We’re kicking off this week with the delightful news that Phillipa Ashley’s A Perfect Cornish Summer hit No.6 in the Kindle eBook charts last week.
 
This gorgeous, summery, feel-good book is the perfect accompaniment to get you in the mood for summer, which is right around the corner, and for a limited time only, it is 99p on Amazon! Go on, treat yourself and pay a visit to the Porthmellow summer festival…

​Speaking of eBook deals, if you’re after a few bargains for your beach reads, then head on over to Kobo, who are celebrating Pride with whacking down the prices of these four stunning titles:

• The Closer I Get by Paul Burston

 

• Life’s A Drag by Janie Millman

 

• Sleeper and Sleeper: the Red Storm by J.D. Fennell

 

• You can also snap up Keris Stainton’s laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, The One Who’s Not the One on Kindle for only 99p! Bargains galore!

The eagerly anticipated second book in M.W. Craven’s Washington Poe series hit shelves this week in hardback. Black Summer, which has been hailed as "Fantastic” by Martina Cole and “Truly mind-blowing” by A.A. Dhand sees Poe and the brilliant, but social awkward, Tilly Bradshaw try and solve the mystery of a woman who appears to be both dead… and alive.
 
It is a truly remarkable piece of storytelling and we are so excited to see readers’ reactions. 

​This week, the Dutch cover for Black Summer was revealed. We don’t know about you, but this chilled us to the bone and if you’ve read the book, you’ll agree it’s perfect!

​As some of you may know, M.W. Craven is a Cumbrian lad born and bred, and one of the local magazines, Cumbria Life, proudly ran a review of Black Summer called it an “excellently crafted page-turner”. We couldn’t agree more…

​DHH agent Hannah Sheppard will be taking part in this year’s Wow-Con, the online writing conference. Hannah, along with two other literary agents, will be looking at pitches as part of Wow-Con’s Wow-Pitch, and each will pick three winners from the category they are judging (Hannah is judging YA pitches).
 
Admission is only £10, and you can find more information here.

It’s official! Abi Elphinstone’s Rumblestar has been selected as one of the best children’s / YA books in 2019 so far by the Telegraphwww.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/best-childrens-books-ya-fiction-2019-far/.
 
Described by Robin Stevens as “Imaginative, adventurous and wonderful” and “Brimming with enchantment and adventure” by Catherine Doyle, Rumblestar introduces you to eleven-year-old Casper Tick, who is compulsively allergic to risk-taking… which should be interesting when he accidentally stumbles in to Rumblestar, an Unmapped Kingdom full of magical beasts and meets Utterly Thankless, a girl who hates rules and is allergic to behaving. An adventure full of cloud giants, storm ogres and drizzle hags awaits…

Phillipa Ashley's new novel A Perfect Cornish Summer has hit No.13 in the charts and sold 10,000 copies of both eBook and paperback since its release in April and May respectively.

The cover for Ashley Croft's (the alter ego of Phillipa Ashley) forthcoming book, The Love Solution, has been revealed and it's a beauty. 

Sisters Sarah and Molly are close, but they couldn’t be more different. Sarah runs a craft business and is obsessed with all things shiny and glam, whilst Molly is much more at home in her white coat and goggles, working in a science lab.

When Molly is put onto a new assignment, she’s over the moon. It’s a high-profile, top secret project – and she has a handsome new boss to ogle at when she’s not bending over a petri dish...

But when Sarah finds herself on the painful end of a disastrous break-up, no amount of Ben & Jerry’s or trashy rom-coms can cheer her up. She wants to take a more drastic approach to dealing with her heartbreak, and one that only her sister – and perhaps a sprinkle of science – can help with...

Father's Day might have been yesterday, but there are still some brilliant deals to be had courtesy of Kobo until the 19th June.

Adrian Magson's Rocco and the Price of Lies and Smart Moves are only 99p, as is R.C. Bridgestock's Poetic Justice, the prequel to the incredibly popular DI Jack Dylan series.

Congratulations to Chris McGeorge, whose new novel Now You See Me was published last week. Chris is the author of the fabulously twisty Guess Who. 

Introducing Standedge Tunnel: the longest canal tunnel in England.

