Katharine Johnson's Blog, page 8

Author visit: Karen Moore

If you follow this blog you’ll know I love reading books that are set in Italy so it’s hugely exciting to discover a new author whose debut crime novel which comes out in a few weeks is set in Sicily.

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Hi Karen, welcome to the coffee shop. What can I get you?

Hello Katy – a double macchiato and an almond croissant please!

An excellent choice – I think I’ll join you! I’d love to hear more about your book. What is your genre and why did you choose to write in this genre?

I write in the genre that I would choose to read – dark crime or psychological thrillers. I love pacyaction with compelling characters, sometimes with an underlying social issue or setting. I was – and still am – an avid reader of Nordic Noir novels and find the dark nature of the settings, the flawed protagonists, and the issues being explored quite captivating.

What’s the story behind your story?

My love and experience of Italy. The country is breathtakingly beautiful and the culture rich and fascinating, each region different to the next. And I love the people and their zest for life. Living there gives you the opportunity to see below the surface and experience it for what it is.

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How does where you live inspire what you write?

For me, it’s important to have peace and quiet so I’m free to escape into my own thoughts and imagination, undisturbed. I live in a semi-rural setting, surrounded by woodland. The only real noise is from the local wildlife, plus the occasional plane flying over. Absolutely no excuses for not getting on with that next chapter! 

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What do you find the hardest aspect of writing a novel?

I like the idea of having a structure to work to but in reality I tend to be more organic. The challenge for me is shaping my thoughts into some sort of coherent plot that will make sense to the reader. Detail can be tricky as I’m inclined to race ahead with the storyline, arriving at point D, having skipped B and C. 

I know what you mean – getting those plot points into place can be like wrestling an octopus! If you could go on a date with any fictional character who would it be and where would you go?

In keeping with the setting and genre of my debut thriller Torn, I would have to choose Inspector Montalbano, played by actor Luca Zingaretti, in the Italian TV series set in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigata.  

And what would we do? A morning swim in the bay outside his house, followed by an alfresco lunch of fresh seafood at his favourite restaurant, washed down with chilled white wine. Then a stroll along the seafront or a drive up into the hills, stopping off for an aperitivo at an amazing viewpoint, then on to an outdoor festa in the evening for some live music. Heaven!

That sounds perfect! What would your dream writing room look like?

I harbour dreams of a writing retreat near the sea where I can watch the seascape change with the seasons and watch the waves endlessly crash on the shore. It would be such a timeless, relaxing, and liberating experience, but one that’s also dramatic and inspiring. There’d be a great selection of food and wine on tap and good friends to enjoy it with at the end of the writing day!

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And what’s your favourite tipple?

That’s an easy one – it has to be gin! Plain or flavoured, either is fine although I’m quite partial to cucumber and rhubarb gins.  I also like champagne and wine – a full-bodied red or a smooth, dry white.

What are you working on next?

I’ve just started on a sequel to Torn so watch this space!

Thanks so much for visiting the coffee shop, Karen – I can’t wait to read your book!

More about Karen

Karen Moore is a British writer based in Cheshire. She lived in Italy for ten years and worked as a tour guide in Europe, the USA and Canada, followed by a career in PR and marketing. Torn is her debut novel. 

Connect with her here:

https://www.facebook.com/karenmooreauthor

Twitter @KarenMo35731701

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Like any mother, Hanna would do anything to protect her small daughter, Eva.

When she discovers that her husband, Luciano, is not all he seems and their blissful life on the island of Sicily is threatened, she wastes no time in seeking refuge abroad. But just as they are settling into their new life in North Wales, Eva disappears. 

In a race against time, Hanna is forced to return to Sicily and face the dark world of organised crime in a bid to secure her daughter’s safe return. She must also confront the truth about Luciano’s business dealings and their horrific consequences.

But will Hanna succeed in getting Eva back and bring Luciano to justice?

Or are the stakes just too high?

Torn will be published on 29 October and is available for pre-order now at mybook.to/darkstroke/torn

Book review: The Woman Upstairs by Ruth Heald

I took this book with me to read while I was on holiday. The Mother’s Mistake by Ruth Heald was one of my favourite books this year so I was very excited to get the chance to read this one. Like The Mother’s Mistake, The Woman Upstairs is a domestic noir story that takes place in a home where life could be idyllic but turns out to be the very opposite.

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You’d be lost without her… 

She’s the shoulder you cry on when the father of your children disappears. 

She’s the person you turn to when he comes back, begging for forgiveness. 

She’s by your side when you discover his guilty secrets.

She helps rock your babies to sleep when they cry. 

She’s your friend when you have no one else. 

She’s the woman upstairs, whose feet you hear treading around as you drift off at night, thankful you aren’t alone. 

But what if you’re about to lose everything because of her? 

