Month: January 2018

Review: Sunday Silence by Nicci French #SundaySilence

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About Sunday Silence

Publisher:William Morrow Paperbacks (January 9, 2018)

It started with Monday. But it doesn’t end with Sunday.

Read Sunday Silence, the new novel in the series that LOUISE PENNY calls “fabulous, unsettling, and riveting” and brace yourself for the breathtaking series finale in summer 2018.

Lover of London, gifted psychologist, frequent police consultant Frieda Klein is many things. And now she’s a person of interest in a murder case. A body has been discovered in the most unlikely and horrifying of places: beneath the floorboards of Frieda’s house.

The corpse is only months old, but the chief suspect appears to have died more than seven years ago. Except as Frieda knows all too well, he’s alive and well and living in secret. And it seems he’s inspired a copycat…

As the days pass and the body count rises, Frieda finds herself caught in a fatal tug-of-war between two killers: one who won’t let her go, and another who can’t let her live.

Crackling with suspense, packed with emotion, Sunday Silence is a psychological thriller perfect for fans of Elizabeth George and Paula Hawkins.

Review:

I jumped into this series with this book, yes it’s the seventh book, but I have heard so many amazing things about it and I just know I’ll never have the time to start at the beginning so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to see what all the hype is about.

I can totally see why this is such a popular series, there is something unique and unconventional about Sunday Silence. I think it’s a combination of a few key ingredients, the main character is a psychologist and police consultant giving a fresh point of view and the pacing was unlike many other novels. Oftentimes thrillers/police procedurals are set over the course of just a few days, maybe a few weeks but this is spread out over a few months which made it seem so much more realistic to me. Just because the timeline was more stretched out doesn’t mean that the suspense is lacking, in fact it was very intense and the sense of danger was heavy throughout.

This was a calculating read, both in terms of the storyline and the killer. This was deftly plotted, the authors are skilled at creating an elaborate labyrinth that I never managed to work out on my own. The cast of characters is eccentric and interesting and I can see how long time readers of the series would have an emotional attachment to them. If you’re already a fan, I think you’re in for a treat! If you’re a newbie like me I would recommend giving this a shot!

Sunday Silence in three words: Cunning, Extraordinary and Shrewd.

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for my review copy.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Nicci French

Nicci French is the pseudonym of English wife-and-husband team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. Their acclaimed novels of psychological suspense have sold more than 8 million copies around the world.

Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Blog Tour: Perfect Death by Helen Fields @Helen_Fields @AvonBooksUK

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Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK

Release date: January 25, 2018

Publisher: Avon Books UK

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

There’s no easy way to die…

Unknown to DI Luc Callanach and the newly promoted DCI Ava Turner, a serial killer has Edinburgh firmly in his grip. The killer is taking his victims in the coldest, most calculating way possible – engineering slow and painful deaths by poison, with his victims entirely unaware of the drugs flooding their bloodstream until it’s too late.

But how do you catch a killer who hides in the shadows? A killer whose pleasure comes from watching pain from afar? Faced with their most difficult case yet, Callanach and Turner soon realise they face a seemingly impossible task…

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to be sharing an extract from Perfect Death today as part of the blog tour. This series has been on my TBR for far too long and 2018 will be the year I get on it.

Extract:

Extract Four: Chapter 23, p.156

He got up, brushing spiders from his head, pointing the torch back towards the rear of the hut. Pushing between a couple of old ale barrels, he tried not to breathe in the foul air, wishing he’d ignored Jones’ request and brought backup. As he avoided an old badger trap, his foot landed on something that managed to be both soft and crunchy at once. He shone the light downwards as he stepped back. The fingers on which he’d trodden curled inwards. Callanach knelt down, shining the light up and down the torso, knowing that it was too late. The bodies of the living didn’t generally smell like this. Jones has lost control of his bowels, bladder too from the looks of the floor. Laying down the torch and taking a knife from his pocket, he cut through the gaffer tape that had been sealed around Jones’ neck and removed a bag from the head.