Last year six students went in, and two and a half hours later, the boat reappeared on the other side with only one of the students, unconscious, and the dog.

The case of the Standedge Six was largely kept from the national media. The police investigation concluded that the only remaining student, Matthew, killed his friends, hid the bodies on the boat and returned later to move them to an undisclosed location.
​
Matthew is in prison . . . but maintains he is innocent.

Robert Ferringham is grieving for his missing wife, Sam. So when Matthew contacts him for help with his case, promising information on Sam, Robert has no choice but to help. But can he trust Matthew?
​
And how will he solve the insolvable case?

We are thrilled that two of clients' books have been longlisted for two different prizes in the last week:

• Luke Turner's debut non-fiction memoir, Out of the Woods for the Polari Prize
• Kate Mallinder's debut YA Summer of No Regrets​ for the Bristol Teen Book Award

​Congratulations, both!

We're rounding this week off with some lovely rights deals for M.W. Craven's Washington Poe series: the first, The Puppet Show, has had Swedish rights sold to Modernista and the second, Black Summer, has been sold to 2020 Editora in Portugal. This brilliant sequel is out this week!

​Abi Elphinstone’s new book, Rumblestar, was chosen by the Sunday Times as their Children’s Book of the Week. This magical book is the start of a new series, The Unmapped Chronicles. Follow Casper Tock (who is, compulsively allergic to adventure) as he, Utterly Thankless and Arlo, Utterly’s miniature dragon, embark on an adventure full of cloud giants, storm ogres and drizzle hags.
 
Rumblestar was also confirmed as being the bestselling children’s book in new releases, last week.

​It has been announced that M.W. Craven (author of The Puppet Show  and Black Summer) will be a part of the line-up at this year’s Bloody Scotland. Mike will be appearing with crime stalwarts Mari Hannah and Peter Robinson on the We Are Detectives panel, Saturday 21st September at 5pm. To book your tickets, click here. 

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to new DHH clients, Peter Curran, joining Natalie Galustian’s list; and Maddie Please, who will add to Broo Doherty’s roster of clients.
 
Peter is a publisher, radio producer, writer, documentary maker and broadcaster. He is currently working on his memoir about growing up in the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
 
Maddie is the author of four books, all published by Avon HarperCollins. All her stories are uplifting, romantic comedies with a steep learning curve for her characters. 

Congratulations to Sara MacDonald, whose new book In A Kingdom By the Sea was published in eBook; Jo Thomas for the eBook publication of her new book My Lemon Grove Summer, and Sarah Simpson who saw the publication of her third book, I Know You’re There. These three reads are the absolute *perfect* accompaniment to your summer reading TBR list. Stock up, and lose yourself in these three fantastic reads.

Sarah Simpson’s debut book, Her Greatest Mistake, is currently free on Amazon Prime for a limited time only. Grab your copy here.
 
Claire Dyer’s poignant and moving The Last Day was published in audiobook last week. Beautifully read by Lucy Scott, you can download your copy here.

​The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was selected by the Zoella Book Club as their next read. You can join in the discussion, on Twitter, on Wednesday 3rd July.
 
The author of Seven Deaths, Stuart Turton, will be taking part in a Reddit AMA on Friday 28th June. More information here.

​Client Jennifer Lucy Allan presented an episode of BBC’s Late Junction on Tuesday 4th June. Catch up here.

​Phillipa Ashley’s new book, A Perfect Cornish Summer was standing strong at No.1 on the Heatseekers chart last week. 

​Paul E. Hardisty’s new book, Turbulent Wake, has received high praise from Paul Johnston, author of the Quint Dalrymple series: “Paul E. Hardisty, known for his superlative thrillers, has bravely moved into the challenging field of literary fiction, with a son trying to understand his dead father and thus himself. There is much superb writing, as well as memorable episodes set all over the world. The author has imbued his story with deep feeling and hard-won self-knowledge.”

​Finally, congratulations to Luke Turner, whose debut non-fiction memoir Out of the Woods, has been longlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2019. The £5,000 prize celebrates the best books about nature, the outdoors and UK travel and is awarded annually to the book which most successfully reflects the ethos of renowned nature writer Alfred Wainwright’s work. The longlist was announced to coincide with World Environment Day. The shortlist will be announced on Tuesday 2nd July, and the winner on the 15th August. 

