Victoria Walters's Blog, page 31

Want to win a FREE eBook?

Well, of course you do!!

I’m going to give away a free iBooks download of my new story Random Acts Of Kindness Part One as soon as I reach 200 likes on my Facebook page.

To be in with a chance of winning, just hit like over HERE!

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Victoria

xoxo

Random Acts Of Kindness Challenge

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To mark publication day for Part One of my Random Acts Of Kindness series, my publishers Simon and Schuster set me a kindness challenge. I hit the streets of London with some goodie bags to try to spread some kindness on a rather gloomy Monday morning.

Check out the below video to see how I got on!

I would love to hear if you have any performed a random act of kindness in the comments below. And don’t forget to download your copy of the story HERE.

Victoria

xoxo

It’s Publication Day, Baby!

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Well, that came around quickly, didn’t it? I don’t think any writer ever enters publication day without a mixture of excitement and nerves, and I am no exception. It’s always scary to put your work “out there”, hoping that readers will enjoy it and like what you’ve created. It’s terrifying to look at your rankings and think about sales figures. And reading reviews is something to do when you have a large slice of cake on hand!

But it’s also a hugely proud moment to see something you’ve written out there for all to read. It’s always a dream come true each time it happens. I feel really lucky to have another story published and I really hope you all enjoy reading it. Please do pop up a review if you like what you read, and sharing the book online with your friends and family really helps to spread the word as well.

And if you have downloaded the story why not read along to the playlist I’ve created on Spotify:

Download Random Acts Of Kindness Part One for 99p HERE! 

Thanks, as ever, for all your support! 

Victoria

xoxo 

Books read in November 2017

Here are the books I read last month:

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So I managed four novels and one non-fiction book about kindness in November.

I have had Carry On my shelf for ages – I’ve enjoyed all Rainbow Rowell’s books and if you’ve read Fangirl, you’ll know that this book is extracted in that. It’s basically Harry Potter meets Twilight fan fiction, and is lots of fun. Dare To Fall is another YA book and is a contemporary romance that was an easy read.

You, Me, Everything is a moving women’s fiction novel about a mother and son trying to reconnect with his father on holiday in France but all three of them are keeping secrets from one another. Fans of Me Before You will want to check this one out for sure.

My non-fiction read was all about kindness. As my own kindness series is being published tomorrow, I’ve been buying all the books on Kindness that I can find. This has a list of ways to add kindness to your life and would make a cute stocking filler for family and friends.

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My pick this month is The Silent Companions. It’s a ghostly Victorian novel and is both creepy and compelling. It’s an interesting mixture of a ghost story and a study of mental health, and it reminded me of Susan Hill’s work with a sprinkle of Dickens. An enjoyable read for cold winter nights and it will keep you guessing until the end.

What did you enjoy reading in November?

Victoria

xoxo

Book Trailer

I’m so excited to share my first ever book trailer created by the talented team at my publishers Simon and Schuster:

What did you think? Let me know in the comments and any sharing of the video would be much appreciated! I can’t believe the book is out in just over a week!

Victoria

xoxo 

Cover Reveal

I’m so excited to share the gorgeous cover for part one of my forthcoming Random Acts Of Kindness series with you. I think it perfectly captures the feel of the story and I can’t stop looking at it!

So ta-da here it is!! …

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What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments!

And here’s what the story is all about …

An emotional, cosy, community read that will reaffirm your faith in human kindness; perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Penny Parkes and Jo Thomas.

Welcome to Littlewood, a small town community with a big heart. Abbie has fled London and the humiliation of not being able to make rent after being made redundant. Louise, seriously unlucky in love, has thrown herself into her career at the local hospital. And Eszter, who has travelled from Hungary with her daughter, Zoe, hopes to reach out to the mother-in-law she never met while her husband was still alive…

Can a little bit of kindness really change your life? Three very different women are about to find out!

And you can pre-order part one for 99p now!

http://amzn.to/2ivgEL2

Victoria

xoxo

An Act Of Kindness

When I started to write my Random Acts Of Kindness serial, I looked at a lot of Kindness stories online, and each one always warmed my heart but it’s often easier to remember the times when the human race is less kind. When you look back on your day, it’s often the frustrations that stick out. The person who pushed past you on the train, someone who hit you with their bag, someone who jumped the queue, or a nasty comment online. It’s not often that you sit back and reflect on a moment of kindness, which is a real shame.

I wanted my kindness story not to be a list of Acts Of Kindness but a story about how being kind can make your life better. Kindness is good for us, as well as others. Being kind makes you feel better as well as the person you’re being kind to. 

At the start of the story, a woman loses her handbag but it is given back to her by a stranger. This act makes the three main characters think about how to add more kindness into their lives, and brings them together.

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Yesterday, my book became real when I experienced this exact same act of kindness. In a twist of fiction becoming reality, I dropped by handbag in Primark (I think it slipped off my leather jacket) and I experienced that sudden panic you get when you lose something. I ran around the shop to try to find it, spoke to staff and security, and decided it had been stolen. 

Then one of the shop assistants appeared at the top of the escalator holding my bag, having seen me drop it, and had been trying to find me in the store. What a huge feeling of relief! I even hugged her, I was so grateful. 

