Allison & Busby Books

WE HAVE MOVED!

2009-08-25T10:06:00.001+01:00

We should have let you know before...but we have moved! You can now follow the Allison & Busby blog here!

Envelopes Everywhere!

2008-12-15T11:39:00.008Z

You know how sometimes getting a short text message from a friend you haven't seen for ages can just make your day? Or when the person next to you on the tube says something to make it seem less of a miserable journey? Well, picture that warm glow inside and multiple it to the power of global loveliness, as we're seeing 'Envelopes' popping up everywhere!

A big thank you to Miss Cosby at St Meryl's School in Watford who sent in a few pictures of the illustrated Envelopes her pupils had been inspired to create. How wonderful - I can almost hear that cracker popping right off the page!

And secondly, proof that Envelopes manages to charm in every corner of the world, we received today an utterly beautiful envelope which has journyed all the way from New Zealand! Check it out.
And if all this Envelopes business is meaning nothing to you - what? You mean you haven't seen a copy? What's wrong with you - go here to read more about it.

In 3rd Place...

2008-12-01T19:11:00.005Z

Third on the podium is C Fowler from Ashford whose unique 3D envelope featuring an origami boat on a paper sea also gets a 'high commended' spotlight!

Judge Harriet Russell said 'It was lovely to see an envelope with more of a sculptural approach. I liked how the sea was bursting out of the envelope and the creative use of different papers in this entry.'

In 2nd Place...

2008-12-01T18:59:00.006Z

A very close contender for the winners prize was Frances Culshaw from High Peak who gets 2nd place in our Envelopes competition. (She may have missed out on the prize but we simply must bestow her with special recognition!)

Judge Harriet Russell said of this entry: 'The drawing of the pin ball machine was well executed, colourful and eye-catching, and cleverly incorporated the words of the address into the game. I liked the idea of the 'Postie's challenge' which was very much in keeping with my original idea!'

And The Winner Is....

2008-12-01T17:52:00.010Z

Congrats to Lucy Groom from Chelmsford! - the winner of our Envelopes competition!

Harriet Russell, author of Envelopes: A Puzzling Journey Through the Royal Mail and the judge of the competition said of Lucy's envelope idea: 'This entry stood out as I felt it was the most original and engaging. I enjoyed the way she had incorporated the address into her little story of a couple called Allison and Busby and their 13 daughters, one called Charlotte and the rest called Mews...which I thought both clever and charming. It was also visually appealing as each part of the story was written on a separate patterned handmade envelope, and bound together to make a story book.'

Lucy will receive a £100 Gift Card to spend at Borders (any store or online)... It's a timely prize in the run up to Xmas, but hope it doesn't all go on pressies and you treat yourself to something nice, Lucy!

We love all your Envelope entries!

2008-11-18T15:36:00.004Z

A quick note to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who entered our Envelopes Competition (now closed). Opening our daily post simply won't be as fun anymore! We'll now be getting the lovely Harriet Russell, author of the wonderful book Envelopes, to pick the winner and runners up and these will be announced on the 1st December. Check this blog or our website then to see who topped the creativity chart!

Win a £100 voucher!

2008-10-29T11:27:00.006Z

Ok, I realise we have grossly neglected this blog... but I can assure you it's all for good reason. Oh yes - we are getting ready for something BIG...something that will transform your online vision of A&B, and indeed this blog. That's all I'm saying at the moment, but bear with us. Think of it as the calm before the storm, or rather in this case, the silence before the fanfare!

But just breaking the silence for a moment to flag up our Envelopes competition.

Inspired by the Harriet Russell's unique book Envelopes - a collection of puzzling, artistic and oddly addressed envelopes - we thought it would be great to see what other quirky envelope ideas people could come up with. So! If you fancy flaunting your creative talent and winning a £100 to spend in any Borders bookshop or online (bet that 'll save on your Christmas shopping!) click here for full details about the competition.

It ends on 17th November so get cracking!

Books or chocolate...books or chocolate...

2008-07-15T14:53:00.005+01:00

There’s doom and gloom every time I turn on the news these days – credit crunch this and inflation that – which isn't much fun for anyone. And while browsing the bbc website this afternoon I came across details of a survey about the ‘essentials’ for different groups of society. From Kit-Kats to croissants via cars, it gives you an interesting viewpoint on what we can’t seem to live without today and will scrimp and save to keep. All I can say is thank goodness for my fantastic library, which is doing a great deal to keep my bank balance looking healthy. And it's open seven days a week no less (ha – bet you’re all really jealous now!) and up to 13 books out at one time! You can check out the survey here:

And you might like to take advantage of your local library with some great author events - check out the A&B events calendar here for upcoming dates.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

2008-06-18T13:51:00.007+01:00

Do you often poke your friends? In a facebook sense, that is? Well, if the idea of a facebook for, err, books, sounds like your idea of heaven, you must head over to www.bookrabbit.com. This new site allows you to upload pictures of your shelves at home (or in my case some very untidy heaps from before I moved) and browse through the bookshelves of others, all with the idea of kicking off discussion. It’s compulsive stuff – come on, you know you check through (OK – snoop is a more accurate word) people’s bookcases!

They’re even working on some very impressive technology, called ‘Automatic Bookshelf’ that will be able to ‘read’ and recognise the spines of your photographed books: finally computer wizardry does something worthwhile. Keep your eyes peeled too as sometimes we nice publishing folk get a bit giddy and give away books – such as the fantastic steampunk novel The Affinity Bridge our Snowbooks friends are bringing out soon – if you want a proof click here but get in there quick! And, if all this talk about peering at other people's bookshelves is giving you book envy, have a look at the A&B crime page up right now – head to here to check it out.

The month that time forgot...

2008-06-05T12:23:00.004+01:00

...err, what happened to May at the A&B office? You might very well be asking that question, and the answer would be - holidays, bank holidays, weddings (not ours), sales trips, meeting new authors, yet more glow-in-the-dark fun, the appearance and disappearance of summer and moving house - finally!

Yes, I'm now an official Essex girl and enjoying the commute with plenty of time to read - sigh of contentment!

Anyhoo - more anon.

Good ol' fashioned glow-in-the-dark fun

2008-04-24T11:08:00.005+01:00

So, here are the photos of our stand at the book fair taken Monday morning before I managed to generally clutter and mess the space up! The lovely thing about the stand was having a space where anyone and everyone could (and believe me did) roll up. We saw A&B authors past and present (including Christopher West, whose Death of a Blue Lantern is reissued next month, a mystery set in Communist China that with the current headlines is very topical). And, particularly pleasantly, work experience guys and gals past and present. Hello in particular to Sophie, our high-flying friend now over at SPCK, who's a regular visitor to the blog (waves). Apologies to Jas who appeared at our stand looking so professional that it took more than a minute or two to place her. The idea of photographing our work experience people to aid future recollections has been voiced again in the office. Roll up for your mugshots here?

