Victoria Walters's Blog, page 28
September 7, 2018
Five reasons why your book review is important
Most authors will at some point mention reviews to you. If they are on the ball, they will instantly ask you to write one if you tell them you loved their book. They might tweet asking for reviews or pop a note in the back of their book to ask. Whichever way they do it, I guarantee that every author has asked someone to write a review for them.
Why do authors ask for reviews then?
Most authors write a book because they want it to be read and one way you can increase the chances of more people reading a book is by having lots of reviews of it.
Basically more reviews = more sales.
Reviews are REALLY awesome for authors because they help boost a book’s chance of success.
So, why should you post that review?
1 – THEY help other readers decide whether to buy a book. If you see a book has lots of good reviews, you’re more likely to buy it because you’re more confident it’s worth your time and money!
2 – THEY make a book more visible. Most people are certain that reviews make it more likely that Amazon will send out recommendation emails for it. Some people say you need a magic number of 50 but that’s unproven. It’s clear though that if Amazon sees a book becoming popular, it will help boost it further.
[image error] 13 five star reviews so far on Amazon for my novel Summer at the Kindness Cafe – I would love to reach 20!
3 – THEY help get the book into promotions: some promotions or sales rely on the number of reviews a book has to go ahead because they show that the book is worth promoting and that customer satisfaction is high. A book is more likely to be selected if there are more reviews for it so if you like 99p books, keep reviewing them!
4 – THEY make the author happy – every writer hopes people will enjoy their book so by posting that review, you’re giving the author a chance to see how much you loved their work. And that will give them a boost to get writing the next one for you!
5 – THEY make you feel good – by posting a review, you’re helping a book you enjoyed find more readers. How cool is that?! By taking a minute to post how much you loved a book, you’re helping the author and other readers, and that act of kindness will put a smile on both their and your faces.
So, when you finish the book you’re currently reading, pop up a review on Amazon when you’re done and help that book fly!
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Review Summer at the Kindness Cafe right HERE.
Who’s going to post a book review after reading this? Hit like below 
September 3, 2018
Books read in … August 2018
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This month I ended up reading a few murder mysteries as I fancied a change from women’s fiction and YA. I had had some on my TBR shelf for a while so I thought it was about time I picked them up!
I’ve been meaning to read more Agatha Christie so I read my first Marple Mystery – The Body in the Library. The Mitford Murders is about the fictional nursemaid of the Mitford sisters playing sleuth when someone they know is killed on a train. The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is set in the 1979’s heatwave where someone goes missing and two ten year old girls try to find out what happened.
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My favourite read of the month was The Man In The Brown Suit. It’s a stand-alone Christie novel and is more adventure than her typical murder mysteries plus there’s a romantic element to this one.
I loved plucky Anne, the main character, who uses a suspicious death she witnesses as a catalyst to sail to South Africa where she meets a host of new friends, and falls in love with the mysterious man in the brown suit but one of them is a killer. It was a lot of fun and different to other books I’ve read by the author. I will definitely pick up more Agatha Christie in the future!
What did you guys read in August?
Victoria
xoxo
August 31, 2018
How to Create a Fictional Town
I’ve noticed that a lot of my readers, in their reviews and messages to me, mention the settings of my novels and they wish they were real places. So I thought it would be interesting to talk about how I create the settings of my novels.
Littlewood in my new novel is shown on the cover and the setting of this one has informed the title. Brew is the town cafe where much of the novel takes place and where our three main characters meet. Doesn’t this cover make you wish we could all have tea and cake together there?!
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The reason why so far I have chosen to create my own town on my books is so I’m not tied into including certain locations that you’d need to if you used an actual town. I like to be free to create places of my own. Nowadays a lot of High Streets look uniform and cafes are just branches of big chains so the advantage to making up a place is that you can place whatever shops, cafes and landmarks you like in them.
I like to have some fixed areas of interests where the characters can meet up and interact with one another. My debut novel The Second Love Of My Life has a pub where two of the main characters work and my second Summer At The Kindness Cafe has a cafe where one works, and both places are useful when you need a scene to feature a few people, or where something pivotal to the story can take place.
