It’s never too soon for a bit of festive cheer… even if it is only July!
We have a gorgeous Christmas cover reveal for you this week plus other sparkling news and deals to share too.

First up we are thrilled that the New York Times, Sunday Times and The Globe & Mail bestselling debut thriller, The Push (Penguin Random House / Penguin Michael Joseph) by Ashley Audrain, has sold over a quarter of a million copies! If you haven’t read it yet then you need to pick up a copy of this unsettling and powerful read about a complex mother daughter relationship.

There was wonderful news for Kitty Wilson as she was signed up by  HarperCollins / One More Chapter for her feel-good festive title Every Day In December. Two people, one month to fall in love. With a little help from a Christmas miracle could Belle find the one thing she really wants underneath the mistletoe?
The cover is totally swoon worthy too!

We are having a Regency lovefest over here at the MM agency as Lex Croucher’s debut novel Reputation (Bonnier / Zaffre) was published to rave reviews. Evoke say here that this book will fill the Bridgerton sized hole in your life and it was also recommended by Waterstone’s as a “A Regency Romp For All Bridgerton Fans”, and we couldn’t agree more!  Lex’s highly anticipated launch at West End Lane Books was sold out, but if you missed her there you can still get your hands on a signed edition online.

Not only that but Sophie Irwin has penned a debut Regency novel which has been creating huge buzz around the world. Signed by HarperCollins in the UK and in North America by Penguin Random House / Pamela Dorman Books and Penguin Canada, the book also has seven translation deals, with significant auctions taking place in 10 more territories as we write – enough to get everyone’s fans fluttering in excitement.  A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting set in 1818 follows the fortunes of the ruthless and entirely unapologetic heroine, Kitty Talbot. When Kitty is jilted by her fiancĂŠ three months before their wedding, the future looks a dark place. We can’t wait for you to follow Kitty’s exploits as she heads toward the most dangerous battleground in all of Regency England: The London season.

Leah Mercer’s  utterly gripping and emotional piece of women’s fiction, A Mother’s Lie (Amazon Publishing), has shot straight up the charts, and is the No.1 bestseller in Literary Sagas! Not only that but it is No.4 in Women’s Sagas and No.7 in Psychological Literary fiction on Amazon.

YA author Danielle Jawando got together with her editor for a live chat to discuss her very exciting Branford Boase Award shortlisting! The BBA rewards new writers, and this award is made annually to the most promising book by a first-time novelist. We’re sure you’ll agree that Danielle’s stunning debut novel And the Stars Were Burning Brightly  (Simon & Schuster Children’s) would be a deserving winner!

The Ophelia Girls (Pan Macmillan / Mantle) is featured in the month’s roundup of best books on Waterstones. Jane Healey’s new historical novel is set between two fateful summers; a visceral, heady exploration of illicit desire, infatuation, and the perils and power of being a young woman. Healey’s debut The Animals at Lockwood Manor won the HWA Debut Crown Award 2020, a gripping tale of long-buried secrets and hidden desires.

Nuala Ellwood contributed to a multi-author Dead Good round up of the best books to read this summer and shared her own recommendation. Nuala’s fantastic new novel The Perfect Life (Penguin Random House / Viking) is a gripping thriller that takes psychological mind games to a new level. Out in ebook on the 22nd of July and paperback on the 5th of August.

Happy publication week to Mark Edwards whose atmospheric and chilling new novel, The Hollows (Amazon Publishing / Thomas & Mercer) is out this week. We’re sure you’re going to love this creepy and clever page-turner. Mark celebrated the launch with a virtual Facebook party where great fun was had by all!

Maisie Chan‘s action-packed new series, Tiger Warrior, also hit the shelves this week! Published by Hachette Children’s Books, the first stop in this mystical Middle Grade series is Attack of the Dragon King. With a brilliant cast of troublesome animal zodiac creatures, deadly demons and spine-tingling spirits, this series is for fans of Adam Blade and Percy Jackson.

If you have a Kobo  and are a fan of thriller’s then you’re in luck as Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner (Bloomsbury / Raven Books) has been chosen for Kobo’s summer sales. It will be ÂŁ2.59 for all of July, an absolute bargain for this deliciously, dark debut. Get your copy here.

Emma Stonex continues to shine brightly as The Lamplighters (Macmillan / Picador) is back in the hardback fiction top 20! Not only that but this is her 17th week in the top 40 which an amazing achievement for this evocative, literary mystery. Congratulations Emma!

Sophie Anderson reached No. 48 on the UK Kindle Chart with The Butterfly Garden (Bookouture), a heart-wrenching story about a family ripped apart by guilt and lies. Set against the storms of the Cornish coast and silvery tropical sands of a distant paradise, this is a story of love, loss and letting go.

The Love We Left Behind by Katherine Slee (Amazon Publishing / Lake Union) also flew up the charts this week and made it to number 14 in Australia and 15 in the UK! We love this heartwarming story of two best friends – and the choices that could tear them apart.

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson (Bonnier / Zaffre) has received a glowing review from best-selling author Katie Fforde: “I really loved this from start to finish. The premise is a library threatened with closure and community coming together to campaign to save it, but with a lovely light touch. A brilliant first novel.” This wonderful debut is an ode to libraries and the ability they possess to bring the unlikeliest of people together.

Who doesn’t love a ghost story?! We revealed these gorgeous proofs of The Whistling (Penguin Random House / Michael Joseph) by Rebecca Netley this week. The Whistling is an atmospheric and completely terrifying tale set on a remote Scottish island in the 1800s. When a young woman arrives to look after a traumatised, mute child, and she starts hearing hypnotic lullabies and finding strange dolls in abandoned rooms,  she must ask herself whether the house is haunted by the ghosts of the past or the secrets of the living. Set to be published in October 2021, this will be the perfect Halloween read!

Speaking of spooktacular fiction, we’re pleased to announce that the Middle Grade comedy-horror, Theodora Hendrix and the Monstrous League of Monsters (Walker Books) by the marvellous Jordan Kopy, is going stateside! Simon & Schuster Children’s USA snapped up rights to three terrifying tales, set for publication in Summer 2023. We can’t wait for more readers to be thrilled and chilled by Jordan’s storytelling.

Debbie Johnson has reached number 9 in the heat seekers chart with The Moment I Met You (Orion). It also has a lovely feature in Women’s Own, who described it as ‘full of emotion’. This book will make you will laugh and cry from the first page to the last.

If you’re reading this at the end of a tiring week then you’re likely to agree with James Plunkett in Prospect magazine as he extols the virtues of a 4-day week in this article. His book End State (Orion/Trapeze) provides a much-needed map to help us navigate our way over the curious terrain of the twenty-first century.

We’ve also closed these fantastic international deals this week:

 

Slovenian rights to The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh by Helen Rutter have sold to HKZ.

Turkish rights to all three books in P.L. Hickes Aveline Jones series have sold to Can Cocuk Publishing.

Jenny Bayliss’ A Season of Second Chances has sold to Newton Compton in Italy.

Latvian rights to C.L. Taylor’s Her Last Holiday have been sold to Kontinents.