Amelie at the Window: Questions for reading groups

 

 

What do you think about the use of French words and phrases? Do they add to the story or are they a distraction?

 

The stories are told from different points of view; each character has a distinct voice, but only Odille tells her stories in the first person. What does that tell the reader about her?

 

How does the author convey the atmosphere of a small French town more than one hundred years ago?

 

The problematic relationship between Gaston Lemonnier and the priest Père Michel is a central element of the narrative. What does their conflict tell the reader about wider attitudes to religion, love and forgiveness? Are there any changes to these attitudes during the period covered by the stories?

 

What do you think is the purpose of Part 3, ‘Afterwords’?

 

Which character engages you the most? How does the author draw you into this character?

 

Who do you think changes the most?

 

Can you describe the ways, both good and bad, that war changed the town and its inhabitants?

 

If there were to be a sequel to ‘Amelie at the Window’, whose story would you like to follow? Why does the future of this person interest you?

 

Images are a theme that runs through the book. Why do you think the author use this theme and how effective is it in bringing the stories to life?

 

Some of the central characters, for example Marcel Pichon, Raymond Fischer and Mère Agnès, do not have their own stories. We find out about them through other people. Does this literary device tell the reader enough about the person, or would you prefer them to tell their own story?

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Book Club Guide for Christmas at the Cross

 

1.      The setting is a well-known part of London. How well does the author portray that setting? How do they do that? Do you know that area? Is this an authentic portrayal?

2.      This is quite a short novel. Does the length add or detract from the subject matter?

3.      It isn’t always a comfortable read. Does that matter? Why should we / would we read material that makes us feel uncomfortable?

4.      Would you say the ending is upbeat? Why or why not?

5.      What did you like about the book?

6.      What do you dislike?

7.      How has the author made us sympathise with the characters?

8.      Do you consider this to be an authentic portrayal of 21st century life?

9.      What does the novel tell us about the plight of women? Is this accurate?

10.  Can you comment on the writer's style?     

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Reviews are So Important

 

The more reviews a book has the more visible it becomes on-line. It may surprise you that even a one star review helps.  

 

Most people think of Amazon when they think of reviews and yes, that can be important. However, you can also leave review with other online retailers such as Waterstones.

 

Amazon has some restriction. You have to either have bought the book form Amazon  or have spent enough recently to be allowed to review items you haven't bought from them. And if you do buy the book form them, your review will show ''verified purchase' which makes your review seem more genuine.

 

Good Reads is always open for reviews and there are no restrictions. It is owned by Amazon anyway; if you give a star rating directly from your Kindle it appears on both your local Amazon and Good Reads. I also like to post on Story Graph.

 

I want people to review my books, therefore I review every book I read. I occasionally put a different review on Amazon from the one I put on Good Reads.  On Amazon it's pragmatic. Does the book works as it should? If not why not? What does it do well? On Good Reads I can be more myself. Is this book really for me?

 

I often read other reviews: one at the same star-rating as I have given, plus a five, a four and a one star.

 

I also write longer reviews for my children's book site and for my House on Schellberg Street blog. One book last week had it’s standard review on Amazon, Good Reads and Story Graph and appeared both in the children's catalogue and on The House on Schellberg Street blog.  

 

I notice some reviews don't really give any information so I've developed a little formula: I say what I've most liked about the book, anything that didn't work well,  and a summative positive comment at the end. I'm careful not to give any spoilers. And this sort of review is neither long nor onerous.  

 

The main message is authors need reviews and if you're expecting other people to review your work you should be willing to review theirs.

 

However, I’d also recommend not getting obsessed with reading reviews of your work. Yes, find a few very good ones that you may be able to quote from and if your overall rating has slipped below 4.2 look at some of the more sensible lower ratings. Is there some advice here? You're not likely to rewrite this book but it may help with future titles.

 

And keep on writing.                

Sponsor a Book

 

The money we pay for distribution is a little dilemma for us. At £8.40 a year it is actually very good value for money. It would take us hours of admin to achieve what this does and that doesn't necessarily turn into sales.  