At 36 Katie’s working as a barista and still living in a rented flatshare when she finds herself pregnant with twins by Ian, a man she hasn’t known long. For the babies’ sake she decides to do the grown-up thing and make a go of things with property developer Ian, accepting his invitation to move in with him into a house owned by his company – a large, impressive house she’d never have dreamed of owning.

Once inside, however, she finds the house is almost derelict. Ian gets it refurbished but has to go away on business a few weeks before the twins are born. In his absence Katie’s befriended by Paula, a woman who has grown up in the area and is a doula. When the twins are born earlier than expected and Ian is still away in Thailand Paula’s there to help.

Running alongside Katie’s story is another narrative told by a young child trapped with a sibling in a horrible home situation. Who are they and what do they have to do with Katie’s house?

My review: a white knuckle read! If you enjoy tense, chilling domestic noir stories I highly recommend this one. For me it certainly lived up to its description as a shocking psychological thriller and I couldn’t put it down. The plot keeps twisting, revelations are teased out along the way and there are some very damaged and dangerous characters.

Despite reading it in glorious sunshine and beautiful surroundings I had no difficulty imagining the scenes. I sensed where the story was going and there were moments when I found myself screaming at Katie to avoid the traps she walks into but just like a good horror film this all adds to the spiralling tension and anticipation.

Thanks to the publisher Bookouture for a review copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Author visit: Anne Pettigrew

Today’s guest is Anne Pettigrew, author of Not the Life Imagined, a multi-layered, darkly humorous novel exploring gender discrimination, sexuality and the power of friendship in sixties Scottish medical students.

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Welcome to the coffee shop, Anne. What would you like today?

I love elderflower presse (discovered it at a wedding when I was driving!) and carrot cake. I think of it as one of my five a day!

How delicious – a very refreshing drink and I can never resist carrot cake! What have you been reading lately?

I recently finished All That Remains by Dame Sue Black, a poignant account of her life as a forensic anatomist at disasters. For light relief, I have started a book by a new found Italian author, Mario Giordano. Auntie Poldi and The Sicilian Lions is a witty, atmospheric summer read. Great characters. Well, he is a psychologist!

That’s another two added to my towering TBR pile! It’s always good to discover new authors. If you can imagine your dream literary dinner party which writers would you have to invite?

A tough one. Probably Christopher Brookmyre (a funny social commentator and expert in murder and mayhem).  And please re-incarnate Joanna Baillie, niece of Anatomist William Hunter, descendent of William Wallace and feted in her day as a ‘Shakespeare’ though now forgotten. Wrote plays of personal tragedy in a masculine public world. Hosting all the great literary figures of the day in her London salon – Coleridge, Sir Walter Scott, Wordsworth etc – mightn’t she have tales to tell?

They sound fascinating guests so that would be an amazing evening. What’s a perfect day for you?

Sunny, but not 40 degrees. A morning walk along a beach, lunch with friends and Prosecco, a doze and a good book or film after dinner. Or a day when the plot falls into place and you feel you have written something that someone somewhere might actually enjoy reading!

Sounds perfect! Who is your hero?

Leonardo da Vinci. I read about him at primary school and could not believe how anyone could be so clever as to think up helicopters, diving machines, write in mirror writing and yet still paint amazing pictures. Holding some of his drawings in the basement of the Ashmolean in Oxford on recommendation of my art tutor was incredible. Very few of his paintings remain. After reading books on him, I suspect he had ADDHD. He was always abandoning a project to move on to something else. 

Yes what an incredibly multi-talented person he was. One of my favourite places to visit in Tuscany is Vinci, the village where he was born. There’s a museum showing some of his inventions and the countryside around is like the background to some of his paintings. Did you enjoy reading as a child? What was your favourite book?

Being quite unwell as a child, I spent a lot of time reading books. Far and away my favourites were John Verney’s Friday’s Tunnel and February’s Road.: Well before their time.  The zany Callendar family battled with spies, developers, international crooks and all manner of global problems. I’d read them with a torch under blankets during the night – couldn’t wait to see what happened next. A joy. Blyton didn’t have Verney’s edge. Have to add Winnie the Pooh too.

And what’s the story behind your story?

Few books exist about female doctors except as pathologists, pioneers or token women. Having been a student in the sixties, I vowed to write a novel set then. After retiring, I enjoyed Creative Writing classes at Glasgow University. My Not The Life Imagined evolved to take in discrimination for boys too. My aim was an entertaining book covering serious issues like surviving mental health and #MeToo but with some dark humour: you need a sense of humour to survive medicine!

How do you write – are you a plotter or pantster?

I have a plan. Trouble is, my characters don’t seem to know this and misbehave…

Haha I know how that feels! What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given as a writer?

Read your work out loud. Definitely sorts out clunky dialogue.

A very useful tip. What are you working on next?