And in reference to the title of my post - earlier this week we got finished copies of Rachel Caine's Glass Houses which prompted the entire office to stash copies in cupboards and under desks and excitedly peek at them. No, we haven't taken complete leave of our senses, we wanted to fully appreciate the very cool glow in the dark finish that we've added to the cover design. Spooky.

Catching up

2008-04-18T11:41:00.003+01:00

So, three days out of the office and my inbox nearly exploded with spam - a great thing to welcome you back to your desk eh? Getting back and following up lots of things from meetings and random bumpings-into has stopped us talking about the fair much - but I do have photos of the A&B home from home at Earl's Court, so I do intend to blog about it soon.

In the meantime, an email offer from Borders prompts me to post - save 40% on any full priced book this weekend, not to be sniffed at I reckon. Click here to print off the voucher.

Good weekend to all!

My mates the printers have done me proud

2008-04-11T11:00:00.000+01:00

It’s April, the sun is shining as I sit under the skylight at A&B central and various items have poured in from the printers leaving me feeling happy with the world. The latest catalogue covering July – September (as well as a few other titles which crept into our Spring schedule) is in and no glaring omissions have made my blood run cold yet. You can have a virtual flick through by clicking the link on the lefthand side of the A&B homepage. A rather nifty leaflet featuring our summer reading picks has arrived and the pièce de résistance, our glorious A&B bags have made an appearance too, and very handy they’ve already proven themselves to be. Glorious as they are, we had to share some with the world. In steps dovegreyreader who has done a prize-draw giveaway of some to lucky readers of her blog.

Ah, I'm a happy chappie.

And we have a winner!

2008-04-10T18:21:00.006+01:00

I'm absolutely delighted to announce that our author Colleen Gleason has won the DA BWAHA Tournament for best book in the romance genre with the first book in her vampire romance series The Rest Falls Away. The tournament (where readers vote for their favourites online) was sponsored by Smart Bitches and Dear Author blogs and saw Gleason up against Nora Roberts and her book High Noon in the final round. But Gleason bagged the trophy, and deservedly so! For all you UK readers who are dying to know what the fuss is about, you won't have to wait long. The Rest Falls Away will be out in the UK at the end of this month!

In fact, it's really all I've been thinking about this week... and I'm not exaggerating. I've been working on the UK cover and I have three words to say on that subject: Purples, Pantones, and Palpitations. Hey, that's actually not a bad title for a "How To" book or humorous memoir - with subtitle: "A Day in the Life of a Graphic Designer" (I might copyright that). But I digress. I have renewed respect for any designer out there who battles with picking the right colour when your computer screen shows you one thing, your printer prints out another, neither matches your colour bridge and you have to trust the CMYK/RGB figures instead of your eyes. I've actually been dreaming in purple pantones (my boyfriend was a nice violet hue, the shopkeeper a sickly off-mauve) but I digress again...

Anyway, all will be revealed tomorrow. Stay tuned.

April Fools Day...

2008-04-02T09:14:00.002+01:00

…was yesterday and was it just me or was the world a little more dour than I think it had cause to be? The only ‘joke’ I came across in the media was on the BBC Breakfast show; a segment on penguins that have advanced on the evolutionary scale by learning to fly. No offence Aunty Beeb, it was cute, but surely you can do better? Anyone else have any good'uns?

Speaking of witty, clever and original things (you're probably getting used to the fact that I rarely fail to!), I am waiting with baited breath for the finished copies of the Boomsday paperback that are due in from the printer today…drum roll please.

And here's the penguin segment, if you are interested in some OK-ish CGI!

Let's talk about the weather....

2008-03-25T17:34:00.005Z

As we return from our Easter break, I'll have you know, that this Sunday 23rd March was also World Meteorological Day! Perhaps this explains the chaotic weather conditions over the weekend which included a 30-second hailstorm, two bouts of snow, bright sun, blustering winds, sleet and rain. Could the elements have been celebrating?? It certainly gives me reason to highlight our upcoming fantasy series about Weather Wardens, by Rachel Caine. It's a modern fantasy series, set in today's world as we know it, but including a parallel universe of powerful wardens who can control the elements. Ill Wind (Book one) will be out in a months time. Intrigue, corruption, murder, thrilling battles between extreme weather and a sexy and feisty female weather Warden as heroine, who is being chased by a storm... Considering the bizarre weather this weekend, I might think twice before labelling the series as fantasy... Oh! And today we're celebrating Christina's birthday who designed the brilliant cover for Ill Wind (fans on Rachel's Caine's blog have already given it a big thumbs up!). So Happy Birthday Christina, Happy World Meteorological Day (members of the World Meteorological Organisation are actually celebrating it today) and just keep a close eye on the weather people...

Easter - eggscellent (in a Mr Burns voice)

2008-03-20T18:25:00.002Z

All hail the long weekend! I don't know about you, but I'm probably going to spend most of the easter holidays curled up reading with my smarties easter egg. It might even turn into something of a hibernation.

Chiara as some top seasonal recommendations below which have inspired the following puns. Apologies, I am fully aware of how ripe and past their sell-by date they are. But my excuse is that after working on the new catalogue for the last few days (covering July - September, as well as a few other titles that crept in - watch this space) I need to let off steam; my brain is scrambled, fried and only capable of handling things over-easy. heh heh :)

Rabbits and eggs!

2008-03-20T18:14:00.004Z

Am off now for the long Easter weekend break, but considering we're in for a chiller (see BBC 5 day weather report) here are two quality reads to keep you entertained as you rug up indoors whilst...um, still keeping in with the Easter spirit: The Rabbit Factory, by Marshall Karp and The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy, by James Anderson. Guaranteed you'll finish them both over the four days. I mean, frankly, what else have you got to do besides eat chocolate??

HAPPY EASTER to all!

The Colour of Magic - to see or not to see?

2008-03-19T17:21:00.003Z

Last night I saw the preview for Sky One's TV adaptation of Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic, to be broadcasted Easter Sunday. I'm probably one of the few people in the world who hasn't read a Harry Potter book, let alone seen any of the films, and I probably put this down to the fact that Terry Pratchett got to me first. I became a fan of the Pratchett's Discworld novels years ago. From the moment I read the line "A thought crossed his mind - very fast, and looking both ways in case it got knocked over" I was hooked. (I take no responsibility for misquotation) . I still delight in the layers of humour and the surreal that Pratchett so brilliantly delivers. So I have to admit, whilst I was at first delighted to see the preview for The Colour of Magic pop up on my TV screen - a bit like suddenly spotting someone you know on the telly - I'm now slightly unsure as to whether or not I really want to see the film. Whilst the technology these days means that productions such as these are remarkable, part of me wants to keep my own unique image of the Discworld, safe from a TV producer's interpretation. But I'm curious. Of course I'm curious. I never did see the first adaptation, The Hogfather, so if anyone saw that one and would advise For or Against seeing The Colour of Magic, I'm all ears! Reviews welcome. Because after all, it could prove to be a disappointment - like the colour of magic itself, a mere "greenish-purple" (according to wizard Rincewind).

