The Upstairs Room by Kate Murray-Browne Blog Tour; The Books That Made Me

A gothic and chilling debut from Kate Murray-Browne about a young family; Eleanor, Richard and their two young daughters who have just moved into what should be their dream home in Litchfield Road. Stretched to the limit, the renovations have to wait and they decide to get a lodger in to rent the basement, so they can afford the repayments. Eleanor feels the strange atmosphere almost immediately and begins to suffer with chronic headaches and vomiting. Richard is also affected but he is channeling his unhappiness into a Masters Degree that he hopes will change his life, his career and help him find that spark that his current role as a solicitor doesn't give him. The lodger Zoe has quit her job to work in an art shop and left her long term boyfriend. She is hoping to write, or draw or something. She too is seeking change. The Upstairs Room is left empty. It's walls covered in scrawls and pictures from the little girl who lived there before. Eleanor asks the neighbours and they tell her there was an accident, something bad happened in that house. As Eleanor becomes increasingly ill and starts to see her older daughter's behaviour changing she knows she must do something. This is a dark and clever book which uses the tropes of the ghost story to examine the anxieties of three people worried about the cost of housing, about being trapped by marriage, by jobs, by reponsibilities. This book will be published by Picador on July 27th in e-book and hardback. Thanks to Don Shanahan for an e-ARC.

I asked the author to take part in my Books that Made Me Series and here are Kate's choices.


The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James – I first read this when I was seventeen, which is maybe why James’s young heroine ‘affronting her destiny’ appealed to me so much. But it stayed with me, and the ideas about choice, limitation and thwarted desire (not to mention the potential disaster of marriage proposals) all found their way into my first novel, The Upstairs Room.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters – I read this on holiday in Mallorca, basically the least spooky setting ever, and I was still terrified. I remember feeling very sad finishing it because I thought it was one of the best books I’d ever read, but there was no way I could read it again as it was so frightening. I have braved it since (during daylight hours) and found the evocation of the house and its inhabitants just as compelling and poignant, marvelling at how skilfully Waters manages the ambiguity of the haunting.

Things I Don’t Want to Know by Deborah Levy – there are lots of wonderful things about this autobiographical essay, but the thing that stands out for me is the way Levy writes about motherhood – I thought about it a lot when writing about Eleanor, one of my protagonist’s, experience of motherhood. I’m incredibly excited about the forthcoming sequel, The Cost of Living (and I half-wanted to steal the title for The Upstairs Room).

The Blog Tour continues see banner for details

What you Don't Know Blog tour

Joann Chaney's debut novel is a dark and addictive literary thriller which looks at the aftermath of a serial killer and the impact on those who survived. Three people are forever linked by their connection to Jacky Seever a notorious serial killer who was arrested and sentenced to death 7 years earlier after 33 bodies were found buried under his house. There's Paul Hoskins one of the officers who arrested Seever and exposed him as a killer but Hoskins has never been able to get Seever out of his head and it's impacted every part of his life, his marriage is over, his father is loosing his memory and he's been kicked out of the homicide unit to work in the basement on the cold cases. Sammie Peterson reported on the case when Seever was arrested, her name was splashed all over the papers alongside his, but seven years later she can't get a story accepted and she's working at a make up counter at the mall wondering where it all went wrong. Gloria Seever should have known her husband better than anyone. People are still convinced that she knew and she has to deal with being shouted at in the grocery store and washing graffiti off her house but still she tells herself she knew nothing. And then people connected to Seever start to turn up dead; brutally murdered in a strikingly similar way to Seever's original victims. Is the killer a copycat? a partner? or one of those closest to him?

There are shades of Gillian Flynn in this scalpel sharp tale of the dark underbelly of Midwesten life and in the lies the characters tell themselves. Chaney looks deep into the heart of each character and poses the question are there really such things as good and evil or do we carry the possibility of both inside us? This is a disturbing and unsettling book. If you are ready for a psychological thriller than offers real and chilling psychological insight this is it.

