Happy 2016... with client news

Samantha Verant's internationally successful debut memoir SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS has been optioned by a film studio. Her next book, HOW TO MAKE A FRENCH FAMILY, about her first few years of life as an instant stepmother and wife in the south of France - filled with food and faux pas - has been sold to US publisher Sourcebooks for spring 2017 publication. UK rights to both books are available.

Sarah Outen is busy writing her new book, DARE TO DO. Nicholas Brealey acquired world rights and the book is due for publication in June.

Brad Smith's new novel, ROUGH JUSTICE, has been published by Severn House and received this review from Booklist:

The quintessential Brad Smith hero is an ex-con attempting to live a quiet life who finds himself drawn back into the world of violence, usually to help out someone he loves. Following in the tradition of Ray Dokes (All Hat, 2003) and series hero Virgil Cain (Red Means Run, 2012), Carl Burns lands in prison after taking a quixotic stand against corruption and absorbing the unintended consequences. Now out of prison, he has returned to his small Ontario hometown to support his estranged daughter, Kate, who is one of three witnesses in the rape trial of the town’s mayor. The trial goes bad, and Kate slips slowly into addiction and depression. Burns watches helplessly, biding his time and helping the sister of his ex-wife attempt to battle a ruthless land-grabber. Typically, Smith combines elements of the comic caper novel with hard-edged thriller fare, but this time the comedy and the banter take a backseat to real-world realism. Even in a hard world, however, there’s always room for fighting back, and nobody does stand-up guys better than Smith.

Diane Esguerra's memoir JUNKIE BUDDHA has continued to gather fine reviews also - Therapy Today called it uplifting, commenting on 'eloquent writing and self-deprecating humour' (http://www.therapytoday.net/article/show/5136/shelf-life-junkie-buddha/). Diane also appeared on Salford City Radio (https://soundcloud.com/david-southam/smiley-queen-salford-city-radio-interview). Links to all the reviews and interviews can now be found here: http://junkiebuddha.com/endorsements/.

'The Inca witch told me that Machu Picchu was the right resting place for Sacha... Yes, my son was a junkie. But he was also a Buddha.'  

Translation rights are available in Brad Smith's novel and Diane Esguerra's memoir.

An interview just came out with Ian Moore about being a father, comedian and author: http://www.dadofdivas.com/dads-in-the-limelight/ian-moore

As editor of John Searancke's book PRUNES FOR BREAKFAST: ONE MAN'S WAR, I'm pleased to see the book selling well on Kindle and getting great reviews on Amazon.

More updates are to be found on the AGENCY CLIENTS page. Thanks to all authors, publishers and co-agents for your support in 2015. Very best wishes for 2016 from me and the 'office assistant' in Megalo Horio, Tilos!

Dare To Do - like Sarah Outen

What a day it was for Sarah Outen. After five years looping the planet by pedal and paddle, 25,000 miles later she arrived back at Tower Bridge, London. Her mantra was 'smile and breathe'.

She cycled across Europe, Asia and North America; rowed and kayaked across the North Pacific and most of the North Atlantic. She was halfway across the North Atlantic, battling the bad weather that would leave her in deadly danger from a hurricane, when I relayed to her via her Iridium phone that we had two publishers bidding for the book she would write about the adventure.

A few days ago, she was able to meet her new publisher, Nicholas Brealey, for the first time while on her final leg of the journey. And after a short rest, she'll be starting to write her book, DARE TO DO, which will be published in June 2016. 

Her first book, A DIP IN THE OCEAN, about her record-breaking solo row across the Indian Ocean in her early twenties, was published by Summersdale just before she set off on her loop of the planet, and I had the opportunity to work with her on it. 

The new book will be a challenge in itself because she has so much to tell. Over the last five years she has met with devastating catastrophe, motivated people to do amazing things and encountered unbelievable beauty in the natural world. 

Sarah's an inspiration. As she writes, the story of her adventure and inner journey 'will also be a call to action, to redefine your own boundaries, to be courageous, and dare to do.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3301649/Four-years-25-000-miles-started-British-adventurer-Sarah-Outen-kayak-Tower-Bridge-complete-gruelling-round-world-challenge-today.html

http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/uk-adventurer-sarah-outen-completes-round-the-world-odyssey-11364014442441

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/09/round-world-adventure-sarah-outen?CMP=share_btn_tw

BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06mtmsb

‘When I first met her, I knew that Sarah was a very special person with fire in her belly… She is honest, open, courageous and inspiring… and has a contagious love for life’ – Dame Ellen MacArthur

‘Sarah has self reliance and belief in quantities that I haven’t come across in anyone else... Until you experience the loneliness and awe inspiring scale and ferocity of the oceans, it’s hard to fathom the resilience that Sarah Outen has.’ – Mark Beaumont

‘There is only one Sarah Outen... She is off-the-wall, bombards everything with positive energy, and lives her life with a strong moral compass and a huge heart.’ – Ed Stafford 

‘Infectiously positive, brave across the board, a trailblazer, mood-setter and role model, she is the top female adventurer of the 21st century - nobody else comes close.’ – Dave Cornthwaite 

‘Sarah – you are obviously certifiably bonkers. Thank god.’ – Dawn French

‘Definitely mad. Definitely marvellous.’ – Sir Ranulph Fiennes

‘Like Wild – only Wilder.’ – BT Sport