Novelicious.com | The Women's Fiction Blog for Readers and Writers

Review – Just What Kind Of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly

Reviewed by Zoe Lea

Lisa Kallisto is an over-worked, under paid, harried mother of three with a full time job caring for unwanted pets whilst running a family home. Her husband, Joe, works as a self-employed taxi driver, and like most people, they spend their days juggling their responsibilities and trying to make ends meet. But their everyday chaotic lives screech to a halt when Lisa overlooks something, and the end result is that a child goes missing. Not her child, but her best friend’s daughter, she disappears on Lisa’s watch.

Set in the Lake District in the run up to Christmas, the community arranges search parties in the frozen landscape whilst Lisa desperately tries to make things right. As the festive season approaches, Lisa begins investigating and in doing so, peels away the layers of her town and closest friends and discovers the secrets and dark truths that lurk beneath. 

I loved this book. It’s a page turner from the start and one that I struggled to put down. The characters are simply wonderful, totally identifiable and full of snappy dialogue. The narrative shifts between first person and third person, between that of Lisa Kallisto and Detective Constable Joanne Aspinall as she works on the case. It gives the book a rapid pace and a real sense of urgency grips the reader with little time for idyll words.

Writer's Block - A Guest Post from Maria Goodin

So, you sit down to write the next part of your novel. You have everything ready; laptop, cup of coffee, biscuit... that’s about all you need. You are comfortable, calm, eager, fingers poised over the keyboard, ready to go. And what happens?

Nothing.

It’s probably because your feet are cold. Cold feet are notoriously distracting. Go get a warmer pair of socks.

So you run upstairs, rummage through a drawer, pull some socks on, run downstairs. Right. Sit down. Let’s go.

Nothing.

A sip of coffee might help. And that biscuit.  You wipe the last crumbs from your mouth and stare at the screen in front of you. Okay, here we go...

Nothing.

Maybe another biscuit would help.

You go to the kitchen cupboard, take out another biscuit, eat it before you have even made it back to your laptop, spin round, head back to the kitchen, get a replacement biscuit, walk back to your desk. Right. Get on with it now. Fingers over keys and....

Nothing.

Novel News - Cally Taylor signs deal for psychological suspense novels

The Novelicious Team were buzzing with excitement to discover that after the success of her two super romantic comedy novels, Heaven Can Wait and Home For Christmas, one of our favourite authors, Cally Taylor has a new two-book deal with Avon HarperCollins in the UK and Sourcebooks in the States for her psychological suspense novels.

 

Commissioning Editor Lydia Newhouse bought UK and British Commonwealth rights from Madeleine Milburn at The Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.

 

Described as 'high concept, hard-hitting suspense novels' Cally's two novels, THE ACCIDENT and AMNESIA GIRL under the name C.L.Taylor are scheduled for publication with THE ACCIDENT due out in June 2014.

 

I can foresee a queue forming at Novelicious HQ for the chance to review these books.

Congratulations Cally!

My Writing Room - Caroline Smailes

Today we're taking a peek inside Caroline Smailes' office. Caroline's latest book, The Drowning of Arthur Braxton, was launched this week. You can find out more about Caroline and her books here.

Over to Caroline...

I’m planning to move, but sometimes I worry about leaving my writing space. I’ve written every novel in this office, we converted half of the garage just for me.  Crowded, cluttered, surrounded in memories, this is my favourite room in my house.

Behind me, to the left, there’s a turntable and my vinyl collection, behind me, to the right, a wall of bookshelves displaying my favourite books and my collection of Smurfs. I have bought a Smurf for every book I’ve written. Next to me are corkboards, full of prompts and recollections that make me smile. From the ceiling there’s a disco ball, underneath my desk are two pairs of roller-skates. The floor is oak and skating often happens. A recent addition is a small wooden desk for my daughter, she is now creating in here too.

From having a playpen in here to listening to my teenage son’s dilemmas, this room is full of secrets, this room has aged with us. My writing space, my office is my haven, my cocoon. For me, creativity only visits when and where I feel safe.

Review - The Movement of Stars by Amy Brill

Reviewed by Zoe Lea

Set in 1845, Hannah Gardner Price is a frustrated yet talented astronomer. Living her life according to the principles of the Nantucket Quaker community, Hannah is trapped in a society and time where her life’s ambition is expected to be nothing more than marriage and motherhood. But Hannah has very different ideas about what she wants to achieve with her life, she wants to discover a comet and win a gold medal from the King of Denmark – something unheard of for a woman.