For an interview with the author and some insight into her inspiration and her writing days Follow the link below to JaffaReadsToo which was yesterday's stop on the blog tour. I am excited to see what Joann does next.

http://jaffareadstoo.blogspot.ie/2017/02/blog-tour-what-you-dont-know-by-joann.html

Before You Go Blog tour

I am delighted to be involved in the blog tour for Clare Swatman's debut novel Before You Go. This is the story of Zoe and Ed. Just a few pages into the book Ed is the victim of a traffic accident and Zoe is left alone and devastated. Before You Go is the story of how Zoe gets the chance to revisit all the significant moments of their lives; university, friendship, jealousy, travel and marriage and second time around Zoe tries to say and do all the things she wished she's said the first time. This is a cleverly structured book which delves back into the protagonists shared past and lets Zoe examine every step they took together or apart as she attempts to prevent fate from intervening. A perfect escapist read and ideal for fans of One Day, Me Before You or The Time Traveller's Wife.

I asked Clare some questions about her inspiration for the book and about writing in general. This is what she said. Clare also has some great writing advice especially for parents and TV watchers!



Q1. What was the inspiration for Before You Go?

Most of my ideas for anything I write come from real people and their real stories. I spent many years working as a journalist on real life magazines and have interviewed lots of people over that time and honestly, people's real stories are far more amazing, heartbreaking and fascinating than anything you could make up! The idea for Before You Go was sparked from a story I read many years ago about a woman who had an accident and hit her head and when she woke up she had forgotten the last 20 years of her life and thought she was still 17. She didn't know who her husband and kids were. Although my story ended up being very different to this, it was the spark to make me think about what it would be like to wake up and be your younger self again. Before You Go grew from that seed. 

Q2. Who are your favourite authors? Tell us about your favourite books?

There are so many but if I had to narrow it down I'd say Margaret Atwood, Maggie O'Farrell, Kate Atkinson and JK Rowling- writing as herself and as Robert Galbraith. They all have different styles of writing and write very different kinds of books, but they're all masters at plotting, characterisation and words. You won't be surprised to hear that most of my favourite books feature some by them! Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood- I haven't read it for a long time but it's always stuck with me. I also adore everything Maggie O'Farrell has ever written but if I had to choose I'd say The Hand That First Held Mine or Instructions for a Heatwave which are both very different. I adored The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenagger and also Before I go to Sleep by SJ Watson. Pride and Prejudice is my go-to classic, although Wuthering Heights comes a close second. 

Q3. What is your writing routine?

It depends on what part of the process I'm at. If I'm deep in the middle of the first draft then I'll try and get to my desk straight after dropping the kids to school and stay there until pick-up at 3pm.  I start by getting emails, facebook, twitter and online shopping out of the way and then I try and stay away for the duration. (I don't always manage it!) I start by reading over what I wrote the day before and then try and write a minimum of 1000 words. It's usually more but sometimes it can be a struggle. If I'm editing it's fairly similar, but when I researching  or plotting or writing characters, there's a lot more staring into space and brow-furrowing.

Q4. Has writing the book changed your perspective on spending time with loved ones?

Yes to some extent, although I've always been very aware that you need to make the most of every day because you don't know what the future holds. I think it starts to come home to you more when you have children and as you start to get older. I make sure I always give mu children a kiss and cuddle before they go to bed or in to school, just in case and I'd never let my husband go to work on an argument. Like Zoe you wouldn't want angry words to be the last ones you heard would you?

Q5. Any advice for aspiring writers? Tell us a bit about your journey to publication. 

Make sure you ring fence some writing time and stick to it. It has to be a time when you know you WILL actually write though. I was freelance and stopped taking on  any extra work so I could put Thursdays aside to work on Before You Go. It was a financial hit, especially as I was paying for childcare at the time, but i knew I'd stick to it that way. It's no good saying you'll work on your novel every evening, if you're like me and you just want to sit and watch TV. Your precious novel will become a chore and just not get written. So be realistic. 

My journey to publication was great. I never actually thought anyone would want to read this book I'd written, but after a writer friend read it and encouraged me, i sent it out to some agents. It was less than a week afterwards that Judith Murray from Greene and Heaton agreed to represent me. I was beyond thrilled, and went away and made the changes  to the manuscript that we'd discussed . That was in August 2015 and by October it was ready to send out to publishers. In the end I had two publishers interested in the book but I went with the wonderful Pan Macmillan who offered me a two book deal. Since then it's all been gearing up to the release of Before You Go and I've been learning how it all works. To keep my mind off it I've also been writing book two and I'm currently deep into the editing stage which I love. You just need to have faith in yourself and not be afraid to put yourself out there. It's scary but it pays off. So worth it. 

Thanks Clare.

