Author Craig Smith and Myrmidon Books were absolutely thrilled that Craig Smith’s latest novel, Cold Rain, was one of four thrillers shortlisted this summer for the prestigious Specsavers CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for Best Thriller of 2011.

Craig Smith appeared on television at the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards ceremony in October including a short interview where he described how the story’s central character David Albo’s life begins to crumble all around him. Copies of Cold Rain were displayed in Specsavers branches across the country and the novel was also featured in many bookshops, along with the other shortlisted titles: The Good Son by Michael Gruber (Corvus), Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson (Doubleday) and the eventual winner, The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton (Orion).

The Award judges commented about Cold Rain: “Really well crafted. Intelligent, elliptical story-telling. Good thriller and pace.”

Cold Rain is Smith’s fourth novel and third for Myrmidon. New fans will be delighted to know that Craig Smith’s conspiracy thrillers The Painted Messiah and The Blood Lance are available in paperback and ebook here in the UK and also in the US.

“In Cold Rain I thought I broke all the rules for writing a thriller,” Craig Smith said. ” It’s gratifying to realize there are in fact no rules to this game!”

Myrmidon are delighted to announce that they will be publishing Tan Twan Eng’s much anticipated second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, on 11 February 2012 in hardcover (ISBN 978-1905802494) and export paperback.

Tan Twan Eng’s first novel, The Gift of Rain, published by Myrmidon, was longlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2007.

“Readers loved The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists explores some similar themes,” says Kate Nash, sales and marketing director at Myrmidon. “36 of the 54 reviews on amazon for The Gift of Rain are five star reviews and the rest, apart from one three star review, are four star. Since we launched the ebook late last year it has not dropped out of the amazon.co.uk top 100 literary fiction.”

The Garden of Evening Mists is set in Malaya after the second world war. Yun Ling Teoh, a scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle fringed plantations of Northern Malaya where she grew up as a child. There she meets the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the Emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in Kuala Lumpur, in memory of her sister who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses, but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice ‘until the monsoon comes’. Then she can design a garden for herself. But the Garden of Evening Mists is also a place of mystery and dark secrets.

Tan Twan Eng was born in Penang but lived in various places in Malaysia as a child. He studied law through the University of London and later worked as lawyer in one of Kuala Lumpur’s most reputable law firms. He also has a first-dan ranking in aikido and is a strong proponent for the conservation of heritage buildings. He lives in Cape Town where he is working on his third novel.

Come and meet author Russell Whitfield who will be signing copies of his new thrilling Roman adventure novel Roma Victrix and the first in the gladiatrix adventures, Gladiatrix, at the following stores:

Sunday 17th July, 11am

Waterstones Guildford

Saturday 6th August, 11am

Waterstones Piccadilly, London

Praise for Roma Victrix:

Roma Victrix is brutal, bloody and loaded with authenticity. Just the way I like my historical fiction! Anthony Riches, author of the bestselling Empire series

A compelling and gritty in-your-face account of life for women gladiators in the second century AD. I couldn’t put it down! Ben Kane, author of bestselling Forgotten Legion chronicles

Myrmidon have appointed Penguin Books (South Africa) Ltd as their distributors in Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique) effective as of 1st July 2011.

Contact details:
Penguin Books South Africa
24 Sturdee Avenue
Rosebank
Johannesburg
2196
South Africa
Tel:+27 11 327 3550 X335
Fax:+27 11 327 3660

http://www.penguinbooks.co.za

Myrmidon are delighted to have acquired two romantic comedy novels from award winning author Nell Dixon. Myrmidon have World rights to RENOVATION, RENOVATION, RENOVATION and a second novel direct from the author. Kate would like an engagement ring from Steve but instead he’s lumbered them with a thirteenth renovation project, and doing up Myrtle Cottage disturbs a ghost from the English Civil War who has romance troubles of her own.

Nell Dixon is the author of ANIMAL INSTINCTS which won Love Story of the Year in 2010. RENOVATION, RENOVATION, RENOVATION will be published in paperback in 2012 with a digital pre-release later this year.

Publisher Ed Handyside: “Nell is a superbly talented writer and we’re absolutely delighted to have her on board.”

The Eagle on at the cinema isn’t the only excitement for fans of all things Roman this Spring. Russell Whitfield’s hotly-awaited novel Roma Victrix, the follow-up to Gladiatrix, is published in May. In true movie style, we proudly present a trailer for ROMA VICTRIX to whet your appetite.

Hailed by bestselling author Jean Sasson (Princess, Daughters of Arabia) as a “powerful and compelling book”, published today is Sharaf (‘honour’) by Raj Kumar which lifts the lid on aspects of Saudi Arabian life and culture. Unafraid to deal with themes involving arranged marriage, honour killing and fundamentalism the author has chosen to remain behind a pen name.

Based on the author’s experiences living and working in Saudi Arabia, Sharaf is a debut novel steeped in realism and follows the family conflicts and terrible choices that face Maryam and her father Farhan, a general loyal to the army. Maryam loves her family, her Arabian heritage and is loyal to Islam, but she falls in love with Joe, an American dentist and a Jew. Farhan is proud of his daughter’s education and independent spirit but presses ahead with her betrothal to the son of an old army comrade. Maryam and Joe continue their relationship in secret but then Joe draws the attention of the Muttawa, the feared religious police.

Raj Kumar no longer lives in Saudi Arabia but his respect and fascination for the country and its people inspired Sharaf.

Sharaf by Raj Kumar is published by Myrmidon Books in paperback priced £7.99. ISBN 978-1905802333

For author interviews and review copies:
publicity@myrmidonbooks.com
Tel: 0191 2064005

Myrmidon Books are delighted to announce the following books are now available on Amazon Kindle.

Longlisted for Romantic Novel of the Year, Hope Against Hope is Sally Zigmond’s enthralling tale of two Yorkshire sisters set against the engaging background of the coming of the railways.

For those who like their reading ’suspenseful and impossible to stop reading’ (David Pitts, Booklist) comes campus thriller Cold Rain from master storyteller Craig Smith.

Sally Zigmond’s tale of two Yorkshire sisters, Hope Against Hope, has been longlisted for the Romantic Novelists Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award. Keeping great company with bestselling authors including Erica James, Elizabeth Chadwick, Katie Fforde and Jenny Colgan is a great accolade for a debut author and Myrmidon Books are delighted to be one of only two indie publishers along with Beautiful Books represented on the 20-strong longlist.

Sally Zigmond lives in North Yorkshire where much of Hope Against Hope is set. She has published several short stories and a novella: Chasing Angels. For several years she was commissioning editor for QWF, the literary short fiction magazine for women and is reviews editor for The Historical Novels Review.

Sally’s blog can be visited here and she can be followed on Twitter @SallyZig.

Indie fiction publisher, Myrmidon, have bought world rights to a “heart wrenching” debut novel set in the West African country of Niger directly from the author Gavin Weston.
‘We haven’t released anything as hauntingly beautiful and ultimately as heart wrenching since Tan Twan Eng’s The Gift of Rain,’ says publisher Ed Handyside. ‘Harmattan is full of the colours, sounds and aromas of West Africa. There’s an undercurrent of seething anger too, all the more potent for its understatement.’
Gavin Weston is a visual artist from Northern Ireland. Harmattan is his debut novel.
Harmattan will be published in hardcover in autumn 2011.