Avon Books

A Wonderfully Magical Wildflower Park

As a child I spent many happy hours engrossed in books and many more lost in my own imaginary world. Stories like The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Enid Blyton’s Secret Island captured my imagination and transported me to somewhere magical. I got that same sensation when… Read More

Balancing Fact and Fiction

Using Real-Life Experiences in My Novels The Missing Wife is my fourth psychological suspense novel and as its publication day fast approaches I’ve been thinking about what ‘goes in’ to my novels: where the ideas come from, how the characters are developed, how I choose their traits and back stories,… Read More

A Fling in the Scottish Highlands

20th May 2019 sees the release of my fourth book, Secret Things and Highland Flings. Unlike the previous three books, the theme of this book is more along the lines of ‘crime comedy caper’ with a twist of romance, rather than a traditional ‘rom-com’ formula. I’ve taken a bit of… Read More

Avon Books Christmas Guide

Avon Books Christmas Guide It’s that time of the year again! Christmas is just a few weeks away and we couldn’t be more excited! As wonderful as it is with the endless parties, mountains of mince pies and gallons of mulled wine, it’s also a very busy season and there’s… Read More

The Darkest Fears Are Often Rooted in Realism

The Darkest Fears Are Often Rooted in Realism   What scares you the most? As a thriller writer, it’s a question I tackle in my writing daily. My goal is to uncover the scariest, creepiest things in life and put the reader at their mercy. These fears certainly… Read More

Christmas in 1943

Christmas in 1943 When Avon asked me if I would write a post for their website on what Christmas was like in 1943 – the year my latest book, An Orphan’s Wish, is set in – I automatically said yes. However, it’s a rather gloomy subject because the war was… Read More

Taking a Creative Writing Course

I began writing seriously some ten years ago but my development as a writer really began when I secured a place on the Curtis Brown Creative writing course in September 2013. It almost didn’t happen. Earlier that year I’d submitted my first novel, an historical spy story, to Curtis Brown… Read More

A Day in the Life of a Publicity Manager

Hi everyone, Quick introduction – my name is Sabah and I look after all the publicity here at Avon Books. Publicity is something that people tend to get mixed up with marketing and events but the roles are very similar and there is a lot of crossover so I work… 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

RNA Debut Novel Winner Joins Avon

Avon Books sign Kate Field, winner of the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award for new writers in 2017   Katie Loughnane acquired World All Language rights to The Man I Fell in Love With and one further book from Kate Field, winner of the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award for new writers… 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

Unleash Your Dark Side

From the age of 14 I was obsessed with women’s fiction. I dreamed of writing books like my heroes – Maeve Binchy, Patricia Scanlan, Sheila O’Flanagan and then, as I grew a bit older, Marian Keyes. I wanted to tell stories… Read More

Avon goes ‘Cuckoo’ for Sophie Draper

We’re thrilled to announce that Avon Books have signed a two-book deal with Bath Novel Award 2017 winner Sophie Draper. Rachel Faulkner-Willcocks acquired World English Language rights to Cuckoo and one further book from Laura Williams at Peter, Fraser and Dunlop Literary Agents. Sophie’s Derbyshire-set debut is a chilling exploration… Read More