Having finished Not The Deaths Imagined (sequel to Not The Life Imagined), I am penning a novel set in Oxford during the Iraq War. There’s a professor murdered. A student goes missing…

Ooh this sounds great! Thanks so much for joining me today and best of luck with the new book

About Anne

Glasgow born Anne Pettigrew was a Greenock GP for 31 years and a medical columnist in The Glasgow Herald and medical press.  A Glasgow medical graduate of 1974, she also gained an Anthropology Masters from Oxford (2004) Finding no literature about modern women doctors, she wrote Not the Life Imagined aided by Creative Writing tuition at Glasgow University. A winner of several short story prizes, this is her debut novel at 68. It was runner-up in the SAW Constable Silver Stag Award 2018, and has been submitted for a Saltire Award 2019.  She’s just signed to blog for the inspirational and innovative Literary Globe website.  

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Narrator Beth wryly charts sixties Glasgow medical students through changing, and at times stormy, relationships over two decades with a backdrop of contemporary events (Free Love, The Ibrox Disaster) and scientific advances (DNA forensics, HIV emergence) interspersing scenes of medical and personal noir with humour. A Ten-Year reunion is a watershed: devastating crimes past and present are exposed. Relevant to present-day narratives concerning mental health and MeToo. it has been described as ‘A fresh voice. Well-written and lively…’ by Simon Brett OBE, FRSL, CWA Diamond Dagger winner.

Find out more or buy the book here  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L98R2QH

Connect with Anne

Website: http://www.annepettigrew.co.uk                       

email: info@annepettigrew.co.uk

Instagram anne.pettigrew.author  

Twitter @pettigrew_anne     

Author visit – Paula Williams

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My guest today is murder mystery author Paula Williams whose books like mine are published by Crooked Cat. I hugely enjoyed reading Murder Served Cold and Rough and Deadly so I’m keen to find out more about the person who wrote them. What can I get you, Paula?

I’d love a black Americano – with a lovely squidgy chocolate brownie please

Great choice! Thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions about yourself and your writing. Firstly I was wondering, if you could be any fictional character for a day who would you choose?

If it’s only for a day then I’d like to be Scarlet O’Hara.  I’d love to be as feisty as she was. But I think 24 hours in her skin would probably be enough.  Oh yes, and I’d make sure she had the sense not to let Rhett Butler walk away!

What have you been reading lately?

I’ve just finished a psychological thriller “While You Were Sleeping” by Kathryn Croft.  It kept me up reading until 3.30 in the morning. It really is one of those books you just cannot put down. I see that she has written other books so I’m looking forward to reading them but I think I’d better wait until I have a free weekend!

How would you describe your perfect day?

A walk with my dog (and husband) in the morning, something special for lunch followed by an afternoon at my desk working on my current WIP. Then early evening drinks with friends and a quiet evening at home – just me, my husband and the dog.  Of course, if my children and grandchildren were there, too, that would turn my perfect day into a super-perfect one – although it would be far from quiet. 

In fact, that more or less describes my usual day.  I am so very lucky to be living somewhere I love, with people (and a dog) I love and doing a job I love.  I hope that doesn’t sound smug but at my age (and no, I’m not telling!)  every day is a special one, to be enjoyed and treasured. And I do! – although, it has to be said, the WIP doesn’t always go as well as I would like.  But that’s all part of being a writer, isn’t it?

That sounds a lovely way to spend the day. How does where you live inspire what you write?

Absolutely 100%.  My Much Winchmoor series of murder mysteries is based in a small Somerset village that bears an uncanny resemblance to the one in which I live.  And although, as far as I know, none of my friends and neighbours are murderers, they (and the beautiful Somerset countryside) do provide me with a rich source of inspiration.

What was you favourite childhood book?

There were so many.  I learnt to read very early and have been an avid reader ever since. Enid Blyton was one of my earliest favourite authors but things took off for me when my mother introduced me to Agatha Christie at the age of 12.  I have loved crime fiction ever since.  And I was beyond thrilled recently when my 12 year old granddaughter read and enjoyed Murder Served Cold, my first murder mystery.  Whilst I am in no way comparing my writing to that of Agatha Christie, I would love to think that my books inspire my granddaughter to a lifelong love of crime fiction.

I’m sure they will! What do you find the hardest aspect of writing a novel?

Finishing it!  Murder Served Cold was my debut novel and I loved the whole process, including the editing until it came to the final, final read through before publication.  I found it almost impossible to hit the ‘send’ button.

Ah, I know that feeling! When did you start writing and what got you started?

I’ve been writing all my life, starting with plays and pageants that I ‘persuaded’ my unfortunate younger brothers to act in.  They claim to be still traumatised by the experience.  I turned the account of my earliest pageant into a only slightly fictionalised story which I sold to Woman’s Weekly.  It was the start of a long and happy association with them.

