Sheila O’Flanagan’s CHRISTMAS WITH YOU reaches #4 on the Irish bestseller lists

Sheila O’Flanagan’s festive short story collection CHRISTMAS WITH YOU, published by Headline in October, has reached #4 on the Irish bestseller lists. Her previous titles have enjoyed similar chart success this year, with WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT going straight to #2 in the Irish bestseller charts and THE MISSING WIFE hitting #1 on the Kindle list in June.

Tucked away in the Irish countryside, the Sugar Loaf Lodge is opening its door for the festive season. With snow falling on the mountains outside and warm fires roaring inside, it's the perfect place for guests to celebrate the happiest time of the year. But what if you've just had your heart broken? Or discovered that the man you're married to has lied to you? What if a secret from your past has finally come back to haunt you?

For some of the guests arriving at the Sugar Loaf Lodge, Christmas is looking far from tranquil. But can they find the magic and romance of the season within the walls of this beautiful hotel?

CHRISTMAS WITH YOU is the perfect festive read for fans of Veronica Henry, Carole Matthews and Marian Keyes. These enchanting closely-linked short stories from the No. 1 bestselling author bring to life one unforgettable Christmas full of surprise twists, life-changing moments ... and love. CHRISTMAS WITH YOU was previously published as A SEASON TO REMEMBER, but the re-issue features two poignant new stories and a Q&A feature with Sheila.

Sheila O’Flanagan is the award-winning author of over twenty novels, including MY MOTHER’S SECRET, IF YOU WERE ME, ALL FOR YOU (winner of the Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year Award) and BAD BEHAVIOUR, as well as the bestselling short story collections DESTINATIONS and CONNECTIONS.

Sheila was awarded the prestigious Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Award in 2003, and currently lives in Dublin with her husband. Her books have sold over 6.5 million copies in English alone.

See more on Sheila’s website.

Follow Sheila on Twitter

Praise for WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT

‘A fabulous tale with refreshingly inspiring heroines ***** (5 stars)’ – Sarah Hughes, Heat

Praise for THE MISSING WIFE:

‘Another first class bestseller. I read the book in one sitting as it was so enjoyable, full of romance and kept you riveted until the last page. A must for all Sheila's fans.’ – Woman's Way

‘A lovely book that will keep you guessing right up until the end.’ – Bella

‘Insightful, witty and full of fun... This is touching, tense and clever writing.’ – Irish Independent

‘This GONE GIRL-esque novel will have you gripped until the very end ****.’ – Look

Problemski Hotel by Steve Hawes opens in 30 French cities tonight

Last night's press night was a triumph for Steve Hawes and co-writers as the award winning PROBLEMSKI HOTEL opened to rave reviews.

This unusual Christmas story follows a cross-frontier migrant's life 'within the system' - an endless, featureless, futureless round of queues – which becomes even bleaker in December. Bipul doesn't want to admit it, but the arrival of Lidia, a Russian girl makes a difference. Hope? Surely not! A future? Get real! December is also the ninth month of Martina's pregnancy. But, just when the situation seems hopeless, help is at hand.

Quotes from reviews:

« Poétique et envoûtant. » Télérama  (“Poetic and spellbinding”)

« Une maîtrise sans faille. » Libération (“Faultless mastery”)

« Kafkaïenne métaphore sur un monde en perdition. » Positif  (“A Kafkaesque metaphor for a world in perdition”)

« Le cinéaste montre l’absurdité, la poésie ou la drôlerie qui affleurent dans l’expérience migratoire. » Polka  (“ The film-maker shows the absurdity, the poetry the humour that flourish among migrants”)

« Problemski Hotel parvient avec une indéniable virtuosité à mettre en balance le désespoir et la légèreté, Kafka et Tati. » Culturopoing (“…undeniable virtuosity in finding the balance between despair and lightness, Franz Kafka and Jacques Tati.”)

« Un charme indicible. » Le Journal du Dimanche  (“Unutterable charm.”)