‘Louis?’ Callanach said, tapping his cheek lightly. Something felt wrong. Jones’ face, whilst warm, wasn’t moving the way he expected it to. The lower half was stiff and inflexible. Holding the torch in his mouth, Callanach got a better look. As he slid one hand beneath Jones’ head, his fingers plunged into a warm wet mess, stringy to touch with boney splinters in the mix. ‘Fuck!’ He pulled his hand back out, watching the grey red mixture slide off his fingertips. Louis Jones was dead, and no amount of resuscitation was going to make any difference. His brains were currently decorating a wide section of the floor, the entrance wound a neat black hole on his forehead. Flashing the light slightly downwards, Callanach took a closer look at Jones’ mouth. His bottom lip had been pulled upwards over the top lip and a nail gun had been used to send an industrial pin into his upper palate.

Oohh that’s so creepy!! Just my style haha.

Audiobook Review: Meeting Lydia by Linda MacDonald @LindaMac1

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Release date: November 16, 2016

Publisher: Essential Music

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Narrator: Harriet Carmichael

Blurb:

“Edward Harvey. Even thinking his name made her tingle with half-remembered childlike giddiness. Edward Harvey, the only one from Brocklebank to whom she might write if she found him.”

When Marianne comes home from work one day to find her husband talking to a glamorous woman in the kitchen, insecurities resurface from a time when she was bullied at school. Jealousy rears its head and her marriage begins to fall apart. Desperate for a solution, she finds herself trying to track down her first schoolgirl crush: Edward Harvey. Even thinking his name made her tingle with half-remembered childlike giddiness. Edward Harvey, the only one from Brocklebank to whom she might write if she found him.

Meeting Lydia is a book about childhood bullying, midlife crises, obsession, jealousy and the ever-growing trend of Internet relationships. It will appeal to fans of adult fiction and those interested in the dynamics and psychology of relationships.

I’m delighted to be the stop on the blog tour for Meeting Lydia today!

Review:

This was a fascinating read, the type that explores relationships and human behavior and the reasons for our behavior. A number of things lead Marianne to try and contact her childhood friend, Edward including insecurity after her husband begins to show an interest in a younger coworker and basic conflicting (and all too common) midlife feelings and emotions. The appeal of connecting online is also a factor, she likes the anonymity that the internet provides and craves something she can call her own beyond motherhood and being a wife. I think women at any age could find something about Marianne’s journey they could relate to and MacDonald explores her issues in an interesting way.

Carmichael is a lovely narrator, she has a melodic and soothing voice but manages to hold your interest as well. I really like listening to audiobooks narrated by someone with an accent, I think it holds my attention better and there’s something charming about an English accent. I found myself caught up in Marianne’s life and was invested in the outcome and while it wasn’t the neat, tidy ending I usually prefer, I respect the way things were left and understand the authors intention.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy.

About the Narrator:

About the Narrator: Harriet Carmichael

I’ve always loved doing voices.  I grew up with Radio 4 being on constantly in the background. Somehow the voices and accents broadcast over the years soaked in. And now I do voices. Or if you ask my agent, I’m a “voice artist”.

For the last seven years I’ve spent most of my days in front of a microphone: as myself; as seven-year-old boys; talking baboons; angsty teenagers (usually American); androgynous talking cats; Glaswegian Grannies; the cast of The Archers…

After university I trained at The Oxford School of Drama and then acted mainly with touring theatre companies – some brilliant, some not so… I had a lot of fun, but once I started doing voiceovers in warm studios with good coffee, being on the road lost some of its appeal.

And the voice can do much more than people think. Tone, timing, pitch and accent can all vary depending on the job. From commercials and corporates to cartoons, computer games and audiobooks, it’s a brilliant job and, really, I owe it all to Radio 4.

Review: Not Perfect by Elizabeth LaBan

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Release date: February 1, 2018

Publisher: Lake Union

Genre: Woman’s Fiction

Blurb:

Tabitha Brewer wakes up one morning to find her husband gone, leaving her no way to support herself and their two children, never mind their upscale Philadelphia lifestyle. She’d confess her situation to her friends—if it wasn’t for those dreadful words of warning in his goodbye note: “I’ll tell them what you did.”

Instead, she does her best to keep up appearances, even as months pass and she can barely put food on the table—much less replace a light bulb. While she looks for a job, she lives in fear that someone will see her stuffing toilet paper into her handbag or pinching basil from a neighbor’s window box.

