Blog

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

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 Books We’re Most Excited About This Autumn

It’s that time of year again; woolly jumpers have made a reappearance in our wardrobes, boots are back, and we’re all eagerly anticipating the return of the Pumpkin Spiced Latte… But the most exciting thing about autumn? The books! It’s now cold enough outside that you have the excuse you’ve… Read More

Our Top 10 Audiobooks for When You’re on the Run

As much as we love reading, we know there’s not always time to curl up with a book. So, we’ve put together a list of our Top 10 recommended audiobooks to keep you going whilst commuting, running or in the car! Have a little look below…   Kiss of Death… 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

Top 10 Summer Beach Reads for 99p

Well Avon readers, it’s the best time of the year! The sun is shining; temperatures are soaring and we’re sure many of you are jetting off on holiday. So! Here are Avon’s Top Ten Summer Beach Reads for only 99p…   1.) The Forgotten Guide to Happiness –… 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