Q and A with author Noelle Holten

Squeeeeeeeels - Welcome the beautiful Noelle to So Many Books, So Little Time. Noelle is a crime book blogger and champion supporter of authors and bloggers and has now joined ranks with authors having written her first book "Dead Inside".



Tell us what it has been like for you going from Noelle the book blogger to Noelle the author.

It still feels very much unreal, if I am honest. I haven’t yet mastered telling people that I am an author/writer at events and prefer to hide behind the comfort of the book blogging. I hate talking about myself, so this makes it easier. I guess I will need to change that!

Did you know you would always write a book?

Not at all. I’ve always had an interest in writing – short stories and depressing poetry (lol) in my teens mainly, but never believed I could actually write a book. I attended Graham Smith’s Crime and Publishment in 2017 with only the prologue for what is now Dead Inside written. I received some very positive feedback, support and inspiration – so much so, that once I left the course I wrote Dead Inside in under 12 weeks. Well, the first VERY ROUGH draft! I never dreamed that even if I did write a book, anyone would be interested in publishing it, but they were and for that I am grateful!

Where did the inspiration come from for the story?

Having been a Senior Probation Officer for 18 years and working in a multi-agency team, as well as being in an abusive relationship for nearly 13 years – I drew my inspiration (though seems weird saying that) from my own experiences of that. I have a vast knowledge of the criminal justice system and have worked with so many amazing agencies, I wanted to show that there is more to solving a crime than just the police investigation, as well as highlight the seriousness of domestic abuse, those affected and that your life CAN change.

We recognise a lot of the names in the book, was it easier or harder writing characters named after real people?

I didn’t find it difficult as they were just the names used. Everything else was fictional in terms of the characters – I am not writing about the people themselves. I chose them because they helped me through some very dark times and I wanted to pay them back, as a ‘thank you’ just didn’t seem like enough. Now they will live forever in the pages of my books!

Tell us about your writing process, do you have a set ritual every day or does it vary?

I write for one hour a day, every day - after work or in the afternoons on a weekend. I usually get 1000 to 1200 words in that hour. This then leaves me time to do other things, like reading and blogging, or catching up on a Netflix series! I don’t stray from this at all unless I am away somewhere, but even then, I have a notebook and I am constantly writing down ideas, or chapters to include. It keeps me motivated and my mind focused on the story I am writing.

How has life changed for you going from blogger to author?

I’m not sure that it has, is that weird? I still feel the same, people generally recognise me for my blog rather than as a writer -LOL – the only real difference has been that I have had to cut down on my blog/taking on new review requests as I need to focus on writing and promoting my book(s). I’m still the same inappropriate, weird, author-stalking Noelle you all know!

Have you noticed a change in how people behave/engage/communicate with you?

I’ve come across and met some new people online – and I have to make sure to thank them and everyone who has taken the time to read and review Dead Inside - the response has been amazing and overwhelming. But I think perhaps because I haven’t changed, people still engage with me the same way and I respond the same way. I’m still just me…

What are you working on now? (do you see a lot of books in this series or may you branch into new series?)

I am currently writing the third book in the DC Maggie Jamieson series – whilst I wait for the second round of edits on the second book in the series. I have quite a few ideas for the series so as long as I am asked to keep writing them, I will. I do have some exciting news, but I can’t share it yet….Eeeeeek! One day I would also love to try my hand at a psychological thriller, but that is a whole different writing skill, in my opinion, so I need to get a grasp of that first before I try.

What has been the biggest/happiest experience so far?

EVERYTHING! There have been so many! Having my book ACTUALLY published! Being invited to and appearing on panels, having so much support from fellow writers and the amazing blogging community. New readers enjoying my book. Quotes from some AMAZING authors I have been a fan of for years! But one thing I will say, having my sister read it and message me that she LOVED it. My sister doesn’t hold back, so that is HIGH praise and made me cry a few happy tears!

Where can folk find you?

Twitter: (@nholten40) https://twitter.com/nholten40
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noelleholtenauthor/
Blog FB page: https://www.facebook.com/crimebookjunkie/
Instagram: @crimebookjunkie
Anything else you would like to ask I may have missed?

I just wanted to thank you so much for having me on your blog and to once again thank everyone who has read and reviewed Dead Inside. It means the world to me.




About the book

When three domestic abuse offenders are found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.

The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered. And he is Lucy’s husband.

Now the finger of suspicion points at Lucy and the police are running out of time. Can Maggie and her team solve the murders before another person dies? And is Lucy really a cold-blooded killer?