She then meets Isaac Martin, a young whaler from Azores, who, like Hannah, envisages a different life for himself. Impressed by his ambitious nature, Hannah begins to teach Isaac astronomy and their relationship starts to evolve into something more than just teacher and student. Sharing their love of the night sky, Hannah begins to see Isaac in a new light and as their relationship grows deeper, so too does her confusion about her feelings and her overall conduct. Hannah begins to challenge everything she has been brought up to believe; she follows her passion and faces the consequences of her actions throughout the small community. 

Top 5 Writing Tips From Caroline Smailes

Earlier this year Caroline’s interactive novel, 99 Reasons Why, created media debate when she gave readers the opportunity to choose their own ending. Caroline’s fifth novel, ‘The Drowning of Arthur Braxton’ will be published by The Friday Project this month and has already been optioned for film. We will be reviewing The Drowning of Arthur Braxton soon.

1. Look at and consider your hero’s journey. Think about the beats in his/her experiences and show the reader their strengths and weaknesses through reaction. I don’t think that heroes need to be likeable, but I feel strongly that a writer should create characters that a reader will miss.

2. Only ever give an early draft to someone who you trust to tell you what is wrong with it. You want them to tell you what you already know, but are being too stubborn to face. The last thing you need is lots of people telling you that your writing is perfect. The best opinion is the one that wants to help you to make your writing even better.

3. Write from your heart, write those stories that make your stomach flip with emotion.

4. Always end one day’s writing knowing what you’ll begin writing the following day.

5. Cherish writing your first novel, it’s the freest piece of writing you’ll ever achieve. It’s when you should be writing for you, unaware of audience, negative reviews and sales figures. Enjoy!

Thanks, Caroline!

Novelicious Chats To...Megan Shepherd

Megan Shepherd recently answered a few questions for our Novelicious readers. Megan is the author of The Madman's Daughter, an exciting new trilogy reworking three of the most enduring scientific horror stories of Victorian literature. The Madman's Daughter is published today by Harper Collins.

Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?

I tend to work best in intense bursts: I’ll write eight to ten hours a day for around two weeks with no break. Naturally, I burn out completely! So I take a few days off and try to clear my head of writing. On days when I’m working really productively, I go to the gym first thing, take about half an hour to check my email and Twitter, and then write for a few hours before lunch, and a few hours after, and then in the evenings I respond to emails and handle the business end. It’s a nice break to switch your brain waves.

When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration?

There are so many authors I admire. I’m in awe of writers like Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater, and Neil Gaiman, who write such fantastic books but also have a great social media presence, and do lots of events, and branch out into other art forms. I don’t understand how they have enough hours in the day. I also recently heard Barbara Kingsolver speak, and decided she’s my new writing idol: I’ve never met a person so down to earth, witty, funny, and with such infinite patience.

Review - The Painter’s Apprentice by Charlotte Betts

Reviewed by Debs Carr

It's 1688 and Beth Ambrose is an apprentice to Johannes, a brilliant artist with a tragic past who lives at her family home, Merryfields. Merryfields is a sanctuary for troubled souls on the outskirts of London, where her step-father Dr William Ambrose cares for his patients integrating them into his family life as much as possible. Together with Beth's mother, Suzannah, who runs the apothecary, they strive against financial difficulties to keep their sanctuary going.

Beth has sworn never to marry in order that she can pursue her dream to become the best artist possible. Her protected life at Merryfields is mostly calm and she is happy to spend her days painting having no wish to ever leave the confines of the walled property. However, when Noah Leyton, an architect, arrives in England from his home in Virginia to work under the supervision of Sir Christopher Wren, he brings a letter that will change Beth’s family unit forever. Beth takes an instant dislike against this newcomer who is causing her so much emotional anguish and when tragedy strikes she is offered work that will change everything she’s ever known. Over the course of a year she has experiences that she could never have before imagined.

Novelicious Chats To...Daniela Sacerdoti

Daniela Sacerdoti's wonderful book, Watch Over Me, was published in paperback in March and with our quote on the new cover. Daniela recently answered a few questions for our Novelicious readers.  Here's a link to the review.

Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?

My youngest son is in nursery about three hours a day over lunchtime, so that’s when I get most of my work done. I also work most weekends. I tend to be quite disciplined, maybe because I have such little time.

When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration?

Never celebrities. I use people I know, mainly friends and family. I also listen to conversations on the train, in coffee shops, at that school gates… wherever I am, really! I’m very curious about the world and I see stories everywhere.

What is your favourite women’s fiction book of all time and why?

Can I cheat and choose two? The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy, the story of a woman torn between the love of her life and her children. It’s beautifully written, very emotional, and it captures the spirit of a small, sleepy Irish village where a lot happens behind closed doors. My second is a lesser-known book by Philippa Gregory, Perfectly Correct. Philippa Gregory is better known for her historical fiction, but I find Perfectly Correct an absolute jewel of a book. It talks about a woman who’s trying to understand what she really wants from life, and it may not be what she thinks she does.

