Sheila O’Flanagan’s THE MISSING WIFE a Number One Bestseller!

Sheila O’Flanagan’s compelling novel THE MISSING WIFE, published in paperback on 9 March, has been a bestselling success in its first full of week of sale, shooting to the Number One bestseller spot in Ireland and Number Four in the Sunday Times Paperback Fiction Bestseller list.

THE MISSING WIFE was hugely popular amongst O’Flanagan’s fans when it was released by Headline in 2016, and broke the bestselling Irish writer’s already impressive record for the number of weeks in Ireland’s Top 5.

Set in the sunny south of France, this engrossing novel charts the story of a woman determined to escape, the man who wants to find her, and the friends and family unaware of the dark truth behind her flight.

When Imogen Naughton vanishes, everyone who knows her is shocked. She has a perfect marriage. Her handsome husband treats her like a princess. She's always said how lucky she is. So why has she left? And how will she survive without Vince?

What goes on behind closed doors is often a surprise, and Imogen surprises herself by taking the leap she knows she must. But as she begins her journey to find the woman she once was, Imogen's past is right behind her...

Will it catch up with her? And will she be ready to face it if it does?

THE MISSING WIFE will be published in the US in February 2018 by Grand Central, and rights are already sold in several foreign markets including Czech Republic, Russia, Estonia and Germany, where Insel will publish.

See more on Sheila’s website.

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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 smart and twisty yarn’ – Heat

‘O'Flanagan's lightness of touch and gentle characterisations have produced another fine read; an ideal addition to that summer holiday.’ – Sunday Express

‘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

‘Must-read’ – Express

Sheila O’Flanagan is the award-winning author of over twenty novels, including THE MISSING WIFE, 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, CONNECTIONS and A SEASON TO REMEMBER.  In 2016 Hodder Children’s Books published THE CRYSTAL RUN, her first book for younger readers and the paperback is due out in May 2017, with the follow-up THE CRYSTAL RUN: SHIELD OF LIES out in 2018.

In 2003 she received the prestigious Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Award. She lives in Dublin with her husband.

WHEN THE MUSIC STOPPED by Beryl Matthews - published tomorrow by Allison & Busby!

Published tomorrow in hardback by Allison & Busby is WHEN THE MUSIC STOPPED by Beryl Matthews.

Set in London, 1912, WHEN THE MUSIC STOPPED follows identical twins Lester and Lillia Holdsworth – both destined for the stage. Lester is a brilliant pianist; Lillia a magnificent opera singer. But their cruel father has other ideas for their future. Lester is sent to a military academy, while Lillia must marry Lord Dalton - a self-righteous, pompous friend of her father's looking for a young wife to give him an heir. Yet their plans to defy their father's wishes are put on hold when war breaks out in 1914. Suddenly Lester is flying planes for the RFC and Lillia trains as a nurse to help those wounded at home, and then abroad. For both twins, the fighting brings hardships and difficult choices. They wait in hope, like the rest of Europe, for the war to end and the music to start again.

Matthews is an incredibly prolific writer, publishing a novel almost every year since 2002. Her first novel THE OPEN DOOR was published by Penguin when Matthews was 71.

About Beryl Matthews

As a young girl, Beryl Matthews’ ambition was to become a professional singer, but lack of funds drove her into an office, where she worked her way up from tea-girl to credit controller. After she retired, she began to pursue her dream of becoming a published author.

Celebration of Carole Blake's life

A celebration was held last week at St John’s Smith Square for the life of Carole Blake. Liz Thomson, book trade journalist and good friend to Carole, shared these words:

Lawrence Norfolk

Martin Neild

Elizabeth Chadwick

Peter James

Several hundred people came together at St John's Smith Square to celebrate the life of Carole Blake, literary agent par excellence and friend to many, in the book trade and beyond. She died last October after a short illness, having just celebrated her seventieth birthday.

Choreographed by her colleagues at Blake Friedmann, it was a wonderful affair, the eulogies - by Julian Friedmann, Lawrence Norfolk, Martin Neild, Conrad Williams, Isobel Dixon, Elizabeth Chadwick and Peter James - striking sparks, one against the other, and together providing a vivid portrait of an extraordinary woman for whom no detail was too small to be noticed and attended to. She was, everyone agreed, the toughest of the nice agents, and the nicest of the tough agents, always securing a good deal and ensuring that deal was appropriately celebrated. Not for Carole a lunch (or dinner) with only mineral water or just one glass. "A bottle will be cheaper", she always noted. Sometimes it was magnum.

