Author Available

Rachel Caine and The Morganville Vampires

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:32:21 +0000

Rachel Caine will be touring the UK to promote the latest in her YA series The Morganville Vampires during the month of June 2010 and is available for library events.

Claire Danvers thought that Morganville, Texas was a sleepy college town, until she discovered it was run by vampires hungry for fresh blood. The series will be eight-strong in May with the release of Kiss of Death. You can read more about the books, Rachel and view extracts by going to: http://www.allisonandbusby.com/book/glass-houses

Karen Campbell available for events

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:21:20 +0000

Karen Campbell is a police officer turned crime writer and is available for library events, reading group sessions and readers' days. She is happy to give solo talks, or take part in a panel event. She lives in Glasgow and joined the Strathclyde Police in 1987, but after a career break to have her family, she applied to Glasgow University's Creative Writing programme. In 2003, Karen was awarded a Scottish Arts Council New Writer's Bursary. Her debut novel, The Twilight Time, was published in 2008 to great acclaim and was followed last year by After the Fire. Her third novel, Shadowplay, will be published in May 2010.
Visit Karen's website www.karencampbell.co.uk

Jane Austen in the 21st Century

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:55:49 +0000

Juliet Archer is a 19th-century mind in a 21st-century body. Actually, some days it's the other way round. She is on a mission to modernise all six of Jane Austen's completed novels, as a series called 'Jane Austen in the 21st Century'. Her first novel, 'The Importance of Being Emma', was shortlisted for the 2009 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance. She offers a 45-minute talk, with readings from her work, on why and how she is updating Jane Austen.

Cara Black on Murder in the Latin Quarter

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:02:18 +0000

Murder in the Latin Quarter is the latest in Cara Black's highly regarded Aimee Leduc Parisian crime series.

A Haitian woman arrives at the office of Leduc Detective and announces that she is Aimee's sister, her father's illegitimate daughter. Aimee is thrilled. A virtual orphan since her mother's disappearance and her father's death, she has always wanted a sister. Her partner, Rene, is wary of this stranger, but Aimee embraces her and soon finds herself involved in murky Haitian politics, which leads to murder in Paris's bohemian Latin quarter.

Cara Black lives in Noe Valley, San Francisco with her bookseller husband, Jun. She's a San Francisco Library Laureate, Macavity and three time Anthony award-nominee for her series, Aimee Leduc Investigations, set in Paris. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Crime Writers and the Marais Historique Society in Paris.

Author Available: ANDREW KAY: Pretty Boys All In A Row

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:48:54 +0000

Summer 1981 and hedonism rules on the sun-baked island of Ibiza. The streets and bars are overflowing and on the beaches there's a seemingly endless parade of beautiful bronzed adonises. Philip, though, is pasty and pale and plain to boot. Why on earth, he wonders, has he come to this gay paradise when he can barely pluck up the courage even to uncover his body?

Then Philip meets Terry and everything changes. Terry is sixty-something, with a shocking predilection for orange shell suits and plastic flip-flops, but also a bottomless purse and a generous heart. Under Terry's tutelage, Philip begins to discover a whole new self and his transformation from ugly duckling to gorgeous butterfly begins. But Terry, too, has his own demons to face...

In this charming, witty and entertaining novel, Andrew Kay evokes a long-gone and surprisingly innocent world of casual encounters and guilt-free sex, but in the background is a darker theme - the difficulties of ageing, especially in a gay culture obsessed with youth and sexual conquest.

Diane Janes on The Pull of the Moon

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:30:52 +0000

Diane Janes is a full-time writer of crime novels and investigative non-fiction. Her novel Moonshadow was highly commended in the 2006 CWA Debut Daggers Award for unpublished works. She is available for library events and to speak to reading groups.

The Pull of the Moon is a gripping novel of psychological suspense in the tradition of Frances Fyfield and Barbara Vine.

When Kate Mayfield receives a letter from Mrs Ivanisovic, she realises that the secret she has kept for more than thirty years is not so safe as she imagined. Haunted by the echoes of a vanished summer which changed her life for ever, Kate is forced to confront memories she would rather forget... a dead white face in a flickering beam, not flinching when the soil hit it...

Mrs Ivanisovic is dying and demands to be told the truth, but is Kate's story of love, lies and murder really what Mrs Ivanisovic wants to hear? And how much does she herself already know?

http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=books&book=the_pull_of_the_moon_9781849010467_paperback

Alison Bruce on Kimberly's Song

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:17:35 +0000

Alison Bruce is a scriptwriter, DJ and author of two non-fiction crime books. She is available for library events and to speak to reading groups. Following her stunning debut Cambridge Blue, this is the second DC Gary Goodhew mystery.

Kimberly Guyver and Rachel Golinski had always hoped their old life wouldn't catch up with them, they'd hoped they could leave it all behind but within hours, Rachel's home is burning and Kimberly's young son, Riley, is missing.