Review - The Sea Sisters by Lucy Clarke

Reviewed by Zoe Lea

Katie Greene, a successful business woman, is told one night that not only has her younger sister Mia been found dead, but she has committed suicide. Unable to accept the news, Katie yearns for a way to understand what happened to her sister and if their complex relationship propelled her fate. When she receives Mia’s possessions, she finds her travel journal in her backpack; a diary leading up to the moment she fell from the cliff in Bali that resulted in her untimely death. Convinced that Mia didn’t commit suicide, Katie decides to follow in Mia’s footsteps hoping for answers. Using the journal as her guide, Katie limits herself to only reading relevant entries as she experiences them, always with the question of what happened on that cliff edge when tragedy struck. Did Mia jump, or was she pushed?

The book alternates between Mia’s journey and that of Katie’s. The layers of the narrative are peeled away and as Katie retraces Mia’s steps, she undergoes a profound change. She realises that not everything in her life was as she thought and she begins to understand the value of the relationship she had with Mia, even if it was in turmoil at times.

My Book Deal Moment by Kate Lord Brown, Plus A Massive Give Away

Sometimes life really is stranger than fiction. If you read in a novel that a debut author received ‘the call’ that all writers dream about the night before she flew out of England to start a new life, you might find the timing far-fetched. But that’s exactly what happened with my own book deal moment.

Malcolm Gladwell’s idea that it takes around ten years to learn to do anything really well has a lot of truth in it. Writers need perseverance just as much as talent. When I received the call that Atlantic had offered a two book deal, it was almost ten years exactly since we had left comfortable jobs in London, and sold our house so that my husband could learn to fly in Spain. I had already written a novel, getting up an hour early before work to type on an old green screen computer with the keyboard balanced on my then boyfriend’s sock drawer, but Spain gave me the chance to concentrate on writing.

Review - The Forbidden Queen by Anne O’Brien

Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce

Despite being a princess, the daughter of French king Charles VI, Katherine de Valois grew up impoverished, squabbling with older sister Michelle over stale loaves of bread. At the age of five, Katherine is sent to live in a convent where is fed and clothed, but starved of love and affection. When the English king Henry V agrees to marry Katherine, she naively thinks the union will bring her the happiness and love she craves. However, for Henry, the move is purely political, the marriage creating a claim for the French throne, especially if Katherine produces a son and heir.

The marriage is not the happy ending Katherine hoped it would be as she finds herself in a foreign country with her new husband away in battle, leaving a pregnant Katherine alone and at the mercy of her gossiping ladies. But Katherine’s tale is far from over and only really begins after the death of Henry. Katherine feels she should be free to find love – true, reciprocal love – but, as the former Queen of England and mother to the heir, strict laws are imposed to prevent the queen from marrying again. Katherine refuses to live the rest of her life locked away in widowhood and is determined to defy those in power to finally find happiness and comfort.

Before reading The Forbidden Queen I had little knowledge of the time period and none at all of Katherine or the French Valois line, so I wasn’t sure how I would find the book. My doubts were soon put at ease and I quickly became enveloped in Katherine’s story. Told from Katherine’s point of view, it was easy to slip into her world and I immediately felt connected to her, feeling sympathy for how she was brought up in loveless poverty, forgotten about as her parents enjoyed the luxury royalty afforded them. I sometimes wished Katherine would pull herself together as she hankered after a happy marriage with Henry, something that clearly wasn’t going to happen. She was naïve in the beginning, but she grew stronger as the years passed, fighting for the life she wanted and deserved.

At over 600 pages, The Forbidden Queen is quite a hefty book, however I flew through it surprisingly quickly. It did dip a little in the middle for me, but it soon picked up and my interest was piqued once again. There are a lot of pages that focus on one character and Katherine has plenty of story to tell, both dramatic and heartfelt. I didn’t know anything about Katherine de Valois prior to reading The Forbidden Queen, but I enjoyed her story and would now love to learn more.

8/10
 
Anne O’Brien’s Website

Review - The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

Reviewed by Deborah Carr

Honor Bright, a Quaker with strict principles, is so devastated when her fiancé leaves her for another woman that she emigrates from Dorset to Ohio with her sister Grace. Grace is on her way to marry a man they both knew vaguely from England and the sisters are looking forward to starting their new life. However, before they manage to reach their destination, Grace succumbs to an illness and dies, leaving Honor bereft and having to continue to her new home alone. As she's being taken by cart to a neighbouring town, the cart is stopped by a notorious slave-catcher, Donovan, who inspects her belongings before letting her continue with her journey. Honor rests for a few days with Belle Mills, a fiercely independent milliner who invites Honor to stay in return for helping her sew hats. They become friends, but Honor has to move on to her new home. However, it isn’t easy to fit in to a new family, especially when another member is determined not to like you and Honor realizes that something has to change.

