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Seaglass by Eloise Williams is a chilling contemporary ghost story for middle grade readers from the award-winning author of Gaslight.

Lark struggles when her family and their friends go on holiday in a lonely caravan site on the Pembrokeshire coast for the autumn half term. Her mother is ill, her little sister has stopped speaking and she has fallen out with her best friend. Is a girl in a green dress following her in the fog? Or is her sister playing tricks on her? When a local woman tells her ‘the girl’ comes to take sisters, Lark finds herself fighting to save her family.
 
The ghost and family storylines are cleverly woven together to address themes of identity and prejudice in a chilling and entertaining contemporary ghost story from the award-winning author of Gaslight, winner of the Wales Arts Review Young People’s Book of the Year 2017.

View the trailer here. 

Buy the book here. 

 

Praise for Seaglass:

'A fascinating mystery wrapping a sensitive portrayal of adolescence as Lark is tumbled and changed by the storms and calms of growing up like the seaglass of the title.' Celia Rees

'Brilliant. So atmospheric, and chilling, and gripping, but with real warmth at its heart. Loved the heroine; a character of real complexity, and Eloise Williams' writing is as shining and beautiful as the book’s title.' Kiran Milwood-Hargrave

'What a book. Powerful and thought-provoking, with family and friendship at its core and so much to say about the importance of words and compassion. Truly exceptional.' Amy Wilson

‘Much more than a seriously spooky and atmospheric ghost story, Seaglass is also a powerful portrait of a family in crisis, with a completely convincing teen narrator. Fantastic stuff!’ Lucy Strange

'Seaglass is definitely a book to add to your reading list - you won't be disappointed!’ The Book Activist

'I adored her previous novel, Gaslight but I think Lark and Snow might have stolen my heart. 10/10 for Seaglass.' Rhian Ivory
 
'I absolutely adored this book! A proper ghost story, swirling with atmosphere and tension, all tangled in those liminal areas between land and sea, life and death, anger and sorrow and childhood and adult life. A true pleasing terror, and beautifully crafted.' Kenilworth Books

'A deliciously atmospheric ghost story set on the salty windswept Welsh coast.' Fiona Noble, The Bookseller

'wonderfully gripping, it dazzles like sea glass itself. 5 stars.' Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher and #PrimarySchoolBookClub

'A wonderfully atmospheric ghost story.' Claire Fayers

'A beautifully written, roller coaster ride of a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.' Lu Hersey

'An eerie, entrancing ghost story.' Liz Flanagan

'Its totally absorbing characters and wild, windy landscapes had me wholly gripped.' Family Bookworms Wales

'Eloise Williams expertly sucks the reader in ... I hoped it would never end.' Julia Thum

'I fell heart and soul into this chilling ghost story.' Anna the Bookworm

'Seaglass will frighten, amuse and satisfy readers who enjoy heartfelt family drama with a supernatural element. Perfect Autumn reading.’ KM Lockwood

 

New acquisition from Costa winner Catherine O’Flynn

We have acquired UK & Commonwealth rights to Lori & Max, a touching middle-grade story of home, school and detective work by Costa winner Catherine O’Flynn from Lucy Luck at C&W.

Publishing in summer/autumn 2019, Lori & Max is Catherine O’Flynn’s first book for children. A charming, funny mystery of street-smart girls, criminal hamsters and the everyday heroics of friendship.
 
Lori Mason dreams of being a private detective like her favourite crime-fighting duo Jim and Sylvie Clandestino. She spends her days looking for signs of criminal activity at school and on the streets, keeping a careful note of her suspicions in her top-secret notebook. The only problem is that nothing much seems to happen in New Heath until the troubled Max joins class 5B, and the two outsiders are drawn together to fight real crimes and conspiracies in their very own classroom.’
 
Catherine O’Flynn says: 'Lori & Max is a funny, gritty story of inner city girls battling malevolent hamsters, lazy stereotypes and crimes both real and imagined. I feel so lucky to be published by Firefly – a great independent with such a select list. I’m excited about working with them on Lori & Max and bringing the realism and humour of my writing to a new audience.'
 