Fighting back tears, Lawrence Norfolk recalled how he'd gone to the 1989 London Book Fair in search of an agent. Spotting the Blake Friedmann stand, he'd dropped off a sheet of paper outlining his idea for a novel. Most agents would have dismissed it but Carole immediately noticed that he'd omitted to include his name and contact details and called after him. The rest is history. Elizabeth Chadwick had spent years seeking an agent or publisher when Carole responded enthusiastically to a chapter she'd posted and wrote asking if she'd be interested in representation. That too is history. She also talked about Carole's love of music, in this case Meat Loaf, to whom she'd turned her on! Peter James remembered first encountering Carole at a party, when she informed him that she loved his writing and bought every novel in hardback. A few years later when he was reinventing his career, she became his agent. More history, and some eye-watering deals.

Julian offered a few scenes from a marriage, including a holiday in France when Carole had fallen in love with a dinner service of which they had no real need. They had discussed the price (too high) and Julian told his wife she should bid for it. "But I can't,” she replied. "I can only bid upwards."

Conrad recalled the ever-supportive colleague and their shared musical enthusiasms, not least the annual Kings Place concert when well-known amateur pianists such as Ed Balls or James Naughtie would play. And he played a Grieg composition that he performed at the last concert, an event at which Carole's ticket went sadly unused.

Isobel Dixon recalled the years of fun and friendship, her pleasure in "the great bazaar of life", which she summed up poignantly in a poem, "The Jewel", written for Carole.

And soprano Eve Daniell, sang Mozart's "Laudate Dominum" and "Rejoice Greatly, Daughter of Zion" from Handel's Messiah, accompanied by pianist Malgorzata Garstka.

Olga Vezeris and I proposed the toast: to Carole and to great friendship.

Among the many friends there were Jane Gregory, Elizabeth Buchan, Jo Goldsworthy, Deborah Owen, Trevor Dolby, Sheila Crowley and Patrick Janson-Smith, all of whom, like Carole, had played the Publishers' Panto; Philip Cotterell, Heather Holden Brown, Kyle Cathie, Fanny Blake, Suzanne Collier, Penny Mountain, Eileen Campbell, Mavis Cheek, Anne de Courcy, Barbara Erskine, Christine Green, Lisa Milton, Judy Piatkus, Andrea Morgale, Caroline Upcher, Suzanne Baboneau, Amanda Ridout, Sophie Hicks and Felicity Bryan, as well as Carole's sister Rosie and her niece Penny Geeson and children.

The collection was for the Book Trade Charity, for which Carole was such a tireless fundraiser, its CEO David Hicks among the congregants.

It was a fitting tribute and if Carole was looking down from some celestial publishing party where the champagne never runs out she would surely have approved.

"Godspeed on a crisp, bright afternoon" as Isobel wrote.

The Times | The Bookseller | Publishers Weekly | Publishing Perspectives | Bookbrunch by Isobel Dixon | London Book Fair Hub
The CWA by Peter James | The RNA by Caroline Sheldon  
Elizabeth Chadwick | Liz Fenwick | Paul Finch | Liz Thomson | Stella Duffy 
The Bookseller on Blake Friedmann’s Open Doors Project
'Carole Blake named Agent of the Year at the RNAs' in The Bookseller | 'Carole Blake remembered at funeral' by Liz Thompson
'The Jewel' by Isobel Dixon | 'Heavenly Ops'  by Jan Jones

Aardvark Bureau acquires a new kind of book, a reading experience like no other!

LITTLE: THE STORY OF MADAME TUSSAUD

Aardvark Bureau, the world fiction imprint of the Belgravia Books Collective, has acquired Edward Carey’s extraordinary picaresque novel LITTLE, based on the incredible life story of the world’s most famous wax sculptor, Marie Tussaud.

LITTLE is to be illustrated by Edward Carey’s distinctive pencil drawings.

Aardvark Bureau has acquired UK, Europe and Commonwealth (ex Can) rights from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann.

Born Marie Grosholtz in 1761 in Alsace but known as ‘Little’ in the novel for her diminutive size, Marie started out in the household of Dr Philippe Curtius in Berne, Switzerland . A physician skilled in creating anatomical wax models, it was Curtius who taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling and took her to pre-revolutionary France.

At the age of 17, Marie became the art tutor to King Louis XVI’s sister, Madame Elisabeth, at Versailles. During the French Revolution she was imprisoned and narrowly escaped execution. She cast the heads of many of those who were not so lucky... She married François Tussaud in 1795 and later moved to London, where she set up her world-famous waxworks museum.

Far from being a chamber of horrors, Edward Carey’s telling of Marie’s story is an affecting and exuberant Dickensian tale crossing countries and covering a tumultuous period in history, through the eyes of a cast of quirky and sympathetic characters. It is an unconventional love story, the tale of a woman’s rise to success against the odds, and a hymn to the strange beauty of the human body.