Soon, blindsided by catastrophe, surprised by romance, and stunned by the kindness of a stranger, Tabitha realizes she can’t keep her secrets forever. Sooner or later, someone is bound to figure out that her life is far from perfect.

Review:

The premise of this one struck a chord with me right away I wondered what I would do if I were in Tabitha’s shoes? Would I pretend just to save face? Would I keep it quiet like she did and try to save my pride? Now I have no secrets my own husband could threaten me with, but the fact that if my husband did disappear I would be totally screwed both terrifies me and piques my curiosity. While I’m pretty confident I wouldn’t even think of doing half of what Tabitha did, I still found myself engaged in her story.

I really sympathized for Tabitha but at the same time I can’t say that I honestly liked her. There was something about her that was off putting, she doesn’t make it easy to like her but as a mom I could sense her desperation to provide for her family even if that means making several questionable decisions. I did have to suspend my disbelief because a woman in her situation would most likely not try and complicate her life further by getting involved in a romance, but it did make the book a little more fun!

This had a nice balance between the funny and the serious, there was an emotional component, especially in regards to Tabitha’s kids that hurt my heart. LaBan’s writing style is fluid and easy, I read this really fast, it was one of those reads you can get lost in because the story is so entertaining in a watching a train wreck kind of way. I was craving a lighter read and this delivered exactly that, if you don’t take it too seriously this is one to spend a weekend afternoon with.

Not Perfect in three words: Smooth, Undemanding and Pleasant.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Q & A with Vivien Brown author of Lily Alone @VivBrownAuthor

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Release date: January 30, 2018

Publisher: Harper

Blurb:

Lily, who is almost three years old, wakes up alone at home with only her cuddly toy for company. She is afraid of the dark, can’t use the phone, and has been told never to open the door to strangers.

But why is Lily alone and isn’t there anyone who can help her? What about the lonely old woman in the flat downstairs who wonders at the cries from the floor above? Or the grandmother who no longer sees Lily since her parents split up?

All the while a young woman lies in a coma in hospital – no one knows her name or who she is, but in her silent dreams, a little girl is crying for her mummy…

And for Lily, time is running out…

Happy US publication day to Vivien Brown, her novel Lily Alone is out today and to celebrate I have an interview to share.

Q & A

What’s a typical writing day for you look like? Describe your perfect writing environment.

I gave up paid employment four years ago to concentrate on my writing, so I now have a choice about when to write instead of squeezing it all in late at night or at weekends. Ideally, I love to write in the afternoons, in a sunny garden with a cold drink and a bar of chocolate to hand, but London weather doesn’t offer many opportunities like that, so I use a bedroom turned into a study, overlooking the garden, with a small TV, all my books and writing stuff around me, and two goldfish for company.

How did you get started writing? Was it something that you’ve always loved?

I loved English lessons at school and started writing poems at about the age of 16. My first short story to appear in a UK women’s magazine while I was a stay-at-home mum of twins gave me such a thrill that I wrote more, and more, and have had around 140 published now under my former name of Vivien Hampshire. I have also had more than 250 articles published, largely about working and reading with kids. Novels crept up on me slowly. My first two were learning experiences, appearing as ebooks only under my old author name, but I now have a ‘real’ UK publishing contract as Vivien Brown and I’m being read in both ebook and paperback, so I couldn’t be happier!

Who are your favorite writers/inspirations?

I read a real mix of novels, about fifty a year – from romance and sagas to psychological thrillers, American and British, but almost always books written by women and with strong women as their main characters. Some of my favorites in recent years have been Clare Mackintosh, Milly Johnson, Jean Fullerton, Veronica Henry and Iona Grey.

Anything you can tell us about upcoming projects?

Launching Lily Alone to an American audience on 30 January is exciting but nerve-wracking, and I have been told the rights have been sold to a Turkish publisher too, so I am looking forward to seeing it in translation, even though I won’t understand a word! My next novel will be out in the UK later in 2018 and is currently at the editing stage. I haven’t even seen a cover for it yet, but it is called Five Unforgivable Things and will look at the five pivotal moments in a long marriage when mistakes were made and things just might have turned out differently if only…

Normally how do you develop plots/characters? Brief us on your process.

