Novel Kicks Writing Room: Inserting Prompt Sentences
Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room.
For the last Writing Room of November, I have a fun exercise (at least I hope you find it fun.)
The task is to write a story using the prompt sentences below. There’s a twist though. Starting with the first sentence to begin with, set a timer for two minutes. Once that’s done, use the next prompt sentence in your story and set the alarm for another two minutes and so on, continuing the story as you go until you’ve used all the prompt sentences.
For example, these two sentences-
‘I thought I’d cracked the case’ and ‘whatever happens, I can’t let the ducks in.’
I thought I’d finally cracked the case…… write, taking the story wherever you’re inspired to take it whilst setting the timer, once the timer goes off, use ‘whatever happens, I can’t let the ducks in,’ continuing the story yourself for two minutes and so on. Make sense?
So, your prompts are –
‘Oh for goodness sake, I told you to shut the door.’
by 
A Moment With…Ian McFadyen
Please join me in welcoming Ian McFadyen to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, The Corpse Bell.
The last thing Penny Carmichael expected when she joined the local bellringing group was for her debut to be thwarted by the discovery of a body just yards from the belfry door. As her husband and his loyal team painstakingly sift through the evidence and delve deep into the dead man’s past, it’s clear that solving Peter Mackenzie’s murder may prove a challenge, even for someone with DCI Carmichael’s renowned detective prowess.
What was a man who’d lived for decades in North London doing in Moulton Bank? Was his chequered past a factor?
And what about the other members of Penny’s bellringing group. Did any of them have a reason to do Peter harm?
As the case unfolds, DCI Carmicheal and his trusty team seek answers to a complex puzzle which leads them along various paths and, at times, way outside the comfort zone of their rural Lancashire surroundings.
This fast-paced, cleverly crafted whodunit is the eleventh murder mystery in the gripping Carmichael series from the pen of Ian McFadyen.
To celebrate the release of The Corpse Bell, it’s over to Ian as he talks about ‘Blind Alleys’ and ‘Red Herrings’.
In my opinion, blind alleys and red herrings are crucial elements in any worthwhile murder mystery.
There’s nothing that gives me more satisfaction as a writer than injecting false trails with the aim of leading the reader off course. Whether it’s the introduction of a possible suspect with a not so plainly obvious reason to be the killer, or a tiny mention of something or other that the reader thinks they’ve picked-up on and is key to cracking the crime, these ploys are essential in creating mayhem for the reader when trying to solve the conundrum.
Even more pleasing for me is when I’m able to add to the reader’s frustration by making the person they have at the top of their suspects list, due to a subtly injected red herring, the next victim of the real killer.
by Book Extract: The Other Mother by Heidi Field
I’m very excited to be welcoming Heidi Field back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Other Mother.
Suzannah is pregnant with her third child. The first is in prison. The second is dead. How far will she go to keep her unborn baby safe?
When Suzannah learns she is pregnant, she feels like safety and happiness are finally within reach. Her handsome, successful fiancé, Alec, is over the moon about the baby. He proposes and pampers her. He thinks this is Suzannah’s first marriage and first child, but she’s keeping a few secrets. Actually, a lot of secrets. And they are dangerous…putting Suzannah in a position where she must choose who and what she’s willing to sacrifice to keep her baby and her freedom.
Drowning in her lies, Suzannah is desperate to bury her past, but her ex-husband, who abandoned her years ago, returns, stalking her and demanding to know what really happened to their daughter. When the imprisoned serial killer who lured and groomed her son, threatens to sell his story to the press, Suzannah feels like the life she’d built and the precious one she’s growing, teeter on a precipice. Now the two children she’s hidden from Alec may be the least of her worries.
Heidi has shared an extract from The Other Mother with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
Suzannah has just had an argument with her new friend, Shiv, about the serial killer, Gunner Piper, who groomed her son, and she has escaped to a coffee shop to calm down.
