Louise Walters Books

Please read on to learn a little about the short-listed page 100s and why each one appealed to me. 

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Let's start with Noelle Riggott's lovely page 100. The novel is about a woman finding the solace she needs at her local allotments. This line near the top of the page drew me in: Jo closed her eyes, hoping to make space for a pure unadulterated memory of her mother to emerge... then a few lines down this: She picked up Charlie, holding his soft pulsating body close, warming her heart. The word "pulsating" does a lot of work here. Really well-chosen word. The last sentence on the page 100 is a great line of dialogue, and felt rather unexpected: "What's the best way to die, d'you think?"  This drew me up short. From my first read while sifting for the competition, Noelle's page was in the MAYBE pile, and later found its way into the YES pile... and eventually, I chose it as this year's winner! [Finding the Plot, literay/upmarket, 66k words]

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Paulina Pejka's page 100 is all about a kiss: Asking Jack to kiss her was a calculated decision, with all its implications considered in advance. This is Anne, a rather stoic and practical young woman. She goes on to analyse her physical reaction to kissing Jack: If she’d kissed Jack because of some physical need that she could rationalise and address in the same way she did hunger or tiredness, she would’ve accepted that. And the final lines of the page 100: For most people this wouldn’t have caused an identity crisis. Equally, they probably wouldn’t have thought it so bad to want more of something good. For Anne Hackler, however, this was a cause for panic. It meant she was no longer in control. Not just of the situation, but far more importantly: of herself. I really enjoyed the precise characterisation of Anne. She comes over loud and clear on this page.  This was another page 100 put into the MAYBE pile initially. [A Gentleman and a Suffragist, historical romance, 88k words]

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Trudie Lavender's page intrigued me. This paragraph near the top of the page really drew me in: The line went dead. Michael was flabbergasted. He’d never been on the receiving end of such an incessant vitriolic rant. He sat at his desk trying not to cry.  Michael then goes on to surprise his work colleague by going out for lunch, and then: The sniggering started up again as he shrugged on his coat and stepped outside into the corridor. Regardless of what Michael may or may not have done to deserve the vitriolic rant, I felt quite a lot of sympathy for him... and the word "again" shows us that he is perhaps rather often laughed at by work colleagues... so with this page I felt my sympathies were roused and I wanted to know more. The narrator's voice is strong and rather acerbic. Always fun to read! [The Deadly Neighbour, domestic noir, 80k words]

 

Jane Bitomsky has written a page 100 filled with attention to detail:  ...but while George may be content haunting the kitchen or under croft all day, monitoring his fermenting brews like a gaol guard and While the pheasant is, without question, the dumbest bird in England, Rosie reckons the blackbird can’t be far behind. They are, however, delicious cooked in pastry. I thoroughly enjoyed this last line, and this page 100 was in the YES pile from the first read. I felt rather confident in Jane's narrator's voice from the start [Death by the Angel, historical  fiction, 60k words]

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Gill Scott-Taggart's page 100 drew me in, and here's why: I rested my forehead on the wall, sensing the history and power from within the stones. Five words by the Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis, adorning the Wales Millennium Centre,  illumined my thoughts in that light-bulb moment. In These Stones, Horizons Sing. The first-person narrator here  has been blinded after an accident, and this page 100  makes for powerful reading. This was popped onto the MAYBE pile on first read.  [Trace the Rainbow, bookclub/romance/suspence, 82k words]​​​

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Mark Dudley's page 100 was another that grabbed me properly towards the end of the page: Dad had the Radio Times open on his lap as he balanced his plate on the arm of the chair. Mum had picked up the TV Times. Christmas was the only time they bought either of them. These TV guides are such an emblem of class, and it played out that way in my own family: one side resolutely and always took the Radio Times; the other side of the family favoring the TV Times. I couldn't help but smile at this detail on Mark's page. Being working-class, this appealed to me. Recognition, in a word. Another page 100 put into the MAYBEs initially.  [The Long Way Round, literary fiction, 80-90k words]

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For me, Suzanne Rogerson's page 100 was all about the dialogue: ​

        ‘What happened?’ Leia leaned forward, unable to envisage her eccentric uncle as a wild passionate lover.

          Mrs Shallon smiled fondly. ‘We came to our senses, I suppose. He was ten years younger than me and struggling with his art. I was a widow with a thirteen-year-old daughter and a hotel to run...'​

Fabulous emotionally-mature dialogue coupled with a mysterious family artist... and Cornwall as the setting... well, what's not to like?  This was a YES from the first read. [Love and Legacies at the Mermaid Hotel, contemporary romance, 76k words]

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Dianne Bown-Wilson commands the page with her accomplished and assured writing: Dressed in a flounced floral creation, trailing jewellery and scarves, she was perfectly made up, with her thick dark hair artfully styled into a helmet of glossy waves. From a distance, she looked younger than her years and reminded me of Gina Lollobrigida. Only up close could one see the lines and wrinkles underneath the thick mask of powder. There is a richness and control to Dianne's writing that I couldn't resist. This was a YES from the first read. [Elefante, historical romance, 97k words]

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Marie Macneill's page 100 was another that really appealed to me on the first read. This is a woman angry with a man from her past: ...he had booked a day out of the office; arranged to pick me up in a quiet road a short distance from the school, so nobody would see me getting into his car; bought a picnic lunch, wine, coffee, condoms; and he had laundered a small pale blue hand towel that bore his initials. Cold, ruthless, destructive and unforgivable – but I didn’t know that then. The attention to detail here is excellent, particularly the freshly-laundered pale blue hand towel. This was a MAYBE from the start. [Swimming in the Rain, general fiction, 92k words] 

 

Finally, Sarah Spilsbury's page 100 is rich in period detail and narrated by a commanding, assertive, self-assured protagonist: He fingered the lapel of my jacket, as I immediately swore to burn it once I returned home, having no further desire to wear what was admittedly a handsome piece of schmatter now he’d placed his filthy hands upon it. Sarah's writing is unapologetically dense, evocative, and confident. This was another for the MAYBE pile from the first read. [Life and Times of X, historical fiction 115k words]