Gregory Evans’ SHIRLEYMANDER rehearsed reading at the Playground Theatre

A rehearsed reading of SHIRLEYMANDER by Gregory Evans is taking place at the brand new Playground Theatre this Thursday 30th November, ahead of a full run planned for May 2018.

The play was previously adapted for radio to critical acclaim ‘a vividly impressionistic play… brutally comic, unexpectedly sad.' Daily Telegraph, 'An atmosphere of poisonous paranoia ... Excellent fun.' The Times, broadcast on Radio 4, with esteemed actress Tracy-Ann Oberman playing the lead. This is the first time the play will be performed on stage as it was originally conceived, and Tracy will be reprising her lead role. The reading will also feature Patrick Ryecart and Michael Simkins.  

SHIRLEYMANDER tells the story of Dame Shirley Porter, leader of Westminster Council from 1983 to 1991. Bullying, autocratic, possessing boundless energy and vast wealth yet riddled with insecurities, Porter turned the Conservative flagship borough into a mire of paranoia, fear and skullduggery, as she pursued secret, illegal policies that destroyed communities, reputations, lives hopes… and finally herself.

The play’s venue, the brand new Playground Theatre, has special significance in regards to SHIRLEYMANDER’s subject matter, as it is a stone’s throw from Grenfell Tower, drawing parallels on how past and present governments have played a role in social housing crises. It is these similarities that have led the Playground Theatre’s co-artistic director Anthony Biggs to select the play as its first production.

You can find The Observer’s article on the upcoming production here.

You can follow Gregory on Twitter here.

Essie Fox’s THE LAST DAYS OF LEDA GREY published in paperback!

Today Orion publish the UK paperback edition of Essie Fox’s enchanting novel THE LAST DAYS OF LEDA GREY which follows the life of a mysterious silent film actress and the turbulent events that left her isolated for over fifty years.

Follow this link for a look at the stunning trailer for the book.

On its initial publication last year it was selected as The Times’ Book of the Month. Antonia Senior described it as ‘luminous … with a sensuousness to the prose … Leda Grey’s world is utterly beguiling.’

During the oppressive heat wave of 1976 a young journalist, Ed Peters, finds an Edwardian photograph in a junk shop in the seaside town of Brightland. It shows an alluring, dark-haired girl, an actress whose name was Leda Grey. Enchanted by the image, Ed learns Leda Grey is still living - now a recluse in a decaying cliff-top house she once shared with a man named Charles Beauvois, a director of early silent film. As Beauvois's muse and lover, Leda often starred in scenes where stage magic and trick photography were used to astonishing effect.

But, while playing a cursed Egyptian queen, the fantasies captured on celluloid were echoed in reality, leaving Leda abandoned and alone for more than half a century - until the secrets of her past result in a shocking climax, more haunting than any to be in found in the silent films of Charles Beauvois.

Essie’s debut novel, THE SOMNAMBULIST, was shortlisted at the National Book Awards for New Writer of the Year, and was also picked up by TV Book Club. It has been published by Castelvechi in Italy and Damm in Sweden. Her other dazzling historical novels have also received glowing reviews. The Independent praised ELIJAH’S MERMAID for being ‘deliciously unsettling’ and John Koski from the Daily Mail You Magazine commended THE GODDESS AND THE THIEF as a ‘brilliantly imagined and wonderfully sustained piece of storytelling’.

Visit Essie Fox's website here

Visit Essie Fox's blog The Virtual Victorian here

You can also follow her on Twitter

Praise for THE LAST DAYS OF LEDA GREY

'...luminous...there is a sensuousness to the prose...Leda Grey's world is utterly beguiling.' -- Antonia Senior, The Times Book of the Month

‘a deliciously eerie affair…a story of obsession, jealousy, mysterious deaths and theatrically supernatural goings on as very strange truths are tantalisingly revealed’ – The Sunday Express

'Fans of Daphne du Maurier will love this haunting, atmospheric novel about a silent film actress: I was hooked from Page 1!' - Jane Harris, author of THE OBSERVATIONS and SUGAR MONEY

