By Claire Buss, Deputy Editor, Write On!
At Write On! and Pen to Print, we want to help connect authors and readers, playwrights and audiences, so we’ve created a Spotlight page on the last Saturday of the month, showcasing some of the exciting new reads and plays available. The curated list is based on books and plays that you send us, so if you’re an author or a playwright and you’d like your book or play in the spotlight, reach out to us at pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk. Whether you’re an indie author, with a small press or mainstream publisher, established or brand new playwright, we’d love to hear from you and shine a light on your new work.
Write On! offers other opportunities for writers as well. If you’d like us to feature an extract from your book or a short story, please send the extract, book cover and blurb to pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk with the subject: Write On! Showcase (ensuring you have your publisher’s permission, of course).
Pen to Print are also looking for short videos from people reading a passage from their favourite book, or authors reading extracts from their own books. These videos will be featured on the Pen to Print YouTube channel and across our social media. Please send in your videos or links to pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk with the subject: Video Stories.
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Number One Fan by Helen Aitchison
He will do anything for his idol, even kill.
With his happy-ever-after plotted out in his mind, David Creighton won’t let anyone block his path to true love with author Emily Robinson – even if she doesn’t know it yet. But admiration becomes infatuation as the author’s number one fan begins a deadly pursuit to win her heart.
Detective Sergeant Polly McCardle and her under-resourced team struggle to gather evidence on some seemingly unrelated murders. Pressure mounts, and DS McCardle recruits an old friend to help solve the crimes and prevent further killings.
However, nothing can stand in the way of true love, and as David Creighton’s obsession turns to danger and love turns to murder, Northumbria Police must race against a potentially catastrophic countdown.
Available to buy here
Connect with Helen Aitchison
Directions For Murder by Nikki Copleston
DI Jeff Lincoln investigates the brutal stabbing of writer Christian Darbyshire, killed while looking into the death of Hamilton Vaughn, a popular pantomime dame who took his own life 30 years ago – or was he murdered?
Was there any truth in the rumours of sexual abuse behind the scenes at Barbury Theatre before Vaughn died? Who wanted to silence Darbyshire before he could reveal their secrets?
Lincoln suspects it’s one of the teenagers who acted with Vaughn in his last panto. In their forties now and famous, they’ve all got something to hide – but which of them has the most to lose?
Ritchie Payne vanishes on the night of Darbyshire’s death. Can Lincoln find this vulnerable young man before it’s too late? Is there a connection between Ritchie’s disappearance and that of a teenage boy six years ago? How on earth can these disappearances be linked to Darbyshire’s murder?
As if solving these crimes isn’t enough, Lincoln has to deal with a crisis in his personal life – a crisis for which he’s totally unprepared.
Available to buy here
Connect with Nikki Copleston
The Vanishing Body by Emma Donovan
The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson
Contractor Tess Covington has spent her entire life as a regular non-shifter human, so after she lands in the Denver ER with flu-like symptoms, it comes as a complete shock to be told that, no, she’s not sick – she’s actually a late-presenting omega wolf shifter.
With her family in dire financial straits and a contract for her own television show on the line, she can’t afford not to complete the renovation job she came for. And, given that her newly emerged wolf is in danger of going into heat, she’ll just have to do her best to follow the doctor’s advice to keep away from alpha shifters.
Alpha wolf Hunter Barrett has spent most of his adult life living by a routine, and a big part of that involves staying clear of omegas after having one stomp on his heart. So when the tiny contractor shows up at his place smelling like the one thing he’s determined to avoid, he thinks it must be some sort of cosmic joke. But with his lodge on the verge of failing and this sweet-smelling omega his only hope to turn things around, he’s left with few other options than to grin and bear it.
Set on avoiding each other as much as possible, they find things unexpectedly starting to heat up between them enough to thaw even the frostiest of hearts. Though even with the pair going head-over-paws for each other, there’s no changing that their fling has an expiration date. The more time they spend together, the more they realise they’re playing a dangerous game – one where the only thing on the line is their hearts.
Nuneaton, 1904
Abandoned on the steps of the workhouse shortly after her birth, little Annie never felt the love of a family. When she’s taken from the only world she has known to a smart home on Swan Lane, she dares to hope her life might be changing for the better. But hope is fragile. Grieving the loss of her own child, Maggie Lilburn didn’t adopt Annie out of kindness; she wants her as a servant, not a daughter.
Despite Maggie’s coldness, Annie finds flickers of warmth elsewhere: in the bond with her adopted brothers and in the quiet kindness of Maggie’s husband Levi, the local rag-and-bone man. He sees Annie’s potential and takes her under his wing and into his trade. As Maggie crumbles beneath the weight of her sorrow, Annie is determined to hold the fractured family together and carve out a place of her own.
Through all of this, one question remains for Annie: who were her parents and why did they abandon her at the workhouse all those years ago?
Sweet Venom by Rina Kent
I accidentally witnessed a brutal murder. So to protect myself, I pretended I saw nothing.
But my plan backfired. And now I’m the target of cold-blooded revenge.
Jude Callahan isn’t just a hockey god – he’s a devil no one dares to cross.
He’s also determined to make me pay for my moment of silence.
Now, no matter how much I try to hide from him, Jude finds me.
I thought he’d stop at the stalking.
Or even better, kill me and finally end my misery.