And Elmer Fudd thought Bugs Bunny was a challenge...

2008-03-11T18:02:00.015Z

Today we all enjoyed a jolly lunch with author Zoë Sharp and her hubby Andy. They had just come from filming a Meet the Author video where Zoë talks about her thriller Second Shot (Look out for the clip - will be online soon!) before heading off to a photoshoot in Oxstead. (Zoë doubles as a photo-journalist for the motorpress ie. if you ever believe the stereotype that authors hide in their studies wearing twead - think again. You're much more likely to see Zoë hanging out of a fast-moving Ford GT to get a cool low-angle shot.)

Anyway, amongst banter about dodgy flights, property development and book covers, the conversation somehow veered onto German Giant Rabbits...which of course I then HAD to google and I now share with you the evidence of what can only be described as: nature gone slightly mad. (Please refer to above image - I think it's eaten Peter Rabbit.) Will you look at the thing? Bit of a large target for rabbit hunters, but I bet this hefty fella wouldn't go down with one shot... or even a Second Shot. Or even a Third Strike ! (See? See what I just did there?)

I won't begrudge any rolling of the eyes...

Bag ladies

2008-03-04T17:40:00.002Z

The countdown to the London Book Fair at Earls Court is on. Between 14th and 16th April you’ll be able to say hello to the A&B ladies at our stand (J205 in case you’re wondering). But extra kudos will go out to those who manage to spot us on the go – we’re getting some lovely bags printed with the rather nifty A&B logo and our proud slogan “The small publisher of BIG books”. And through the wonder of technology we can see what they are going to look like before ink has touched canvas.

Well, what do you know, I've managed to blog without mentioning a frock...I've moved onto accessories instead!

Book voucher - get it while it's hot!

2008-02-22T10:59:00.005Z

Those people at Borders are lovely, aren't they? They are letting you get a whole quarter, yes 25%, off a book if you buy one before the Monday. I might happen to suggest that you pick up a copy of The Rabbit Factory or Innocent Blood, both of which were options for Borders' January Book Club. First chocolates, now books, we do spoil you lot. Check out the link and print it off - enjoy!

http://www.bordersstores.co.uk/_assets/newsletters/_vouchers/_feb/25book/voucher.htm

Red Carpets

2008-02-21T13:44:00.003Z

I love the build up to the Oscars. There’s the anticipation, frock-spotting [note to self – I’m coming over as just a little bit frock obsessed in recent posts, must mention something more serious next time] and judging the nominees from home – what’s not to love? Well, over-long acceptance speeches perhaps. And what about the after show parties? Though I seem to have not been invited this year - some terrible administrative error I'm sure - I saw on the morning news that this year Elton John is throwing just an intimate soiree for a mere 600 guests.

But, as we all know, publishing and Hollywood are thick as thieves – is anyone able to name me a really great / really big movie of recent years that hasn’t been adapted from a novel/memoir/comic/shopping list that came before it? There must be some, but my mind is drawing a blank. Anyway, I tend to subscribe to the notion that the book is always better than the film, and would highly recommend the following A&B gems for the movie buffs out there to compare. We’ve been talking up Boomsday since its trade paperback publication in October, but it was Thank You for Smoking that gave Christopher Buckley an oomph last year; one of the contenders for my own little ‘Best A&B Cover Design’ award. Little Children’s (available here and here) movie adaptation featured a superb Kate Winslet playing the character of frustrated stay-at-home Mum Sarah. And as Susie mentioned the other week, we are putting On the Waterfront into a snazzy new look next month. A surfeit of riches, bring out the popcorn!

Free chocolate and other Valentine's stuff

2008-02-14T17:35:00.008Z

Happy Valentine's Day! What better way to say we love you than by sharing this link to get free bags of chocolate from Woolworths this week! (Geez, do I ever think of anything but food?) Click here for your free chocolate voucher.

I don't really do Valentine's, but you could say I'm celebrating the day with a bit of paranormal romance as I've just started to read the first book in The Gardella Vampire Chronicles, by Colleen Gleason (one of our upcoming series - watch this space!). It features a young girl making her debut in 19th century London Society who is chosen to continue the family legacy as a vampire hunter. So one moment she's getting all flushed by the advances of one particularly gorgeous and eligible bachelor at the ball, and the next is ramming a stake into a fanged enemy. Great stuff - never been one for complete sappiness on Valentine's.

However, for those who do want fullblown romance, just letting you know that The Notebook is showing on Film 4 tonight. Personally I would have opted for An Officer and A Gentleman as Valentine's Day viewing which was actually on last night (had I known it advance I would have told you!) but I did tape it so now I can go home and behold the particularly dreamy Richard Gere and pretend he's the one taking me out for a candelit dinner for two. Mmmm....

This Valentines I am mostly loving...

2008-02-12T17:26:00.000Z

I'm a day or two early but what the heck - happy Valentine’s dear blog readers! Don’t worry I won’t be getting all slushy on you, but I thought I’d take a moment or two to share my love for a few things at the moment. These include:

1. Carter Beats the Devil – thanks to Susie who gave me a copy of this book which I’ve been meaning to read for, lord, six years or so. I don’t want it to end and for once would welcome long, unexplained stops in Jubilee line tunnels!

2. The approach of spring – slowly we seem to be getting there, when you can see through the fog that is.

3. Finished copies of The Galliard; our fourth Margaret Irwin novel which is out next month, is a lovely chunky size and has a lady in a gorgeous frock on the front – ticking my first two boxes for great historical fiction.

4. Discovering random new ‘interesting’ facts – did you know that Mark Billingham used to be one of the knights in Maid Marian and her Merry Men? Whatever next?

A Happy Ending and a New Start

2008-02-06T14:49:00.000Z

For those of you familiar with my on-going bathroom saga (I really should write a book about it – a very looong book involving leaky roofs, cracked walls, gorgeous plumbers…), I can now finally reveal that I’ve reached the happy ending! After several months of problem following upon problem, delay following delay, I now have a bright, shiny new bathroom that looks like it’s come straight out of an Ideal Home page – or a bijou version of it at least! My lovely little flat is really starting to feel like home, and I’m looking forward to finally having the time to catch up on some reading at the weekends rather than painting/packing/unpacking… First on my list is the wonderful War in Val d’Orcia by Iris Origo, which I’ve had on my bookshelf for longer than I’d care to admit and never found the time to read. Well, now’s that time. Especially as we are going to be reprinting it again soon with a fantastic new cover design. I’ve been told it’s one of the most moving and beautiful books A&B has ever had on its list. It sounds like an unmissable read (I’m appalled at myself for neglecting it this long), and I’m looking forward to finding out for myself just how fabulous it is…

Wine and books - perfect combination

2008-02-01T17:08:00.000Z

T'is the end of a great week! Liz Corley's book launch went brilliantly. Hosted by the hugely entertaining and knowledgeable David and Daniel at Goldsboro books, there was a colourful mix of city types and bookie people. Signed first editions, good wine and a cosy atmosphere...nothing wrong with that on an otherwise miserable Wednesday night in January. And clearly everyone else though so too - we only left the bookshop after 10!

