From my Desk to Yours

🥳📚I worked with Simon a couple of years ago on the early draft of his debut thriller ZERO RI$K and I was immediately grabbed by just how terrifyingly plausible the concept of most sophisticated cyber attack in history causing complete meltdown across the world is. Financial thrillers may have the reputation of being a bit dry, but this debut is anything but: strong characterisation, pacy plotting, and action scenes that have you gripped matched against a race against time that will have readers glued to the page.

Simon was kind enough to sit down and chat to me about his early influences, how important biscuits are to the writing process and how the idea for the book came about. And if that wasn’t enough, be sure to scroll down for a sneak peak!

🥳📚Happy publication to Against The Tide, the debut novel by Robert Sherwood.

It’s safe to say that I work on many books a year, and all of my authors have their strengths and weakness, and that’s why we work together to make their manuscripts the best they can be. But it’s very rare that I come across a manuscript that I was excited about as when Robert Sherwood first approached me a few years ago.

Robert Sherwood’s debut is packed full with everything you could want from an action thriller: evocative scenery, pulse-racing action plays, tense stand-offs, daring but emotional characters, twists at every turn, and a witty and pacy narrative. Lovers of Lee Child and Robert Ludlum are going fall head-over-heels for this series, with protagonists that really get under your skin and that you can’t help but root for, perfectly matched against deliciously complex adversaries.

The thing is, Robert is far too humble to say such things, so I decided to do it for him, and with much persuasion, he was brave enough to answer some burning questions. So after you’ve grabbed your copy of Against the Tide be sure to scroll down to read an exclusive interview with the author!

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They say you should never meet your heroes, but they never said anything about being interviewed by them! I am a huge fan of Charlotte Duckworth’s psychological thrillers, so when she reached out to chat to me via one of my lovely authors, Lizzy Barber (also a genius writer – thanks Lizzy!) to ask me to feature on her blog, I may or may not have squealed a little with excitement (I think you know the answer!)

Five years ago today, I sat down at the kitchen table in our newly rented flat by the beach in Brighton, Adelaide and started one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.

Going freelance was never something I’d planned to do. Ever since I decided on publishing as a career back in school, I had totally envisaged myself working my way up the editorial ladder in a publishing house, not expecting an easy path, but at least with the surety of a salary at the end of the month, irrespective of what had happened the month prior. But then, we decided to take a leap and travel to the other side of the world for an adventure of a lifetime, which meant I stepping away from that dream path into something quite unknown, in a country far away from home.

When I started my freelance business, I had no idea if I’d have any clients at all. I thought I’d get the occasional job from my old publishers, for sure, but scaling up to a point where freelance work would match my old income, if not more? No way! I had savings, and this was just meant to be a year out, and any income would supplement our travels.

But somehow, to my amazement, it took off. I worked on some very different jobs – my first publisher work was with Mills & Boon – and with some fabulous authors, who’ve now gone on to reach new heights themselves – bestselling Simon McCleave and Ned Kelly Award-nominated Jo Dixon, I’m looking at you. But this was all part of the adventure, and great, it was working out. But once we got back from Australia, it was time to get back to reality and find a traditional publishing job again.

Then the pandemic happened.

CONGRATULATIONS! I am so excited to share that A J Wills, one of my fabulously talented authors, has been shortlisted for The Selfies Book Awards 2023!