Category: writing

Blog tour, stages 13 and 14: guest post at Anne Bonny Book Reviews, and review at Odd Socks and Lollipops

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ASITW blog tour individual 17 May

It’s the penultimate day of the blog tour! Today I’ve taken A Spoke in the Wheel to Anne Bonny Book Reviews, where I’ve got a guest post on the subject of writing about disability.

And there’s a review at Odd Socks and Lollipops, where Jenni says,

Polly really made the novel for me, and the way in which she is written is so perfect. As a person who suffers with a chronic illness I could so relate to Polly and her experiences. It was so wonderful to see a disabled character written in the story and not have their narrative be there as a prop or so that they could be miraculously fixed. Instead Kathleen has created a wonderfully well developed character who highlighted both to Ben and the reader then challenge that every day life is for some.

You can read the whole review here.

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Blog tour, stage 10 and 11: a night in with Linda, and review from A Cornish Geek

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ASITW blog tour individual 14 May

There are two stages on the blog tour today. First of all, take a look at Linda’s Book Bag and stay in with us – we’ve got cake!

Staying in with Kathleen Jowitt

And then head on down to Cornwall, where Emma has reviewed A Spoke in the Wheel at A Cornish Geek. She says,

When I received the PR for this book I was intrigued and drawn to the idea of second chances and redemption. Once I got stuck into the book, however, it was a different theme which kept me hooked: that of having your whole life mapped out and having it all taken away.

Read the review here.

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Blog tour, stage 8: review at Reflections of a Reader

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ASITW blog tour individual 11 May

Stage 8 of the blog tour for A Spoke in the Wheel, this time at Reflections of a Reader, where Leah says,

I don’t particularly have much interest in cycling but something about the blurb for this one drew me in and I am so glad that it did. I read this book in a couple of sittings, it was addictive and written excellently.

You can read the whole review here.

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Blog tour, stage 6: review and guest post at Short Book and Scribes

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ASITW blog tour individual 9 May

Today the blog tour takes us to Short Book and Scribes, where you can find both a review of A Spoke in the Wheel and a guest post by me, talking about the difficulty of fitting particular books (particularly mine) into particular genres.

Nicola says,

… there isn’t that much actual cycling going on in this book, but it’s an excellent read about redemption and friendship.

I say,

I’ve never been able to pick a genre and stick with it. Sometimes I think the whole concept of genre is more trouble than it’s worth.

And you can read all of it here.

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Blog tour, stage 2-4

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ASITW blog tour individual 7 May

It’s a rest day on the Giro d’Italia. Not here! Today there are three stages on the blog tour. This might be a tad implausible for a cycle stage race – very occasionally, one finds a time trial and a standard stage on the same day, but I’ve never heard of any organisers brave enough to cram in three – or even for a physical book tour, but thanks to the wonders of the internet I can get around three very enjoyable blogs with no trouble at all.

Today you’ll be able to find me…

Stage 2

… over at Jera’s Jamboree talking with Shaz about the writing process for A Spoke in the Wheel, the research that I did, and how very grateful I am to my fabulous friends. You can read my Author Q and A here.

Stage 3

… at Trisarahtops blog, where Sarah has reviewed A Spoke in the Wheel.

Stage 4

… talking to Debbie at My Random Musings about my favourite books and when, where, and why I write. Here’s the Author Interview.

 

If you’re in the UK, I’d like to wish you a very pleasant bank holiday Monday, and to hope that the weather is as good where you are as it is here. I was going to go out on the Reach Ride, but my bike has a puncture and I’m neither organised enough to have a spare in the house, nor hardcore enough to ride 29 miles on a Brompton – which would have been the only alternative. Anyway, wherever you are in the world, I hope you have a lovely day!

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Grand Départ (we’re off!)

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bubbly

I’m back! I have been through eleven different countries, ridden on trains, trams, buses, and a ferry. I have been further north and further east than ever before in my life, and also higher up. I have had a fantastic time and I will write it up over the next couple of months.

While I’ve been away, the wheels have been turning (see what I did there?), and I’m now very happy to announce that A Spoke in the Wheel is now live.

Available from some reputable booksellers, and some less reputable ones too. I’ll leave you to decide which are which, while I contemplate my laundry and catch up on the Giro d’Italia.

And I’ve got a tour of my own – over the next couple of weeks A Spoke in the Wheel and I will be visiting several friendly book bloggers for reviews, guest posts, and extracts. Here’s what’s coming up…

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A Grand Tour

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If we’re talking cycling (and we probably are, aren’t we?) a Grand Tour is one of the three big ones: the Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta a España, or, of course, the Tour de France. Ben, the – hero? anti-hero? narrator, anyway – of A Spoke in the Wheel, never got quite good enough to ride one of those.

If, however, we’re talking travel, a Grand Tour is a circuit of Europe undertaken by the privileged youth of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before they had to settle down and be grown up, sometimes taking several years.

I couldn’t swing more than three weeks off work, but I am spending my Betty Trask prize money going InterRailing. When you read this, I’ll be somewhere between Brussels and Hamburg, assuming no undue disruption from the SNCF strike, of course. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home. (I am aware that I said this about the Camino Inglés. I’m still going to tell you all about that.)

And three weeks from now I’ll have a book to share with you, too. We’ll have a blog tour. A grand one.