I write very much about the world I know. London-based contemporary relationship stories, with all the drama that arises when people meet, marry, have children, divorce or make life-changing decisions and mistakes. I worked in banking, and then with children under the age of five for a long time, so these regularly feature in my stories, as do lovable old ladies, based loosely on my own grandmother! A story for me starts with a character or an incident, and I rarely know exactly what is going to happen along the way until I actually write it.

Favorite character from one of your own novels?

I like most of my characters, but I do have a soft spot for Agnes, the elderly neighbour in Lily Alone, who is widowed and lonely, suffering from arthritis, living somewhere she really doesn’t want to be, but has a very good and loving heart. Of course, things will work out well for her by the end of the book. And her old cat Smudge, who plays an important part in the story. I love him too!

Preferred method for readers to contact you?

I use twitter, facebook, email, and have a blog (which I don’t add to very often), but any way is good for me. Hearing from readers is a lovely part of the job. Or write a review – always so much appreciated.

On average, how long does it take you to write a book?

 

Taking a year to think, plan, write and edit a book from idea to finished manuscript works for me. I’m sure it can be achieved more quickly, but I like to feel comfortable and unrushed, leaving me time to have a life away from writing too.

If writing wasn’t your career what would you be doing?

Probably still working with very young children. It was a dream job, introducing them and their families to the magic of books, reading stories and leading rhyme sessions to groups in libraries, organising picture book-related events, running training courses about reading to children, and giving away free books. I did it for 12 years, in an area of London where there were a lot of families from other countries and cultures, or with very little income, for whom reading had never been a large part of their lives. I only left because the urge to write was so strong.

What’s the best compliment that you’ve received about your work?

When someone I have never met reads my novel and leaves a review telling me it was gripping or nail-biting and they couldn’t put it down. That’s the sort of writing I set out to achieve and it’s lovely to know I have managed it. I just hope that American readers will enjoy the book as much as British ones have.

Huge thanks to Vivien for joining me today, you can catch her on social media at the following links.

Amazon.co.uk link: http://amzn.to/2nF1iDC

Amazon.com link: http://amzn.to/2qFxdaN

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VivBrownAuthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viv.hampshire

Website/Blog: https://vivienbrownauthor.wordpress.com/

Email: vivbrownauthor@btinternet.com

Blog Tour: The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor @cjtudor

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Release date: January 9, 2018

Publisher: Crown

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

The must-read thriller of 2018, this riveting and relentlessly compelling psychological suspense debut weaves a mystery about a childhood game gone dangerously awry that will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he’s put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank . . . until one of them turns up dead.

That’s when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.

Expertly alternating between flashbacks and the present day, The Chalk Man is the very best kind of suspense novel, one where every character is wonderfully fleshed out and compelling, where every mystery has a satisfying payoff, and where the twists will shock even the savviest reader.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Chalk Man! To follow along with the tour check out TLC Book Tours for the full schedule.

Review:

If you’re at all involved in the book world, especially on social media, I’m sure you haven’t missed the buzz surrounding The Chalk Man. It’s been on my radar for months and after reading it, I can definitely say that I believe the hype and am in awe of Tudor, how is this a debut?! This had that perfect blend of rich characterization, a riveting storyline and enough creepiness to make my blood run cold.

When dual timelines are well done there is something magical that happens for me, a read becomes captivating and Tudor hit that sweet spot for me. Most of the chapters ended on some sort of cliffhanger, then there was an immediate timeline switch which added an unbelievable amount of suspense, it had me on the edge of my seat.

This was so deftly plotted that there was no way I could predict what would happen next and that ending?! MIND BLOWN. I can see why it’s dividing readers but it worked SO well for me, it couldn’t have been more freaky and menacing. Part coming of age, part old school mystery I cannot recommend this one more!

The Chalk Man in three words: Complex, Sinister and Exceptional.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

About the Author:

C. J. TUDOR lives in Nottingham, England, with her partner and three-year-old daughter. Over the years she has worked as a copywriter, television presenter, voice-over, and dog walker. She is now thrilled to be able to write full-time, and doesn’t miss chasing wet dogs through muddy fields all that much. The Chalk Man is her first novel.

