a spider from the skirting board) and sometimes it’s a Batman style POW moment.
Just the other day I had a POW moment and of all places it was at the vets. Now you need to understand that whilst I am friendly, I am generally not flirty. So after a tedious wait where me and the child had learnt about what plants are poisonous to rabbits and had both developed spontaneous itching thanks to the poster about fleas, at last the vet called out “Claude Osborne”. There’s an opportunity right there for a comedy moment or two but you need a good quality surname to start with like Ramsbottom or Butts or Winkle … you get the idea. Anyway, a rather good-looking man hiding behind outdated glasses was beckoning us and our protesting cat carrier forward with a welcoming smile.
by The Book That Has Impacted Me Most: David Horn
Self published author, David Horn talks about the book that’s impacted him the most.
In just under 1000 days between 1347 and 1351 the black death swept across Europe. When it finally left, 25 million people lay dead. In “The Great Mortality – An Intimate History of the Black Death,” published by Harper Perennial in 2005, John Kelly takes us into the fascinating and often frightening world of 14th century Europe and into the lives of the people who lived there. We spend time in community after community, city after city, and country after country, where simple people going about their lives are stalked by a menace that cannot be seen, cannot be understood, and cannot be stopped. Continue reading
by Discussions : Only Six?
How many of these have you read?
There are many surveys about how many books you should have read. Everyone’s list will be different. The BBC (probably based on an average thing,) have claimed that you would have only read six of these hundred books listed. I spotted about fourteen that I’ve read (that’s if you count The Harry Potter series as a whole.) There are a few I’d like to read ( I turn my head in shame at some of the titles that are on this part of the list,) and then some others that I have no interest in at all and will probably never read – War and Peace for example. That’s not my cup of tea. How about you? Which ones have you read? Are there any you feel should be on this list but aren’t?
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Persuasion – Jane Austen
Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis Continue reading
by My Advice: Anna Stothard
Anna Stothard offers her five writing tips.
I often imagine I’m dying. It stops me from Googling pointless things.
When you’ve finished a first draft, put it away for a month before showing any one.
Read your book out loud, or at least some of it. How things sound, the rhythms, make a difference.
You can’t please everyone and shouldn’t aim to. Write for yourself, but ideally with humility (don’t be boring!).
Keep a notebook and record overheard Continue reading
by Book News : Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
The conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy.
The last book in the series by Laini Taylor is called Dreams of Gods and Monsters and is due for release by Hodder and Stoughton on 17th April 2014. Helen reviewed The Daughter of Smoke and Bone and absolutely loved it. You can read her review here.
Here’s a little about the book:
Common enemy, common cause.
When Jael’s brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.
And, perhaps, for themselves.
by News : Romantic Novel of The Year.
Awards ceremony taking place in London this evening.
The Romantic Novelists’ Association will be announcing the winner of the Romantic Novel of the Year later on this evening. As well as this award, they will also be revealing the winners of contemporary romantic novel, the epic romantic novel, the historical romantic novel, the romantic comedy novel and the young adult romance novel, as well as the recipient of the RoNA Rose award at a glittering ceremony at The Gladstone Library in London.
Darcey Bussell CBE will be presenting the awards and once she’s revealed all of the category winners, she will announce the winner of Romantic Novel of The Year. The winner of this will receive a crystal trophy and £5000.
President, Katie Fforde said, “the RNA came into being to encourage good writing of romantic fiction in all of its many forms. This year we’ve seen a record number of books submitted for our Awards, and this clearly demonstrates that romantic fiction plays a big part in the UK book industry. Continue reading
by Courses and Competitions : The Brighton Prize
A new annual short story competition.
The Brighton Prize is being run by Rattle Tales and they are looking for new, original writing.
The competition is for short stories of any genre or subject, between 1,000 – 2,000 words.
The first prize is £400 plus two runner up prizes of £50. All three winners will be invited to attend The Brighton Festival Fringe Show on 14th May to read their stories.
This competition closes on 1st April (and you need to be 18 or over on this date to enter,) and entry is only £6.
The Judges are Bethan Roberts and Laura Lockington.
For more information on The Brighton Prize and Rattle Tales, click here.
by Mick's Musings : It’s Been A Strange Week
By Mick Arnold.
In my last column I said I was taking a wee break from my book, reading young Bella’s next chapters and then going back to starting an edit on my finished masterpiece (ok, that was part of a dream I won’t inflict upon you right now). Part one – check. part two – check and very enjoyable it was too. Now, we get to part three…I’ve got a good excuse though guv. Honest!
Well, it goes something like this. In the first chapter of the book ‘that-must-not-be-named’ (couldn’t resist it, sorry) there’s a scene which kind of inspired a (very) short story that went on Amazon over Christmas. I was just sitting down, minding my own business and before I knew it, there was the first draft of what turned out to be a Christmas Love/Ghost story. After about six or seven drafts and running it by the kind friends who beta/proof-read for me, I was happy with how it ended up and I was persuaded to put it up. As it was so short and it was meant to be a tester to see if anyone reviewed it and basically told me to go forth and multiply and ‘for heaven’s sake never pick up a pen again!’, it was put under the pen-name of Micah Arnold. Continue reading
by NK Fiction Friday : Using Your Words
Fiction Friday: 14th March.
Fiction Friday
Using all your words.
Fiction Friday is our weekly prompt. The aim is to use the prompt, write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’re done, post in the comments box below. Don’t edit, just post.
Today’s prompt:
You have six people sat around a table, three men and three women. The reason as to why they are there is up to you. Your first sentence is from one of the women and it’s Continue reading
by Book Club
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