For general information contact Megan Farr at megan.farr@fireflypress.co.uk/07912149249
 
For rights enquiries contact Lucy Luck at C&W Lucy@cwagency.co.uk/020 7393 4221
 

Gaslight wins Ysgol Bae Baglan Book Awards 2018

Huge congratulations to Eloise Williams for winning the Ysgol Bae Baglan Book Awards 2018 middle school category for her historical novel Gaslight. The pupils who voted were from schools across the Neath and Port Talbot areas in south Wales.

Eloise said: "I'm thrilled to have been given this award because it was voted for by the young readers themselves. So happy that they enjoyed reading Gaslight and chose it as their winner!"
 
 
Eloise's next book Seaglass is a gripping contemporary ghost story publishing on 12 September.

Three Strikes cover reveal

We are very happy to reveal the cover of Three Strikes, a chilling collection of three YA novellas from Lucy Christopher, Kat Ellis and Rhian Ivory. Many thanks to Lucy Powrie (Queen of Contemporary) for hosting the cover reveal on #ukyachat. The wonderful cover design is by Anne Glenn.

Three Strikes includes:
 
The Darkness by Lucy Christopher
Kasha has answered the advert for The Tribe. Now she sits writing alone in the darkness of the jungle. Is she the only one left? Then she spots a red light blinking at her from the darkness. Cat’s eyes? A camera?
 
The Twins of Blackfin by Kat Ellis
Every evening Bo visits her best friend Sky’s grave. One night she hears a girl’s voice. Following it leads her to a journal and a crypt. 
 
Matchgirl by Rhian Ivory
A modern YA retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s 'The Little Match Girl'. Busking, runaway Nia is mugged and left badly hurt in a tunnel. All she has is three matches, and she starts seeing pictures in the light... A story of grief, love and music.
 
Come and grab a sampler and goodies from our stand at YALC. Kat Ellis will be on the stand to sign copies and chat on Saturday 28 July from 12 midday. 
 
Publishing 11 October priced £7.99 pre-order now

Firefly Press acquires YA novel Summer of no Regrets

We are delighted to announce that we have acquired UK & Commonwealth rights to Summer of no Regrets, a diverse, ‘up lit’ YA novel by debut author Kate Mallinder from Hannah Sheppard from DHH Literary Agency.

Summer of no Regrets is a feel-good contemporary novel about friendship which touches on the big issues faced daily by teenagers who are growing up and finding their own sense of independence. It will publish in paperback in May 2019.
 
After Hetal’s gran shares her life-long regret about not seeing her now terminally ill best friend for 50 years, friends Cam, Hetal, Nell and Sasha decide to have a summer of #NoRegrets. But living their summer regret-free isn’t as simple as it first seems and as their lives unravel it’s their friendship that gives them the strength to face up to the future.
 
Firefly Editor Rebecca Lloyd says: 'Summer of No Regrets is a perfect, heart warming read for teenage girls, with a mix of humour, sensitivity and real-life issues. Its socially and ethnically diverse group of girls have wonderfully authentic and supportive relationships – it is a life-enhancing celebration of friendship.’
 
Kate Mallinder says: ‘I’m thrilled that Summer of No Regrets is to be published by the award-winning team at Firefly. It is quite literally my daydream come true.’
 
Kate Mallinder lives with her husband, four children and a grumpy cat near Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire. She wrote Summer of No Regrets as part of her own ‘no regrets’ pledge, along with trying to surf, which didn’t go so well. If left to her own devices, she’d live on a window seat with a good book and a never-ending cup of tea. @KateMallinder
 
For general information contact Megan Farr at megan.farr@fireflypress.co.uk/07912149249
 
For rights enquiries contact Hannah Sheppard, DHH Literary Agency at hannah.sheppard@dhhliteraryagency.com/0207 836 7376

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