I now write mostly serials and novels and am lucky enough to have had the first two novels, Murder Served Cold and Rough and Deadly, in a series of murder mysteries published recently by Crooked Cat Books. 

How do you deal with rejection?

I’m philosophical about it.  I started my writing career writing short stories for women’s magazines where the rejection rate is notoriously high.  I’d have given up years ago if I hadn’t learnt to take a deep breath and walk away to lick my wounds for a while.  Then take another look at it with an open mind, try and see why it was rejected, edit if necessary and send it out again.  Of course, that was a lot easier to do when I started writing for women’s magazines, when so many magazines had a fiction section.  Not so easy now, unfortunately.

What’s the best piece of advice on writing you’ve been given?

Never give up.  I have a sign above my desk that says

“Most of life’s failures are people who didn’t realise how close to success they were when they gave up”.  Wise words.

Yes, that’s great advice. What are you working on next?

I am currently working on my third Much Winchmoor novel.  I am also writing a serial for a woman’s magazine as well as a monthly column called Ideas’ Store for the UK magazine, Writers’ Forum which I have done for over eleven years now.  It all keeps me pretty busy and my laptop is never idle.

I can imagine! Thanks Paula and best of luck with your new Much Winchmoor mystery – can’t wait to read it.

About the author

Paula Williams is living her dream. She’s written all her life – her earliest efforts involved blackmailing her unfortunate younger brothers into appearing in her plays and pageants. But it’s only in recent years that she discovered to her surprise that people with better judgement than her brothers actually liked what she wrote and were prepared to pay her for it.

Now, she writes every day in a lovely, book-lined study in her home in Somerset, where she lives with her husband an a handsome but not always obedient rescue Dalmatian called Duke. She started out writing fiction for women’s magazines (and still does) but has recently branched out into longer fiction. She also writes a monthly column, Ideas Store, for the writers’ magazines, Writers’ Forum.

But, as with the best of dreams, she worries that one day she’s going to wake up and find she still has to bully her brothers into reading ‘the play what she wrote’.

Books by Paula Williams



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A quiet English village where nothing ever happens. Until… 

After her boyfriend runs out on her with the contents of their joint bank account, Kat Latcham has no choice but to return to the tiny Somerset village of Much Winchmoor, where she grew up. A place, she reckons, that is not so much sleepy as comatose, and she longs for something exciting to happen to lessen the boredom of living with her parents.

But when she and her childhood friend, Will Manning, discover a body, and Will’s father, John, is arrested for the murder, Kat suddenly realises she should have heeded the saying “be careful what you wish for”.

Much Winchmoor is a hotbed of gossip, and everyone is convinced John Manning is guilty. Only Kat and Will believe he’s innocent. When there’s a second murder, Kat is sure she knows the identity of the murderer – and sets out to prove it. But in doing so, she almost becomes the murderer’s third victim.

Readers of Sue Grafton might enjoy the Much Winchmoor series of cosy murder mysteries spiked with humour and sprinkled with romance. 

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Everyone knows Abe Compton’s Headbender cider is as rough as a cider can get. But is it deadly?

When self-styled ‘lady of the manor’, Margot Duckett-Trimble, announces she wouldn’t be seen dead drinking the stuff, who could have foreseen that, only a few days later, she’d be found, face down, in a vat of it?

Kat Latcham’s no stranger to murder. Indeed, the once ‘sleepy’ Somerset village of Much Winchmoor is fast gaining a reputation as the murder capital of the West Country and is ‘as sleepy as a kid on Christmas Eve’ when it’s discovered there’s a murderer running loose in the community again.

Kat has known Abe all her life, and she is sure that, although he had motive, he didn’t kill Margot. But as she investigates, the murderer strikes again. And the closer Kat gets to finding out who the real killer is, the closer to danger she becomes.

This second Much Winchmoor mystery is once again spiked with humour and sprinkled with romance – plus a cast of colourful characters, including a manic little dog called Prescott whose bite is definitely worse than his bark.

How to buy

​https://murderservedcold

​https://roughanddeadly

Connect with Paula

Blog paulawilliamswriter.wordpress.com.  

Facebook author page is https://www.facebook.com/paula.williams.author. 

Twitter.  @paulawilliams44.

Website.  paulawilliamswriter.co.uk.

Instagram. paulawilliams_author

Book review: Who Killed Ruby? By Camilla Way

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I was immediately drawn to this book by its cover and the suggestion that you never know what goes on behind closed doors.

Here’s the blurb:

If you passed it on the street, you’d see an ordinary London townhouse. You might wonder about the people who live there, assume they’re just like you.

But inside a family is trapped in a nightmare. In the kitchen, a man lies dead on the blood-soaked floor. Soon the police will come, and they’ll want answers.

Perhaps they’ll believe the family’s version of events – that this man is a murderer who deserved to die.

