Blog
Bloody Brilliant Marketing
20 May, 2011
One evening last week, following a blood donation appointment, a vivid splatter of blood caught my eye on the undergound. Don’t worry, I wasn’t being picked off à la Morganville after ‘paying my taxes’, it was this rather bold poster advertising Charlaine Harris’ latest Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead Reckoning. And in a nice little touch, […]
War and Peace: A Summary (The Epilogues)
19 May, 2011
My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… The Epilogues Well, my Tolstoyan brethren, it has taken three months of reading and five months of blogging. But now, at last, the inkwell has run dry, the poor paper-merchant is made redundant, and Mrs Tolstoy’s pleas for attention may finally be satisfied: for it […]
Wednesday Cover Story: Why change cover design mid-series?
18 May, 2011
We recently received the comment below from one of our readers, in light of the new cover design for Gale Force, Book 6 in the Weather Warden series, by Rachel Caine and we thought our Wednesday Cover Story would be a good place to address this issue. From Sammy (reader and fan of the Weather […]
A nostalgic day out exploring classic war stories for children
17 May, 2011
This weekend my cousin and his family are coming to visit. He has two little angels of 8 and 10 years old. Well, they are little angels until boredom/hunger sets in – but then again, the same could be said about me. So in an effort to keep them entertained, and also avoid traipsing through […]
More from Anthony Burgess
16 May, 2011
If you’re a big fan of an author who is now longer with us there’s that disappointing moment when you realise that there is nothing, nada, rien, more to read by them and nothing more in the pipeline. The metaphorical bookshelf has been ransacked and is empty. So good news for devotees of Anthony Burgess […]
Could The Hoff be anything but The Hoff?
13 May, 2011
I believe it is a universal fact that everyone will have some kind of reaction to the mention of two simple words. And the words are: The Hoff. Whether you can bear to admit it or not, the man has become an icon. Yes, I watched Knightrider. Yes, I watched Baywatch (the early series), yet […]
Wednesday Cover Story: Sneak peek of last Lake District Mystery reprint
11 May, 2011
Anyone who is a fan of Martin Edward’s Lake District mysteries will know they’ve recently been given a revamp with striking new covers (very neon colouring – I love it!). The new look for The Serpent Pool prompted the redesign of the previous titles in the series beginning with The Coffin Trail and the The […]
Have you got a better title?
10 May, 2011
There’s something of an occupational hazard to working in the publishing industry – it becomes harder to treat a work of fiction as a complete, inviolable entity.
Happy Birthday Eeyore!
9 May, 2011
I spent last weekend scouring Winnie-the-Pooh books looking for catchy phrases to use for a friend’s baby shower, her nursery theme being that of the AA Milne classic. There was a fair amount to choose from, not all of it quite right for writing on the little hunny pot party favours, but I still spent […]
Writers and a Wage
6 May, 2011
I won’t be the first to say that for many authors, writing is not a very profitable line of work. When a book really works, it REALLY works but the number of books published every year (151,969 in 2010 according to Nielsen), nay every week, point us to a more accurate picture. Which is why […]
War and Peace: A Summary (Books Thirteen to Fifteen)
5 May, 2011
My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Books Thirteen to Fifteen The French are in Moscow and the Russians are without, vacillating between activity and lethargy, apparently on the brink of disintegration, suddenly propelling themselves uncompelled into attacks on the invaders. Kutusov is not a happy pensioner. His commanders delay when they […]
Wednesday Cover Story: How we came to talk about The Postmistress covers
4 May, 2011
Working in book publishing and in open plan office, it is natural that at some point in the week (possibly day) we will talk about a cover to a book – one of ours or one from another publisher. Exactly how we might end up talking about a particular cover may vary… It could be […]
French Summer Plans?
3 May, 2011
With the May bank holiday break behind us (and the inevitable post-holiday blues) it’s time to look forward towards the summer. If you’re planning a summer escape and fancy something away from the thronging hordes and lager louts, perhaps the south of France is for you? I’m currently inspired by the upcoming women’s fiction title, […]
War and Peace: A Summary (Book Nine)
31 March, 2011
My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Nine It is Book Nine, and we have reached, in this summary exercise, the halfway point of War and Peace. It is also now, and will till the end remain, 1812: a pivotal year for European history, and, it transpires, this novel. For henceforward […]
Wednesday Cover Story: The Revival of Inspector Ghote
30 March, 2011
This week we mourn the loss of revered crime writer HRF (Harry) Keating (read more in News…), best known for his inimitable Inspector Ghote series, set in India and comprising an impressive list of 24 titles. Although the series ended in 2000 (after 22 books), readers saw the return of Ghote in 2008 when we […]
Destined for literary greatness…
29 March, 2011
Later on this year we are reissuing Absolute Beginners, one of Colin MacInnes’s cult classic London Novels. Reading his biography, which mentions his mother Angela Thirkell I got to thinking about how small writing circles must have been. Thirkell, herself a writer, was a first cousin to Rudyard Kipling and her godfather was JM Barrie. […]
A Reading Census
28 March, 2011
The other night I dutifully sat down and read through our census forms. Frankly I thought there would be more questions, and more in-depth questions at that. So to fill this woeful lack of insight (or should that be nosiness?) by the Census people, I’ve decided to compile an A&B Reading Census and had a […]
Spotted anything sinister in the Cotswolds lately?
25 March, 2011
I spent this past weekend in glorious Cotswold country. Quaint little villages, stunning scenery, wholesome pub food, and antique shops galore. But I knew I shouldn’t allow myself to get too swept up in the idyllic landscape. It’s Rebecca Tope country after all. And if you’ve read her highly addictive Cotswold mystery series you’ll know […]
War and Peace: A Summary (Book Eight)
24 March, 2011
My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Eight We finished Book Seven with Sonya blissfully enraptured with a fiancé by her side, and Natasha desperately pining for a fiancé many miles away, having a whale of a time in the Swiss Alps. But in Book Eight it soon transpires that Natasha, […]
Wednesday Cover Story: The changing face of DI Charlie Priest…
23 March, 2011
The series design for the D I Charlie Priest crime novels by Stuart Pawson have undergone various changes over the years. First we had the rather dark look… Then we had the bottom-half-white look… Then we played with a monochrome design…. And now we’ve gone with a more eye-catching urban style… What do you think […]
Wannabe a writer? Be a Figmentling.
22 March, 2011
Talk about the internet and inevitably the words “there is just so much out there” will crop up in conversation. It’s a fact – trawling the web can be truly overwhelming…which is why I particularly love the last page in Easy Living magazine where they select websites that have caught their eye that particular month, […]
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