AUTHORS: A-E
Maxine Barry
Maxine Barry writes contemporary romantic fiction, often set in exotic locations and featuring feisty heroines.
Maxine’s backlist, including Imposters in Paradise, Heart of Fire and The Lying Game, are being reissued by Joffe Books.
Jon Barton
Jon is a London-based writer with ten years experience as a dramatist. His work has been produced onstage and onscreen, including The Old Vic and The Almeida. He is also an experienced creative writing tutor and freelance editor. Jon writes thrillers and crime fiction, and is currently working on his debut novel. When he’s not writing, he’s running, drinking coffee, and walking his dog Molly.
www.jon-barton.co.uk @jnbarton
PR Black
PR Black is the author of several thrillers published by Aries, including The Family and The Beach House. His latest novel, The Runner, was published in July 2021.
He has been published in magazines including Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The People’s Friend. He was born and raised in Glasgow but now lives in Yorkshire with his wife and children.
Nick de Bois
With his wife Helen, Nick divides his time between their home in Hertfordshire and their villa on the Montgo mountain in Spain. After a lifetime in the live events industry, he won election to Parliament in 2010 where he served until 2015. He worked in Downing Street during the frenetic Brexit negotiation, joined TalkRadio as a broadcast host and has written his first book, Confessions of a Recovering MP. With four grown up children from his first marriage and two step children, he is now free to devote much of his time to his first novel.
Amanda Brittany
Amanda Brittany is the bestselling author of twisty psychological thrillers. Her debut, Her Last Lie, has so far raised over £7,000 for Cancer Research UK, from her eBook royalties.
Amanda loves walking her dogs, eating cake, and travelling. She is published by HQ Digital/HarperCollins.
Sylvia Broady
Tackling emotional hardships, including from family separations, are the seams running through Sylvia Broady’s sagas set in and around the Yorkshire city of Hull. Sylvia has family both in Hull and Australia, and travelling to shores, both near and far, is often on the agenda. Her grandchildren and zest for life keep her young at heart.
Sylvia is the author of The Lost Daughter and Daughter of the Sea, published by Allison & Busby.
Christopher Byford
Through a series of coincidences, Chris Byford decided to give up the world of IT to become a full time author, giving himself the deadline of being published in a year or give up. He narrowly met it.
His Den of Shadows trilogy was picked up by HQ and became Amazon bestsellers, leading to the release of a collection with additional material, as well as a free miscellany of cut chapters in the form of Luck and Other Deadly Things.
He keeps chickens, enjoys astronomy and, when not writing, can usually be found indulging in English fables and legends. Chris lives with his wife and son in Gloucester.
Annabel Campbell
Annabel is a fantasy writer based in Lanark, Scotland. Her first book is an epic fantasy titled The Hollow Mage. When she’s not writing, Annabel works as a research scientist, specialising in biochemistry and physiology. She’s also a reader, a gamer and an inept gardener. She lives with her patient husband, lovely dog and her two exceedingly grumpy feline masters.
Dennis Carey
Dennis Carey writes contemporary and historical fiction. Though based in Northamptonshire, his writing has a strong Irish influence and provides cause to return to his native Ireland as often as possible.
Alice Castle
Before turning to writing crime fiction, Alice was a feature writer on national newspapers including the Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph.
She writes the Death in Dulwich cozy crime series as Alice Castle and psychological thrillers for HQ under the name A.M. Castle. Her first thriller, The Perfect Widow, was an Amazon best seller and a top-selling audiobook. Her latest novel, The Invitation, was published in March 2021.
Alice lives in south east London with her two daughters and two cats.
@AliceMCastle http://www.dulwichdivorcee.com http://www.alicecastleauthor.com
Henry Chamberlain
A former Royal Marine and member of the Special Boat Service, Henry Chamberlain’s experiences have included leading boating missions to negotiate with the White Army in the Sudd of South Sudan, camel operations in the Nuba Mountains and remote travel into the Afghan mountains to drink tea in order to facilitate humanitarian access.
In 2016, Henry started the Coastal Exploration Company, taking people on expeditions through the wilderness of the North Norfolk marshes.
Joanne Clague
A Yorkshire lass, Jo studied journalism at NCTJ level and relocated to the Isle of Man. She enjoys life by the sea with her partner, children, dogs and wild goats. She works in print, radio and broadcast journalism on the island and in the north west of England. She is currently writing her debut novel set in 19th century Sheffield.
Adam Cook
Adam Cook has worked as a security guard, in a sweet factory and as a journalist. He has lived and studied in Spain and Italy and now lives in Sheffield with his family. A graduate of the University of Leeds and Curtis Brown Creative, he writes scary stories. He is rarely seen in public without a hat or cycling helmet.
Lesley Cookman
Lesley Cookman is the author of The Libby Sarjeant Mysteries. She is also the author of The Alexandrians Trilogy, and a former Editor and feature writer. She has also written seven pantomimes and a book on how to do it!
She lives on the Kent Coast with an occasional returning child and two cats.
Lyndsey Croal
Lyndsey is an Edinburgh-based science fiction and fantasy author influenced by her professional background in environmental policy and politics, as well as her experience growing up in remote places. In 2020, she won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award.
Her short fiction and essays have appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including Imagine a Country (Canongate), Quaranzine (Malefaction Mag), and We Are Not Shadows (Folkways Press).
Lucy Cruickshanks
Lucy Cruickshanks’s novels have been shortlisted for the Author’s Club Best First Novel Award and Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize, named a Top Ten Book of the Year by The Bookbag, and featured widely in the press.
A great fan of the underdog, she’s drawn to people and places grappling with political instability, writing about societies at their most precarious and fraught with risk.
Lucy is also cofounder of Bookaxe, a startup which uses AI to connect likeminded readers, with users from over 100 countries. You can find her chatting all things books on YouTube.
Louise Davidson
Originally from Ireland, Louise is a secondary school teacher living and working in London. Before this, she worked in theatre and is an unrepentant history geek. She is currently working on her first novel.
Anita Davison
Brought up in London and always fascinated by the city’s history, Anita Davison is the author of the Flora Maguire Mysteries, an Edwardian Cozy Mystery series set in London and Cheltenham, where Anita now lives. Published by Aria Fiction, the first release is Flora’s Secret, followed by Betrayal at Cleeve Abbey, A Knightsbridge Scandal, The Forgotten Children and The Bloomsbury Affair.
Helena Dixon
Helena Dixon writes classic 1930’s set cosy crime. She is also a best selling multi-award winning author of romantic fiction as Nell Dixon.
A two time winner of the Romantic Novelist’s RONA Rose award, she has a passion for architecture, history and art. A registered nurse, midwife and health visitor, she works in end of life and advanced dementia care.
Lesley Eames
Lesley Eames writes historical sagas set in the early twentieth century. Her awards include the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Elizabeth Goudge Cup and the Festival of Romance’s New Talent Award. Her first book, The Runaway Women in London, was shortlisted in the UK Romantic Novel Awards. She has also sold almost 100 short stories.
Lesley’s previous careers include solicitor, event organiser and Marketing and Fundraising Development Manager for a national charity. In addition to her own writing, she provides mentoring and editing services to other writers.