 

We have published over 200 books and are increasing the rate at which we publish. This year we have published twenty-one books. We keep books in print even after rights have returned to authors, unless the author asks us to take the book out of print.  So far, only two have done that. Which means we're paying £8.40 a year for 180  books. Do the sums.

 

To be fair, we've taken some of the annual anthologies out of distribution but they are still available from us and the e-books are still available.

 

So, we're inviting people to sponsor a book. You choose the book and you pay £8.40 a year. That will allow us to work on other books without the burden of that book's distribution costs.  

 

Which book to choose? Well, perhaps obviously you might choose your own. But it might be more fun to sponsor someone else's – they might then sponsor one of yours. Or you might sponsor one of our annual anthologies or one of the best of CaféLit books.

 

Don't worry – if your book doesn't attract a sponsor – we'll still keep it in print until you ask us to take it out.   

 

I wouldn't expect anyone, even myself, to sponsor more than one book.

 

What do you get for sponsorship? Naturally number one is the pleasure of supporting a book and a writer. Also you will be mentioned on the book's page in our online shop. You can provide a short paragraph about yourself and up to three links e.g. Amazon author page, one of your books in our shop, your web site etc.

 

You can also ask friends, family, fans and follows to sponsor. If they’re not a writer and have any other sort of enterprise they can tell us about that.   

 

How to do this: just use the PayPal button and we shall email you to ask  which book you would like to sponsor. In the unlikely event that you pick a book that someone else has already sponsored but we haven't yet updated the site, we shall suggest a similar one.

 

Our celebration event - 6 December 2025

 

Yes it was indeed a delightful event

The thing I enjoyed most about the event was the opportunity to chat to other writers about how they go about the process of writing and editing their work. I picked up a few good tips which I found particularly helpful as I am contemplating beginning a longer piece of writing. Most importantly perhaps though, it was lovely to feel part of a community of writers who are also experiencing the highs and lows of getting the words down and understand how that can be quite isolating sometimes.

 

 

 

 

Russell said what he enjoys about the event is meeting new people while seeing familiar faces, too. 

What I enjoy most is putting faces to the names I see published in the books and listening to the stories read aloud by the authors.

We both enjoyed the excellent food, and the venue is wonderful, both comfortable and now familiar.

 

It was great to meet fellow authors.

Even though we only see each other once a year, it feels like old friends.

I enjoyed chatting with people new to the event.

I love it when Debz calls us family.

I love reading my work out and getting feedback on it.

The Theodore Bullfrog makes us all feel welcome.

I’m so glad I found Gill and the BridgeHouse/Cafelit family.

Thank you Gill and the BridgeHouse family.

The meal and the service were excellent, and it was a joy to talk to other writers and hear them read. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my reading glasses, but someone kindly lent me hers.

 

Had a fabulous time. 

 

I loved the venue, with its beautiful Christmas decorations and attentive staff, and the excellent readings, many of which have lingered in my mind. I enjoyed reuniting with writer friends and making several new ones.

 

 

It was a very enjoyable event. I worried about going somewhere where I knew nobody, but it was fine, with lots of lovely people to chat to, and make friends with (well, social media friends, anyway!) 

 

 

Allison has written a super article about the event. Read it here. 

At which age group will you be aiming my children's book?

 

As an expert in children’s lit and also a former teacher I prefer not to think in age groups, but rather stages of development; I tend to categorize as preschool(picture books where adult and child enjoy a book together), emergent readers, early fluent readers, fluent readers, teen and young adult. There are rough age groups associated with these: 3-5, 5-7, 7-9, 10-13, 14-17 and also there are the key stages in the UK education system.

 

Amazon will change the age group organically. They ask everyone who reviews a children's book the age of the child the book was bought for and adjust the age description accordingly.   

 

What is most important is how well a text suits its target reader and that has more to do with intellectual maturity and reading age than actual physical age.