[image error]A Cornish village
My towns are placed in real areas though to make it easier for both me and readers to be able to picture them, and get a real feeling for them. I chose Cornwall for my debut and I was able to use surfing in the book and picnics on the beach. My second town is situated in the Surrey Hills so you can imagine rolling green countryside and pretty buildings.
[image error]Shere in the Surrey Hills
I have used small towns in both my novels as a close-knit community allows you to develop a great group of characters who interact regularly. It means that you and the reader can really get to know the place and it’s inhabitants, and hopefully you can picture yourself living amongst them.
What’s your favourite fictional town?
Victoria
xoxo
Creating a Fictional Town
I’ve noticed that a lot of my readers, in their reviews and messages to me, mention the settings of my novels and they wish they were real places. So I thought it would be interesting to talk about how I create the settings of my novels.
Littlewood in my new novel is shown on the cover and the setting of this one has informed the title. Brew is the town cafe where much of the novel takes place and where our three main characters meet. Doesn’t this cover make you wish we could all have tea and cake together there?!
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The reason why so far I have chosen to create my own town on my books is so I’m not tied into including certain locations that you’d need to if you used an actual town. I like to be free to create places of my own. Nowadays a lot of High Streets look uniform and cafes are just branches of big chains so the advantage to making up a place is that you can place whatever shops, cafes and landmarks you like in them.
I like to have some fixed areas of interests where the characters can meet up and interact with one another. My debut novel The Second Love Of My Life has a pub where two of the main characters work and my second Summer At The Kindness Cafe has a cafe where one works, and both places are useful when you need a scene to feature a few people, or where something pivotal to the story can take place.
[image error]A Cornish village
My towns are placed in real areas though to make it easier for both me and readers to be able to picture them, and get a real feeling for them. I chose Cornwall for my debut and I was able to use surfing in the book and picnics on the beach. My second town is situated in the Surrey Hills so you can imagine rolling green countryside and pretty buildings.
[image error]Shere in the Surrey Hills
I have used small towns in both my novels as a close-knit community allows you to develop a great group of characters who interact regularly. It means that you and the reader can really get to know the place and it’s inhabitants, and hopefully you can picture yourself living amongst them.
What’s your favourite fictional town?
Victoria
xoxo
August 24, 2018
A Bookish Chat
I was really excited to be asked by the Fabulous Book Fiend to appear on her YouTube channel to chat all about writing, my books, and how I feel about reviews and being published!
Here’s the video we made – I hope you guys enjoy it:
So, what did you think? Any more questions for me just pop them in the comments.
And now you’ve watched that don’t forget to download your copy of Summer at the Kindness Cafe, and leave me that five star review!!
Love,
Victoria
xoxo
August 23, 2018
It’s publication day!!
I’m so excited that Summer at the Kindness Cafe is published today!
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‘This book has so much heart’ (Heat magazine)
As ‘COSY’ and ‘COMFORTING’ (Heidi Swain) as a cup of tea and a slice of cake!
Download your copy NOW!
Please do pop up an Amazon review if you read it 
August 22, 2018
Tomorrow! Tomorrow! My Book Is Out Tomorrow!
To mark the fact that my new novel, Summer at the Kindness Cafe, is released tomorrow I made a little video all about the book and why you guys should read it:
I hope you guys enjoyed hearing a bit more about the book, which you can download from tomorrow yay!
Victoria
xoxo
August 20, 2018
How can YOU help a book launch?
It’s publication week! I’m so excited that my second novel Summer at the Kindness Cafe is being published THIS Thursday. I’m always being asked how readers can help when it comes to a book launch especially when it’s an eBook so I thought I’d pop it on here so you can all join in with team kindness.
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Obviously the first and most important thing you can do is order yourself a copy! You can pre-order the book on Amazon, iBooks and Kobo right now. And why not share the fact you’ve bought it on social media?
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Sharing the gorgeous cover online is a great way to encourage others to order themselves a copy too. Tag me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so I can see you sharing it!
I would love to know who on here is reading it and what you think so the book is now on Goodreads for you to add to your to-read shelf HERE.
When you read the book, or if you already read it in serial form, please do pop up a review on there and on Amazon so I can see it and other readers will be able to find it! Reviews make a book so much more visible so they really help an author.