Before You Go is available in hardback and trade paperback from 9th February.

The blog continues next week (details below) with stops at Jaffa Reads Too, Random Things through my letter box  and Shaz's Book Blog, all great blogs you should check out. 

Thanks to Jess Duffy at Pan Macmillan for a copy of the book.

Upcoming Blog Tour

I'm delighted to be taking part in the Blog tour for The Silk Weaver by Liz Trenow, thanks to her publishers Pan Macmillan. My review will be live on Sunday 22nd January along with some comments from Liz herself on her research and inspiration. You can check out the rest of the blog tour online through the sites listed below. The Silk Weaver is published next Thursday 26th January.

The Constant Queen by Joanna Courtney

The Constant Queen is the second in Joanna Courtney's series which examines historical events leading up to the Norman conquest of 1066. This follows The Chosen Queen which I reviewed last year. You can read that review here. The Constant Queen does not follow directly from the previous book in the trilogy because each book tells the story of a different Queen, so they each feature different characters and though the historical events have an impact on each Queen in the series there is no interaction between them. Therefore they can be read in any order. The Constant Queen is Elizaveta who was born into royalty as a Princess of the Rus, growing up with her many brothers and sisters at Kiev. 

This is the story of a fierce and lifelong romance between Elizaveta and  Harald of Norway who comes to be known as Harald Hardrada. Exiled from his own land Harald at first fought for Elizaveta's father and then went on to seek riches and glory in Constantinople before escaping imprisonment to return to Kiev and claim her hand. Travelling victoriously to Norway Harald is able to regain the throne but Elizaveta must contend with Harald's first love and handfasted wife Tora. 

This book is different in many ways from Joanna Courtney's previous novel because there is a greater emphasis on the detail of Elizaveta's domestic life and her frustration at being kept in the dark about events and being kept waiting. Because of this I felt the pace of the book sagged a little in the middle, However once Tora and Elizaveta come to a tacit truce the pace picks up again particularly as Harald prepares to invade England. 

Harald is often called the last of the great Vikings and there is certainly a great deal of detail about Viking life; both domestic and military and overall the book makes for a fascinating read. 

If you are a fan of Carol McGrath or Tracey Warr then you will enjoy this book.

Thanks so much Jess Duffy at Pan Macmillan for a copy of the book. The Constant Queen is out now in paperback. 

Sorcerer To the Crown by Zen Cho

Sorcerer to the Crown is the debut novel from Malaysian born and London based author Zen Cho and is a must for fans of Susanna Clarke and Jane Austen blending as it does elements of regency romance and urban fantasy. Zacharias Wythe was freed from slavery and adopted by Sir Stephen Wythe and raised as a gentleman magician. Now with Sir Stephen’s untimely death clouded with suspicion many in the society of Unnatural Philosophers are working against Zacharias to oppose his appointment as Sorcerer Royal believing that his dark skin makes him unworthy to lead them. Meanwhile Prunella Gentleman is a talented sorceress desperate to practise her gift and break out of the confines of the school for Gentlewitches where she has grown up not quite a servant not quite a lady, her dark skin and uncertain parentage ensuring she doesn’t belong anywhere. Well aware of the rules of society Prunella is determined to use them and break them to suit her own ends and when she makes a magical discovery that could make her fortune she uses the visit of the Sorcerer Royal as an opportunity to escape. Zen Cho has assembled a large cast of characters with this book, the first of a planned trilogy and the action is fun and furious. The plot may seem light-hearted but the themes Cho deals with; racism, sexism, class divisions, imperialism, slavery, are dealt with in a clever and candid way. Thoroughly enjoyable. 

Available in hardback and trade paperback now from Pan Books the paperback is published in July.

This review originally appeared on We Love This Book check it out HERE

The Bones of You by Debbie Howells

The Bones of You is a powerful and page turning debut reminiscent of the Lovely Bones. Rosie Anderson is a quiet and studious young girl so when she goes missing the community pull together but when her body is found and it is revealed that she was in fact murdered, the small village the Anderson’s live in is shocked and afraid. Her father is a well known TV reporter her mother a glamorous yummy mummy and the family’s home life seems picture perfect. Local gardener Kate is a good friend of the family and with a daughter Rosie’s age her heart aches for the Andersons but as she becomes entangled in their grief and the murder investigation the perfect façade begins to crack. Narrated through Kate, Rosie and her younger sister Delphine this is a portrait of shattered lives of everyday cruelty and of the horror that hides behind closed doors. Set in the heart of middle England this is a tale that gradually peels away the layers cleverly exposing the imperfections underneath. Undoubtedly Howells is a major new talent and this cracking literary thriller will appeal to fans of Paula Daly and Clare Mackintosh.