Edward Carey first became fascinated by the story of Madame Tussaud while working at the London museum. He is the author of two previous works of literary fiction – OBSERVATORY MANSIONS (Picador, 2000, shortlisted for the Borders Discover New Writers Award) and ALVA AND IRVA (Picador, 2003, longlisted for the IMPAC) – as well as the acclaimed Iremonger Trilogy for young adults, beginning with HEAP HOUSE (chosen by The New York Times, NPR, and Kirkus for their Best Books of the Year and now optioned for film).

LITTLE will be published by Aardvark Bureau in autumn 2018, including illustrations by the author: chapters will be illustrated with line drawings of characters and objects mentioned, while the cover will feature Carey’s painting of LITTLE in the style of Jacques-Louis David, whom Marie encounters in the book when she is asked to make a waxwork of the murdered Marat.

Jane Aitken says: ‘There are so many reasons to be excited about publishing LITTLE. Such an original novel which marries the Gallic and Aardvark lists perfectly – rich with French history, but written in English with Edward’s wit and pathos. And we are thrilled at the prospect of publishing Edward’s wonderful illustrations.’

Edward Carey says: ‘I'm absolutely thrilled to have LITTLE published by Aardvark Bureau who know the French world so well, and who have been so enthusiastic about this story of a diminutive servant turned entertainment mogul. Aardvark are so inspiring to work with, full of ideas and enthusiasm, and with a tremendous encouragement have championed this novel spanning a big stretch of calamitous history told by a small bloodstained crumb...and they have let me populate it with pencil sketches. I couldn't be happier.’

Carey’s agent, Isobel Dixon, says: ‘Madame Tussaud’s journey was an extraordinary one, and in so imaginatively retracing her footsteps and the growth of her art, Edward Carey has created a novel of wonder. LITTLE is funny, dark, and moving, about the great violent sweep of revolution as well as the tender secrets of the heart.  I’m thrilled with this perfect match of innovative publisher with brilliant author and I look forward to more creative publishing adventures ahead in bringing this unforgettable novel to readers.’

Praise for Edward Carey:

‘Delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising, philosophical’ - Eleanor Catton

‘It's hard to imagine a better subject for Edward Carey's particular genius than the life of Madame Tussaud’ - Charles Lambert

‘Edward Carey is an enormously talented writer’ - Publishers Weekly

‘Edward Carey is one of the strangest writers we are privileged to have in this country’ - Observer

‘Carey writes with such persuasive authority, and we are inclined to believe him’ - New York Times Review of Books

‘If this were music, Carey would be Eric Satie. If it were film, he would be Tim Burton’ - Newsday

 ‘Conveyed with so much sympathy and acute observation that it is hard not to be beguiled’ - The Times

About Edward Carey

Edward Carey is a novelist, visual artist and playwright. His acclaimed YA series the Iremonger Trilogy (HEAP HOUSE, FOULSHAM and LUNGDON) is published in thirteen countries and has been optioned for film adaptation. Born in England, Edward has lived in France, Romania, Lithuania, Germany, Ireland and Denmark. He now lives in the USA and teaches at the University of Austin, Texas.

 

Follow Edward Carey on Twitter
Visit Edward Carey's website

Debut 'moral thriller' BLOODY JANUARY to Canongate at auction...and more!

Alan Parks' phenomenal debut, BLOODY JANUARY, which Francis Bickmore at Canongate won at auction (from agent Tom Witcomb), swept up a host of fantastic rights deals at London Book Fair 2017. Michael Reynolds at Europa will publish in the US as a lead title for their crime-list relaunch.  

There has also been an auction for Czech rights (Euromedia), with Slovak (Ikar) & Turkish (Nemesis) rights sold. Payot Rivages pre-empted for French rights before the fair. And after a very positive fair – more to come!

Described as a ‘moral thriller’, the first in a new crime series set in Glasgow is Tartan Noir at its best, for fans of Ian Rankin, Louise Welsh, and William McIlvanney’s LAIDLAW trilogy. John Niven, author of KILL YOUR FRIENDS, described the book as: ‘A brilliant debut. Taut, violent and as close as you'll get to 1970s Glasgow without a Tardis. Parks is a natural successor to William McIIvanney.’

18-year-old Tommy Malone shoots a young woman dead on a busy Glasgow street, and then commits suicide, hard-drinking, salt-of-the-earth cop, Harry McCoy knows it can’t be a random act of violence. With a new partner in tow, McCoy uses his underworld network to build a picture of a secret society run by Glasgow’s wealthiest family. The son, Teddy, drugged young Tommy, and convinced him it was his God-given task to kill the woman. Drugs, sex, incest; every nefarious predilection is catered for, at the expense of the lower echelon of society, an underclass that includes McCoy’s best friend — drug-Tsar Stevie Cooper — and his on-off girlfriend, a prostitute, Janey. But with McCoy’s boss, Murray, calling off the hounds, and Murray’s boss threatening to scupper the entire investigation, the Dunlops are apparently untouchable. McCoy has other ideas.