I glug down the coffee and head out to the car. I’ll call the prison and see if I can arrange an extra visit or bring the next one forward. I need to see my precious son, touch him, check that he is OK. I want to know that Gunner hasn’t got to him inside, isn’t trying to find a way to communicate with him. I need to know that Shiv hasn’t tried to contact him, that Gunner isn’t trying to poison my son’s mind through her. I need to make sure that Mason never talks to her, never has to listen to her talk fondly about the man who stole his life.
As I lift my shoulder bag over my head and start searching for my car keys, somebody slams my body sideways against the car. I drop my bag and turn my head.
“Breck?”
His eyes are struggling to focus on me and his body is swaying. He’s drunk.
I put a protective arm across my belly. “What are you doing? I’m pregnant.”
“Another child whose life you’re going to destroy.”
by NK Chats To…Leon Mitchell
Hi Leon, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your book, Felicity Fire: And The Forever Key and what inspired it?
Growing up I enjoyed getting lost in classic fiction like “The Never Ending Story” and “The Chronicles of Narnia” I was able to lose myself, use my imagination without boundaries and be inspired creativity. As an author, I wanted to create a new modern novel with current and relevant characters, but infused with a sense of nostalgia and magic from my childhood. I wanted to share that sense of wonder with a new audience where they feel like they are the main character in the book.
What are the challenges when writing a book in this genre and for a younger audience? What are the most important aspects to consider?
For me, I write with no fear and I generally don’t follow any kind of industry blueprint. I often tap into childhood memories and try to put myself back in that frame of mind and look at the world from that viewpoint. Children have the wonderful ability to be innocent in the world, and stories don’t have to make perfect sense. When i’m in that space I can normally create new ideas and let them flow. I think not trying to be perfect is important and it’s ok to be brave in your writing. Professionally the most important factors for me are to just keep going, keep writing, even if it’s a little bit each day.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any rituals like needing coffee? Silence? What do you do to stay motivated?
I am very disciplined with my creativity. I believe a lot of this comes from my time serving in the British Army, where my grit and determination was pushed out of my comfort zone. Many of the qualities I developed in that chapter of my life still stay with me today. So I have the ability to simply just keep going and keep writing.
I do like writing in creative spaces, with a good coffee too!
What’s your route to publication and what advice do you have for someone considering a similar path?
by Book Extract: The Secret Sauce by M. J. Porter
I am so pleased to be welcoming M. J. Porter back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for The Secret Sauce, the third book in the Erdington Mysteries.
Birmingham, England, November 1944.
Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944.
Greeted by his enthusiastic sergeant, O’Rourke, Sam Mason finds himself plunged into a challenging investigation to discover how Harry Armstrong met his death in a vat containing BB Sauce – a scene that threatens to put him off BB Sauce on his bacon sandwiches for the rest of his life.
Together with Sergeant O’Rourke, Mason follows a trail of seemingly unrelated events until something becomes very clear. The death of Harry Armstrong was certainly murder, and might well be connected to the tragedy unfolding at nearby RAF Fauld. While the uncertainty of war continues, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves seeking answers from the War Office and the Admiralty, as they track down the person who murdered their victim in such an unlikely way.
Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.
M.J. Porter has shared the opening from The Secret Sauce with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Aston, Monday, 27th November 1944
Sam Mason walked into the large space of the factory, the smell from within making his eyes widen in alarm, which he immediately regretted. The sharp, vinegary aroma felt like it was burning his eyes as well as his nostrils. He clamped his mouth shut. It was one thing to smell Big Ben Sauce when the bottle was opened to pour onto his bacon sandwich, but quite another to experience it in such a concentrated way. He was unsure how the employees of the BB Sauce factory could tolerate it on a day-to-day basis. He was only grateful that Ansell’s brewery, which was almost next door, wasn’t also emitting the distinctive smell from its manufacturing process.
He winced as his back ached from holding his head back as though to avoid the smell, but the sight of O’Rourke ahead, already bending low to examine the cause of their summoning to the location, had him striding towards her. Well, striding as much as he could with his limp, which was pronounced. Outside, it was a damp, wet and cold Monday morning in late November, and he was pleased with whoever had thought to place sacking on the ground to absorb wet footprints over the slick concrete surface of the BB Sauce factory.
by Book Club
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