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Thanks so much for all your support – I really hope you all enjoy reading the book on Thursday and I can’t wait to read all your posts and reviews!
Love,
Victoria
xoxo
August 15, 2018
Meet The Authors: Isabelle Broom, Lisa Dickenson and Victoria Walters
When I discovered that Isabelle Broom, Lisa Dickenson and I were all releasing our latest novels one week today, I thought I would seize the opportunity to put together a Q and A with the three of us. We’re going to talk all about books, writing and what inspires us, and tell you all about our new novels.
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Isabelle Broom was born in Cambridge nine days before the 1980s began and studied Media Arts in London before joining the ranks at Heat magazine, where she remains the Book Reviews Editor. Always happiest when she off on an adventure, Isabelle now travels all over the world seeking out settings for her novels, as well as making the annual pilgrimage to her true home – the Greek island of Zakynthos. Currently based in Suffolk, where she shares a cottage with her dog Max and approximately 467 spiders, Isabelle fits her writing around a busy freelance career and tries her best not to be crushed to oblivion under her ever-growing pile of to-be-read books.
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Lisa Dickenson is the pseudonym for Beyoncé. OK, FINE, THAT’S NOT TRUE. Lisa lives by the Devon seaside, stuffing cream teas in the gobs of anyone who comes to visit, and writing stuff down that she hopes is funny. Her first novel was the copyright-infringing Sweet Valley Twins: The Twins Holiday Horror, which she wrote in primary school and gave up on after five pages. Twenty-ish years later Lisa went on to be a *real author* and wrote the Novelicious Debut of the Year, THE TWELVE DATES OF CHRISTMAS. MY SISTERS AND ME, will be just the autumnal read you’ll need as the leaves start to rust.
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Victoria Walters writes up-lifting and inspiring stories. Her moving debut novel THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE was chosen for WHSmith Fresh Talent and shortlisted for an RNA award. Victoria was also picked as an Amazon Rising Star. Her heart-warming new novel SUMMER AT THE KINDNESS CAFE is available to download now. As well as being an author, Victoria also works as a Waterstones bookseller and buys far too many books there. She lives in Surrey with her cat Harry (named after Harry Potter). Victoria is not only obsessed with books but loves buying slogan tops, mugs and notebooks, and posting them all on Instagram.
1. Tell us about your writing journey – how did you get started, and how did you get published?
Isabelle Broom (IB): I started writing down stories from the age of around five, but I was making them up in my head long before then. My mum had this set of dressing table mirrors that you could angle a certain way and see multiple reflections, and I used to come up with names for each of them and make up all manner of tales. Honestly, I’d sit there for hours, just chatting away to myself, so I guess it’s no surprise that I ended up in this job. When it came to getting published, I think I was extremely fortunate. While I had always wanted to write a proper novel, I never had the confidence to tackle one until I won a short story competition. Once I had the backing and encouragement from people inside the publishing industry, my outlook totally changed, and I started to believe in my ability to write. That was a real turning point, as was the moment I met my editor three months later. The universe seemed to align at that point, and less than six months later, I had an offer from Penguin. My head has not ceased spinning since!
Lisa Dickenson (LD): Hello! I started by writing Sweet Valley Twins knock-offs when I was in primary school, but never finished any of them. From there I ~talked about~ being a writer for years, but again, never actually finished a story. Then one day in 2013 I entered a short story competition – I wanted to prove to myself I could get to the end of something – and it was shortlisted. An Editor at Little, Brown Book Group got in touch and asked for some sample material for a full-length novel, and from there they bought, and published, The Twelve Dates of Christmas!
Victoria Walters (VW): I’ve always written stories ever since I was young, I think being an only child made me use my imagination a lot growing up. I remember hand writing my first novel when I was sixteen, it was a rip-off if Sweet Valley High. As I got older, I started to take writing more seriously. When I read Twilight, I fell in love with the YA genre and wrote a YA novel which landed me an agent. That book didn’t sell though and I then got the idea for what became my debut novel The Second Love Of My Life. Now writing women’s fiction, I found a new agent who secured me a publishing deal and I finally could call myself an author!
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2. Do you have any advice for writers who want to get published? Do you have any writing tips? Did any resources in particular help you that you would recommend?
