Lake Union acquires three books from bestselling novelist Dani Atkins

Photo credit: Hannah Couzens

Lake Union, part of Amazon Publishing, will publish three books, including ALWAYS YOU AND ME in 2025, from the RNA Romance Novel of the Year winner, Dani Atkins. Editor Victoria Pepe acquired World English Rights from Kate Burke at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.

Just before Lily’s husband Adam dies, he asks her to make one promise: to track down her old best friend and first love, Josh. But Josh and Lily parted on bad terms and, despite her love for Adam, she has no real desire to find Josh.

A year later and the weight of Adam’s promise weighs heavily on Lily. Finding Josh proves almost impossible and when they finally come face to face at Josh’s remote cabin, he’s less than welcoming.

As the two find themselves stranded in a snowstorm, Lily begins to question whether her love for Josh ever really went away. Could it be possible for her to love two men at once? Is their history too much to overcome? Or is Lily being given a second chance at happiness?

Dani said, ‘I’m incredibly excited to be joining Amazon and cannot wait to work with their brilliant team to bring my books to a larger audience.’

Victoria Pepe said, ‘I’ve laughed and cried working with Dani on ALWAYS YOU AND ME – an emotionally charged tear-jerker, perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Cecelia Ahern. I can’t wait for readers to discover the tangled lives of Lily, Adam and Josh, and to help bring Dani’s wonderful books to a wide audience.’

Kate Burke said, ‘I’m really excited for this new chapter in Dani’s publishing and to be working with the fabulous Amazon team.’

Devesh Kumar, Director at Amazon Books Europe said, ‘We’re honoured that Dani is joining the Lake Union family. She’s a wonderful writer and the whole team is really excited to get her books out into the world.’

About Dani Atkins

Based in Hertfordshire, Dani is an award-winning writer of ten novels. Her debut, FRACTURED, has been translated into twenty-three languages and has sold more than half a million copies. In 2022, A SKY FULL OF STARS won the Contemporary Romantic Novel Award at the RNA awards, and Dani previously won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award for THIS LOVE in 2018. Dani also won the 2023 Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller Award for SIX DAYS, taking her total of RNA Awards to four. Having previously worked as a secretary for organisations such as the BBC, books have always been her constant companions and have inspired her writing career.

 Praise for Dani Atkins

‘Dani Atkins is the undisputed queen of fiction that packs a huge emotional punch’ – Heat

‘Truly magnificent storytelling’ – Veronica Henry

‘Atkins writes with immediacy and compassion’ – Mail on Sunday

‘Emotionally powerful.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Dani writes with heart and soul. Prepare to be moved’ – Alice Peterson

‘She’s one of my favourite writers. Always delivers.’ – Jenny O’Brien

 Follow Dani on X (previously Twitter) and Instagram.

Bestseller Paul Finch moves to Thomas & Mercer with two new gripping thrillers

Amazon Publishing’s Thomas & Mercer imprint has acquired two books from acclaimed author, Paul Finch. DEATH LIST and an untitled second novel were acquired from Senior Agent Kate Burke at Blake Friedmann.

Publishing in June 2025, DEATH LIST is a pacy and incisive thriller about a support group which brings together an ensemble of disgraced police officers on an idyllic but remote Hebridean island. However, it isn’t long before they all realise they’ve been brought there to be murdered.

Paul Finch is an ex-policeman and journalist turned bestselling author. He has written for The Bill and has written extensively in the horror, fantasy, and historical epic genres, including Doctor Who.

He is best known for his crime and thriller novels, of which there are twelve to date. He has previously been published by HarperCollins and Orion.

Paul Finch said: 'What can I say? I'm back on the crime thriller trail, and absolutely delighted. We're getting the ball rolling again with two ideas I'm in love with. Both have been smouldering away in the back of my mind for quite some time, and I'm massively grateful to Thomas & Mercer for agreeing to run with them.'

Editor at Thomas & Mercer, Kasim Mohammed, said: ‘Paul is a dream author to work with, with his brilliant pacing, twisty plots, and evocative writing. It’s a real honour to bring an author with Paul’s history to the Thomas & Mercer list, and I can’t wait for people to lose themselves in these incisive, gripping thrillers.’

Kate Burke at Blake Friedmann said: 'I'm delighted with Paul's move to Amazon - he's a thriller writer at the top of his game and I'm really excited about this new chapter of an already illustrious career!'

Mouncif Faqir from Amazon Books Europe said: ‘Paul Finch is an exceptional addition to Thomas & Mercer’s list. We are thrilled to be bringing DEATH LIST and a future novel to Amazon Publishing and we cannot wait for readers to discover his captivating thrillers.’