But would that be the truth?

My review

This is a tense and twisty psychological thriller that completely took me over on a long journey. It’s perfectly paced with strong characterisation and lots of angst and confusion. Although I guessed the true identity of Jack early on, I was in two minds about who had actually killed Ruby until the end because the author kept me guessing with some unreliable narrative and a cast of thoroughly undesirable characters, each of whom could plausibly be the killer. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good domestic noir story.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

Who Killed Ruby is published by Harper Collins and is available in ebook, paperback and audiobook formats.

Author visit: Rosie Travers

I’ve just finished reading Your Secret’s Safe With Me, a book I’d thoroughly recommend if you’re looking for a great holiday read full of intrigue, humour and romantic suspense, so it’s a real pleasure to be joined in the coffee shop today by author Rosie Travers.

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Hi Rosie, what can I get you?

Hi Katy, please could I have a cup of English Breakfast Tea? I’m a non-coffee drinker but I’ll have a slice of coffee and walnut cake, if you have it.

Ah my favourite – I’m never out of coffee and walnut cake! Meanwhile, I’d love to ask a few questions about your writing. Firstly, how does where you live inspire what you write?

Both my two published books have been set on the south coast of England.  I was inspired to write my debut novel The Theatre of Dreams after a walk along the seafront in the town of Lee-the-on-Solent near my home in Hampshire.

I stopped to read a sign commemorating the site of a former art deco entertainment complex that had once stood on the esplanade – and that was it. My imagination was captured, and the story of an elaborate plot to save an iconic seaside pavilion was born.

My second novel, Your Secret’s Safe With Me is set in a fictional waterside community. When I wrote it, I was living very close to the River Hamble in Southampton, which is a major yachting centre. Seeing all those fancy yachts gliding up and down the river sparked my imagination yet again – where were they going, who and what was on board?

What was your favourite childhood book?

My favourite childhood book would
have to be The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C S Lewis. I’ve read the
entire Narnia series many times over. The idea of disappearing into a wardrobe
to discover an entire new world – wow, every child’s dream. 

During one of my many house
moves in later years we actually bought a house that had a walk-in wardrobe with
a concealed door at the back. Sadly it only led to a huge void under the eaves,
but I think I was far more excited than my children at the discovery!

I know what you mean – that book really captured my imagination too. What genre do you describe your books as belonging to, and why did you pick that genre?

There are romantic elements to both my novels, but the romance is not the main focus of either story.  I always find it very hard defining the genre of my writing because my novels cross so many themes including mystery, suspense and humour. I write the books I want to read – and I think it’s a shame the publishing industry is so geared towards “labels.” I just want to write – and read – a good story.

If your story was made into a
film or television series who would you cast as the main character?

The Theatre of Dreams has all
the elements to make a wonderfully whacky musical – I live in hope. I would cast
Julie Walters as my devious octogenarian Kitty. 
I know Julie isn’t 80 yet but she would be excellent in the role – Kitty
is full of comic pathos. 

I’d love to see that production! Where do you do your writing?

I’m lucky enough to have a room of my own. I’ve recently moved house and my study isn’t quite how I want it yet. It needs a coat of paint, and I also need a new PC, as my desk-top sadly crashed on me just before the house move – a valuable and expensive lesson learned in the importance of backing up. I hadn’t.

Ouch – it’s such a horrible feeling when that happens. What would your dream writing room look like?

My dream writing room would
involve a view of the sea – although whether I’d spent too much time gazing out
of the window to actually write I’m on not sure!

Mine too. And how do you write your books? Are you a plotter or a pantser? 

I am a pantser.  My books always start with the characters and a very vague plotline. I’m one of those cardinal sinners who edits as I go –  and sometimes I will go back and revisit the earlier chapters, without having written the end of the first draft. I would like to be more of a plotter as I do tend to spend an awful lot of time hopping backwards and forwards as the plot develops, but once my characters start talking to me they tell their own stories.

Thanks so much for visiting the coffee shop today, Rosie and best of luck with your writing.

About Rosie Travers

Rosie grew up in Southampton and loved escaping into
a good book at a very early age. After several years juggling motherhood and a
variety of jobs in local government, she moved to southern California when her
husband took an overseas work assignment. With time on her hands she started a
blog about ex-pat life which rekindled her teenage desire to become a writer.
On her return to the UK she took a creative writing course and the rest, as
they say, is history.

Rosie takes inspiration from the towns and landscapes
of her native south coast and enjoys writing heart-warming stories sprinkled
with mystery and a dash of romance.

