Avon Authors

How to grow and use your own herbs

The dictionary defines a herb as a plant ‘of which the leaves or stem and leaves are used for medicine or for their scent or flavour’. Many of our most common herbs arrived in the UK with the Romans and they were the only form of medicine that we had… Read More

Setting a crime series in your home town

‘It’s a small world’ is a common phrase in the place I grew up. You see, I come from a small city in the Midlands. It’s a city that seems stuck in its past, trying desperately to rise above the smoky days of its history. But it’s a city that… Read More

What Makes Brighton Quirky?

I first visited Brighton as a child in the 80s. However, I didn’t see much of the place as we spent most of the day in the launderette! We were on the beach, playing our favourite ‘chasing waves’ game where we’d run down to the sea and then wait until… Read More

Submitting a Manuscript to Avon Books

Writing a book is not an easy process. But trying to get your book published is even harder. Oh boy, the joys of trawling the internet or subscribing to and then poring over the magazines and well-meaning books about how to submit your treasured manuscript for publication… I’ve always loved… Read More

How to Write a Crime Series by Katerina Diamond

When I started writing The Teacher I had no idea it would even be a police procedural novel, let alone a crime series. My detectives were the last thing I added to the story as I realised it would be a bit silly to have a bunch of horrific murders… Read More

The Magic Phone Call by Joanne Sefton

As an unpublished writer, one of the things I loved to do (usually to avoid doing something productive like – you know – actually writing stuff) was read blogs and articles in which real authors told the tale of their journey to publication. Most contained encouraging messages (‘Armfuls of rejections… Read More

A Funny Thing Happened to Me In New York…

Helen Fields: A Funny Thing Happened to Me In New York… …And it goes like this. On my final day at Thrillerfest in New York City, a stunning combination of writing master classes, pitchfest, and author panels, as well as social events and awards, I took the opportunity to go… Read More

From Cat-lit to Chick-lit by Faith Bleasdale

For the last few years I have been lucky enough to write cat fiction as Rachel Wells. It’s a series, for adults, about Alfie, a doorstep cat – the first book is named just that – and I love writing it, being a huge cat fan. Bringing Alfie to life… Read More

Anatomy of a Detective by Paul Finch

It may come as something of a surprise, but lots of police officers don’t want to be detectives any more. The popularity of the role has dwindled in recent times. In fact, so serious is the problem that many UK police forces are now mounting big promotional drives within the… Read More

Top Tips for Throwing a Great Party by Maddie Please

#1 Numbers -Don’t put out an open invitation on Facebook, you might be surprised at the response. -Invite people you like who will mix well together. -Encourage people to text/email/WhatsApp to let you know they are coming. -You need to know how many people to cater for. (You don’t want… Read More

Creating The Story of a Family

Before I started writing any of the books in the Mill Valley Girls trilogy, I’d been doing some family research of my own and was lucky enough to stumble across my family tree on Ancestry. A distant relative had already done all the hard work, uncovering several generations of my… Read More

Social media: the good, the bad and the ugly?

As I write this, the publication of One Little Lie is just around the corner and I am getting ready for the chaos, excitement and nerves to kick in. Being a digital-first author, the internet – specifically social media – will be the main focus for me getting the word… Read More

5 Tips For Building an Author Brand

When I chat to other authors, the biggest challenge isn’t a massive plot hole they’ve just encountered or an impending deadline. It’s how they can market their work effectively without eating too much into their writing time. I know how they feel. There is so much out there for us… Read More

Even Monsters Bleed

A few years ago, when I was doing research for The New Girl, I was lucky enough to have a friend who worked in the field of neuroscience and psychology / psychiatrics at the time. He referred me to the appropriate texts, medical journals, and of course I had to… Read More

Jacqui Rose is Back!

The Return Hello, I’m back, and I couldn’t be any happier – but what I could be is a little bit less nervous! It’s probably just under four years ago that I typed ‘The End’ on Disobey, the last book I wrote for Avon – I just don’t know where… Read More

How To Create a Meaningful Wedding Bouquet

Floriography was at its most popular during the Victorian Era, when flowers were used to communicate and express feelings. With each flower holding a special meaning, the receiver could decode secret messages. These days, the Victorian Language of Flowers might be largely forgotten, but there’s something romantic and nostalgic about… Read More