IB: I get asked this question so much, and the first answer I give is always the most obvious – to write. Write and write and write some more. Do it every day, even if it’s a sentence or two while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil. Keep a notebook handy and scribble down ideas as they come to you, or snippets of conversation that you overhear on the bus. I always adopt the Stephen King method of “What if?” in every scenario, and push the boundaries as far as I can – e.g. What if you found out your boyfriend was cheating? What if it was with your best friend? And she was pregnant? But secretly the baby was someone else’s? And that someone else was your father? And your friend was only one of many affairs? And so on. I like to think of thoughts as unspooling ribbons in my mind, which I then chase along until they inevitably become too farfetched. While there are heaps of advice books and how-to manuals out there, I believe the best forms of study are works of fiction. Read the top 5 bestselling books in your chosen genre and break down the plot and character arcs. Ask yourself what makes these books, in particular, resonate with so many readers, then try to plot your own with the same principles in mind. You don’t need an earth-shattering twist or a controversial ending to make a book compelling, you simply need characters that people genuinely care about and a pace that keeps readers turning those pages.
LD: To get published I would say a) get writing, and get submitting. Don’t just dream about it happening because nobody can hear what’s only going on in your head (THANK GOD). b) being an author is only half about being an author, and half about being on social media. You need to be visible and interacting, with (potential) readers, agents, bookish folk, other authors, bloggers. It can be hard to find the time, but unless you can get that six-figure-and-a-movie deal from the outset it has to be done, and it’s also a great way of meeting people, sharing tips and experiences, and building a community around yourself and your books. And my favourite writing tip resources have come from websites like Novelicious and We Heart Writing, listening to ‘Meet The Author’ podcasts (anything with a Jackie Collins interview is gold dust), and recently doing some online courses through Masterclass, listening to some writers who work in completely different genres and mediums, but are really helping to enrich my storytelling!
VW: I still find it hard to give writing advice as I feel like I’m still learning myself. I really think you have to find your own way of doing things. Not everyone writes in the same way, and that’s absolutely fine. Some writers have to write everyday but that doesn’t work for me. So, find what works best for you. My best advice is to read as much as you can. I’m always reading and it definitely teaches you about pacing, plotting and creating characters. I read widely too, not just sticking to my genre. I actually haven’t read any books on writing because I do think it’s best to do it your own way but for general creative inspiration, I would recommend Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.
3. Your new book is published next week. Tell us all about it. How did you come up with the idea for it?
IB: One Thousand Stars and You began as a simple idea: what if you met someone who changed your life in an instant? (See, there I go with the “what ifs” again!) I was in a dark place after a relationship break-up a few years ago, when I attended a book event in London and met a man at the bar. We only chatted for half an hour or so, and nothing romantic ever followed, but just the simple act of meeting someone so wonderful and so on my wavelength changed my outlook almost instantaneously. I went from feeling helpless heartbreak to being suddenly sure that everything was going to be OK – and it got me thinking: what if I could write a story about a young woman who feels content in her life, only to meet someone who throws everything into disarray? Say hello to my new novel! It follows Alice who, on the brink of turning 30, has accepted that her future means settling down with her reliable boyfriend and keeping her overprotective parents happy. When she agrees to go off to Sri Lanka with her two best friends, Alice sees the trip as a last bit of fun before she succumbs – but then she meets Max. Once a soldier and now battling back from a life-altering injury, Max ignites something in Alice that she has long tried to bury. But is the path of excitement and adventure simply a case of “grass is greener”?
LD: It’s called MY SISTERS AND ME, and it’s a story of how three sisters – who got out of their childhood town as soon as they could – come back home. They’re here to renovate their old house, but along the way they meet blasts from their past, rediscover how fun sisterhood can be, and learn a little something about loving the person they’ve become… and the person they once were. There’s also a bit of snoggin’, a Halloween party, and a healthy mix of tears and laughter. The idea actually evolved from an one that involved a more witchy story thread, but at the core I really wanted to write a book about female relationships.
