Alba in bookland

Today I am delighted to welcome author Jackie Kabler to the blog. Jackie is about to publish her debut novel The Dead Dog Day. To celebrate her upcoming publication day, Jackie has stopped by to share a bit how a big part of her writing process goes. The Dead Dog Day is out the 22nd, so don't miss it! Jackie, all yours:

The art of note-making

When I started writing my debut novel, The Dead Dog Day, I was very rigid about how and where I did my plotting and planning. It was always at my desk at home, on my laptop. But as time has passed, I find that plot ideas come to me in the strangest of places, and if I don't write them down immediately, they can often disappear, never to return.

Hence, I've now got lots of ways of making sure I never forget a useful idea. I live in Gloucestershire and work in London, which means around a two and a half hour drive each way. Imagine how one's mind can wander during those long hours in the car! But obviously, I can't make physical notes when driving, and the voice memo feature on my phone involves lots of fiddling about which isn't safe when you're behind the wheel. So, last Christmas when a friend asked me what gift I wanted, to her surprise I asked for an old fashioned dictaphone. It now sits in the cup holder of my car, within easy reach. One press of a button and I can easily dictate whole pages if I want to - it's brilliant!

I do a lot of running and power walking and that's another time when ideas often pop into my head. Being outdoors, on my own, in beautiful surroundings (I often pound along the towpath of the Gloucester-Sharpness canal, which is just gorgeous and near where I live), means my mind is free to roam, and I'm often surprised at how much "writing" I can get done. But again, it's not practical to bring pen and paper, so this time it's the notepad on my mobile phone. Every now and again I'll stop for a breather and tap a few ideas in. When I get home, the first thing I do is copy the notes onto my laptop. I don't have much spare time so it's great to feel that I've done my workout and some work at the same time!

The same thing often happens when I'm out shopping, or even on a night out. Somebody will say something, or I'll see something happening across the room, and it will spark an idea. For example, I was once in an Indian restaurant and couldn't help overhearing the conversation on the table next to me, where it soon became clear that the two people chatting were police officers, rather indiscreetly discussing a current court case! Some very interesting notes were made that night...

I've even been known to grab a pen and scribble notes on my hand or arm, in desperation! This has happened once or twice when I'm on air (I'm a television presenter on QVC), so if you're ever watching me on TV and wonder what on earth that writing is on my arm, now you know.

It's very early days as an author for me, but I suppose one thing I've learned is that you're never off duty. As a writer, inspiration can strike at the strangest and most inconvenient times. And when it does, you'd better be ready.

About the Author:

Jackie Kabler worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for twenty years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta Sports News and worked as a media trainer for the Armed Forces. She is now a presenter on shopping channel QVC and her first novel, The Dead Dog Day, is now available for pre-order on Amazon ahead of its release on 22nd October.

Get The Dead Dog Day on Amazon UK

Find Jackie on Facebook -

www.facebook.com/jackiekablerauthor

And on Twitter - @jackiekabler

And on her website - www.jackiekabler.com

Welcome to Bookish Recipes, a feature on the blog where I cook or bake a recipe from a book I have loved and share the result with you. This week's recipe is inspired by the book Appleby Farm by Cathy Bramley. Appleby Farm is a great read that has a really positive vibe around it. I was grinning non-stop during the whole book and it left me with a content heart.

Cathy has the ability to create such homely and stunning surroundings that they just make you feel part of the story. Plus, at the end of the book, there are some fantastic recipes related to the story! I can't wait to try them all as they all soon amazing but I decided to start with the basics and follow Cathy's recipe for Scrumptious Scones:

1) Preheat oven to 220º. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the salt. Cut the butter in cubes and add to the bowl. Rub the butter into the flour to make crumbs, lifting the mixture as you go to aerate it. Add the sugar.

2) Add the milk to the buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk so what I did was add a bit of lemon juice to 125 ml of milk and let it rest for a bit). Make a crater in the center of the mixture and add almost all the milk mixture. With a spatula gently work the milk into the mixture to form a soft dough. Add the rest of the milk if needed. Don't overwork the dough or you'll end up with hard scones.

3) Place the dough on a slightly floured surface and press it down with the palm of your hand to a thickness of 2,5 cm. Dip a 5,5 cm cutter and cut out the scones by pressing firmly into the dough and not twisting (I actually didn't read that well and twisted, but it worked out well... so up to yourself). Gather the leftovers, pat them out again and cut out as many scones as you can (I was able to make 9 but a couple were considerably smaller than the rest).

4) Arrange them on a baking tray and sift a little flour over the tops. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden (I ended up leaving them for 15 minutes).

5) Allow to cool on a wire rack and serve them with clotted cream and jam (I'm actually not a big fan of cream so I went for butter for mine). There were really good! This is a recipe I will be repeating for sure!

About the Book:

Title: Appleby FarmAuthor: Cathy Bramley
Published: August 13th by Corgi
Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: Freya Moorcroft has wild red hair, mischievous green eyes, a warm smile and a heart of gold. She’s been happy working at the café round the corner from Ivy Lane allotments and her romance with her new boyfriend is going well, she thinks, but a part of her still misses the beautiful rolling hills of her Cumbrian childhood home: Appleby Farm.

Then a phone call out of the blue and a desperate plea for help change everything…

The farm is in financial trouble, and it’s taking its toll on the aunt and uncle who raised Freya. Heading home to lend a hand, Freya quickly learns that things are worse than she first thought. As she summons up all her creativity and determination to turn things around, Freya is surprised as her own dreams for the future begin to take shape.

Love makes the world go round, according to Freya. Not money. But will saving Appleby Farm and following her heart come at a price?

Title: After You (Me Before You #2)
Author: Jojo Moyes
Published: September 24th 2015 by Penguin
Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future...

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: I think I've never been so excited and afraid at the same time for the release of a sequel. Me Before You is one of my all time favourite reads and even after finishing it a couple of years ago I remember it as if I had finished it just yesterday. So when Jojo Moyes announced she was writing a sequel I was over the moon but at the same time I couldn't not think what if it doesn't live up my really high expectations?

So to go straight to the point, is After You as good as Me Before You? For me the answer is no. But just because Me Before You is out of this world good and such a unique and powerful story that it stays with you forever. But I have to say that After You is a great book and a worthy sequel. I promised myself I wouldn't cry like a baby with this one. I think I lasted ten pages. As soon as you go back to Louisa's world, everything goes back to you and the emotions are too much.

I soon realised that just as Louisa, I was still mourning Will. I think we all needed this book to be able to accept his death and move on too. As the beginning of the story, Will's presence was still really strong and alive and I just couldn't stop my tears just thinking about it all. I could feel Lou's pain. But as the story progresses and new characters appear, little by little you feel how Will's presence starts to fade away and it becomes Lou's story.

It was difficult not to compare the new characters with Will, especially Lou's new love interest, basically because if you compare them, they are going to fail miserably against Will, he had a charisma and a personality so unique and his connection with Lou was just extraordinary. But, little by little I starting liking and even loving these new characters, especially a young girl who was a bit lost and needed someone to love her unconditionally. And soon I found myself so immersed in the story that hours would pass without me even realising.

I am giving After You five stars because on its own it is an extraordinary story about moving on and finding who you want to be but also because it worked as a sequel. It probably won't be my book of the year but I will hold it close to my heart. And I'm sure that Me Before You fans will not be disappointed with Lou's after Will life.

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