It takes Honor time to settle and begin to get used to the vast differences not only culturally, but in everything from the construction of the American homes to the design of their quilts and even down to conflicting beliefs in owning slaves. The food is very different and the drastic changes in the weather as well as the expectations of her new relatives and even the other Quakers she mixes with makes it difficult for Honor to keep true to her beliefs and her own moral values. Inadvertently drawn in to the The Underground Railroad – where each helper knows only the previous and following link to themselves - she secretly supports runaway slaves as they pass the farm where she lives on their way North, and if Donovan doesn't catch them first, to Canada and hopefully freedom. Honor is confused by her feelings for the aggressive, slave-catcher and when her life takes her on a different course to the one she'd envisaged, she battles to cope. Her new life brings cruelty she'd never before encountered with attitudes so different that she questions what is truly right as well as her place in the community.

This was a fairly slow moving book, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. I was drawn in from the beginning to the challenging world Honor has chosen and this story gives the very essence of what it must have been like to experience the early years of America as a young immigrant. 

9/10

Tracy Chevalier's Website

Novelicious Chats To...Susan Kietzman

Susan Kietzman, recently answered a few questions for our Novelicious readers. Susan's debut novel, The Good Life, is out now, and is described as 'a deeply satisfying and beautifully written story about the complex relationships between parents and children—and the gap that often lies between what we seek, and what will truly make us whole'.

Can you tell us a little about your average writing day? 

I’m an early riser, so I am out of bed before it’s light (easy to do half the year)! I have coffee right away and sit down at my desk. I work for about an hour and then go to the gym, to burn away the previous day’s calories and (with any luck) crank up my cerebrum. I get back home by 7:30 or so, have breakfast, and then sit down again and work until noon. The afternoons are dedicated to other things: household stuff, errands, walking the dog.

When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration? 

Celebrities no, but people I know, undoubtedly yes. I don’t think I’m making conscious comparisons; instead I am writing from my experience. And characteristics and behaviors and mannerisms of all the people I know well or have met even briefly are occupying the same space in my head as the characteristics, behaviors, and mannerisms of my characters. There is bound to be some cross over. But if the question is whether I use others intentionally, then no, I do not.

What is your favorite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout because Olive is so real. She is big and awkward, unlike many female protagonists. She can be mean and unfeeling, obtuse and stubborn, flawed like all of us are. And yet she can be kind and loving and nurturing and patience, all the things we want to be. As readers, we admire her and despise her. We question her actions as well as her thoughts. We wonder about her relationships. To readers, she is like a curmudgeonly aunt, dressed some eccentrically, full of unsolicited advice, and able to find the right size Band-Aid for the scrape on your knee.

What is your writing process? Do you plan first or dive in? How many drafts do you do?

I plan my novels in my head rather than on paper. I typically know the narrative arc and the main characters before I type a single word. And then I sit at my computer and start writing. That’s the easy part. The hard part for me is revising, adding more detail, more color, so that my readers know the characters as well as I do. So I go through the novel several times, revising individual characters and then revising the work as a whole.

What was journey to being a published author?

For me, it was a long one. I have been writing fiction for many years, but it was never my primary occupation. I raised three sons. I volunteered. I worked. I wrote on the side, an hour each morning. Once I found the right agent, and she found the right publisher, the process gained momentum and speed.

What do you think is the biggest myth about being a novelist?

When people think about novelists, they think about the big names, the way they think about Hollywood actors or professional athletes. People see them on talk shows or hear them interviewed on the radio. People see wealth, power, manicured nails, white teeth. Most novelists, like most actors and athletes, aren’t like that. We’re regular people who happen to have interesting jobs

What advice can you give to our readers who want to write a novel of their own?

Patience is very important in this line of work. I am not, by nature, a patient person. But I have become one by practice. Be patient with your ideas because they often come slowly. Characters develop over time, not overnight. And make time to write. Take breaks when you are frustrated or tired, but allow plenty of time to write.

What are you working on at the moment?

The Good Life looks at relationships within and surrounding a family. The novel I am working on now examines a marriage born of a college relationship. The couple starts their union like many other couples, in love, committed to each other, optimistic about their future. After thirteen years, two children, business success for him, and a new job for her, the marriage is different, the relationship has changed, and expectations have been altered. This new novel is about what makes a good marriage – and what gets in the way.

Thanks, Susan!