Avon Authors

Festive Fireworks – A short story by Tracy Corbett

Jessica Day had always loved the festive time of year. Not that she got to celebrate much these days. But that didn’t stop her imagining a time when she could put up decorations and lounge around her flat on Christmas morning opening presents with an attractive man by her side,… Read More

Sue Moorcroft’s Ultimate Christmas

Given a blank sheet of paper – or blank blogpost – to create my ultimate Christmas, I find myself almost unable to choose. Quiet? Or noisy? Busy? Or peaceful? Home or away? Do I hanker after Christmas in a posh hotel in a hot country, with lots of books and… Read More

A Woman of War

A Woman of War It’s an old adage, but one that sits well with me: ‘write what you know’. As a midwife of almost twenty years, it is a good part of my world, and so when I came full circle in my writing – having been a journalist in… Read More

The Darkest Fears Are Often Rooted in Realism

The Darkest Fears Are Often Rooted in Realism   What scares you the most? As a thriller writer, it’s a question I tackle in my writing daily. My goal is to uncover the scariest, creepiest things in life and put the reader at their mercy. These fears certainly… Read More

The Story of the Pear Drum

The Story of the Pear Drum Two children, sisters – Turkey and Blue-eyes. They had wandered off one day, out of their mother’s sight, when they met a ragamuffin girl. The girl had a pear drum and she was playing it by the side of a stream. The sisters were… Read More

Christmas in 1943

Christmas in 1943 When Avon asked me if I would write a post for their website on what Christmas was like in 1943 – the year my latest book, An Orphan’s Wish, is set in – I automatically said yes. However, it’s a rather gloomy subject because the war was… Read More

Taking a Creative Writing Course

I began writing seriously some ten years ago but my development as a writer really began when I secured a place on the Curtis Brown Creative writing course in September 2013. It almost didn’t happen. Earlier that year I’d submitted my first novel, an historical spy story, to Curtis Brown… Read More

What zodiac sign is your cat?

Ever wondered how your cat’s zodiac sign affects its personality? What sign is the biggest hunter, or the most likely to be a lap cat? Which is the most fond of its food, or the most loyal? How does the zodiac sign affect their character? Can it also explain favourite… Read More

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

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