Ellipsis

1Q84 - The Verdict

2012-01-29T12:36:00.007Z

I had heard a lot of things about 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami before I read it. I am a massive fan, along with millions of others, so I was eager to see his new work. Due to living abroad, I patiently waited until Christmas and was given parts 1 and 2 as a present. I then bought book 3 as soon as I finished parts 1 and 2. In the end, I think this is what helped me...Had I rushed out and bought the

Sons and Fascination (book review)

2012-01-07T20:27:00.002Z

Sons and Fascination by Gurdeep Mattu'A good debut novel and a love letter to London'3.5/5This London based novel is a great read by a fresh new voice. It doesn't take long to read as it's more like a novella and it is quite dialogue driven. The main chracter, Jack can be a little bit hopeless, but this seems to be his personality more than anything else. The other characters were a little more

Jan 2012 update

2012-01-07T20:18:00.004Z

Hi all,Happy New Year! Can't believe it's 2012 already. I am really looking forward to the Olympics and seeing how it all pans out!In the meantime, here is a recent poem...hear youas IF a tunnel, echo ecoache-o, my heart.Have you to think – keep inThe flesh, my bone don’t find fun inshatter ring and ear novoice now.Still got my lo vehe don’t fall part now causeyou believed in

I'm back and poetic...

2011-11-10T16:56:00.003Z

Hi everyone,I apologise for my terrible absence from my blog. I have been adjusting to life in a new city - Madrid - and attempting to be a teacher! It is going very well - I make less mistakes, I know a few Spanish words and the city is brilliant!Me and a lovely view in Madrid!I have also finally begun to write again so here are a few recent poems, some my usual style and one a little more

I just blogged to say I love you...

2011-09-06T21:50:00.001+01:00

Hello lovely blog readers,I am afraid I will not be online much for the next month. I am currently doing an intensive 4 week CELTA course in Madrid. I hope you will come back in October when hopefully I will be posting more comments, reviews and writing!Until then, hasta pronto (see you soon!)Nikki x

SNEAK PREVIEW: Second novel, Semblance

2011-07-16T13:30:00.006+01:00

Hi all, Here are the first two chapters of my second novel, Semblance. It is a sequel to my debut novel, Ellipsis. However, I want it to also be a stand-alone novel so hopefully I have included all the details that are needed for this to happen. Anyway, most importantly, I hope people enjoy it! If you have any comments, do let me know. I'd love to hear whatever you have to say. Enjoy! p.s.:

Review of Ellipsis on Spinetingler Mag site

2011-06-29T17:25:00.003+01:00

A great review of Ellipsis, written by Michael Lipkin (writer and editor of Noir Journal) was featured on the Spinetingler Mag website today. They also feature an interview with me!Here is the copy (WARNING - contains some spoilers!):Reviewed by Michael Lipkin Ellipsis begins on a London train platform, as an unidentified narrator stares at a man near the track . . . “I chose him because of the

Latest book reviews

2011-06-20T15:37:00.012+01:00

Hi everyone,I can't write long reviews but here are my brief thoughts on my latest reads...Dance, Dance, Dance (Haruki Murakami)As strange and surreal as ever, this novel follows a man's fascination with an old hotel and all of the weird personalities he meets along the way. More menacing and tragic than some of his other novels (bar Norwegian Wood for the tragic aspect) - very enjoyable. Some

Novel number 2 - the state of play

2011-05-25T15:38:00.004+01:00

Hello all,I will be posting some book reviews soon but for now, just a hello from me.Novel number 2, also known as Semblance is now complete. I have gone through and picked out the annoying things I do without realising, for example writing a lot of 'as though' and 'as if' etc. There is also a strong time line in this novel so I have had to check all of it is as accurate as it can be but this may

Book Review - The Ferris Wheel by Frederick Morel

2011-04-27T16:14:00.001+01:00

*small spoiler alert*The Ferris Wheel is a crazy ride into the main character, Paul's, mind. There are three parts interwoven - New York, Conneticut and a fair ground, featuring the said Ferris Wheel of the title.The narrator isn't particularly warm but I found myself intrigued to find out where he was going and where he was from. The lack of chronology meant I was struggling throughout to place

How NOT to respond to a bad book review

2011-03-31T11:41:00.003+01:00

Hi all,There's been some recent controversy about this review and response on Twitter. The co-editor of my online mag, streetcake, sent this on to me. It made me laugh a lot!Read the review of The Greek Seaman by Jacqueline Howett on the Big Al's Books and Pals blog - pay particular attention the the comments below the post. The author gets just a little bit irate...Also, see the reviewers follow

Do you read 50 books per year???

