Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for The Perfect Girl , a new thriller from Kelly Golden, and thank you to Kelly Golden for her guest post today.
About the book
The Perfect Girl
He always said she was just a friend… What if she’d kill for more?
Sophie is perfect. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and when she smiles her teeth sparkle. And she cares; she’s passionate. Everybody loves her. So would I, except she’s my husband Mike’s best friend, and sometimes they seem a little too close for comfort.
This summer, Sophie is renting the grand house next door, bringing over fancy wine, offering to babysit our beautiful three-year-old daughter. It’s nice, actually. She’s smart and funny. Maybe the way she is with Mike – squeezing his arm, tilting her head when she laughs at his jokes – is just how she is with everybody.
But then she says something that sends a shiver down my spine – does she know something about me she shouldn’t?
And when her new husband arrives, looking slightly too familiar, I realise my time is running out. My baby girl and I are in terrible danger.
Sophie really is perfect. She has me perfectly trapped. And as my world begins to crumble, I start to wonder: does Sophie just want to steal my husband, or has she planned the perfect murder?
A completely unputdownable psychological thriller that will keep you flicking through your Kindle late into the night. Perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Guest List and anything by Louise Candlish, Erin Kelly or TM Logan.
Guest post by Kelly Golden
Should You Write Naked?
Is this a ridiculous question? I reckon that while some readers will think this is just bizarre, there will be a handful who take it seriously. I would love a show of hands. Let me explain…
A very long time ago, I took a writing course. So much importance was given to finding your perfect writing conditions, from your medium (pen, computer, lipstick on mirror), to your environment (indoors, outdoors, under a dining table in the dim light of a scented candle), to the time of day (morning, night, the gloaming) and so on, that I think tutors shared the anecdote about James Joyce writing naked, standing at a lectern, at least five times.
My method, at that time, was simply to write in bed, alone, on my laptop, for hours and hours on end, forgetting to eat, forgetting to communicate with anyone. The idea of writing when anyone else might catch even the slightest glimpse of my screen made me feel a bit sick.
And then I had to get a job. While writing in my favoured manner was still possible sometimes at weekends, it was rare, and I can’t imagine how anyone with a more complex set of requirements could have continued at all. As it was, I rarely built up the momentum I needed to see a project to its end.
The day I gave birth to my daughter was the day I decided I had to write something; I had to publish it. Because how could I talk to her about following her dreams if I’d never really tried? But now I had a baby, and there was no writing undisturbed through days and nights of blissful solitude.
What I’ve discovered, and wish I’d understood from the start, is that it’s possible to write anywhere, any time, with anything. And if you can do that, you can be more productive. I can write on my laptop in a busy train station, in a notepad in a café at lunch, on my phone in the loos at work. I still prefer my laptop, and I don’t like people seeing my screen. But I can get myself to write in almost any situation if it means sneaking in a few extra lines. This means I manage to write a little most days, and this keeps my stories fresh in my mind – keeps them moving.
I still believe everyone has to find their own way. There’s no point in pretending what works for me will work for all writers, but I think that for most people, time is so precious, and momentum so important, that being particular about the how and when of writing can become an insurmountable obstacle.
For anyone cultivating a list of ideal conditions, I would urge you to get out of your comfort zone and just see if you can start crossing out some of them. You might write more. You might write better if imperfections in your environment didn’t cause you to feel inhibited.
And for anyone who believes they must be naked to write… It’s winter and we’re in the middle of an energy crisis.
Author Bio –
I’m the working mum of a bossy little girl and a bossier cat called Pesto. We live in the southwest of England and escape to the beach whenever we can. I’ve never stopped writing my whole life but this is the first time I’ve published a book!
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