‘Essie Fox writes with passion and authority…bring[ing] to life some of the film stories of yesteryear, giving the reader a tantalising glimpse into the intriguing world of cinema history. Evocative and haunting, this story is beautifully told, it is multi-layered and hugely engaging. The characters are rich, mysterious and surprising and the setting is fabulous…The author has created a stifling atmosphere…so inventive, so surprising and quite enchanting.’ -- Random Things Through My Letter Box

‘Dark, haunting, compelling…equal to Daphne du Maurier’s novels. This book held me in its grip. Loved it.’ -- Liz Fenwick

‘Spent a sunny day hunched tensely over THE LAST DAYS OF LEDA GREY...Macabre, transporting, thick with atmosphere and allusion.’ -- Morgan McCarthy

‘I loved THE LAST DAYS OF LEDA GREY, I was haunted by it … a memorable and spooky read.’ – Barbara Erskine

Get ready for another thrilling adventure! Julian Stockwin’s THE BALTIC PRIZE out now in hardback

THE BALTIC PRIZE, the latest addition to the acclaimed KYDD series published by Hodder & Stoughton is now out in hardback. THE BALTIC PRIZE is the nineteenth instalment of the historical fiction series which the Daily Mail called ‘engrossing’.

1808. Parted from his new bride, Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is called away to join the Northern Expedition to Sweden, now Britain's only ally in the Baltic. Following the sudden declaration of war by Russia and with the consequent threat of the czar's great fleet in St Petersburg, the expedition must defend Britain's dearly-won freedom in those waters.

However Kydd finds his popular fame as a frigate captain is a poisoned chalice; in the face of jealousy and envy from his fellow captains, the distrust of the commander-in-chief and the betrayal of friendship by a former brother-in-arms now made his subordinate, can he redeem his reputation?

In an entirely hostile sea Tyger ranges from the frozen north to the deadly confines of the Danish Sound - and plays a pivotal role in the situation ensuing after the czar's sudden attack on Finland. This climaxes in the first clash of fleets between Great Britain and Russia in history. To the victor will be the prize of the Baltic!

Julian will be attending a variety of events and book-signings around the UK this month to coincide with the book’s release.

The action-packed KYDD series has been published in seven countries including France, Japan and Russia.

About the Author

At 14 Stockwin joined a tough sea-training school, followed by the Royal Navy, transferring to the Royal Australian Navy when his family emigrated. He saw active service in the Far East, the Antarctic, the South Seas and Vietnam, and was on board the Melbourne at the time of its disastrous peace time collision with the Voyager. Later he worked for NATO on the strategic development of merchant shipping.

He is also the author of the MOMENTS IN HISTORY series (UK, Allison & Busby) - gripping historical fiction which examines and re-imagines turning points of the past. THE POWDER OF DEATH, the second book in the series, tells the story of the re-discovery of gunpowder, after an envoy to China and an English scholar vow to take the deadly secret to their graves. When Edward III uses it to his advantage at the Battle of Crecy, the first full-scale battle at which guns are deployed in the field, the nature of warfare is changed forever.

Find out more about Julian on the Blake Friedmann website and on Julian’s website.

Follow Julian on Twitter here.

Praise for Julian Stockwin and the KYDD series

‘I was soon turning over the pages almost indecently fast’ – The Independent

‘His vantage point of a common sailor gives the nautical novel a fresh twist. In [Stockwin’s] hands … the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world.’ — The Guardian

‘As a historical fiction writer you have to keep your history in proper shape while combining it with a narrative that someone actually wants to read. Score two out of two for Julian Stockwin...It is engrossing.’ – The Daily Mail

'Stockwin’s eye for authentic detail is faultless.’ — Pennant

‘From the very first novel KYDD Stockwin climbed the dizzy heights of the bestseller lists and has stayed there ever since.’ – Craig Cabell, Book Collector and Magazine

'Stockwin writes brilliantly, bringing wonderful characters to life in a wholly realistic setting exploring history and times in thoroughly researched detail.’ — Alan Eggleston, Booksville