And if a Q&A with this lovely wee chop isn't spoiling you enough I am also having a wee giveaway, x1 ebook of Dead Inside. Sadly Amazon will only allow me to gift within my own country so it is UK ONLY. If you are the winner you just need to give me your email and Amazon will send the ebook directly. To be in with a chance of winning just use the Rafflecopter below, the more entries you complete the more times your name goes into the draw. Good luck, Happy August and thanks again so much to Noelle for taking time out of her busy schedule to gab with us, you are a star!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux

Allison Hewitt Is Trapped by Madeleine Roux
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days on and off

Pages - 340

Publisher - St. Martin's Griffin

Source - Amazon

Blurb from Goodreads

One woman's story as she blogs - and fights back - the zombie apocalypse"

Allison Hewitt and her five colleagues at the Brooks and Peabody Bookstore are trapped together when the zombie outbreak hits. Allison reaches out for help through her blog, writing on her laptop and utilizing the military's emergency wireless network (SNET). It may also be her only chance to reach her mother. But as the reality of their situation sinks in, Allison's blog becomes a harrowing account of her edge-of-the-seat adventures (with some witty sarcasm thrown in) as she and her companions fight their way through ravenous zombies and sometimes even more dangerous humans.



My Review

Azombie apocalypse with internet and blog entries capturing Allison Hewitt's struggle to survive and all the issues she faces. Working in a bookstore you are very limited in your options when a zombie apocalypse kicks off, that is what happens to Allison. However we follow her journey, with a handful of other survivors as they slowly adapt and try to stay alive. As living conditions worsening, time is dragging on, it is clear they need to move on to stay alive.

I really liked the kick off for this, the blog aspect was new for me, as you know have read more than a few zombie books. We go through many avenues of emotional reactions, meltdowns, personal growth and all updated with her blog and some comments from other survivors and their plights. We see how different folk react, the dangerous interactions with not just the zombies but other survivors. Love, loss, bravery, humanity both the good and bad and the strength of humans to prevail and keep going.

Whilst I did enjoy this I didn't like the abruptness of the end. As I was nearing the last few chapters I got a bit nervy of how it would wrap up. I am sure some loved it but I felt it should have been a good bit longer and more closure. There is another book after this one, I don't think it is any of the same characters though. I will buy it because I do love a zombie book and I did enjoy the authors writing style plus blog entries and a new spin on this genre, for me anyway. I just wish there had been more, sure they say a good author always leaves their audience wanting more, I would have just liked more closure, 3.5 stars out of 5 for me this time.

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Wee update

Apart from working, we had a few days away in Birmingham for...............................HORROR CON. This is our second time going to one, our first was in October in Liverpool. It was fantastic, lots of amazing fancy dress, horror authors, crime author Paul Harrison did two talks. One was on serial killers he had interviewed and the second was about chatting to Ronald Defeo and his stay in the Amityville horror which was spooky indeed. We could have listened to him talk for ages, he was funny, had great stories and was game for a laugh.








You can find more about Paul from his website, click here his books are available on Amazon and he is part of our Crime Book Club on Facebook, click here.


Speaking of the Crime Book Club, I finally got to meet the fabulous, funny and beautiful Shell Baker and blogger extraordinaire - check her blog HERE we co admin the Crime Book Club with Emma T and David McC. After a few years gabbing and keeping the club going we finally got to meet at the con and meet Paul Harrison. Such a lovely lady, check out her blog too guys, she does so much for our group authors, well known and indies.


We also got to the panel with five of the original cast from tv mini series movie, IT (the one with Time Curry). Listening to them was fabulous, their antics, their experiences, filming and how long it had been since they all met. What they thought of the remake, I could have listened to them all day.





I bought a few books too, The Bad Mother by Amanda Brooke, I got this from the Tesco next to our hotel. Peter Cushing's Monster Movies - the guy is a movie legend so any book with him associated was a must buy. Slow Chocolate Autopsy by Iain Sinclair & Dave McKean. The Malignant Dead by C L Raven & Afterwards Our Buildings Shape Us by Michael J Richards. Some of these authors I had never heard of but always willing to try someone new, support them and I got the latter two signed to do pre loved giveaways.


I also got this fantastic bookmark, as soon as I seen Bub on it I had to buy it, bargain, great detail and you never see anything with him on it.





We also bought some of these jar/bottle lights, the Ouija one and original Pennywise are the ones I bought, the others my friends bought. How beautiful!





I could post so many pictures guys, in total I took over 200. I have uploaded more to my Instagram if you want to see more and a wee video or two, you can find my Instagram HERE.

Book event - Games People Play by Owen Mullen

So I have the book on my TBRRM (to be read review mountain) and have a fair few in front of it, however after attending the event I think I need to do a big of rejigging.

Owen was interviewed by the lovely Sharon Bairden from the blog "Chapter in my life" if you like crime and haven't read her reviews, please nip over for a visit. I also met some lovely folks from The Crime Book Club on Facebook and TBConFB. I met the lovely Andrew from CBC and found out he has a blog, Book n beer which is a fantastic idea, recommending a book AND a beer! And if that wasn't enough the lovely James who works in Waterstones is back working at the store.





