Novelicious.com | The Women's Fiction Blog for Readers and Writers

Five Beautiful Sets of Book Inspired Earrings

We've brought you lovely bookish necklaces, t-shirts, and bracelets, but this week we're shining the spotlight on earrings. Yes, ear lobes need literary adornment, too, and the following five sets all deserve centre stage. Or at least a bit part in your jewellery box.

1. Vintage-style pen nib earrings from Bookish with silver-plated hooks. These look like Victorian pen nibs, but are actually made from vinyl (which, presumably, will be nice and light for comfortable use). The earrings are supplied in a gift box and cost £18.

2. These dinky earrings are pefect for the writer in your life - one earring reads 'Chapter One', and the other 'The End'. Made in England by Jezebel Charms, the earrings feature a magnifying glass cabochon set into a brass setting. The shop stocks a wide variety of literary earrings in this style, including a Shakespeare (Macbeth) themed pair – one earring reads 'By the pricking of my thumbs' and the other 'something wicked this way comes'. £19 from Jezebel Charms.

My Book Deal Moment - Giovanna Fletcher

One Wednesday morning last April I was sat in a Starbucks in Fulham, waiting for my friend to arrive so that we could go to Phillipa Lepley for the ever so exciting task of having a wedding dress fitting (my penultimate one before the big day). I was early, as always, so was slowly sipping on a Hazelnut Soya Latte whilst thinking over the events of the previous day - myself and my agent Hannah had been in to meet Claire Pelly at Penguin’s Michael Joseph. It was a wonderful meeting, not only because she provided us with the most amazing cupcakes, but because she also seemed to love Billy and Me as much as I did. Yes, she talked about making a few adjustments here and there, however there was nothing that alarmed me too much. It was an extremely positive chat. When we left she said she’d be in touch...

Now, I’m an actress, I’m used to going in and auditioning for people and being fed that line and, without fail, I’m sat looking at my phone for the next twenty-four hours, willing it to ring. 

So, there I was sat in Starbucks staring at my phone, when it blooming well rang! It was my agent Hannah telling me that Claire had been in touch and was offering me a two book deal. As she was telling me the specifics I zoned out slightly; even though I knew the meeting had gone well, I was in disbelief. My book - the one I’d slogged away at for months and months -was going to be published! How on earth had I managed that? I phoned my now husband straightaway with the news, grinning down the phone as he cheered with joy. 

I can remember having a moment an hour later as I was stood in my wedding dress mid fitting. Looking at myself in the mirror and realising that, not only was I about to get married to my best friend, but I’d managed to bag myself a book deal. I was going to be a blooming author! Even now, over a year later, I struggle with that concept. It’s still not sunk in. 

Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher is out now.

Ask the Author with Pippa Wright – What’s the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to you as an author?

We’re chuffed that for the month of May Pippa Wright is here at Novelicious as our author in residence. Each Friday she will be answering a question about her life as a writer.

This week a Novelicious reader asks: 

What’s the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to you as an author?

Pippa says: This is a really good question, I liked thinking about it. The best thing is easy. I was camping in a field after a friend’s party in Norfolk last summer when my phone buzzed very early on a Sunday morning. It was my editor saying, ‘Have you seen Unsuitable Men is in the Kindle top ten?’ I was a bit hungover and extremely confused, and even more so when I saw that the book was selling for 20p. I was also quite amused to discover my editor checked the Amazon rankings first thing on a Sunday; that’s dedication. It turned out that Amazon and Sony had put the book in a promotion completely unexpectedly, and it was selling like mad. Unsuitable Men stayed in the Kindle top ten for weeks. At the time I was covering a maternity leave at HarperCollins and people kept stopping me in the canteen to ask if I was the same Pippa Wright who was an Amazon bestseller. It was all quite surreal. There was a lot of luck to it – the promotion was entirely out of my hands and my publishers’, but also Macmillan had done a really good job on positioning and marketing the book, and I was very happy to see that pay off for all of us.

I have very conflicting thoughts on selling books for 20p – I do think it devalues them, and I’m not sure people should expect to pay so little for a book. You can’t even buy a bar of chocolate for 20p!

