'Cally Taylor can make brewing a pot of tea seem sinister' (Times Book Club). Sunday Times bestseller. Richard & Judy pick. Tweets about books, crafting, TV
And if today being paperback publication day wasn't exciting enough I am SO EXCITED to reveal that Every Move You Make is a Richard and Judy pick!!!
Just £4.99 from WH Smiths
My sister's partner works in a women's refuge in Brighton. They have put together an Amazon list so the children can have a good Christmas. Presents are as little as 57p. If you can help, that would be wonderful. If you can't every RT will help.
Yesterday my sister Bec (on the left) married Lou, her partner of ten years. It was the loveliest wedding and I sobbed all the way through the ceremony.
OH... MY...GOD!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! The one award ceremony I didn't go to (it's my son's birthday today!) and I only bloody won!!! I just did the biggest squeal/screech! A huge thank you to
@CapitalCrime1
and everyone who voted. I am THE HAPPIEST AUTHOR TONIGHT.
Who remembers Ladybird books from their childhood? I bought these on ebay and the rush of emotion and memories as I turn the pages is quite something. Such wonderful illustrations.
#ladybirdbooks
I've been a published author for ten years and it's always been a dream to have one of my books chosen by Richard and Judy for their book club. And now it's happened. 'Over the moon' doesn't come close to describing how happy I am.
The new Richard and Judy Book Club Autumn picks have been revealed! 📚🍂
Find the thrilling new must-read selection in store today or online here ➡️ and join the conversation with
#WHSRJ
Finally. I have FINISHED this absolute BEAST of a book. It's 20,000 words longer than my last one & took two months longer. I have never found writing a book to be so damned hard, & not just because of lockdown. But you know what? I think it might be the best book I've written.
I am absolutely OVER THE MOON. Today I received confirmation that Strangers will be number 10 in the Sunday Times hardback chart this weekend. I never dreamed it could happen in the current situation and I am SO incredibly grateful to every single one of you who bought a copy. X
To anyone writing a book - I'm 23,000 words into the first draft of my 11th book. I've changed the title 4x, rewritten the opening 3x, changed my mind about the ending half a dozen times & doubted whether I can make this work more times than you know.
#totallynormal
#amwriting
I think I was in my thirties before I realised that the University Challenge teams aren't actually stacked in two tiers and it's actually a split screen.
@sianushka
I had a hysteroscopy with no pain relief once. I squealed in pain and the doctor told me I had 'a sensitive cervix'. Am increasingly convinced that all women do! He gave me a local anaesthetic in my cervix and then I couldn't feel a thing. Why not do that first?
It's official. STRANGERS is a Sunday Times bestseller. A HUGE thank you everyone who bought a copy. These are difficult times and I am very, very grateful. Xx
I am delighted to announce that I have signed a new two book deal with
@AvonBooksUK
. Books 8 and 9 will be published in 2021 and 2022 and book 7, Strangers, is out next year! Huge thanks to my fabulous agent
@agentmilburn
for negotiating the deal.
Who loves reading and sweets as much as you do? Tag a friend in the comments, follow me & RT and you could both win a signed, doodled copy of Her Last Holiday and a bag of Pick N Mix.
Comp closed midnight 16th May. One entry per person. UK only.
Sitting in a pizza place in Birmingham with my publicist
@Sabah_K
when the news just came in that Sleep is a Sunday Times bestseller!
#9
in the hardback chart! This photo does not express the utter delight, relief and 'Oh my god I could cry' that I feel. Xxx
I have escaped to a hotel for the next few days. First time in 4 months I have had time apart from my family. I am basically going to hole myself up in here, write, and get all my meals delivered. I AM RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED.
Messy hair, don't care - I am off on a 3 day solo writing retreat to start thinking about crime book 10 (book 14 overall). I probably won't reply to tweets/emails etc as speedily as normal as I am going to try* and stay away from social media.
*may have to hide my phone.
It's quite something when you have a little cry because you are feeling overwhelmed and sad and frustrated and your eight year old puts his arms around you and says, 'It's okay mum, lockdown won't last forever.' And then you cry a little bit more.
My publisher
@AvonBooksUK
have confirmed it - my psychological thrillers have officially sold over two million copies, across all formats, in the UK.
A huge THANK YOU to anyone who's ever bought, or recommended, one of my books. This couldn't have happened without you. ❤️
Off to the printers to see Strangers being printed! In my eleven years as a published author this is the first time I have seen any of my books printed and I am SO EXCITED. Photos later!
My late gran was always ashamed that her side of the family were fairground folk (she went on to marry my grandad, a farmer) but I love this photo. How kickass does my corset-wearing, dog holding great-gran look?