VW: Unfortunately, at the moment there are so many stories of bad things happening in the world so it’s easy to lose sight of small things that happen every day to make life a little better. Sometimes a small act of kindness can brighten someone’s day or even change their whole life, and that’s what my new novel Summer at the Kindness Cafe is all about. Three very different women make a pact to let more kindness into their lives. When Abbie drops her bag on the way to see her sister Louise, a stranger called Eszter returns it to her. They find themselves in Brew, a cosy cafe in the Surrey Hills, which has a Kindness board on the wall where they encourage customers to write up random acts of kindness that people have done for them. The owners tell Abbie that she needs to pay Eszter’s act of kindness forward, and so begins a summer where kindness changes everything.
4. What books do you think inspired you to become a writer? What are some of your favourite books?
IB: I read everything I could get my hands on as a kid, tearing through Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven series, followed in my late teens by Jilly Cooper’s raucous romps, Stephen King’s smart chillers and, a bit later still, anything penned by the mighty JK Rowling. I think of all of them, it was Jilly who had the biggest impact, because spending time with her characters felt like hanging out with friends – it still does. I think the best books are the ones we desperately wish we could walk into the pages of, hence why Harry Potter has had such a huge impact. We all secretly yearn to find that hidden platform 9 and 3/4 at King’s Cross and wonder if that strange man staring at us on the tube is on an undercover mission for the Ministry Of Magic. I review books now, too, so read an endless amount, but my favourite of recent times has to be The Man Who Didn’t Call by Rosie Walsh. Talk about perfection! If I ever manage to write as well as that lady, I will float on happy air.
LD: Well, as I’ve mentioned, I was HEAVILY inspired by the Sweet Valley books while I was growing up – I wanted to create endless tales about Californian beaches and people with blonde hair. To be honest, even when I became a grown woman, I was always inspired by books based in other countries, from the novels by Belinda Jones to those by our lovely friend Isabelle Broom, because I love feeling like a book is transporting me somewhere, and I soak it in through the pages.
VW: I read so much growing up! I loved The Famous Five, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, and devoured Sweet Valley High and Point Horror. Sweet Valley High definitely inspired some of my early stories. My favourite author then and now is Jane Austen, and every story I write has romance in it because of her. I also will always have a soft spot for Bridget Jones. Probably the two series that really made me consider becoming a writer was Harry Potter and Twilight. I love those books so much and dreamed of gripping a reader as much as they did with my own books. I also love coming-of-age stories and I think you can see that in my books too, for example, I love I Capture The Castle and Jane Eyre. I enjoy reading inspiring and up-lifting books, such I think comes across in my own writing. Recently, I’ve loved Eleanor Oliphant and Dear Mrs Bird.
5. What are you working on next? Do you find it easy to come up with ideas? How to you inspire yourself to start a new book?
IB: I’m currently midway through the first draft of my sixth novel, which is set in both present day New Zealand and early-90s London – and I also have another three ideas quietly percolating away in my mind. Coming up with ideas has never been an issue for me – it’s making the time to develop them that I struggle with the most. If I could reach into the pages of Harry Potter and steal anything, it would be a Time Turner! I find starting a novel to be the best part – especially when you get to do so on location, as I did with this one. I love getting to know my cast of characters and chasing plot strands around in my head. It’s later along in the process (the 60-80k mark) where I start to flounder and have to be way more strict on myself. Writing books is and continues to be a huge privilege – one that I hope continues for many more years to come.
LD: I’ve recently started my sixth novel, and I’m really excited about this one! It features a big lovely therapy dog and a trip to Switzerland, so I might just have to do a cheeky research trip! I find vague concepts quite easy to come up with, but sometimes the nitty gritty, the idea itself, is harder so look out for inspiration all over the place, from places to conversations, to life events, and sometimes an idea for a working title will actually inspire an idea to form. I don’t think I find any park of it easy, but when I’m in the flow and chatting to the characters in my head, and playing god with their lives, it’s very very fun 
August 4, 2018
The Worried Writer Ep#42: Victoria Walters ‘There Was A Lot of Rejection’ — The Worried Writer
My guest today is author and blogger, Victoria Walters. Her debut novel, The Second Love of my Life, saw Victoria labeled an ‘Amazon Rising Star’ and was called ‘Brilliant and superior women’s fiction’ by… 912 more words
via The Worried Writer Ep#42: Victoria Walters ‘There Was A Lot of Rejection’ — The Worried Writer
