“ Why do we write? A chorus erupts. Because we cannot simply live. ” Patti Smith
The Haunting of Hero’s Bay by Amanda Block is a chilling and compelling tale of the wrongs of the past being re-lived in the present. A sweeping, ghostly tale of doomed love and a celebrated painting’s link with a string of mysterious deaths in a secretive seaside town, it is a story about smuggling, curses, history, shipwrecks, fate but above all - love.
Told through the perspectives of three very different women, Louise Nealon’s Everything That Is Beautiful unfolds the story of one complicated family in startlingly honest prose. By turns funny and deeply moving, and with unmatched emotional intelligence, this is an unforgettable story of love and family, heartbreak and hope - and who we might become after we pick up the pieces.
Amanda Block’s work is often inspired by myths and fairy tales, which she uses as starting points to tell new stories. Her writing has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and the Mslexia Short Story competition. Her debut novel, The Lost Storyteller (2021) was a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month. The Haunting of Hero’s Bay is her second novel. Louise Nealon’s debut Snowflake was an international bestseller, won An Post Irish Book Awards Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year in 2021 and was a One Dublin One Book choice. Her short stories have been published in The Irish Times, The Stinging Fly and Southword.