DC Gary Goodhew begins to sift through their lives and starts to uncover an unsettling picture of deceit, murder and accelerating danger. Kimberly seems distraught but also defensive and uncooperative. Is it fear and mistrust of the police which are putting her son at risk or is it darker motivations? With Riley's life in peril, Goodhew needs Kimberly to make choices, but she has to understand, the one thing she cannot afford is another mistake.

http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=authors&author=alison_bruce&dir=asc&imprint=

D.J. Taylor on At the Chime of a City Clock

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:38:40 +0000

D.J. Taylor is available for library events and to speak to reading groups. For more information, click on continue reading.

Set against a backdrop of the 1931 financial crisis and acted out in shabby bed-sitters and Lyons tea shops, At the Chime of a City Clock is a brilliantly evoked slice of Thirties' noir.

D.J. Taylor is married to the novelist Rachel Hore and lives in Norwich. He is the author of two acclaimed biographies, Thackerary, and Orwell: The Life, which won the Whitbread Biography Prize in 2003. He has written six novels, the most recent being Kept: A Victorian Mystery. He is also well known as a critic and reviewer, and his other books include A Vain Conceit: British Fiction in the 1980s and After the War: the Novel and England since 1945.

For more information see:
http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=books&book=at_the_chime_of_a_city_clock_9781849010245_hardback

Cath Staincliffe on The Kindest Thing

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:30:55 +0000

Cath Staincliffe is available for library events and to speak to reading groups. For more information, click on continue reading.

A fictional account looking at the fiercely contested topic of assisted suicide, The Kindest Thing is a love story, a modern nightmare and an honest and incisive portrayal of a woman who honours her husband's wish to die and finds herself in the dock for murder.

A finely written page-turner that charts the life of a marriage and all the joys and stresses of bringing up a family and contrasts this with the terrifying experience of being imprisoned and at the mercy of the full weight of the criminal justice system. The Kindest Thing tackles a controversial topic with skill and sensitivity. A book that begs the question: what would you do?

Cath Staincliffe is part of Murder Squad, a collective of seven crime writers from the North of England. She is the author of the acclaimed Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the creator of ITV's hit police series, Blue Murder, which recently returned to TV with three new episodes featuring DCI Janine Lewis, played by Caroline Quentin. Cath's first novel, Looking for Trouble, shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association's best first novel award, was serialized on Woman's Hour.

For more information see:
http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=books&book=the_kindest_thing_9781849012737_hardback

Celebrity Shopper by Carmen Reid

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:17:43 +0000

Carmen Reid is a wonderful author of the Personal Shopper series starring the incorrigible Annie Valentine. The fifth book in the series - Celebrity Shopper - is published on 4th March.

In 2009 we undertook some fantastic events with Carmen in various libraries across Scotland and the North. These events were incredibly popular with mothers and daughters as Carmen is also the author of a young adult series of books about a boarding school called St Jude's.

More of the same event style would be fantastic but it would also be fabulous to get Carmen doing some solo events or joint events with other adult authors, possibly with input from local businesses such as boutiques and salons to make it a true Girls Night In.

For further information about Carmen please visit her website - www.carmenreid.com

Village Teacher by Jack Sheffield

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:09:48 +0000

Jack Sheffield is the extremely charasmatic author of the Teacher series, the fourth book of the series - Village Teacher - will be published in January. The books are very much in the style of Gervase Phinn, Heartbeat and The Royal and are perfect fun, anecdotal stories that will make you laugh and spill your tea! Jack used to be a Headmaster in Yorkshire from the 1970s onwards and many of his stories are based on true accounts from his own experiences!

Being an ex-Headmaster Jack is exceptional at commanding an audience and people always come away from Jack's events well entertained. The books are perfect for Reading Groups and I'd like to suggest an "Afternoon Tea with Jack Sheffield" style event.

Rosie Alison talks on The Very Thought of You

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:45:22 +0000

Rosie is available for library events.

A story of love, loss and complicated loyalties, combining a sweeping narrative with subtle psychological observation, The Very Thought of You has been longlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year 2010 and shortlisted for Amazon Rising Star.

For more information, see
http://www.almabooks.co.uk/the-very-thought-of-you-p-320-book.html

Catrine Clay on Trautmann's Journey

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:21:11 +0000

Catrine Clay is available for library events.

Trautmann's Journey is an astounding story of war and football - the first biography of Manchester City goalkeeper and former Hitler Youth star Bert Trautmann.

Tom English on The Grudge

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:18:10 +0000

Tom English is available for library events.

The Grudge is a gripping inside story of the 1990 Calcutta Cup, when an England Scotland rugby match became more than just a game.

For further information, please see http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/catalog/book.htm?command=Search&db=main.txt&eqisbndata=0224082760

Gene Kerrigan on Dark Time in the City

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0000

Gene Kerrigan is available for library events.

Dark Times in the City is a thoroughly absorbing page-turner thriller set among the Dublin underworld.

For further information, please see http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/catalog/book.htm?command=Search&db=main.txt&eqisbndata=1846552559