Review – The Secret of Happy Ever After by Lucy Dillon

Reviewed by Cressida McLaughlin

When Michelle arrives in the cosy town of Longhampton after the breakup of her marriage, she isn’t thinking about much more than getting herself back on her feet, trying to banish the past and starting up her new business, interiors shop Home Sweet Home. She hadn’t banked on meeting Pongo – the disobedient but loveable Dalmatian, and his owner Anna, in the dog-friendly café. Michelle isn’t necessarily keen on letting anyone into her life, but is unable to resist the friendliness – or forlornness – of Anna, and the two bond over an apology and a piece of carrot cake.

Three years later the two are firm friends, Michelle’s business is going from strength to strength, and Anna is dealing with three stepdaughters who see her as a live-in helper, and losing her job at the local library. When the owner of the cavernous, dishevelled bookshop next door to Home Sweet Home has to give up his business due to illness, Michelle sees the perfect expansion opportunity. However, when she goes to discuss taking over the lease with Mr Quentin’s solicitor Rory, she discovers that things aren’t as straightforward as she hopes. Forced to rethink her plans, she comes up with a solution that will help her business plans, and it involves Anna. What she isn’t banking on is how the changes will affect her personal life as well as her professional one.

Win! 5 copies of Going Back by Rachael English to give away!

Rachael English is a well known Irish broadcaster and writer, and is currently a presenter on the radio show, Morning Ireland. Going Back is her first novel and was inspired by her own experiences of visiting Boston as a student in 1988. We've got five brand new copies of the book to give away to our readers!

In the summer of 1988, Elizabeth Kelly and her friends leave recession-hit Ireland for a summer of adventure and opportunity in Boston. The next four months change all of them, especially Elizabeth. Quiet and dutiful at home, she surprises herself and everyone else by falling for Danny Esposito, a restless charmer with a troublesome family.

Review - Time Untime by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce

Geologist Kateri Avani has heard many stories of mythical beings and demons from her grandmother, but she’s never really believed in any of them until they turn up at her office demanding to be given a stone she knows nothing about. She has many stones, but this particular stone has magical powers that will prevent the gates to other realms from opening and unleashing all sorts of evil upon Earth.

Ren is a Dark Hunter, brought back to life to protect the human world from demons. For years, Ren has had dreams about a beautiful woman who stabs him through the heart, killing him and banishing him to eternal agony in hell. When Ren is tasked with protecting Kateri and the stone, he realises she is the woman from his dreams. Kateri has also had dreams of being killed by a gorgeous man, a huge warrior who turns out to be Ren. So when they are forced to stick together to survive, they must be on guard to protect themselves.

Time Untime is a fast-paced adventure with gods and demons battling against one another but, for me, there was far too much going on. There are so many myths and legends, a lot of which left me confused, and I’m sure if it had slowed down a little and explained further I would have enjoyed the book much more. I wasn’t even clear who or what Ren was until half way through the book, when it was explained what Dark Hunters are and their duties.

Novelicious Chats To... Lucy Clarke

Lucy Clarke's debut novel, The Sea Sisters has been selected as a Richard & Judy 2013 Summer Book Club read and explores the strongest, and often most fraught, family relationship a woman will ever have, that of sisterhood. Here's our recent review.

Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?

I’m a morning person, so I set my alarm early and am usually at my desk by 6.30 am. I’m hopeless by evening – it’s as if my creativity fades with the day. I generally write Mondays to Fridays so that I have evenings and weekends free to spend with friends and family who have ‘proper jobs’!

I prefer to write by hand – there’s something about the simplicity of a pencil and a blank page that appeals to the romantic in me. I love to write to music, too. There are certain albums I play to help me step into a character’s mindset, or to inspire a particular atmosphere in a scene.

I only have one rule when I’m writing: get outside every day. Fresh air is good for the soul, and great for the imagination.

When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration?

I don’t tend to use celebrities for inspiration, but people I have met certainly influence my characters. I’m very careful not to ‘lift’ the personalities of friends or family members onto the page, but I will use smaller details, such as a shared anecdote, the way someone applies lipstick, the sound of a friend’s laughter.

What is your favourite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?

This is such a hard question because I love SO many women’s fiction books! One of my all-time favourite writers is Anita Shreve, and I absolutely adored her novel Body Surfing. Her prose is very lean and poetic, and has a simplicity to it that I deeply admire.