This review originally appeared on the Bookseller review website, We Love This Book, you can see the original HERE

The Chosen Queen by Joanna Courtney Blog Tour

I am delighted to be involved in the Blog Tour for the first book in an exciting new Historical Fiction Trilogy. 

The Queens of the Conquest trilogy1066. Three Queens. One Crown.
As a young woman in England's royal court, Edyth, granddaughter of Lady Godiva, dreams of marrying for love. But political matches are rife while King Edward is still without an heir and the future of England is uncertain.

When Edyth's family are exiled to the wild Welsh court, she falls in love with the charismatic King of Wales - but their romance comes at a price and she is catapulted onto the opposing side of a bitter feud with England. Edyth's only allies are Earl Harold Godwinson and his handfasted wife, Lady Svana.

As the years pass, Edyth finds herself elevated to a position beyond even her greatest expectations. She enjoys both power and wealth but as her star rises the lines of love and duty become more blurred than she could ever have imagined. As 1066 dawns, Edyth is asked to make an impossible choice.

Her decision is one that has the power to change the future of England forever . . .

The Chosen Queen is the perfect blend of history, fast-paced plot and sweeping romance with a cast of strong female characters - an unforgettable read.

Review

Joanna Courtney has blended history and powerful storytelling to create an outstanding opening to this new series set to rival historical fiction heavyweights like Philippa Gregory and Susanna Dunn. The series is set in the lead up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 and the first book is the tale of Edyth daughter of the Earl of Mercia who through her two marriages was firstly Queen of Wales and then Queen of England.

Edyth is a fantastic protagonist, from the merest hints that survive in historical record Joanna Courtney has fleshed out an outstandingly vivid and human character. Wrapping a story of love, friendship, politics, war and power around the bones of history is no mean feat but Joanna Courtney has really pulled it off. The book opens with Edyth as a young girl just beginning to understand the politics of life at court and between men and women when suddenly her life is transformed; her father is out of favour with the King and the family are banished. They seek refuge at The Welsh Court were everything from the language to the table manners seem wild and strange, nevertheless Edyth feels a freedom in Wales and before long the land and it's King have captured her heart. Marrying the King of Wales makes Edyth a powerful figure but an isolated one and when the Welsh make one raid too many against the English, Edyth finds herself on the opposite side to her own family as the two countries prepare for war. Edyth is an incredibly likeable character and her lifelong friendship with Svana the handfasted wife of Harold Earl of Wessex is wonderfully drawn. I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you are a fan of Anne O'Brien, Philippa Gregory or the late Ariana Franklin then meet your new favourite author. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and immersing myself in Joanna Courtney's wonderful storytelling once more.

Huge thanks to Natasha Harding at Macmillan for sending this book to me and asking me to be part of the blog tour.

Learn more about the author on her gorgeous website http://www.joannacourtney.com/ or connect with her on twitter at @joannacourtney1

The Edge of Dark by Pamela Hartshorne

The Edge of Dark is the first Pamela Hartshorne novel I've read but it certainly won't be the last. This is a time slip novel, a genre that I adore. The two protagonists are Jane a butcher's daughter who makes an advantageous marriage in Sixteenth Century York and Rosalind newly appointed events director at Holmwood House. It is the restored Elizabethan townhouse in Micklegate that connects the two women. The echoes of the past are brought to life by the work being done in the house. As the house begins to look as it did in Elizabethan times and the staff are encouraged to dress as Elizabethans for the grand opening so the restless spirits of Jane and her family begin to overpower Roz and her colleagues. The time shifts between the two characters are expertly done leaving the reader dying to know more about both time lines and with both stories coming to dramatic climaxes. This is a fantastic page turner, filled with twists and turns and a great cast of characters. It is at times thrillingly dark as the title suggests and I can't wait to read the author's previous books. This novel will be perfect for fans of Tudor fiction such as Philippa Gregory and of course fans of time slip fiction such as that of Barbara Erskine.

Thank you to Louise Buckley of Pan MacMillan for a review copy of the book.