About Paul Finch

Paul’s crime debut, STALKERS, was a No. 1 ebook best seller in 2013 and introduced DS Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg. This was followed in July 2013 by the sequel, SACRIFICE – the most pre-ordered book in HarperCollins history.

In 2016 Paul introduced readers to DC Lucy Clayburn. STRANGERS, the first novel in the series, was an immediate success, reaching the top ten in the Sunday Times Bestseller list.

Paul’s first historical novel, USURPER, was published by Canelo in April 2023 and the next book, BATTLE LORD, followed in January 2024.

He lives in Lancashire, UK, with his wife Cathy and their two four legged companions, Buck and Buddy.

Praise for Paul Finch

‘Wonderfully dark…Finch is a born storyteller.’ – Peter James

‘Edge-of-the-seat reading… Heck is formidable – a British Alex Cross.’ – The Sun

‘Big star…part edge-of-the-seat, part hide-behind-the-sofa!’ – The Bookseller

‘Consistently inventive. Consistently excellent. Paul Finch writes distinctive dialogue-driven horror that truly grips. Satisfying stories, tautly written with a real sense of authority.’ – Simon Clark

‘Paul Finch is an exciting new voice in the realms of macabre fiction. He sketches out a disturbing landscape, filled with deep shadows and uneasy emotions where stories both traditional and modern are played out to chilling effect. Highly recommended.’ – Mark Chadbourn

‘Finch places considerable stock in atmosphere, and builds fear and unease well with a judicious balance between what is seen, unseen and merely hinted at.’ – Brian Hodge

Follow Paul on Twitter.

WILL CARVER, EDWARD CAREY AND WILL DEAN SHORTLISTED FOR THE CAPITAL CRIME AMAZON PUBLISHING READERS’ AWARDS 2019

We are thrilled to announce that three Blake Friedmann authors have been shortlisted for the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Readers Awards 2019. LITTLE by Edward Carey (Aardvark Bureau, 2018), RED SNOW by Will Dean (Point Blank, 2019) and GOOD SAMARITANS by Will Carver (Orenda Books, 2018) have all been shortlisted for the Independent Voice award.

Capital Crime festival pass holders will be able to vote for the winner in each category from today until 19 September 2019. Winners will be announced at the Capital Crime festival in London on 28 September 2019.

The first book in Will Dean’s Tuva Moodysoon series, DARK PINES, was selected for the Zoe Ball Book Club and shortlisted for The Guardian Not The Booker Prize.

Praise for RED SNOW:

'A complex plot, suffused with the nightmarish quality of Twin Peaks, and a tough-minded, resourceful protagonist add up to a stand-out read.' — The Guardian

‘Dean masterfully ramps up the tension and claustrophobia throughout the story’s sinister series of events before delivering an unexpected and satisfying finale. Tuva is a wonderful creation and Dean’s series is not to be missed.’ — Daily Express

‘It's great. You get snow, ice, Swedishness, murder and liquorice!’ – Marian Keyes

Follow Will Dean on Twitter.

Will Carver’s GOOD SAMARITANS was selected as a Book of the Year in The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Daily Express.

Praise for GOOD SAMARITANS:

‘An unsettling but compelling mixture of the banal, the horrific and, at times, the near-comic, wrong-footing the reader at every turn.’ — The Guardian, The Best Recent Crime Novels

‘I read a lot of novels about homicidal mania and this one made most of the others seem as reassuringly cosy as my favourite slippers. A bleak vision of life - true enough to impart the reader with the thrill of genuine discomfort presented with the chilly conviction of Simenon’s most unflinching romans durs and just as horribly addictive.' — The Telegraph

‘If you like you comedy pitch black and your thrillers more than a little bit twisted, you’ll love it… So dark, so cool.’ — Heat

Follow Will Carver on Twitter

Edward Carey’s LITTLE was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2019, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2019, and the HWA Historia Gold Crown 2019. It was also chosen as a Times Historical Book of the Month and a Waterstones Booksellers Favourite.

Praise for LITTLE:

‘Carey, an artist and playwright who has worked at Madame Tussauds in London, has turned his experience into a startlingly original novel. He finds and treasures the ironies and macabre eccentricities of Tussaud’s world. The pages are also enriched by his beautiful and haunting illustrations of body parts and anatomical models’ – The Times

‘Edward Carey’s Gothic tale is a wry meditation on a state between life and death . . . A rattling narrative is fleshed out with visceral detail and illustrations by the author . . . it is both clever and intriguing’ — Daily Mail

‘Don’t miss this eccentric charmer’ — Margaret Atwood

Visit Edward Carey's Website here

Follow Edward on Twitter here