As I left the shop, and could calm down, I realised I had experienced the same act of kindness as my main character. Kindness really is everywhere if you just open your eyes to it. I hope the universe sends my kind stranger something good, and I hope I get to pay her act of kindness forward to someone else soon.

And now maybe I’ll get to meet an eligible, good-looking Lord just like my main character does . . .!

You can pre-order Random Acts Of Kindness here:

http://amzn.to/2ivgEL2

Victoria

xoxo 

Books read in October 2017

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Last month I read three novels alongside a biography and another Danish lifestyle book. I really enjoyed all the books – Little Fires Everywhere is a compelling story of family secrets, True Love is a cute romance with lots of loving nods to Jane Austen, and Lykke is an interesting analysis of happiness.

The two books that stood out the most to me though were The Little Big Things and Turtles All The Way Down. 

The Little Big Things, is the true story of Henry Fraser who was paralysed from the shoulders down and his journey to accept what happened. His story is so inspiring, he’s so positive and grateful, and his mouth paintings are amazing. I would definitely recommend checking it out. 

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My book of the month is John Green’s Turtles All The Way Down. I raced through the story of Aza and it has all that you expect from a John Green book with its metaphors, teens who speak like philosophers, discussions about the meaning of life and a bittersweet ending. It’s not perfect – the plot stand of a missing billionaire didn’t quite work for me, and it’s impossible not to compare it to the gorgeous Fault In Our Stars but I really enjoyed it, and I’m pleased we finally got a new book from the author. Following a huge bestseller is no easy task and I think he did a great job.

What did you read in October?

Victoria

xoxo 

How to Write a Serial

For the first time, this autumn I have been working on a four-part serial called Random Acts Of Kindness. Each part of the story will be released as eBooks, starting on 4 December. 

This has been a whole new writing experience for me. Ever since I started writing, I have written a complete story from beginning to end and then edited it. But with this series, my deadlines are really tight so I have to write each part (25,000 words each) in a month. 

Writing a serial means I have to plan my story more than I’ve ever done in the past. I’m usually rubbish at planning. I have a premise, I have a setting and characters, a vague idea of where I want the story to go but writing the chapters usually happens freely with no plotting in advance. For this series I couldn’t do that. My deadlines meant I needed to have a much better idea of how the story was going to play out. I had to write a dreaded synopsis! 

The first part of the series will be published before I finish writing the final part so I can’t suddenly add in a new plot line or character because the story has already been started. This is quite nerve wracking as I worry I will suddenly get a good idea I can’t use but hopefully because of my planning I won’t run into this as I already know what’s going to happen. 

I’m halfway through writing the serial and I’m really enjoying the story. Having tight deadlines means I have to sit at the laptop and get those chapters down even on the days when I feel like procrastinating. What’s exciting is that with an eBook series, everything moves faster. With a traditional deal, you might have to edit a year or even two for your book to be published but in December, you will be able to start reading Random Acts Of Kindness. Plus I get to have four release days, four covers and feedback from readers as I go along. 

I suppose you could say it’s a novel split into four but, as with a TV drama, you want each part to have its own beginning, middle and end with a hook to encourage everyone to download the next part. With a novel, I’ve always included twists so it isn’t been a huge departure but I’ve had to think more carefully about where my twists need to be. 

The cover reveal for part one is coming soon but in the meantime we have put up holding covers to give you a hint of what it will look like and so you can pre-order them and they wil magically appear on your Kindle on release day. 

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I love how they are colourful, warm, summery and cosy, which is exactly how I hope the series will feel too. I can’t wait to share the town of Littlewood and it’s inhabitants with you as well as sprinkle some kindness into your lives!

Random Acts Of Kindness 

http://amzn.to/2ivgEL2

An emotional, cosy, community read that will reaffirm your faith in human kindness; perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Penny Parkes and Jo Thomas. 

Welcome to Littlewood, a small town community with a big heart. Abbie has fled London and the humiliation of not being able to make rent after being made redundant. Louise, seriously unlucky in love, has thrown herself into her career at the local hospital. And Eszter, who has travelled from Hungary with her daughter, Zoe, hopes to reach out to the mother-in-law she never met while her husband was still alive…

Can a little bit of kindness really change your life? Three very different women are about to find out…

Victoria 

xoxo 

Books read in August & September 2017

I completely missed writing a books of the month post for August so I’m going to do two months together! Here are the books I read over August and September:

  

I definitely didn’t read as much over the past two months as I’ve been working hard on my book series, the deadlines are very tight so reading has taken a bit of a back seat. Two of the books I read were non-fiction – one on kindness and one on Lagom, and the rest were novels including two I’ve been meaning to read for years and which were my favourites of the bunch!

  

My books of the month for August and September were Murder On The Orient Express and We Have Always Lived In The Castle.

I haven’t read much Agatha Christie and I had never seen an adaptation of this one so luckily had no plot spoilers. It was an easy and gripping read and I definitely didn’t see the ending coming!

The Shirley Jackson novel is an unusual one. It’s about two sisters who live in their house with their sick uncle and are despised by the people in the village. The rest of the family died a few years ago from poisoning. It’s a creepy tale written in a wonderful voice by one of the sisters and I couldn’t put it down once I started it.

What books have you loved lately?

Victoria

xoxo