Rosie’s debut novel The Theatre of Dreams was
published by Crooked Cat Books in August 2018 and is a contender for this
year’s Romantic Novelists Association Joan Hessayon Award. Her second novel
Your Secret’s Safe With Me was published in February 2019.

www.rosietravers.com

https://twitter.com/@RosieTravers

https://www.facebook.com/rosietraversauthor/

https://instagram.com/rosietraversauthor

Rosie Travers

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Musical theatre actress Tara is down on her luck and in desperate need of a job. When terminally-ill octogenarian Kitty invites her to revive her former dance school in the old fashioned resort of Hookes Bay, Tara thinks she’s found her guardian angel. However, it soon becomes clear Kitty is being far from benevolent as Tara finds herself caught up in the old lady’s elaborate plot to save her family’s historic seaside pavilion.  Too late Tara realises helping Kitty will signal the end of an already tarnished career, unless she can pull off the performance of a life-time.

You can order a copy of The Theatre of Dreams here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theatre-Dreams-Rosie-Travers-ebook/dp/B07CTMS9WS

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Career girl Becca Gates’ organised life is thrown into chaos when her mother, romantic novelist Pearl, announces her surprise engagement to Jack, a man she has only just met. 

Worse news follows when Pearl tells Becca she intends to leave London, quit writing, and retire to her new fiancé’s idyllic waterside home on the south coast. Becca is determined to prevent Pearl from making a disastrous mistake, but when she at arrives at Rivermede, more shocks await when she stumbles upon a familiar yet unwelcome face from her past.

As Pearl embraces her new life amongst the local sailing fraternity, Becca receives a grim warning that all is not as calm as it seems at picturesque Rivermede, and if she wants to keep her family safe, she should keep them away. 

But why should Becca trust the man who has betrayed her before, the man who broke her heart, the man who thinks he knows all her secrets?

You can order a copy of Your Secret’s Safe With Me here

Book review: Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

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Book details
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing and Raven Books
Genre: general fiction, mystery & thrillers
ISBN 9781526611628


The title and cover grabbed me immediately but I'll confess that at the start I wasn't too sure about this one. It opens with a group of glamorous suburban housewives meeting for a book group but instead of discussing books they end up playing a raucous drinking game (although it isn't Never Have I Ever). However, I loved the description of the woman who introduced the drinking game:

I opened the door to a stranger standing easy with the fat moon rising behind her, practically perching on her shoulder. That moon drenched my neighbourhood in silver light, soft and wavery, so she looked like she'd climbed up the steps from an underwater world into the egg-yolk glow of my porch light...

Already we're getting the hint that this woman is about to throw everything into chaos and that the main character Amy is in a way looking at her own destruction.

It soon emerges that Amy's done something bad in her past and that this woman called Roux knows about it. But is Roux who she says she is and what does she want in return for her silence? In order to protect her family from the truth, Amy finds herself getting drawn into an escalating game of cat and mouse - and there can only be one winner.

From the moment Roux told Amy the real nature of her game I was riveted. In many books this would be the end of the story but there are so many more twists to come. There's nothing formulaic about this psychological thriller. It's beautifully written with strong, believable characters but above all I loved the gladiatorial feel, although for most of it only one of the women understands the rules. The stakes are high but get so much higher. The book's full of dilemmas and guilt as secrets from the past come back to haunt Amy and the tension just keeps ratcheting up. Highly recommended!

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me a review copy of this book which has in no way influenced my opinion.

Author Visit: VK McGivney

I’m so excited to have Veronica (Vee) McGivney as my guest today. Her book Aftermath of a Party appealed to me instantly and I was totally absorbed by it. I can’t wait to find out what inspired her to write it.

[image error]Veronica McGivney

Thank you very much, Katy, for inviting me to contribute to your Writing Coffee Shop. This is the blurb for Aftermath of a Party:

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When a birthday turns out to be a death day…Hanna Walker wakes up in a hospital bed but has no memory of what has happened to her. When questioned by the police, she is devastated to learn that her lifelong friend, Stella, has been murdered and she herself left for dead, after Stella’s recent birthday party. During the murder investigation Stella’s ex husband and several of her former lovers fall under suspicion. When Stella’s own activities in the period leading up to the party come under the spotlight, Hanna is forced to revise her opinion of the woman she thought was her closest friend. But was Stella a real friend?

Although the two Aftermath novels are stand-alone, as with the first in the series, Aftermath of a Murder, Aftermath of a Party is more concerned with the impact of  a dramatic or tragic event on the people most affected and their subsequent  behaviour, than with a blow-by-blow account of a police  investigation.

The idea for the second novel was prompted by my hearing about a man who’d been in a coma after being attacked at a party and eventually woke up with absolutely no recollection of what had happened to him, although his memory of earlier events was unimpaired.

For this aspect of the novel, I needed to research head injuries as well as post traumatic amnesia and retrograde amnesia. I was also able to draw on my own experience of a recent (non-head-related) operation and stay in hospital.

For the characters, Hanna and Stella  – friends who had known each other from childhood –  I drew partly on my memory of two girls I knew  many years ago, although the aspects of them used in the novel  are restricted to general physical  descriptions and the dynamic between the two of them.