.

Connect with C. J.

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Blog Tour: Appetite by Anita Cassidy @AnitaCassidy76 @RedDoorBooks

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Release date: January 11, 2018

Publisher: Red Door Books

Blurb:

Because everyone hungers for something…

Food and Sex: two appetites the modern world stimulates, but also the ones we are expected to keep under control. But what happens when we don’t?

Embarking on an affair, lonely wife and mother Naomi blossoms sexually in a false spring while David, the fattest boy at the local comprehensive and best friend of her son, struggles to overcome bullying and the apathy of his divorced mother.

David finally starts to learn about the mechanisms of appetite through a science project set by his intelligent but jaded teacher, Matthew. David’s brave efforts to change himself open Matthew’s eyes to his activist girlfriend’s dangerous plans to blow up VitSip, a local energy-drink company where Naomi works.

At the mercy of their appetites, this exciting debut novel shows that some hungers can never be satisfied…

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Appetite! I have an extract from the book to share today.

Chapter One Monday 7th January

David

Looking down, resting awkwardly against a lamp post, David kept out of sight of the school for a little longer. He always did this. And he always spent the time hoping, after each blink, that his eyes would open to find the buildings blown up or the pavement underneath him bathed in a strange, pale light before it fell away, his body being sucked up into a spaceship full of friendly, intelligent (female) aliens. But the bomb never fell, the UFO never came. With appalling consistency, it always got to 8.45, the bell always began to ring and he always had to walk over the road and through the gates.

Even while he had been enjoying the coloured lights and comforts of the recent Christmas holidays, this had been on the edge of his mind, causing the same lingering sense of unease as a receding nightmare. When he wasn’t imagining the destruction of the school or the convenient abduction of himself, he was watching. Watching grey trousers and grey jackets against grey concrete. A parade of uniform and uniformity marching steadily towards black gates holding black bags. And there, with blazers stretched across their backs, bunching up under the armpits and pulled taut across the hips, were the fat kids. Winter coats hung open loosely. They rarely fitted properly anyway, but after Christmas? Well, you could just forget about buttons then. They were, as always, bringing up the rear, looking only at the ground as they lumbered towards the looming metal gates, some of them quickly finishing chocolate bars and bags of crisps as they walked, the actual cause of and the imagined cure for their misery scrunched up and tossed on to the pavement before they entered the playground.

I hate fat kids, thought David. Everyone hates fat kids. Or pities them. Which is even worse.

Watching them as they went through the school gates was like watching a grinding-machine at work. Hard cogs relentlessly turning, breaking things down, chewing them up. Once he stepped inside he was trapped: as far from home and its comforts as he would ever be.

Today, he thought, should be a good day. Today, I am feeling unusually angry. These days, the days when he felt this rage, were the easy ones. It was the sad days he found the hardest to bear. Days when the sadness was there when he woke up in the morning and followed him until nightfall like a weary shadow. The sadness was viscous, a tar pool that pulled at him, wanting to drag him under.

But today he was angry, and the edge that gave him made what lay ahead seem more tolerable.

The bell rang.

Crossing the invisible line that traced across the tarmac, he felt his back go rigid.

‘Hey, fat fuck!’

‘Who ate all the mince pies? Pretty bloody obvious from here…’

‘I didn’t think it was possible for you to get fatter, but Jesus…’

And it wasn’t just the older kids. The younger ones taunted him too. Taunted and laughed.

Automatically and unconsciously, David’s shoulders hunched and his head went down. It was an attempt, no matter how futile, to minimise the space he filled. The rage, though it formed a hard carapace around his mind, was as ineffectual at protecting him from the verbal assault course he was enduring as the rounding of his shoulders was at disguising a simple fact. The simple fact that, of all the fat kids, he, David, was the fattest.