2011-03-23T15:26:00.013Z

So Michael Gove has now told us that children should be reading 50 books per year.Despite putting up tuition fees and slashing funding to local councils (hence libraries and other public services), Michael Gove had this to say:“One of the biggest problems in the English state education system is that only a minority can follow an academic education and that only a minority can go to

A hello from Nikki - writing update

2011-03-17T14:11:00.006Z

I just realised I haven't written anything on here for a month. Not good!Although, I would love to write something more structured, I have quite a lot going on, so I am just writing a quick update. The main issue is that life just gets in the way - netball, Spanish lessons, writing in snatches, a trip to Birmingham, meeting up with people, illness and work!I have been desperate to get on with

February book reviews

2011-02-16T17:06:00.014Z

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle / *** starsI fancied some good old crime fiction so I turned to Mr Doyle. This novel was short and starts off with Holmes and Watson having some good banter at the start. Holmes is taking drugs and telling Watson that the only thing that can surpass his addiction is the excitement of a puzzling case.Enter: beautiful young woman with some pearls and a

Arts cuts really do matter, actually...

2011-02-03T12:41:00.002Z

Hi all,here's a good blog talking about the cuts to the arts:http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/feb/03/arts-fundingIt's something that I feel very strongly about and I think it is terrible for future generations that the arts are under threat like this. Obviously, as this blog points out, essential services (i.e.: hospitals, the police, benefits etc) need to be preserved but the

Reading round-up!! Jan 2011...

2011-01-17T16:45:00.018Z

So what have been my latest reads and what was my verdict? Read on if you care to find out...The Devil's Whisper by Miyuki Miyabi - *** and a half starsThis is my choice for my latest book group. I hadn't read any of Miyabe's work before but as I'm into my Japanese writers at the moment, Amazon.co.uk thought it fit to recommend it to me. It turns out it was quite a good call. Despite my

Ellipsis OUT NOW on Kindle!!!

2011-01-11T10:28:00.003Z

Ellipsis can now be bought for the Kindle!In the UK, it's £4.99 and you can buy it on amazon.co.ukIf you're US based, you can buy it from amazon.com Very exciting! And very good to have this option for those who want to read novels differently.Although I don't actually know anyone who owns a Kindle...

The Woman Before Me by Ruth Dugdall

2010-12-27T22:19:00.006Z

4/5 rating** spoiler alert **I was excited to read this novel as I had read some of the author's work on authonomy.com. This book thankfully, lived up to my excitement. I read it in about two days, constantly thinking about the characters and the story, so much that I had to pick it up again and again!Rose Wilks is a cold and intriguing character. Her story is told in the present but also through

There is more than one way to skin an... author?

2010-12-15T13:58:00.010Z

Some interesting developments of late. Pearson, the large educational publishers, now want to offer and even award their own degrees. Read more here. In the same week, Curtis Brown, a large literary agency, also want to start a Creative Writing School. And this is what I really want to talk about.Wow, how strange I thought. You pay £1600 for a 10 week course, have one weekly evening course and a

Authonomy blog piece

2010-11-19T10:35:00.004Z

Hi all,Great bit of exposure on the Authonomy.com blog on Friday the 19th Nov. Read the post by pressing on the link: Experiences of being published Authonomy.com really was a great tool for me after my Masters ended as the feedback was invaluable for improving Ellipsis. I think these types of websites are going to be great moving forward and will certainly highlight a couple of writers here or

exits/origins review by Colin Herd

2010-10-10T22:23:00.005+01:00

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }