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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The French Chateau Escape by Gillian Harvey

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand: to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death the previous year.

The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth, where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realises he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out, one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.

Available to buy here
Connect with Daniel Kraus

The Purity Pledge by KJ Quinn

Molly is a straight-A student.
Jason is a talented basketball player.
Lauren is a virtuous preacher’s daughter.

It’s 2007 in Hanwell, Ohio, and the only thing they seem to have in common is taking part in a purity pledge.

But everyone is concealing something.

Hidden pasts.
Family secrets.
Broken promises.

High school isn’t easy for anyone, and for Molly, Jason and Lauren, things are not as they seem. Can they navigate the rocky road of young adulthood and leave the past behind, without hurting the people they love the most?

Available to buy here

A Christmas Evie by Karen Naylor

Evie, a dating disaster, agrees to go on a date with one of her friend’s brothers.

It has nothing to do with Nathaniel, the hot guy working at the tea rooms, or the King Clause, which means she’s to be married by Christmas.

Nathaniel offers to look after his sister Rosalie’s tea rooms while she’s in hospital. It has nothing to do with the fact he thinks the owner of the florist opposite the tea rooms is ‘the one.’ Nor his mistake in telling his mum he’ll be bringing home a girl to Capri for Christmas. Or forgetting to tell Evie he has a twin.

A case of mistaken identity threatens to turn Christmas, and Evie’s dreams, into more than a dating disaster. With her heart at stake, can she set her future on the right twin?

Available to buy here
Connect with Karen Naylor

Anything For My Child: Making Impossible Decisions For Medically Complex Children by Stephanie Nimmo

Every parent wants the same thing: for their child to enjoy a long and fulfilling life.

But what happens when things don’t go according to plan? What happens when parents have to become advocates for their child’s healthcare needs? Who decides what is in a child’s ‘best interests’?

Stephanie Nimmo faced these questions first-hand when her daughter, Daisy, was diagnosed with a life-limiting condition as a baby. Seen through the lens of Stephanie’s own experiences, this sensitive book delves into the complex world of medical ethics and paediatric palliative care. From recognising tipping points to the importance of building relationships with palliative care teams well before crisis, this book explores how medical professionals can better support families throughout their child’s care.

Interviews with clinicians and snapshots from the lives of patients’ families provide insight into the realities of life on both sides of the hospital bed. Compassionate explanations of the conflicting pressures in the hospital system foster understanding and help medical professionals and families work together.

Available to buy here
Connect with Stephanie Nimmo

Booked For Murder by Shannon Symonds

She’s a mystery. He’s a recluse who writes mysteries. Are they a perfect match, or a recipe for murder?

Ivy Kelly is on the run and searching for refuge in the small town of Balefire Bay on the Oregon Coast. But when she arrives, she finds more than just a safe haven. Someone has died and one of her new friends could be the killer. On top of that, the people hunting Ivy want her to disappear permanently.

Ivy isn’t on the run long before she meets Aggie, a knitter, book club member, true crime sleuth, and part owner of Balefire Bay’s Book and Tea Shop. Aggie introduces Ivy to the possibility of a new life that includes a dream job working in a library that looks like a mashup of Downton Abbey and Hogwarts and is owned by her favorite reclusive author. With a new life comes a new mystery and Ivy finds herself enmeshed in a murder the town is determined to keep a secret.

Is Ivy’s new employer a possible love interest, or a stone-cold killer? As her past collides with her present, Ivy must risk everything to uncover the secrets of Balefire Bay. Join Ivy on this thrilling journey to find out who she really is and who wants her gone.

Available to buy here
Connect with Shannon Symonds

The Stanzas Of Time by Palak Tewary

In every moment, there is a poem.

In The Stanzas Of Time, Palak Tewary has been inspired by everyday events, be it something as simple as choosing your favourite colour, or as difficult as facing your greatest fear.

The words in The Stanzas Of Time aim to provoke thought, offer hope, give a smile or maybe a reflection. This is a collection of 36 inspirational and real poems in 14 forms. Each poetry format is explained and detailed with a Guess the form quiz at the end.

With poetry that can be devoured or savoured, this collection is for everybody, wherever they are in life.

Available to buy here
Connect with Palak Tewary

London Tales by Tim Walker

London Tales is a collection of 11 short stories offering dramatic pinpricks in the rich tapestry of London’s timeline, a city with two thousand years of history.

They are glimpses of imagined lives at key moments, starting with a prologue in verse from the point of view of a native Briton tribeswoman absorbing the shock of Roman invasion. The first story is a tense historical adventure set in Roman Londinium in 60 CE from the perspective of terrified legionaries and townsfolk facing the vengeful Iceni queen, Boudica, whose army burnt the fledgling city to the ground.

Further historical dramas take place in 1381 during the Peasant’s Revolt, the Great Fire of London, in 1666 and the last ice fair on the frozen Thames in 1814. These are followed by a romance set during the Blitz in 1941, then the swinging sixties and wide-flared seventies are remembered in the life story of fictional policeman, Brian Smith. Moving on, an East End family get a fright from copycat killings that are a throwback to the 1888 Jack the Ripper murders.

A series of contemporary stories reference recent events, including the London terrorist bombings of 2005, a literary pub crawl and a daring prison break, building to the imagined death throes of London in a chilling, dystopian vision. These stories are loosely inspired by the author’s personal experiences and reflections on his time living and working in London in the 1980’s and 90’s. Adaptability, resilience, conformity and resolve are recurring themes.

London Tales evokes the city’s rich history and showcases the qualities needed by Londoners at various times to survive and prosper: from the base and brutal, devious and inspired, to the refined and civilised.

Available to buy here
Connect with Tim Walker

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 18 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.