Book Extract: I Was Watching You by Chris Westlake

Published October 24, 2026 | By Laura

Please join me in welcoming Chris Westlake to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, I Was Watching You.

I WAS WATCHING YOU is a fast-paced psychological suspense thriller that will have you turning the pages well into the night.

When city girls Faye, Zara and Heidi book a weekend away at a remote cottage in rural Wales, it is intended to be the perfect detox from their hectic lives. But they let a stranger into the cottage…and they return home with a dark secret they don’t want exposed.

Five months later and their lives have returned to normal. They think they have gotten away with it. And then a hand-delivered photograph drops through each of their letterboxes.

They were watched.

But who watched them?

What do they want?

And how far are the friends prepared to go to keep their secret?

 

Chris has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.

 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

This is the second scene in the novel. The POV is deliberately anonymous, and as the story unfolds, the reader is challenged to work out the source of the danger.

 

The gate swung open. Tilting her head back, she gazed at the cloudless sky before uttering the words again and again. “Matthew 6:14-15. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Sucking in a mouthful of air, she pushed open the door. Stepping inside, the sprinkling of light vanished. There was no going back now.

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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Countdown

Published October 23, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing

Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off

No editing allowed—raw writing only

When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.) 

 

Today’s prompt: The Countdown

 

A radio host begins receiving calls from listeners describing a nightmare they all had: a tall figure standing at the foot of their beds, counting backwards from ten. The calls stop when the final caller says, “It’s at number nine.”

Then the studio lights flicker, and the host realises the counting has started again—this time from inside the booth.

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A Moment With… Liz Fenwick

Published October 22, 2026 | By Laura

I am so delighted to be welcoming Liz Fenwick to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Last Christmas.

When a final goodbye in Cornwall is only the beginning…

Meredith Tremayne Russell has spent her life mapping the world, first in intelligence during WWII, and later as a professor. But at ninety-eight with time running out, she faces a journey she cannot chart, a return to her old Cornish home to sell it and to scatter her beloved husband’s ashes. 

With her is her twenty-five-year-old granddaughter, Grace, a dyslexic who believes she is a failure in a family of academics. For Grace the trip is a welcome escape from her mother’s demands. But when she unlocks her great-grandmother’s abandoned art studio, she finds a legacy of a passionate artist and a French resistance fighter.

As Meredith relives the frozen December of her 1946 wedding, she understands her final mission isn’t to say goodbye to her old home, but to draw one last map—showing Grace how to navigate a life of her own making.

 

To talk about what makes a Christmas novel, it’s over to you, Liz. 

 

What makes a Christmas Novel?

 

We have Christmas movies and we have Christmas novels. We could venture into the whole Die Hard debate – Christmas movie or not. It takes place at Christmas – tick. There is Christmas music in the soundtrack – tick. There is a man flying to spend the holiday with his family – tick.  Then things are blown up, people are killed, but there is a happy ending. So, you could argue it is a Christmas movie, just not like White Christmas, The Holiday or Love Actually.

But that question had me thinking about The Last Christmas. When I think of Christmas movies or books certain things come to mind, like Hallmark movies, funny jumpers, hot chocolate, snow, and ghosts. I’ve written two Christmas novellas before – A Cornish Christmas Carol and Delivering Christmas – I understood the ingredients list. But with The Last Christmas I knew I would be pushing the boundaries a bit – not as far as Die Hard though.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Character Challenge – The Secret

Published October 21, 2026 | By Laura

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room.

It’s week three of our character challenge.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a character from a simple idea and gradually develop them into someone with a personality, history, relationships, flaws, fears and a meaningful character arc.

You don’t need to be writing a novel to take part. Your character can be created specifically for these exercises, or you can use a character from a story you’re already working on.

 

WEEK 3 — The Secret

 

Everyone has things they don’t tell other people.

Give your character a secret.

It could be:

  • Something they’ve done.
  • Something they haven’t done.
  • Something they’re ashamed of.
  • Something they know.
  • Something they are afraid someone will discover.
  • Something from their past.

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Book Extract: Dreadnought by Robin Bennett

Published October 20, 2026 | By Laura

I am so excited to be welcoming Robin Bennett to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, Dreadnought.

A child sees things she’s sure don’t exist. The adults call it trauma. They’re both wrong.

On a remote Yorkshire headland known as Dreadnought, seven-year-old Cass Delaval begins to glimpse figures and fragments tied to a past that refuses to stay buried.

As the world edges toward conflict, Cass is drawn into a family mystery stretching back to the Second World War: a missing boy, a hidden weapon, and a family secret.

Because whatever has lain dormant on Dreadnought goes deep into our past … and it isn’t finished with us yet.

Dreadnought is a story of loyalty and hope, where the courage of one small girl may be our last defence.

 

Robin has very kindly shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

 

*****beginning of extract*****

 

This is a scene early in the book, from the youngest protagonist, Cass Delaval, aged 7. It sums up her personality, presages some of the novel’s mystery surrounding her brother, Bertie, and is the first proper demonstration of the real threat of war that sends the family to North Yorkshire. To Dreadnought.

 

Cass

 

‘Good morning Cassandra, I trust you are well?’ Eva’s mum always used words like Cass was a grown-up, but the way she said them, with gaps, sounded like she also thought Cass was stupid.

 ‘Hello,’ replied Cass solemnly, ignoring the question, then gave a little wave and a smile to Eva who was looking at them out of the car window. Eva was her joint best friend with Julia. ‘I’m already ready,’ she said, closing the front door and walking past Mrs Reicher.

 ‘Oh,’ Eva’s mum looked a bit put out her next question had been pre-empted as she followed, rather than led, to the car.

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