Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an Editor? At Avon, every day is different. Some days we can come in, grab a quick coffee and then head straight to a meeting about anything from strategy to social media. Some days, meetings are back to back and we only return to our desks in time to bid farewell and jump on a train either home or into town for a launch party or awards ceremony. Other days are much simpler. Heads down at our desks editing, writing copy, Tweeting, proofing covers and nipping off for lovely lunches in our canteen which overlooks half of London. Maybe in the afternoon there will be a catch-up with our Production department to check all the books are going to hit the shelves on time and then maybe some phone calls to our fantabulous authors. All of this is fuelled with one hundred cups of tea!
The best days, however, are the ones when one of our fave agents rings and says, ‘You’re going to love this!’ And you open the submission they’ve sent, fingers eager on the buttons, heart racing a little, and then you find yourself still sat reading when it’s getting dark outside and all your colleagues have come back from their meetings and are waving you goodbye! It’s the kind of submission that you send straight to your e-reader so you can keep reading well into the night and then come morning you’re back in the office, massive smile on your face going: WE HAVE TO BUY THIS! With a sub like this, you’re so enthused that the rest of the team stop what they are doing and start reading, pronto!
This is exactly what happened when our fab Commissioning Editor, Phoebe Morgan, read 99 Red Balloons by Elisabeth Carpenter. Phoebe snapped up the edge-of-your-seat suspense about the disappearance of eight-year-old Lily as fast as she could!
‘99 Red Balloons is an incredible read; complex, full of secrets and with an absolutely killer twist that made my heart turn over,’ says Phoebe. ‘The horror of Lily’s disappearance will strike fear into the bones of every parent, making this a gripping novel from start to finish. We’ll all be holding onto our children’s hands more tightly after reading…’
We predict you’ll be glued to your copy of 99 Red Balloons well into the night!