But Jude has other plans.
He says I can’t die. That I must pay for my sins.
And just like that, he drags me into his depraved world, kicking and screaming.
Watch Us Fall by Christina Kovac
The Murphy Experiment by Raven Markov
My name is Oriel Murphy. There are three things you should know about me:
I’m a nobody.
I will never bow to the god that is our government.
I was the sole survivor of a bioterrorist attack that turned my genome into a scientific breakthrough of the century. Against my will.
I never asked for this. The only thing I wanted to do was run from my past and build a new life, a Messianic Jew living in the gutters of Boston. Scrambling to find my footing in a heartless world where genetic editing is illegal.
But my world as I knew it imploded when I started developing abnormalities. The doctors told me I was fine, but I was not fine. Since when were lightbulbs so loud and walls so easy to climb? And I’m faced with the Agency whose job is to eliminate prohibited gene editing projects.
They said I was a loose cannon, a danger to society, a land mine in the making that needed to be contained. And this guy, Jonah Trusov, a deaf agent, keeps telling me I have to trust the Agency, but I can’t trust anyone when my very existence becomes a crime in this society.
Your history books won’t mention me. My name has been scrubbed from every medical journal and media outlet. But I’m here. You better believe I’m here. I’m the weed growing from the cracks in the pavement. Resilient. Persistent. Stubborn. You can’t get rid of me, even when you try.
My name is Oriel Murphy – and I never meant to set the world on fire.
Available to buy here
Connect with Raven Markov
Are you really home alone?
Sixteen-year-old Connie has been dragged into the world of vlogging. Her mum Lou’s vlog is hugely popular, enough to bring in money for a new house, expensive lifestyle… and a lot of criticism.
While Lou and Connie’s older sister Isla are touring colleges, Connie stays home alone, where she becomes increasingly paranoid about comments on the vlog. Plus, someone is turning up at her school and following her on her way home.
Then Connie’s best friend is attacked: the third teenage girl attacked in five weeks, and suspicion turns to Connie. Connie doesn’t know who she can trust any more and goes on the run. But will the killer – whoever they are – catch up with her?
Available to buy here
Connect with Natasha Preston
Let Me Shine: A Voice From The Ashes by Shofiqure Rahman 
“We may be refugees but we are still human. We may have lost our own land but we still have dreams. And no matter how dark our past is, together, let’s shine.” Shofiqure Rahman.
For centuries, we Rohingya people have been living in a region called Arakan also known as Rakhine State in Myanmar. Even though our roots run deep in this land, we’ve never been accepted as citizens. Instead, we’ve faced discrimination, terrible violence, racial segregation and suffering for generations. During the mass atrocities of 2017 on 25th August, many of our villages were destroyed and a wave of killings, horrific genocide, sexual violence and forced evictions left our people scattered and with many of us ending up in Refugee Camps with no safe place to call home. This long history of pain and loss has changed us despite the fact that it has also made us stronger. From that pain, I, Shofiqure Rahman, a 17-year-old Rohingya poet, have decided to bleed my ink to share our collective voice to this unfair world: my advocacy – writing books!
Let Me Shine: A Voice From The Ashes, the second poetry collection, comes straight from my own lived experience and real-life struggles. Through every poem, I try to give a voice to those who are unheard, bringing hope to those who have lost it and shed a light on our story which is ignored by the world.
Though personal to me, this book also belongs to my whole community. I dedicate it to our people, young and old, who’ve been carrying the dream of returning to our ancestral homeland. Here, every poem speaks honestly about what we go through: living without citizenship, losing our homes and wealth and suffering deep wounds. But there is also love in these lines and motivation, hope and faith for a better tomorrow. The poems are written in different styles: as free verse, saino, haiku, tanka and storytelling. Some are short and sharp, while others are long and emotional. Together, they show the many sides of our story. These are the voices that rose from the ashes.
Even though this book tells my people’s story, it’s not just for us. I wrote it in simple, easy-to-understand language so that anyone: a refugee, a student, a teacher or people around the world can read and connect with it. You don’t need to be a poetry expert; all you need is a heart that’s open. This is not a call for pity but a heartfelt request to see us for who we are. We’re not just victims, but genocide survivors – creators, as well as dreamers. We’re students, poets, nuclear scientists, activists, police, leaders and, most importantly, human beings. Even when the world tries to push us down, we rise, we speak, we shine.
Available to buy here
Connect with Shofiqure Rahman
Remember, if you’re an author and you’d like to see your book in our Saturday Spotlight, email: pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk and send us the details of your new novel.
For details of Penguin RandomHouse new releases, visit their website here.
For details of Hachette new releases, visit their website here.
For details of HarperCollins new releases, visit their website here.
For details of PanMacmillan new releases, visit their website here.
For details of Simon & Schuster new releases, visit their website here.
Disclaimer: Amazon links are given for ease but please remember there are a number of other online retailers operating, including hive (which helps to support independent book shops), Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play and Nook as well as online stores for bookstores such as Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and WHSmiths.
Issue 27 of Write On! is out now and you can read it online here. Find it in libraries and other outlets. You can find previous editions of our magazines here.
You can hear great new ideas, creative work and writing tips on Write On! Audio. Find us on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Google Podcasts and Spotify. Type Pen to Print into your browser and look for our logo, or find us on Podcasters.Spotify.com.