Apart from these elements, the details relating to  Hanna and Stella – their home backgrounds, romantic entanglements,  and what happens to them at the party – are all complete inventions.  

In the novel I was interested less in the ‘whodunit’ aspect – although as it is a thriller, this is necessarily what drives the plot – than in portraying the sometimes ambivalent relationship between two women when one is more attractive and consequently more successful socially and sexually than the other.

As Hanna learns more about Stella after her death, she is forced to reflect on the relationship and reassess the nature of both Stella’s feelings towards to her and her own feelings towards Stella, and decide whether or not it was a true friendship.

However she is honest enough to recognise that, however subservient she has been to Stella in the past, she herself was instrumental  in shaping the relationship between them. I was also interested in portraying how the psychological impact of early experiences can impact on later relationships and one’s ability to successfully “read” another person.  

While Stella’s early experiences lead her to unconsciously choose a succession of almost interchangeable sexual partners, Hanna’s very different early experiences – albeit only briefly referred to – are intended to explain something of her timidity and social awkwardness. These themes form the subtext to the novel. 

About the author

I spent my  childhood in a small seaside resort on the Isle of Wight where my mother ran a terrible “Fawlty-Towers”-type guest house for holidaymakers during the summer months. 

   At school my main claims to fame were producing caricatures of the teaching staff and persistent truanting. Despite this, I perversely went on to gain degrees in modern languages and spent a number of years in France before pursuing a career in education, teaching in adult education centres and at universities in  Sussex, Narobi and The Open University,  before becoming a senior research officer at the former National Institute of Adult and Continuing Education. 

  In between painting, gardening and playing tennis, I have published four  novels – Aftermath of a Murder, Inheritors of the New Kingdom, A Reluctant Hero and most recently (April 2019) Aftermath of a Party. I have also published  a collection of short stories, Ghosts, Resolution and Revenge, several of which have been short-listed for awards.   

 My fiction is written under the name of VK McGivney to differentiate it from nonfiction books written under my full name. 

 I have three adult children and an eccentric cat called Noodles and live in a leafy area of Brighton on the south coast. 

Aftermath of a Party is available to buy here:

Thanks so much for joining me today, Vee – I’ve added Aftermath of a Murder to my reading list and am looking forward to reading it.

         

Book review: The House mate by CL Pattison

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I’m a big fan of house share-from-hell stories so couldn’t wait to get stuck into this one.

Pharmacist Megan who’s calm and organised and theatre set designer Chloe, who’s creative and sensitive and suffers from night terrors, have been best friends forever since meeting at university twelve years ago. Now both living in London they find the perfect house to share but the only way they can afford the rent is to find a third tenant. When they meet Sammi, a freelance fashion journalist who loves cooking, she seems the perfect house mate.

But gradually doubts creep in and suspicion grows between Megan and Sammi, while Sammi seems determined to get close to Chloe. Strange things happen and Megan and Chloe wonder if letting a stranger into their house was really such a good idea.

This is a light, quick read that for me got better and better as it went along. I loved the Single White Female vibe and was desperate to see where it would all lead.

It’s a story about friendship, rivalry and mental health. told in three viewpoints – Megan, Chloe and an anonymous, disturbed and damaged eleven year-old girl. Obviously, this girl is going to grow up to be one of the housemates but which? I had a hunch from the start but had to keep reading to see if I was right and most importantly how this character had been shaped into the person she now was. Watch out for lies, misdirection and unreliable narrators!

I love the small cast which makes for a brilliantly claustrophobic situation and reinforces the tension between the women. I’d hate to be in a house-share with any of these women but they make for a highly readable psychological thriller which I think would appeal to fans of Louise Jensen and Laura Marshall.

The House Mate is published by Headline and is available in kindle, paperback and audiobook formats.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy which has in no way influenced my opinion.

Author visit: JS Clerk

Today I’m so pleased to be joined in the coffee shop by JS Clerk, a student of criminology and creative writing, who’s looking for an agent for her crime novel, Night Call. I’ve had a sneaky peek and it’s such a good read! Lovely to see you, JS – what can I get you?

Hi Katy, a Pepsi Max in a glass with ice please, and a chicken & bacon toastie.

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Night Call synopsis

Returning to work straight after her sister’s death, Kira Savage is on call as the duty solicitor and finds herself thrown into a traumatic domestic violence case. Lorcan Fisher, a university student, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his partner Clare. Upon meeting Lorcan, Kira is overwhelmed to discover he has been a victim of domestic violence at Clare’s hands, but even more to discover they share a possible connection. As the evidence is presented in interviews and the stress of her family drama threatens to collide with her workload, Kira is faced with who to put first – the needs of her client, or the needs of her family?

Q&A

If your story was made into a film or television series who would you cast as the main character?