My eight year old is supposed to read from 8.30pm until 9.30pm then go to sleep. He just shouted down the stairs at 10pm, 'I am SO sorry mum but I was so into the last Percy Jackson book that I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end.'
Spent over four hours, in a pub garden, chatting with a school friend I haven't seen in 30 years. She drove over from Wales to Bristol because 'life is too short to put things off until another day'. She's absolutely right. It was the loveliest of days.
My new favourite joke:
How many Freudians does it take to change a light bulb?
Two. One to change it and the other to hold the penis... LADDER! I meant LADDER!
I crocheted a 'cat hat' (with some wool my mum gave me from my late Auntie Margaret), after my 16 year old niece told me about them last weekend. I suspect I am 33 years too old to pull it off, was easy to make though.
It's been the most incredible, emotional, joyful day and I only stumbled during my speech once. I couldn't be more proud and honoured to be awarded an honorary degree - Doctor of Letters - by my old university
@NorthumbriaUni
, and to share it with my parents. So very grateful.
We gave our eight year old a watch for Christmas. When I picked him up from school today he said, 'So many kids asked me the time today I felt like Alexa.'
It's publication day and I am up and out of bed after a massive lie-in!
The Guilty Couple is about a woman who's framed by her husband & sets out to get revenge.
Available in: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, WHSmiths, Costco, Waterstones or ask an indie!
I was having a romantic Valentine's meal at the kitchen table with my partner, lights low, candles burning, soft jazz playing. Then our eight year old shouted down the stairs, 'Mum, I just had a poo and it's not flushing!'
Is anyone old enough to remember these? The Garden Gang by Jayne Fisher. She was nine when the books she wrote & illustrated were published by
@ladybirdbooks
. She inspired eight year old me to send a book I'd written to her publisher and I received my first ever rejection letter.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to all my amazing readers who rushed out to buy the hardback of The Guilty Couple last week. It's number seven in the Original Fiction chart, making it a Sunday Times bestseller!
Huge thanks to all at
@AvonBooksUK
for their tireless hard work. ❤️
Very rare that I like a photo of me but I do love the Scandi Noir vibe of this photo taken by Paul Reich at
@BloodyScotland
this year. I feel like I should be solving crimes not writing them. Do look Paul up if you need a photographer
#BloodyScotland
You could be in my next book! I need Twitter handles - maybe 12 or so - for the 1st chapter of my next psych thriller. To enter RT & follow. I will share who I chose when I've written it (NB: I can't guarantee the chapter will stay in the book - editors can be mean like that!)
To everyone who has bought tickets for my book tour in April (& the
@essexfest
at the end of March) I am so sorry but the events are now cancelled. I am asthmatic & have suffered terrible chest infections over the last few years and can't risk infection from the coronavirus. 1/2
It's giveaway time! RT to enter the draw to win a signed proof of my new psychological thriller SLEEP, a bar of Cadbury chocolate, a Christmas card from me & a sparkly bookmark from
@LiteraryGalaxy
(UK only, closes midnight 16th December)
#daretosleep
Today my son told one of the ladies at after school club that I am an author. As a result she bought the ebook of Strangers for 99p. 'You need to share your profit with me' son said. I told him how much that was. 'Oh, he said, 'don't bother!' 😂
So, so delighted to find out that Sleep is number 5 in the paperback chart. A HUGE thank you to everyone who has bought a copy or helped spread the word. I am so incredibly grateful. X
🚨Amazing news just in! 🚨
We're absolutely chuffed and SO proud to announce that the fantastic Sleep by
@callytaylor
is a
#5
Sunday Times Fiction Paperback bestseller! 🎉😃✨🔥💥
HOLY MOLY it's time to celebrate 🥂
#Bestseller
The news is out - Strangers has sold over 100,000 copies across all formats. A HUGE thank you to everyone who has bought, reviewed or recommended it. It's been a hell of a year, not without its roadbumps (thanks pandemic), & I am chuffed to bits that it's reached so many readers.
It's my partner's birthday and I ordered the cake from the girlfriend of one of his mates. She's started a new cake, pastries and chocolates business in South
#bristol
so do check her out if you're local. This is the biggest cake any of us has ever had!
Watching the Graham Norton show and saw that Dexter Fletcher is the director of the Elton John biopic 'Rocket Man' and thought, 'he's not old enough to be a director!' and googled him. He's 53. 53!!! He will always be Press Gang Dexter Fletcher to me.