Happy weekends to everyone.

xxx

TV and Books

2008-01-25T17:30:00.001Z

The other day as I lay at home doing the seasonal thing of snuffling and sneezing I saw my first Richard and Judy Book Club episode in I don’t know how many years. They were discussing Orion’s The Rose of Sebastopol with Samuel West and Charity Wakefield. Considering the ho-ha that Richard and Judy generates in publishing and bookselling I was mildly surprised at how short the segment really was. A filmed portion with the author Katherine McMahon; a pithy summing up of the general plot and character progression and some anecdotal ‘I loved this bit’ etc. I’ve only read one of R&J’s choices so far, Lloyd Jones’ Mister Pip, and can’t help but think that the format will not do it anything like the justice it deserves. I’m not knocking Richard & Judy as such, but I know I’ve enjoyed The Book Show with Mariella Frostrop far, far more. I particularly love the section they do where authors discuss the books that they wished they had written – a real booky treat.

And lo, just the other day there was the news in The Bookseller that there will be an apprentice-style-celebrity-crime-novel programme coming to the BBC soon called ‘Murder Most Famous’. Should be interesting how Minette Walters is going to put the likes of gardener Diarmuid Gavin through a crime boot-camp… Ah well, it's all for charity.

Backlist gems

2008-01-16T15:57:00.000Z

At Allison & Busby we have a backlist packed full of fantastic books and we are always trying to come up with a tasty new way of selling/promoting them. This month, we've been hugely helped by those lovely Borders people who have put Anchee Min's stunning novel Becoming Madame Mao, into their historical fiction promo. Min has written a number of novels but is perhaps best known for her Richard & Judy pick Empress Orchid, which we shamelessly plug on Madame Mao, of course.

More backlist gems coming up this year include On the Waterfront (altogether now .. "I coulda bin a contender" said in a gruff, Brando-esque manner) with a stunning new cover courtesy of our in-house design supremo Christina. And we've got two of Manette Ansay's novels, Sister and River Angel scheduled in the summer - I'll post about her another time as she really warrants undivided attention. Oh, and a new look for Richard Stark's classic Point Blank which we'll have out shortly. We're working that backlist ... any thoughts/tips/advice gladly received.

Books for Dummies

2008-01-10T13:26:00.000Z

While reading an article on the BBC website today I made a shock discovery. Apparently you don’t need to read books to be clever. Of course you don’t, intelligence can’t be settled by having ticked off a list of approved reading, and if you believe some of the recent controversy about the ‘dumbed down’ state of our bestseller lists, we’re all headed for Dumbsville.

But that wasn’t actually the fact that struck me. Three quarters of the way through the article Denise Winterman writes about books having lost their ‘chic’ and quotes Professor John Sutherland as saying "If you try and sell your house, estate agents will tell you to get rid of the books, they are viewed as tired and middle aged". Huh? Now in my ongoing house hunting quest I’ve met some odd estate agents (particularly that lovely lady who said I was asking her the ‘wrong’ questions – aha blog revenge!) but surely books are part of that aspirational lifestyle that people are drawn to when viewing a house – aren’t they? The idea that you may have the time and inclination to read gorgeously produced literature – doesn’t that cast a better light on the mod cons and double glazing? Or has the rise of Tesco et al in the bookselling stakes put a permanent kibosh on this?

The quest continues by the way…

New Years Resolutions - blown 'em already

2008-01-09T17:20:00.001Z

I absolutely faithfully promised to do three things in the New Year:

1) go to the gym ... ha ha

2) read more books and watch less telly ... can't do until I've finished the final series of The Sopranos which Santa gave me for Christmas

3) blog each and every day ... oops

So let's pretend last week never happened, and start from NOW.

Happy New Year!

What did you read over the festive period? I was pathetic and managed just two books but I did have the excuse that I was cruising down the Nile and it would have been rude to sit with my nose in a book rather than ooh and aah at the passing sites. Edfu temple was amazing, as was the city of Luxor, The Valley of the Kings (seen from a hot air balloon at 6am) and the Aswan dam. The books that I did manage to read were Reginald Hill's new Dalziel & Pascoe, The Death of Dalziel, and Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale. Mr Hill is my crime God. I think he's utterly brilliant and in almost 20 years, I have never read a book of his that I haven't adored.

I'm about 50 pages from the end of The Thirteenth Tale and must confess I can't wait to get home and finish it. I knew I'd love it as Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books, and I am completely hooked. Oh, look, 5.31pm. Time to go home and get reading.

We're back!

2008-01-02T17:20:00.000Z

I must have been a good girl in 2007 as Father Christmas didn’t fill my stocking with coal and I was able to enjoy quite a peaceful yuletide. Furthermore I was pleased this Christmas because (for once) I was a realist on the book-reading front. I didn’t put a pile of books on my wish list that would take me until the August bank holiday to read and I didn’t have to trail a mobile library along with me on the train from the deepest, darkest British countryside. I read one non-A&B book – Perfume by Patrick Suskind, which reinforced how rubbish I am at distinguishing scent and taste – and one forthcoming A&B book: Ill Wind by Rachel Caine. This is the first in the Weather Warden series (see Susie’s mention of it in our very first blog post here) and, following my reading of The Dead Girls’ Dance in the autumn, it’s the second book by Rachel Caine that I’ve read. In both cases I would recommend them as fantastic holiday reading, there’s never a dull moment because either a powerful (literal or figurative) storm is kicking off in one or a nightmarish scene is unfolding in the other. Finally, there are very intelligent, sassy heroines in both series. We’ve gotten the artwork which will be on Ill Wind from artist David Seeley and I'm showing it off here - moody eh?

A short goodbye till 2008!

2007-12-21T20:04:00.000Z

This is the last day of blogging for 2007. Our offices will be closed now till the 2nd of January as we enjoy the Christmas festivities. But fret not! We will be back, fresh and inspired, with more blogging stories in the New Year.

I, unsurprisingly, have yet to finish my Christmas shopping, and I wonder how many of you out there are like me, who every year vow to have their presents wrapped and ready by December 1st, and yet never seem to get round to it until the panic sets in - around about now. So, in case you too are looking for last-minute inspiration, don't forget to check out our list of Books for Christmas on the A&B website - there's bound to be something there to suit the taste of Whoever-It-Is-You-Are-Buying-For.

If you've turned into an angry shopper after too many hours spent trudging along the high-street stores, here's a picture my aunt sent me today, of her house in Camden, Maine (USA). Something to remind you of the simplicity and beauty of the Christmas season. I have a mind to put it on next year's Christmas card(which, of course, I intend to send out by December 1st...).