Brilliant
question! Before I did my access course that took me to university, I did two
years at college studying creative digital media production. Part of the first
year, which was the equivalent to GCSE, I was introduced to screenwriting.
Screenwriting is more visual than novel writing, but the creativity still
applied.

It was
through writing scripts that I learned how to craft stories in minimal words,
with the dialogue brought to the forefront as the main driving piece. Dialogue
really matters in whatever medium, be it film, television, radio, stage etc.
Back to the question – I have my whole cast worked out, but I will go with
Liverpool’s finest actress Leanne Best for Kira Savage, and James McAvoy for
her partner and colleague Richard Leach/Burke.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing process – are you a plotter or a pantser? 

For the first draft of Night Call, I pantsed my way through it completely, with only vague details of a timeline that my research contacts had helped me to create – it’s very useful working part time for a law practice around my degree. It was only when I gave it to Mike, one of the in-house barristers in the office for feedback, that I realised I’d got lots of the legal details wrong.

Through a
combination of email exchanges, Esther – the solicitor that I originally
pitched Night Call to back in 2017 (hence why the first novel follows that
particular timeline) – and Mike have assisted jointly in helping to craft the
rewrite. Anything I need, no matter how small, I run past either of them first
– Esther is handy with police station and magistrates court scenes that take up
the first half of the novel, and Mike equally so with the Crown Court scenes
which finish it off.

Taking
their really valuable advice on board, I wouldn’t say that I find any of the
writing process hard. I had the time of my life researching, which is why it
went on for six months instead of six weeks. I hugely enjoyed crafting the
first draft, but after getting feedback, I’m now more open to editing and
making the idea a lot better than I can ever do on my own.

If you could invite just two authors (alive or dead) to dinner who would they be?

Martina
Cole, who is one of my writing heroes. The first crime novel I read was The
Runaway when I was too young. I then read The Good Life, another Martina novel,
when I was recovering from a two-stage medical procedure. I used the six weeks
off work to read it properly, from cover to cover, and I hung onto every word.
So, definitely Martina.

Lynda La
Plante, who is another writing hero. Her smash hit television series Trial and
Retribution inspired not only my love of scriptwriting, which I discovered
during a media production course at college but also how to create memorable
characters, which hopefully come across in my novels, once they are published.
So, dinner with these two women would be a dream come true.

What an amazing dinner party that would be! What’s the best piece of advice on writing you’ve been given?

I am very
lucky that I study creative writing at university. Alongside my monthly writing
group with the Liverpool NaNoWriMo community, I jumped at the chance to study
creative writing at a higher education level. The best piece of writing advice
I have been given, is from my tutor. Be careful not to use more words than
strictly necessary.

That’s a really useful tip. What’s the story behind your story?

The inspiration for my novel is to pay tribute to my roots. Where I work now, I have been associated with since I was little. So, when the idea hit for a law firm setting for a crime novel, it felt like the right fit. I could pay homage to my roots as well as create fictional characters and cases, carved out of months of research, and hopefully do my colleagues’ job roles the justice that they deserve. I remember reading vaguely a police officer saying we haven’t yet seen a novel about the police shuffling paperwork. My aim is to make the shuffling paper (in reality all of the notes in a case file on the lawyers’ desk) as interesting and as visually rich as possible.

Also
throw in the setting of the city of Liverpool – it’s where I was born and still
live. I wouldn’t want to ever leave.

I love Liverpool and think it will make a great setting. What was your favourite childhood book?

The Horrid Henry series, when I was very little as I had had the stories read to me by my mum. From the age of 10, even though I now read and write crime fiction, Harry Potter is still on my kindle unlimited. Those are a beautiful set of books! As a consequence, I will be forever in debt to JK Rowling for introducing me to why I wanted to become a writer!

Ah, Horrid Henry has been a huge hit in our family. Our Harry Potter books have also been read so many times they’re falling apart – we listened to Stephen Fry reading them in the car too on several road trips to Italy so I’m pretty much word perfect although not so good at knowing which scene belongs in which book! Thanks so much for dropping in JS and best of luck with the book.

Thank you for having me on your blog! J

About the author

J.S. Clerk has been writing since the age of eleven, but always thought up stories in her childhood. At thirteen she had to take several weeks away from school to undergo spinal surgery. Once at home, she began writing as a strategy to cope with the boredom from school work she had to catch up with. The idea for her debut novel came in June 2016, just before a second two stage spinal operation. It was at this point that the seed of initial planning began and throughout 2017/18 the first draft was written. She is currently working on the second. She still resides in Liverpool with her family, along with Millie and Willow, the new kittens that, when she isn’t writing or working, demand her complete attention. She currently studies a joint degree in criminology and creative writing, along with hunting for an agent for her novel, Night Call.

Follow JS on Twitter @jsclerkauthor