Review: A Well-Timed Murder by Tracee de Hahn @LuthiMysteries

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Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: February 6, 2018

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Genre: Mystery

Blurb:

Swiss-American police officer Agnes Lüthi is on leave in Lausanne, Switzerland, recovering from injuries she sustained in her last case, when an old colleague invites her to the world’s premier watch and jewelry trade show at the grand Messe Basel Exhibition Hall. Little does Agnes know, another friend of hers, Julien Vallatton, is at the same trade show―and he’s looking for Agnes. Julien Vallatton was friends with Guy Chavanon, a master of one of Switzerland’s oldest arts: watchmaking. Chavanon died a week ago, and his daughter doesn’t believe his death was accidental. Shortly before he died, Chavanon boasted that he’d discovered a new technique that would revolutionize the watchmaking industry, and she believes he may have been killed for it. Reluctantly, Agnes agrees to investigate his death. But the world of Swiss watchmaking is guarded and secretive, and before she realizes it, Agnes may be walking straight into the path of a killer.

Tracee de Hahn’s next mystery, A Well-Timed Murder, is another magnetic mystery that will engross readers from the opening page to the stunning conclusion.

Review:

A Well Timed-Murder is the second book in a series that follows Agnes, a Swiss police officer. I regrettably haven’t read the first installment but I had no problem beginning the book here as the author did a fine job of providing the relevant background information that I missed. Having said that, I do wish I had the time to start at the beginning because what is mentioned about the past sounds dang good, so start with book one if you like the sound of this one.

I haven’t read many books set in Switzerland so this provided a unique and fresh point of view that I throughly enjoyed. I had NO idea that the Swiss watchmaking industry was so secretive, cutthroat and and surprisingly interesting, but it was truly fascinating. Agnes is a likable lead with a compassionate side that endeared her to me and I would love to see more of her character. I would recommend this for fans of classic murder mysteries that also like rich atmospheres and complex plots.

A Well-Timed Murder in three words: Notable, Engaging and Refined.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy.

Blog Tour: Forget Her Name by Jane Holland #GuestPost @janeholland1 @rararesources

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Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK

Release date: January 25, 2018

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

Rachel’s dead and she’s never coming back. Or is she?

As she prepares for her wedding to Dominic, Catherine has never been happier or more excited about her future. But when she receives an anonymous package—a familiar snow globe with a very grisly addition—that happiness is abruptly threatened by secrets from her past.

Her older sister, Rachel, died on a skiing holiday as a child. But Rachel was no angel: she was vicious and highly disturbed, and she made Catherine’s life a misery. Catherine has spent years trying to forget her dead sister’s cruel tricks. Now someone has sent her Rachel’s snow globe—the first in a series of ominous messages…

While Catherine struggles to focus on her new life with Dominic, someone out there seems intent on tormenting her. But who? And why now? The only alternative is what she fears most.

Is Rachel still alive?

I’m so excited to be one of the stops on the blog tour for Forget Her Name today! I have a fabulous guest post from the author to share.

Guest Post:

A Day in Your Life by Jane Holland

Although I do the same things most days, the order in which I do them is usually different, and that’s the way I like it. I enjoy the routine and discipline of daily writing. But I’m easily bored, and anything too same-old or rigid would drive me crazy. So though I write every day, for anything between one to five hours, it tends to happen in a different place and at a different time from day-to-day.

I get up early with the kids, two of whom go to school. My first hour after they’ve left is usually spent on answering emails, dealing with admin, and social media (a must these days for writers who want to find and keep a readership). I then either write during the day, or put it off until the evening, depending on daily circumstances.

Some days I go out to a café and write there, straight to my laptop. In spring and summer, I sit on my decking in the sunshine and write long-hand, much to the fascination of our two cats, who often come to see what I’m doing! I also rent a Cornish beach hut fifteen minutes away, with a stove to make coffee, where I can work all day, weather permitting.

Sometimes I sit up in bed to work. Sometimes I use my desk. Sometimes I stay up to write after everyone else is in bed, late into the night. Occasionally, I will dictate rather than type, to save my fingers!

I take numerous hotel breaks where I work flat-out over the kids’ half-term or a long weekend. I also rent a cottage twice a year for a week or two, and hunker down there on my own, achieving a great swathe of fast writing without interruption while my husband holds the fort.