And with that, we will love you and leave you now, but do keep up the reading over the holidays and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

All I want for Christmas....is to buy it all!

2007-12-19T18:45:00.000Z

Today I decided to use my lunch-break for some more last-minute Christmas shopping - Destination HMV. I walked in full of purpose - one new James Blunt album for my sister, that's all I need, In-Out, 5 minutes max. But there I was on my way to row "B" in the Rock/Pop section, battling through the hoardes of shoppers, adrenalin rising, when I got sucked in - suddenly corralled by the "Gift" section. Next thing I know I'm pondering whether to buy some album involving Celine Dion singing Christmas carols for my mum. At no other time would I consider this. I'm even bopping to the music belting out over the overhead speakers wondering if I should find out who the artist is. The potential for gift buying is overwhelming. The same thing happened at Borders two days ago. They were offering 50% off all book purchases that day and the queue was literally pouring into the streets ,which meant you were forced to take in all the wonderful books on display as you snaked, at a snail's pace, to the cashier. I had to physically clamp my hands round my copy of Letters of Noel Coward (luckily a hefty tome enouraging a two-handed grip) to avoid undulging in another coffee-table book, stocking-filler, cookbook... But back to HMV - I think I would have lost myself in The Overpowering Buzz of The Xmas Impulse-buy had I not suddenly spotted one of our books right by the door. There it was: The Ultimate Book of British Comics - beautifully displayed, a familiar and calming sight in the midsts of the mayhem, and a reminder that there are some things worth buying spur of the moment, and others not. I gently placed the Celine-Dion-Sings-Carols album back on the shelf and went on my merry way. (After purchasing the intended James Blunt CD of course.)

It's oh, so quiet...

2007-12-18T09:57:00.000Z

...here in the office, particularly after announcing the exciting news of us teaming up with Snowbooks. Susie and Christina are being jet-setting types and I think the rest of us are on the verge of going into hibernation – I can hardly feel my fingers as I type this! But never fear, we, the last four standing, will post again soon.

Welcome Snowbooks ... and other frosty musings

2007-12-15T11:56:00.000Z

What a fantastic day - A&B have signed a contract with Snowbooks, to start selling their books in the UK. I am so thrilled as I think Em Barnes is quite the most marvellous publisher, woman and cyclist I have ever known. Truly. We are going to take over the world together ... well, we're certainly going to have a go!

In the absence of a lovely picture of us shaking hands to cement our agreement (we do have said pic but for foolishly female reasons - mine - that include worrying about size of tummy, I'm not going to post it), instead here's the cover of The Frost Fair, by our top-selling crime and much loved author Edward Marston Esquire. Perfect timing as The Frost Fair is taking place along the River Thames this week, a tradition that started in 1669 when the mighty river froze over and all sorts of festivities ensued. Although I'm hugely biased as I adore Mr M and his books, it is a cracking read and definitely one for a crime fan's Christmas stocking this year.

We’re going on a bear hunt…

2007-12-10T17:12:00.000Z

Jeez Susie, talk about tough act to follow – how is one supposed to ‘top’ good old Dolly? I’ll keep with the current affairs angle, though not such a well-endowed character, I suppose.

One article that caught my eye this week was about Michael Rosen – Children’s Laureate and author of the classic We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – who has been vehemently attacking the way poetry is taught in UK schools. I remember all too well the way some teachers had their eyes on just one prize; exams, and would coach us for them without mercy. I think poor poetry is perhaps (unintentional alliteration alert) more susceptible to this, being more easily ‘dissected’ with checklists and key words the examiners are apparently looking for. I know that I've read beautiful, thought-provoking poetry, but probably not since I was 18 and if you put me on the spot I will come up with a spectacular nothing. As a result of this I am (not too) ashamed to say that I am not a poetry reader. Is that a strange confession for an avowedly booky person? Personally, I’m all about narrative in my reading choices. It will be the plot of a novel that will keep me reading til dawn, determined to find out what happens to the characters. And I haven’t come across a poem that has come anywhere near that, though I’m open to suggestions…

Speaking of good books, ahem, A Changed Man is still awaiting your votes on the Spread the Word ‘Books to Talk About’ here. Thanks to everyone who is voting!

Rotherham goes Country

2007-12-07T14:21:00.000Z

I have always adored Dolly Parton, ever since watching her hold her own against the comic genius of Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman in 9 to 5. So I was delighted to see that the Queen of Country was visiting our fair shores this week at the request of Rotherham Council. Rotherham? As in South Yorkshire? Indeedy. Dolly had been invited to launch a very special literacy project, based on the remarkable Imagination Library scheme she originally introduced in her native Tennessee back in 1995. The scheme has now extended to over 500 counties spread across 36 states, and sends every pre-school age child a free book every month. Isn't that amazing? Rotherham are going to adopt the scheme from 2008 and Dolly was their guest of honour at the launch.

But almost better than all of that was the gorgeous Goddess's sense of humour when asked by a blonde lady in the audience at the launch, if she minded dumb-blonde jokes. Dolly's reply was just perfect: "Of course I'm not offended. I know I'm not dumb, and we know I'm not blonde".

Prasana the Work Experience's Last Day

2007-12-05T16:49:00.000Z

As I type this I am in my very last minutes as a work experience for Allison & Busby. In four minutes, I will no longer be able to say 'Oh, I work in publishing' nonchalantly as inside I'm really shrieking 'Omigod I work in PUBLISHING!!!!!' In three minutes, I'll be stripped of the power to turn my thumb down at a manuscript from the pile with all the pomp of Ceasar meting judgement on a Roman citizen. In two minutes, I'll leave behind my red pen and Post-It notes and glow from the fact that I just finished proofreading A&B's longest book yet, The Galliard. In one minute, I'll be just be another struggling author facing a wonderful publishing house from the other side of the transom. But in these last 30 seconds, while I still have a shred of prestige, I just want to thank all the lovely ladies here at A&B for a great couple of months and a ton of insight I could never learn from a book. And...time's up.
-Prasana

Hardbacks, paperbacks and e-books ...

2007-11-28T15:33:00.000Z

There has been much written about the current question vexing the publishing world - is the age of the hardback over? Should we be publishing our books straight into paperback, with e-books coming swiftly behind (or alongside)? I know of one author who is of the (somewhat alarmist) view that a hardback publication will 'kill' a book ... I couldn't agree less.

Each publisher looks at their list and their sales expectations of a book. Here at A&B, I'm happy to sell a modest 1500 hardbacks, but I'm sure that is just a fraction of what a large publisher like Macmillan would consider viable. We're not Macmillan, though. We're a small independent publisher, and hardbacks are our lifeblood. We publish all our genre fiction in that format and are fortunate to have a vibrant (and growing) collectors market for our handsome first editions, as well as a loyal and vital library audience. There's still a valued customer-base for our hardbacks, and I don't see that disappearing in the immediate future. Eroding a bit, yes, but not becoming extinct. Thankfully, it seems I'm not alone in that view -Michael Skapinker writing in today's FT tells of his love of hardbacks, something that he discovered after central heating and sunlight took their toll on his paperback collection.