Luke Turner's debut non-fiction memoir Out of the Woods has been longlisted for the 2019 Wainwright Prize.

The £5,000 prize celebrates the best books about nature, the outdoors and UK travel and is awarded annually to the book which most successfully reflects the ethos of renowned nature writer Alfred Wainwright's work, with the longlist revealed today (Wednesday 5th June) to coincide with World Environment Day. 

The judging panel for the 2019 prize will be chaired, for the third year running, by TV presenter Julia Bradbury. Waterstones non-fiction buyer Clement Knox, National Trust publisher Katie Bond, Unbound publisher John Mitchinson, The Urban Birder David Lindo and creative partner for agency And Rising Anna Arnell make up the judging panel. 

The prize shortlist will be announced on Tuesday 2nd July at an event at Waterstones Piccadilly. The winner will be announced on 15th August at an event in the National Trust Arena at the BBC Countryfile Live at Castle Howard, Yorkshire.

Phillipa Ashley’s gorgeous new book A Perfect Cornish Summer hit No. 1 on the Heatseekers chart last week, and we couldn’t be happier for this incredibly deserving author.

​We love a good book deal, and we’ve got a veritable (virtual) library’s worth of them for you:

• The Cliff House by Amanda Jennings is only £1.49 in the June Kindle Deal
• Deadly Focus by R.C. Bridgestock is also included in the June Kindle Deal at a staggering 99p
• A Store at War by Joanna Toye, Sleeper by JD Fennell & Deadly Focus by R.C. Bridgestock are all included in Kobo’s ‘First In A Series’ promo for a fraction of their usual price
• Claire Dyer’s beautiful and poignant The Last Day is £1.99 for a limited time only on eBook across all platforms
• Books one and two in Adam Hamdy’s gripping Pendulum series, Pendulum & Freefall are only £3.99 on Kindle for both books - that’s right: £3.99 for both books!

 
The perfect time to get your summer reading sorted! Click the titles to go straight to their promotions. 

​Congratulations to Abi Elphinstone, whose new book Rumblestar, the first in the highly-anticipated Unmapped Chronicles series was published last week.
 
The Daily Mail has given it a glowing review, saying “As ever, Elphinstone’s control of her complex universe is faultless and the thrilling plot is underpinned by a touching, emotional backstory.”
 
To celebrate Waterstones stocking an exclusive edition of Rumblestar (hello, blue sprayed edges & extra chapter), Abi has filmed one of their ‘Shelfie’ videos for Waterstones’ YouTube channel, where she discusses both the book, and her inspiration for it. Fancy a watch for yourself? Click here.
 
Abi was also interviewed by online children’s magazine, Books For Keeps. Here, you can read Abi talk about all her books and her life as a writer. 

​The cover for Sara MacDonald’s upcoming sweeping love story, In A Kingdom By the SeaIn A Kingdom By the Sea, was revealed and it couldn’t be more perfect.

- -
 
When Gabby’s husband accepts a transfer to Pakistan, she discovers a new world of heat and colour, of exotic bazaars and trips to the breath-taking Kashmiri mountains. It is an escape she didn’t know she was looking for.
 
But then a shocking letter from her sister reveals a devastating secret. Gabby is transported back to her home on the Cornish coast, and as memories unravel, so too does her new life in Karachi.
 
Will Gabby find the courage to face the dark secrets and embrace a different future?

​- -
 
Perfect for readers who love Santa Montefiore, Rosanna Ley and Dinah Jefferies, this gorgeous book will be published in eBook in June, and paperback in July, from HarperCollins. 

​Finally, we’re thrilled to be able to reveal that Noel O’Reilly’s dark and atmospheric debut novel Wrecker, has been shortlisted for the WHSmith Thumping Good Reads Award.
 
For the 2019 prize, the judges are Peter James and 2018 winner Laura Purcell, and their votes will be combined with a public vote to decide a winner. All you have to do to cast your vote, is tweet the name of the title using the hashtag #ThumpingGoodRead. You can also buy the full shortlist here.