Sharon had some belting questions for Owen and then opened it up to the audience, I got a wee video and uploaded it to my Instagram





Owen told us about his journey from independently published to being picked up by a publisher, his football team, a wee bit of his history and his experience with a negative, short and hillarious "review".





And here is Princess Trixie with Owen's book, will post my review once I get around to reading it. If you haven't been to a book event or an author event at Waterstones I highly recommend it!.

Honey I'm home

If you follow the blog on Fb, Instagram and or Twitter you will know we have been away on vacation, we took a trip across some of America, I love America! We started heading to Manchester by train, then flew to San Francisco, drove to Santa Barbara & then drove to our last destination Las Vegas.




We visited Alcatraz and despite not having my camera, I managed to get some great photos. I spotted the bookstore before the boat even docked, I bought two wee thin booklets with some of the prisons history.





There was so many birds and wildlife on Alcatraz, I got a wee video of these beauties, posted to Instagram @always_reading





We stayed in a great hotel in San Francisco, it had sea life style throughout all the floors and I am a sucker for themes. IT was also right next to the beach front and they gave us a wee anniversary card, gotta love the little touches.





This was right next to reception on the wall, they had a huge bird made from metal nuts and bolts and chairs from large signs, I took over 900 photos in total and can't post them all here.





As we drove across two locations we saw some stunning scenery, I honestly love America, from the sights to the food! I also bought some books along the way, surprise surprise.














Every where else had been my first visits, Las Vegas was either 5th or 6th time, I do love it. From the shows, to the super friendly people, the food & drink and just all the shops & bright lights I love love love it. I also got a new bookmark hurrah, between books and bookmarks you really cannot have too many. I will say, the huge change in cost since we first went is huge, you used to get so much and realtively cheap. Now a lot of the things are cheaper to buy at home and take over.





We generally stay at what I call the top end of the strip and take a walk down, o/h was unwell so between pushing him in a chair & the heat we didn't make it far the first few days.





The city that never actually sleeps!





The laugh factor has different locations, if you like comedy and haven't been you should check them out. We saw the Whose Line Is It Anyway folk live, one of my fav shows to date. We also went to Michael Jackson One, Fantasy and down to the old strip where they have zip slides and free concerts on the street.





And after three weeks with no camera, no laptop, no email access, very limited internet I am home, jetlagged, tons of post to sort, parcels to send out (I haven't forgotten) and reviews to catch up on. But first, Princess demands attention! I hope everyone is well and I will be stopping by and catching up properly in the next few days.

Some Girls Do by Clodagh Murphy

Some Girls Do by Clodagh Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 6 hours

Pages - 408

Publisher - Hachette Books Ireland

Blurb from Goodreads

Claire Kennedy is NiceGirl, the anonymous author of steamy online blog 'Scenes of a Sexual Nature'. An internet sensation, she attracts the attention of Mark Bell, a hot London publisher. But when it becomes clear that Mark is interested in more than just a book deal, Claire has to act fast. Because little does Mark know that NiceGirl is a lot more experienced in the bedroom than real-life Claire Kennedy.

Mark is offering Claire the life she's always dreamed of - a steady relationship, the literary world of London and a posh Highgate apartment.

But when Claire hires the services of struggling artist and commitment-phobe Luca to brush up on her sex skills, things get more complicated...

Great sex, friendship AND love ... can't a girl have it all?



My Review

Claire Kennedy lives a relatively quiet life, working in a book store, living with and looking after her mother. She lives through her online blog and Twitter as NiceGirl, author of a steamy sex blog. When she is offered a book deal and hits it off with the publisher Mark, Claire realises she needs someone to make her online exploits a reality and teach her the sexual expertise she has been claiming to have before she is exposed and loses it all.

Aw Claire is such a sweet girl, devoted to her mum who is a card, really funny lady although not a huge character she brings warmth and humour to the book. Luca is a friend of a friend, struggling artist but a Lothario with the girls and the answer to Claire's problem. They enter an agreement, Luca will give Claire private lessons to be everything she wants for Mark and Claire will pay Luca for the education.

A book that covers a sexual education, graphically written sex scenes in some parts, a budding friendship, humour, family and of course entries of the online blog Claire keeps. The book isn't just about sex, it also examines family values, love and a sister in law from hell, she is subtly portrayed but irritated me in just about every scene she appeared in. Claire's mum Espie is one of those wee diamond characters that whilst she doesn't feature hugely overall I love what her character brings to the story and how devoted Claire is to her. This was my first time reading this author, I would read her again, 4/5 for me!

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