I must confess that if I was an author I'd much rather give my friends and family a beautifully produced hardback when my book was published, than a small format (rather disposable)paperback. But that's just me.

Home Sweet Home

2007-11-27T12:22:00.000Z

For the past few months I have been house hunting. Which means that I have met everyone’s worst idea of an estate agent, a breed that can’t tie ties properly, (so says my other half), tend to lie whenever their lips move and not listen to a word you say.

There, that was a cathartic rant.

And during that time we have been in some lovely homes, some bomb sites and some downright smelly hovels. And though the second house we have offered for has turned out to be a non-starter, I have not yet lost all hope. Because, apart from the prospect of having a proper home, I will soon be able to make a start on my life’s ambition: a library that could well take over the house (sshhh, don’t tell him indoors). No longer will I have to curb my natural book-hording tendencies, I will be able to become the kind of person that has to (tearfully) offload van loads of books at their local Oxfam bookshop. I will have to learn how to reinforce shelving. And I will have an uninterrupted half hour or more every morning to read on the train ride in. Bliss.

Christmas wishlist

2007-11-26T16:27:00.000Z

I can’t quite believe it’s December next week. The Christmas lights have been up for weeks already and I haven’t even begun my Christmas shopping.
Working in the book industry means I feel a bit odd about giving books at Christmas time (and I don't mean A&B titles!) It’s like working for Cadbury’s and giving the grannies boxes of chocolates. Or having a job at Maybelline and giving your friends make-up. But before I got myself into this pickle, books were my favourite (at times, my only!) choice in gift-giving. Christmas time is an especially good time for catching up on reading with a few days of holiday and the weather keeping you indoors. Browsing through our shelves downstairs, I found a suitable title for just about everyone on my list.
If things were different, my father-in-law would be getting GUNS AND GANGS. He’s a detective and I think this fascinating and quite frightening expose on black gun crime would be just up his street. My brother would have to get the new Jack Ludlow historical epic, THE PILLARS OF ROME. For my gran, THE AFFAIR OF THE BLOODSTAINED EGG COSY - classic whodunit, with Jeeves and Wooster-ish humour – would be perfect. And my best friend would get WHERE THE TRUTH LIES by the brilliant Rupert Holmes (sassy Hollywood glitz and glamour with a bit of a thriller element).
Oh well, thank goodness for all those voucher codes doing the rounds – scarves it is instead then.

Spread the word!

2007-11-21T16:19:00.000Z

Oh joy oh joy! Our book A Changed Man, by Francine Prose has been selected as one of the 100 Books to Talk About in a new initiative set up by those lovely people behind World Book Day and Spread the Word. Every single UK publisher was asked to submit their choice titles for consideration - books we loved but that hadn't yet got the recognition they deserved. I knew immediately I wanted to submit A Changed Man. It's the title I instinctively blurt out when anyone asks me to recommend book to read. It's practically a reflex reaction.

It has to be said, the book holds a bit of a special place in my heart - it was the first book I picked up when I joined Allison & Busby three years ago (sheesh, has it really been three years?) and I remember getting a thrill, like it was a really good omen, that I adored the first novel I read on the new job.

Then, I actually got to meet the author at the Edinburgh International Book Festival - another thrill for me. Francine Prose is relatively unknown here in the UK, but she is a HUGE name in her native U.S.A, and I couldn't help being pretty much in awe of her. In fact, I distinctly remember losing all sense of professional decorum as her Publicity Manager and found myself gushing "I'm sooo delighted to meet you in person, I absolutely looooooved A Changed Man". I think I came close to blurting out the stereotypical "Really, I mean it, I'm your BIGGEST fan!" but I checked myself just in time.

To top it off, when it came to designing a completely new cover for the paperback, I suggested the idea of the butterfly with the swastika pattern on the wings. When our designer managed to turn my idea into something concrete and it actually made the final cover... well, there you have it: thrill number 3.

So, now that it's been selected for the Books to Talk About initiative, well we're up to four thrills now!

You can see the full list of 100 books being championed on the Spread the Word Books to Talk About Website. (A Changed Man is top of the list under the Contemporary Life section.) Every book-lover is invited to read, comment on and vote for the book they think would make for good discussion at a reading group. The 10 books that get the most votes will go on to be promoted throughout bookshops and specially set up reading groups, and eventually one book will be named the winner on World Book Day in March.

Now I'm not trying to bend anyone's arm here (okay, who am I trying to kid, maybe I am...) but if you suddenly find yourself drawn to voting for A Changed Man, well, don't let me stop you... In fact, I'll make it really easy for you - click here to vote for A Changed Man now!

But seriously, most of all, tell people about the list and support this initiative. Talking about books - any books - is a good thing, so help spread the word!

Happy Birthday Susie's Mum

2007-11-19T16:56:00.000Z

My darling Mum is 80 tomorrow and this weekend we celebrated her forthcoming milestone with a lavish dinner party for, you've guessed it, 80 friends and family. It was a fantastic evening, full of food, wine, Mummers and catching up with people who haven't seen me since I was this high. Inevitably, conversation always turns to 'and what are you doing now?', and I must admit I love telling people that I'm a publisher. So grand. And then a lovely thing happens - the floodgates open and we talk endlessly about books. What I'm reading, what they're reading, how much they loved/hated the new Martina Cole/John Grisham/Richard & Judy bestseller (delete as applicable).

One of my Mum's friends is Maureen Coston who, with her husband Rob, runs the post office in the village. Maureen is a fantastic reader - she buys books, she borrows books, she loves books. We always end up nattering for ages about what we're reading, and Saturday was no different. We agreed how fantastic Under the Skin by Michel Faber is; how Maureen loves the No1 Ladies Detective Agency Series (I quite like it ...). And how hard it is running a village post office given Royal Mail want to close everything down, but that's another story.

And here's a gorgeous picture of my parents on their wedding day - Mum complete with fag, booze and cake. All a girl needs!

Always judge a book by its cover

2007-11-16T16:22:00.000Z

In a previous life, I used to be a bookseller. And there is nothing quite like life on the shopfloor to quickly dispel two particular myths passed down from the primeval dawn of bookselling:

1 - the customer is always right

2 - never judge a book by its cover

I will wax lyrical over the former - some customers may not even occasionally be right, but without the buying public there would be no bookselling nor publishing and what would we do then? So let's leave it at that.

But book jackets... ALWAYS judge a book by its cover. Book covers and book buying go together like speed dating and shoes - if in doubt, look no further. Call me shallow, but in 90% of cases they will tell you all you need to know about what's inside.