#feelold
The Covid Diaries Day 11 (Double vaxxed)
It's my last day of bedroom isolation so I thought I'd do a lateral flow test to check my status - and it's negative! Physically it feels like the tail end of a cold now (nose a tiny bit snuffly, lungs a little sore). Freedom tomorrow!
For the evening crowd... excited to show you the cover of my new psych thriller - HER LAST HOLIDAY. If you have always been suspicious of self-help gurus this is the book for you. Jenna goes on a wellness retreat in Gozo that she never returns from...
Seven year old woke me up at 7.30am, in tears, to say his daddy wasn't anywhere in the house. My first thoughts:
1. A burglar bludgeoned him in the garden in the middle of the night.
2. He's left us
3. He's gone to Tesco to get milk.
It's exhausting being a crime writer.
Done! I have FINISHED the first draft of Book 10. Fifty-seven chapters and 96,608 words!
There's still a LOT of work to be done including a full read through and lots of rewriting and pruning but that's the heavy lifting done (until my edits!)
I'm giving myself tomorrow off!
Publication day diary. Quickly popped into
@sainsburys
to buy eggs to hide for my son on Easter Sunday and had my first spotting of Sleep! Not smiling as a fellow shopper was staring at me like, 'what the hell are you doing?'
It's paperback publication day for Strangers! Available in Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Waitrose, Morrison's, WH Smith, Waterstones & independent bookshops! Links to buy online here:
It's also my son's birthday. Double celebration!
I have booked a hotel for the weekend (Sat-Tues actually) so I can get some headspace and write and I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED. I will basically be living in my room and getting room service so contact with others will be minimal. Hotel sheets! Roll top bath! Quiet! Arrghhh!
Utterly delighted that The Guilty Couple is a Richard & Judy Book Club pick!
It's out now in paperback & available in WH Smith's, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Morrison's, Waterstones or ask your local indie.
Amazon
Bookshop
I am absolutely OVER THE MOON to share the news that the hardback of Her Last Holiday is at
#8
in the Sunday Times Original Fiction chart. Huge thanks to Team
@AvonBooksUK
and all at
@HarperCollinsUK
whose hard work, long hours, drive & talent made this happen. I am so grateful.
A reader sent me a message telling me the things she enjoyed about my books and the things I could 'improve for the future'. Am currently deciding how best to dispose of her body....
And how BEAUTIFUL is this this new version of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't partly the inspiration behind my own book Sleep. Classic crime. Stunning jacket.
@HarperCollinsUK
The Island is published today! If you want a pacy, page-turner that keeps you guessing you'll find it in Asda YA/children's book section. Or ask your local indie bookseller!
Or...
Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop
I am starting my next book on Monday but there's a big part of me that doesn't want to because, right now, in my brain, it's the best idea I've ever come up with. It's a lovely feeling and I want to savour it. Actually writing the thing will screw it all up. 😄
Off to Ponden Hall, near Howarth in West Yorks for a writing retreat. The Brontes stayed in Ponden Hall & the window in the room I am sleeping in was the one that inspired Emily Bronte to write about Cathy's ghost in Wuthering Heights, tapping to be let in. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!
It's been a hell of a year and, for the longest time, I struggled to write but somehow I have ended up with two new books, both out in 2021. Seeing the proof of Her Last Holiday and the finished copy of The Island make the stress and the struggle worth while. Happy Christmas!
Hello! I am back from my first ever cruise (around Italy to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary.) I swear the ground is rocking under my feet even though I am back in sturdy Brizzle. My little writing break is over now and I need to start writing book 10 next week.
Absolutely delighted to find out today that The Fear has sold 100,000 copies in 4 months (ebook and print combined). A huge, huge thank you to everyone who has bought or recommended it. I am a very happy author. xx
All I have done today, other than a few household jobs, is wrap birthday presents for my son's birthday and watch Below Deck. And it has been BRILLIANT! AND my partner got the job he went for!
This makes my blood boil. If you steal books by searching for illegal downloads you are scum. Too skint to buy a book? Use a library. They have a free ebook service and authors receive around 9p per borrow.
I'm so excited to reveal the cover of my new young adult thriller, The Island. It's about six teens, stranded on an island and, one by one, all their worst fears come true. Pub'd on 21st Jan.
Wstones
Hive
Woo hoo! Proofs of The Guilty Couple, my new book, are landing on doormats around the UK. I'm proud of this one. It's my fastest paced book in a while, with the twistiest plot. Features a female bent cop, a thief, a wronged woman, an ex & a missing lover.
Finished! Draft 1 of Book 9 is DONE. Now I have until the 1st October to rewrite a couple of chapters, fill in some XXXs where I wasn't sure what day it was or what someone was called, and tighten up the prose.