Melissa F Miller is the author of the bestselling legal thriller series featuring Sasha McCandless. The first book in the series is Irreparable Harm:

After eight long years, attorney Sasha McCandless is about to make partner at a prestigious law firm. All she has to do is… Read full post »

Going well so far...

Last weekend I was at Bouchercon, a mystery writers' conference that takes place every year in a different city in the US with discussion panels, guests of honour and a prize-giving ceremony for the winners of the Anthony Awards. This year it was in Cleveland, Ohio. Around… Read full post »

Last night I went to the launch of Petrol by Martina Evans. I had heard her read before - she and I both read at The Sugar Lounge last year, which is where I fell in love with her work. Last night she performed several passages from Petrol from memory, which/…

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Last night I went to the launch for Books to Die For at Foyles in London where John Connolly, Natasha Cooper, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Martyn Waites, Laura Wilson and Meg Gardiner discussed their contributions to the book.

Books to Die For is an anthology of essays from 120 reknowned crime writers/…

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Last night I went to a preview screening of Anna Karenina sponsored by Index on Censorship. Tom Stoppard (who wrote the screenplay) and Paul Webster (one of the producers of the film) talked about the film afterwards.

Index on Censorship is an organization that campaigns for freedom of speech, particu…

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There's a brilliant review of The Miracle Inspector over at For Books' Sake:

"Before reading this book I’ll admit that I wasn’t familiar with Helen Smith, but I’d now happily count The Miracle Inspector as one of the finest novels of its genre.

With a true cliff-hanger of an ending, it al… Read full post »

I took part in a Q&A over at Joo's book reviews about my books and my writing.

You can read the interview here.

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Applications to be on the editorial committee for World Book Night 2013 will close at midnight this Sunday 19 August.

To apply email 2013@worldbooknight.org with:

Your name and contact phone number
What book you gave away in 2012
Your top 10 books you most love to read, give and share for 2013
An i/…

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There's a great review for The Miracle Inspector over at The Momus Report.

There's a great review for The Miracle Inspector over at Between the Pages.

"I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Dystopia is one of my favourite genres, and fans of such books as Nineteen Eighty-Four and The Handmaid’s Tale, would almost certainly enjoy this novel. I found it scarily believ/…

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The Strummer of Love festival is taking place in the Blackdown Hills area of Somerset, near Taunton, this weekend: 17-19 August.

It's ten years since Joe Strummer's death and this festival will celebrate his life - he would have been sixty years old on 21st August 2012. Proceeds from the festiv/…

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Corrie Goes to Kenya is on ITV at 9pm, Friday 17th.

Lauren's dad, Damon, has been volunteering for the charity SAFE out in Kenya. He writes for Coronation Street so he took four of the cast members - Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw), Ryan Thomas (Jason Grimshaw), Brooke Vincent (Sophie Webster) an/…

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Missing the Olympics?

Check out these photos of knitted Olympic characters in a garden in Mary Haggerty's garden in Walthamstow, made by Mrs Haggerty's daughter and showcased on the BBC.

If that doesn't work for you, here are some pictures of Mo Farah running away from things.

My friend Harry Harrison is the political cartoonist for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He's also the illustrator of many, many children's books.

He has a picture in an exhibition called Animal Crackers at The Cartoon Museum in Little Russell Street, London, which runs from 25th July until…

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There's a wonderful review for The Miracle Inspector over at Bookfabulous where it has been chosen as a book club read.

This is a very interesting thought-provoking book. A fantastic book club pick. I enjoyed its directness and the power it gives to the reader's imagination to fill in the gaps/… Read full post »

The print edition of The Miracle Inspector will be published on 4th September.

It is currently available as an ebook via The Kindle Store in the US and the UK. You can pre-order the print book online from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, Blackwells, The Book Depository, Foyles, W H Smith… Read full post »

Check out these articles on the New Wave Authors site:

Deborah Reed runs into a celebrity crush

R J Keller asks if writers should have muzzles

Craig Lancaster ponders the categorisation of fiction

Rob Kroese showcases a new site that matches reviewers to books that need reviews

Stant Litore takes i/…

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There's a great review for The Miracle Inspector over at Book Reviews where it is a recommended read:

"Well written with a dark, wry humor that is quintessentially British, Smith's dystopian novel is an interesting read."

Click here to read the full review.

There are a couple of sample chapters h… Read full post »

There's a fantastic review for Alison Wonderland over at Read In A Single Sitting.

"If Lewis Carroll, Haruki Murakami, and Ulrich Beck got together and ate too many Smarties, snorted some lines of sherbet and then span around in circles for a good five minutes, this is the book they would… Read full post »

There's a lovely review for Alison Wonderland over at Ruby's Books blog.

"One of the first things that came into my head after reading this book is 'What a brilliant opening!' [...] There are some funny moments in this book too. I actually laughed out loud a few times."

Check out/…

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I recently read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. It's an unusual, magical novel illustrated with intriguing vintage photographs. It has been on the NYT bestseller list since last June and has just been published in paperback. There are exciting plans for a film adap/…

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There's a fantastic new 5* review for The Miracle Inspector over on Amazon and Goodreads.

"Helen Smith has taken some of the fears and obsessions of today's society, then twisted and exaggerated them to create a dystopian vision of the future... Does it work as a portrait of a fractured future/…

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I went to The Bookseller Crow in Crystal Palace last night to hear readings from three authors, hosted by writer in residence Karen McLeod. It was a lovely event with free wine and, that most elusive of literary night treats, free beer. They even served pretzels. More importantly, the readings/…

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The longlist for the Polari First Book Prize has been announced. One of the most interesting things about this prize (now in its second year) is that self-published books are considered.

The prize is for a first book which explores the LGBT experience and is open to any work of poetry, prose,/…

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