Today I finished designing my first book cover and, after hours of grappling with embedded text frame gremlins, font issues and an increasingly pixillated author photo I gathered a new insight: the book cover equivalent of a pair of Jimmy Choos may well be hard to come by.

Girls of Tender Age

2007-11-15T17:19:00.000Z

Anyone who knows me will have been surprised by how long it's taken me to write about Mary-Ann Tirone Smith's mesmerising memoir, Girls of Tender Age. I'm quite surprised myself, to be honest. I read this book over a year ago and I simply couldn't put the book down. Now, I know how hackneyed "unputdownable" has become (I use it far too often myself), but hand on heart, Mary-Ann's book was just that. We published it in hardback in January this year to whole-page raves in the papers (Val Hennessy in the Mail and Craig Brown in the Mail on Sunday come to mind straight away) and suddenly I realised that I wasn't alone in my passion for this book.

Mary-Ann is coming to visit us in February next year and we're looking at all sorts of ideas for getting her out and about to promote the paperback edition. In her native Connecticut, she packed out town halls when she was talking about her book - in once case, the town quite literally came to a standstill as the police cordoned off the roads round the library which was hosting Mary-Ann's talk, as more than 250 people showed up. I hope we can match that ... or at least come half way close!

A helping hand, from one blogger to another...

2007-11-14T18:42:00.000Z

I'm enjoying this adventure into the online world of blogging - it really is amazing what you can discover with a click. Just today I learned from the Material Witness blog about the Love of Reading Online Book Fair running from today, 14 November, to 16 November, filled with online events such as author readings, interviews, books extracts and author forum discussions. What a fabulous idea! More to the point, why did I not know of this before? Answer: Because, yes, I am essentially an online virgin and have only recently started exploring this wonderful online world for readers. There's so much I still need to discover, but am slowly but surely learning from the many devoted bloggers out there. (Cue: imitation of a Wayne's World style "We're not worthy" sequence) . In fact, feel free to point out any online gems we might be missing here - I'm all ears. For now, I've made a note-to-self: Allison & Busby MUST support the Love of Reading Online Book Fair next year and get our authors involved. Although you could say we did have a tiny presence...I came across a competition where visitors could vote for their favourite cover and Boomsday was one of the choices! And to think I never would have known... Material Witness, I thank you.

Thesauruses at the ready

2007-11-13T11:11:00.000Z

Following on from Lara’s post which mentioned the very funny, very readable Boomsday, I got to thinking about some of the language that is used / abused in Buckley’s vision of Washington politics. With the backdrop of the culture of spin that the heroine Cassandra has a black belt in, the cream of the crop has to be the outrageously euphemistic ‘transitioning’: her sanitised term for the idea of voluntary euthanasia which catches on even with the people at which it is aimed.

Which reminds me, over the weekend, I discovered a fabulous website that made me feel as erudite as Stephen Fry while also making the world just a slightly better place. And it has to be better than minesweeper. www.freerice.com has a clever, and addictive, vocabulary test which donates 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program for each word you get correct (all done through the companies that advertise on the site). Now, I’m a big fan of ‘wordy’ words (if I can pronounce them, that is), words which roll off the tongue after jiving around your mouth. Like indelible. Or malodorous. And I now have a bunch of new favourites, such as hornswoggle (vb. to Con) and hoosegow (n. jail). My record at the moment is vocab level 42 – beat that.

Apologies to Chiara for having nabbed this blogging topic!

Jaws in the night

2007-11-12T16:35:00.001Z

One of our printers came in today with a book sample. It’s a hugely popular children’s title with a rather scary snake’s head looking directly at you with beady red eyes. A few weeks' back another printer showed me a sample with a huge toothy jaw on the front cover which – wait for it – glowed in the dark. Now, I don’t know about you but I do not like the idea of waking up in the middle of the night to see a terrifying jaw glowing at me from across the room. And these are children’s books!

I do understand that books with a special design feature are more likely to grab readers’ attention. I loved the finished package of the Bret Easton Ellis’s book Lunar Park for example and our cut-out special effect on Christopher Buckley’s Boomsday makes for an eye-catching design too. And clever packaging aside, Boomsday has got to be one of the funniest and most though-provoking books I’ve read in a long time. As a former vice-president’s chief speechwriter, Buckley has his finger on the pulse of social and political issues and his heroine’s wacky and perhaps not completely farfetched notion of how to combat the mounting social security crisis (if you must know, she suggests 75-year-olds commit voluntary suicide) is totally inspired. It was the perfect accompaniment to the pina coladas on the beach on honeymoon. Even my new husband (that sounds strange, I don’t have any old ones by the way) got hooked on it and he's very picky about what he reads - especially if he's on honeymoon and it's not a cocktail menu.

Bedside reading - and rubbish Champions League

2007-11-09T09:48:00.001Z

It has taken me two days to get over Chelsea's disastrous return match against Schalke 04 in the Champions League (what does the 04 stand for? memo to self to google it straight after posting this). I despair. My husband despairs. Grant at Turnaround (our nice distributors) despairs. So bad were we that I spent much of the second half of the game playing Sudoku on Brain Training for Nintendo DS. There was a time when I'd have sat there with a book but now I seem to have relegated my reading to the bedroom.

It occurs to me that if a fervent and passionate reader like myself can be easily distracted in this age of Facebook, PSP and iTunes, then no wonder it's proving a struggle to get the younger generation reading. There are lots of initiatives to entice people to read, from Richard & Judy's Book Club to the World Book Day events, and that's heartening indeed, but it is something I think about every day - how to get more people to read our books. And I do mean read, rather than buy, as we are fortunate enough to have great support from the libraries in the UK.

I am one of those lucky people in that I get to do a job I love and look forward to every day .. well, almost every day. I have four books on the go at the moment - two 'work' ones (Sister by Manette Ansay which we're re-issuing next year; Tim Lebbon's new fantasy/horror which I'm considering for our list) and two 'home' ones (Harry Potter 7 - sorry; Susan Fletcher's second novel Oystercatchers. I loved her debut Eve Green and am anxious to see if her new one captures me in the same way). But I'm not going to put a pic of any of them on today's post. Instead you can have John Terry - the lynch pin of our team!

The wanderer returns...to a big surprise

2007-11-07T18:18:00.000Z

This is my first attempt at blogging, so please bear with me while I find my feet…

As many of you will know, our lovely Lara has been away the past few weeks, getting married and jetting off on a dream of a honeymoon. We’re all dying to see photos of her big day – especially of Lara in her gorgeous dress – and are eagerly waiting for her to come back and tell us all about it. There’s nothing an office full of women enjoys more than gossiping about weddings! (How girly are we?!)

But poor Lara is going to have a surprise in store when she returns. One of our printers, CPD, has unfortunately gone into administration. It’s very sad for us as we have dealt with them for several years now and know many of the people who work there. I know Lara will be shocked when she hears about what has happened. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to all those that have been made redundant. Good luck to you.

