Book after Book

By Holly Seddon Published by Corvus Books Synopsis: Alex is sinking. Slowly but surely, she's cut herself off from everything but her one true love - drink. Until she's forced to write a piece about a coma ward, where she meets Amy. Amy is lost. When she was fifteen, she was attacked and left for dead in a park. Her attacker was never found. Since then, she has drifted in a lonely, timeless place. She's as good as dead, but not even her doctors are sure how much she understands.  Alex and Amy grew up in the same suburbs, played the same music, flirted with the same boys. And as Alex begins to investigate the attack, she opens the door to the same danger that has left Amy in a coma… How did this book end up in my hands? The author was incredibly kind and offered to send me a copy of her debut novel after our second Q&A together. There are some absolute stars out there! Was it a page-turner? OMG, yes! I alternated reading my physical copy of the book with ...

Hi Holly! I have just finished reading your debut novel, Try Not to Breathe , which was first published in UK in January 2016. I have now read every novel you’ve written and I look forward to more! Before I let you go back to writing your next book, can you please briefly tell us what it is about?  A : Try Not to Breathe is the story of Amy Stevenson, a girl left for dead in 1995 when she was aged 15 who has remained in a form of long term coma ever since. She would likely have stayed like that, forgotten, if not for Alex Dale, a disgraced journalist who stumbles upon Amy while writing an article about the work of the hospital. The story follows Alex’s attempts to find out what happened all those years ago, opening up and tipping out several cans of worms in the process.  Right now I’m actually working on an Alex Dale Christmas story. I’ve written them each year since Try Not to Breathe was published and you can read them on my website .  What was your journey t...

By Holly Seddon Published by Corvus Books Synopsis: Robin and Sarah weren't the closest of twins. They weren't even that similar. But they loved each other dearly. Until, in the cruellest of domestic twists, they were taken from one another.  Now, in her early 30s, Robin lives alone. Agoraphobic and suffering from panic attacks, she spends her days pacing the rooms of her house. The rest of the time she watches - watches the street, the houses, the neighbours. Until one day, she sees something she shouldn't… And Sarah? Sarah got what she wanted - the good-looking man, the beautiful baby, the perfect home. But she's just been accused of the most terrible thing of all. She can't be around her new family until she has come to terms with something that happened a long time ago. And to do that, she needs to track down her twin sister. But Sarah isn't the only person looking for Robin. As their paths intersect, something dangerous is set in mot...

Hi Holly! I have just finished reading your second novel, Don’t Close Your Eyes , which was first published in the UK in July 2017. I came late to the party but I’m glad not to have missed it because I loved it! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Don’t Close Your Eyes follows the story of Robin and Sarah, non-identical twins split apart in childhood through their parents’ actions, and now living fractured and frightening lives away from each other. Robin is housebound, terrified as someone tries desperately to get inside, while Sarah is reeling from unbearable loss. After years of separation, the sisters are each other’s only hope. I’m so glad you liked it!  Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing or did it take an unexpected turn as the characters suddenly did something that you were not expecting? A: I had a two page outline but it changed a lot, especially as I fell in love with one particular character – Callum – and he to...

Hi Holly! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of Love Will Tear Us Apart . Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Thank you! It’s about Kate and Paul, childhood friends who made a vow as teenagers that if they were still single aged 30, they would get married. It’s something so many of us have done, but the difference here is that they actually did it. The story follows them in the run up to their tenth wedding anniversary and we meet them as children and see how and why they became so tightly bound. And of course, nothing is quite what it seems…  Where do you normally find the inspiration for your novels and what sparked the idea for this book in particular? A: It can come from anywhere. News stories, overheard conversations, personal experiences… Writers are like magpies, we store little bits of gold away for future use. I keep a list of ideas on my phone but the ideas I really love are always in my mind anyway. This was one of t...

By Holly Seddon Published by Corvus Books Synopsis: Fearing eternal singledom, childhood friends Kate and Paul make the age-old vow that if they don't find love by thirty, they will marry each other.  Years later, with the deadline of their 30th birthdays approaching, the unlikely couple decide to keep their teenage promise. After all, they are such good friends. Surely that's enough to make a marriage?  Now, on the eve of their 10th wedding anniversary, they will discover that love between men and women is more complex, and more precarious, than they could ever have imagined. As Kate struggles with a secret that reaches far into their past, will the couple's vow become the very thing that threatens their future? How did this book end up in my hands? I won a copy of this book ahead of publication date. I am lucky, aren’t I? Was it a page-turner? This is one of those books I couldn’t put down for too long. I have had the pleasure of reading quite a few books l...