After a year’s break, I’m currently home-schooling my youngest daughter again – I have five kids altogether – so that’s made work a little complicated. Luckily, Indigo also loves cafés and the beach hut! So we sit opposite each other, and I write my book for an hour or two while she does school work or perhaps some sketching. (Art is her favourite subject, and she’s very talented at it; she wants to be a professional artist when she grows up.) During school days, I tend to write later in the day, so I can spend more time teaching her. Then I catch up with my word count late at night or at weekends!

As you can see, my only constant is the fact that I get the writing done on a daily basis. Everything else is subject to change! My minimum daily word count is 1000 words, which is an industry standard, but I always hope for double that. On good days, or on retreat, I write nearer five thousand. I tend to edit as I go along, getting everything as perfect as possible, rather than write a ‘dirty fast’ draft. This is because I get bored with a book after it’s done, and hate rewrites!

In the afternoon, all my kids return to the house, and things get too rowdy for work. I usually cook the children their meal earlier than ours, so I spend at least an hour, sometimes more, in the kitchen most evenings. But that means I get to hear what everyone has done during the day, which I love, being a very hands-on mum. Often our conversations turn into an impromptu lesson about politics, history or science … a hang-over from the days when all my kids were home-schooled! But my teenage twin boys are autistic, and love accumulating facts, so they seem to enjoy the extra learning time.

Later, I eat a meal with my husband, and we watch the news, or a film or television show together. That’s an important time for us, to reconnect and share anecdotes about our day. We’re both screen fiends, so we’re often also online while watching a boxset or Netflix, sharing news developments or other internet stuff.

If I’m up against it with a deadline, I might then crack on with my novel or network on social media or write a blog post like this for a couple more hours after my husband’s gone to bed. (He has to get up much earlier than me!) Otherwise, I’ll go to bed and devour a couple of chapters of my current reading book until my eyelids close …

And that’s essentially a typical day for me as a novelist.

Love getting a peek into a typical day for Jane, thanks so much for sharing!

About the Author:

Jane Holland is a Gregory Award–winning poet and novelist who also writes commercial fiction under the pseudonyms Victoria Lamb, Elizabeth Moss, Beth Good and Hannah Coates. Her debut thriller, Girl Number One, hit #1 in the UK Kindle Store in December 2015. Jane lives with her husband and young family near the North Cornwall/Devon border. A homeschooler, her hobbies include photography and growing her own vegetables.

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Review: Blood Sisters by Jane Corry #BloodSisters

13 Comments

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Release date: January 30, 2018

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Blurb:

Three little girls set off to school one sunny morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead.

Fifteen years later, Kitty can’t speak and has no memory of the accident that’s to blame. She lives in an institution, unlikely ever to leave. But that doesn’t keep her from being frightened when she encounters an eerily familiar face.

Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. She’s struggling to make ends meet and to forget the past. When a teaching job at a prison opens up, she takes it, despite her fears. Maybe this is her chance to set things right. Then she starts to receive alarming notes; next, her classroom erupts in violence.

Meanwhile, someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who never forgot what happened that day. Someone who wants revenge. And only another life will do. . .

Review:

Blood Sisters is Corry’s second novel and although I’ve had her debut on my TBR for awhile, I’ve never quite managed to squeeze it in. Now I’m kicking myself because I liked this one so much that I’m quite sure that I’ll end up loving her other book as well!

This is told via two viewpoints, sisters Kitty and Alison, it starts in 2016 then goes back to 2001 when they were children before some sort of accident that isn’t clearly outlined until much later. Corry did an admirable job at giving each sister a strong, clear voice and I especially enjoyed Kitty’s chapters. Kitty can’t speak but getting a glimpse inside her mind was engrossing and her frustration at being able to understand what people were saying and not being able to converse was portrayed brilliantly.

This was a read full of startling surprises, SO many and this was the rare time where they all made sense instead of the dreaded twists just for the sake of shock value. I wouldn’t necessarily describe this as fast paced, though it wasn’t exactly a slow burn either. It was somewhere in the middle I suppose with sedate moments and others where the intensity was ratcheted up several notches, a nice balance. By the time I got to the end I was desperate to know the truth about the day the accident happened and Corry even threw a few extra curveballs in that caught me off guard. Overall, a very well written and well executed psychological thriller.

Blood Sisters in three words: Skillful, Absorbing and Unexpected

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.