Now the search is on to find someone to replace them… It's the start of a new 'printing' chapter at A&B, and hopefully the start of a new relationship that will prove to be just as successful as the last.

Americanisms

2007-11-06T14:26:00.000Z

It's Prasana the Work Experience here ( not to be confused with Louise whose log in I've pirated). Part of my lovely job here at A&B is to ferret out the Americanisms from our manuscripts--policing the border between British English and it's progeny across the Atlantic.

Ironically, my life is one big Americanism. You see I am one--an American. Even my title threw me off at first ( in the States I'd be an intern) as did the computer keyboard (the @ is not in the normal place). But here I am, an American working in a British publishing house, hunting down Americanism. Sounds a bit traitorous. It's like I'm an cyborg programmed to track down my own kind and destroy them. Creepy.

But I remind myself it's for the good of the British public. You'll never have to worry about Monsieur Pamplemousse ordering french fries for Pommes Frites (not that he would deign to chips anyway) or your favorite London DI boarding the subway rather than the underground. Just imagine the confusion if mobiles became cell phones and trousers became pants and American pop culture icons like Regis and Kelly ( you don't want to know) became series regulars. Horrifying, but don't panic. You've got the right American on the job--Prasana the Work Experience, Conqueror of Americanisms, Preserver of the British Lexicon.

Books and baking

2007-11-05T12:43:00.000Z

It’s a Monday in the A&B office. It's no different from any other Monday except for one thing. Today there is a pecan cinnamon sponge cake in the kitchen. Well, there is half a pecan cinnamon sponge cake in the kitchen. I’ll admit to having scoffed the other half this weekend…that’s what one trip to the Wholefoods in High Street Kensington does to you. (Allow me to introduce myself as the food loving, permanently salivating and culinary adventurous member of the Allison & Busby team.)
So, whilst I could pretend that offering this treat to the Allison & Busby girls was a purely altruistic act on my part – a desire to satisfy the sugar cravings of five hard-working women – it was, in reality, a gesture brought about by necessity. It hit me on Sunday, as I reached for my umpteenth slice of cake, that I was getting perilously close to resembling the photo of screen legend Roscoe Arbuckle on the cover of Jerry Stahl’s book I, Fatty. Not that I'd really mind (I absolutely adore this book, so I’d be more than happy to play the poster-girl for it) but I fear I’d be a poor representative. 'Fatty' Arbuckle's life as the fat-boy of 1920s Hollywood was all about onscreen pie-fights, celebrity parties and heroin; mine is more off-screen pie-scoffing, celebrity magazines and herbal tea. Much less fascinating.
But one thing has come of all this: this Monday I'm inspired to get back into baking on a regular basis, with a view to sharing the results (and calorific content) with all at A&B. Because truly, there's nothing like enjoying a cup of tea, a slice of pie and a good book (or manuscript). Sure, there’s more to life than books and baking, but come to think of it, there really needn’t be.

Do you judge a book by its cover?

2007-11-03T12:10:00.001Z

We spend a huge amount of time talking about cover designs for our books - as we should, given it's such an important ingredient in a book's success. Dare I say, in many cases, it is the key ingredient. At A&B we are lucky enough to have two excellent freelance designers who work with us: Ben from Brighton Studios based in .... Hove, actually. And Emma from Snowbooks Design, part of the marvellous Snowbooks publishing house. We've even been known to do a few covers ourselves in-house, and plan to do more in the future.

Yesterday, it was Ben's turn on the rack. One of the things we talked about was a new look for a classic that we publish at A&B, Iris Origo's haunting memoir War in Val d'Orcia. I am not exaggerating when I say this is my favourite book on our list. I first read it 20 years ago when my Mum gave me a copy, and since then it's remained a desert-island book for me. Origo, an Englishwoman by birth was married to the Marchese of La Foce, a stunning estate in the heart of Tuscany. Her memoir centres on two years during WWII when the family found themselves in the thick of the war, with partisans hiding in the hills, Germans at their door, and looking after a host of children who had been evacuated from the cities.

But I digress. What to do? Do we have a lovely Tuscan photo on the front, complete with sunflowers and idyllic villa? Or a shot of the German tanks thundering down the cypress tree-lined roads around La Foce? Or one of Iris with the children she housed during the War? Decisions, decisions. I'll let you know what we go with ...

Elizabethan tug-of-war

2007-11-01T17:18:00.000Z

The ‘wondrous Lesley’ makes her debut blog appearance. Please ladies and gents, restrain your urge to applaud and throw bouquets.

The thing I look forward to most at A&B is the arrival of lovely, fresh-from-the-printers, terribly good for you, books. That story that you’ve read perhaps a year ago, have agonised over its cover design, have talked up to people up and down the land, lands on your desk as a finished product. Unfortunately, the latest title I was not so patiently expecting, Margaret Irwin’s Elizabeth & the Prince of Spain, is being held to ransom by some burly, book-hating, philistines [or not, but allow a girl some creative licence]. Particularly painful is the fact that I helped to choose the costume for this shoot from the BBC costume department. It was so gorgeous I was ‘this’ close to dying my hair red and regally demanding that I grace the cover…

So, until we work out that tug of war and get the books, I will content myself with seeing Cate Blanchett at the cinema this weekend and with this picture. *Sigh*

Today we're mostly thinking about nuns and moth balls

2007-11-01T15:04:00.000Z

We've just taken delivery of the new manuscript from Alison Joseph, creator of Sister Agnes - the only nun I know who likes lipstick and cashmere (not that she's allowed to wear either). Alison is busy adapting Agnes for a Radio 4 drama (ooh, I hope that's not a secret ...) which will be fantastic, and fingers crossed will be on a wireless near you in time for those lazy summer days. As is always the way, Alison and I end up talking about absolutely everything except work. Today's topics included how much we love John Lewis, the home of moth balls, coat hangers and lovely charcoal 60-denier tights. Highly recommended.

First Post

2007-10-31T11:05:00.000Z

The first post on the new Allison & Busby blog - cue trumpet fanfare and throwing of suitably book-shaped confetti. Between leaving work last night and coming to the office this morning, the wondrous Lesley (who obviously needs to get a life, which is a horrid thing to say and I take it back immediately) has created our blog - and so now all that remains is for us to post frantically and tell you all about life in a small, but perfectly formed, publishing house.

'Tis Halloween today and very fitting to mention my current reading matter - a series of teen vampire novels, which I'm absolutely loving. The author, Rachel Caine, is new to us and we've just signed up the first two books in her excellent Weather Warden series. Think Heroes crossed with Janet Evanovich, and you get the picture. She also writes the Morganville Vampire books which I'm keen to buy for our list. College students living in a big spooky house, doing battle with the vampires running amok in their sleepy Texas town. What's not to love?

I'm off to sell some books to those lovely people at Books etc in London Wall - better start polishing the patter.