Book birthdays in UK & US January 2023

It’s my actual birthday this month - plus two book birthdays for Owner of a Lonely Heart! My gorgeous second chance story of fate, friendship and creating your own version of family is out in paperback in the UK today – hooray - and published for the first time in the US on January 17!

Owner of a Lonely Heart is a novel that also features 3 of my favourite things: Bristol, English beaches and a border terrier dog… the story centres on bravery, good and bad dads, good and bad dogs, and the power of connection.

So far, readers are loving it. And now it’s in paperback (as well as ebook and audio, of course), it’s even better value. So if you’re in the mood for a book to lift your spirits and give you a taste of sunshine, Owner of a Lonely Heart is the book for you!

Which cover do you like best?

 Buy the book on Amazon UK  

 Buy the book on Amazon US  

 Buy at Waterstones.com in the UK  

 Buy for international delivery from the Book Depository  

My book just 99p - & my dog on the radio!

Owner of a Lonely Heart, my book about leaving loneliness behind and taking a risk – with the help of a therapy dog – is on special offer at just 99p in the UK till Thursday 14 September.

And if you want to hear all about how our dog inspired the book I took her into our local radio station. You can listen here: and also see the little video I made here.

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A post shared by aka Eva Carter & Kate Helm (@katewritesbooks)

Owner of a Lonely Heart out now!

I’m celebrating the publication of Owner of a Lonely Heart on a writing retreat in France - which has given me the chance to pose with my ‘book baby’ in truly beautiful surroundings. You can buy the book as an audiobook, e-book and hardback from today in the UK from Amazon!

I’ve also been lucky enough to have some fantastic authors read the book in advance and share their thoughts.

You can buy the hardback for delivery anywhere in the world on The Book Depository, or in the UK, at Bookshop.org or via Waterstones.com

I’m very proud of this book, which I wrote during lockdowns and caring for family members under pretty tough circumstances. It is an emotional rollercoaster of a story, set in the city of Bristol. The characters are brave but isolated, until fate - and a stubborn terrier - bring them together in the middle of a July heatwave.

And while I’m celebrating, I’m also working on my next book as Eva Carter. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather do it!

My top Summer Reads 2022

I’ve got the bug again - not the dreaded virus, but the reading bug. I went to Rhodes for a week at the start of June and enjoyed some wonderful novels I’d love to share - you can read more about all of them, and read ebook previews, in my Amazon shop here.
The newspapers mostly pick quite heavyweight books for their summer reads lists but mine is unashamedly all about page-turning, intelligent stories.

A double dose of my all-time favourite writer, Lisa Jewell!

Lisa’s books inspired me to write - she never puts a foot wrong, as far as I’m concerned, with sparkling writing, fascinating characters, and stories that stay with you a long time after you’ve closed the book. I had a preview of The Family Remains, the sequel to her brilliant The Family Upstairs, and had to ration myself as I enjoyed it so much.

And right after I’d finished, I read The Truth about Lisa Jewell, a non-fiction book detailing how author Will Brooker followed Lisa for a year as she wrote The Family Remains. I am endlessly intrigued by how other writers work, and though I do know Lisa socially, I had no idea that she goes into a book without knowing what’s really going to happen! As someone who plots carefully, that was scary for me to read, but it’s made me want to try! It was a really interesting book, and definitely one for big LJ fans, or people who want to know more about how she creates her novels!

Brighton Breezy - stories set in my favourite city!

Sue Teddern’s The Pre-Loved Club is only her second novel, but her years of experience as a TV and radio writer shine through in her witty dialogue and warm, recognisable characters. This book makes the most of our beloved Brighton setting. I raced through it!
And another novel with this irresistible coastal setting is Josie Lloyd’s Lifesaving for Beginners, which follows a group of brave and brilliant women sea-swimmers as they try to stay afloat through emotional drama and the difficulties of lockdown. I loved this - Josie really puts her characters through the mill, but it’s an incredibly uplifting story about friendship and love.

Trips through time - a memorable woman & a super-smart story

You might have heard about both these books, but in case you haven’t, I loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, for the vibrant writing style and the stand-out central character, a courageous and uncompromising scientist trying to tackle the sexism of the 1960s with humour and determination. And I was astounded by the cleverness of Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, a thriller with a Groundhog Day structure. It’s brain-scramblingly smart but also manages to have a real emotional hit. Brilliant.

One last summer read… by me!

Obviously I can’t say nice things about my own book, Owner of a Lonely Heart, but lots of authors have read it and said nice things instead! Out in the UK July 7.

Buy on Kindle

Buy the gorgeous hardback

Now over to you - what books are you reading this summer?

Two Eva cover reveals - I love them both, how about you?

The moment when your book’s cover arrives is always a heart-stopper (and even more so when your book itself is about what happens when a heart stops and restarts). So I am very happy to reveal the cover for my Eva Carter book, How to Save a Life. Or in fact, two covers – one for the UK and one for the USA.

I love both – though they are quite different.

With the UK cover, the designer did a lot of tweaking of the three figures – they’re quite impressionistic, but we added a stethoscope to hint at the medical themes in the book, and a bag to show the rootlessness of one character. We agonised about socks and hair-styles. And tried lots of different colours. I love this final colour as it’s close to the Brighton blue that the beach huts and railings are painted down here.

The American cover was designed completely separately but also has a heart motif, sets against a dramatic landscape and sky full of fireworks.

As the book begins on Millennium Eve, with a disaster unfurling as the celebrations begin, that feels so right too.

I’ve also had a sneak preview of my German cover which is very different again and also has a different title – I will share that soon.

I couldn’t ever choose between them - but I’d love to know:

Which is your favourite?

You’ve seen the covers, now watch the trailer… :)

If you like One Day in December by Josie Silver, One Day by David Nicholls and Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, you'll fall in love with How to Save a Life... Jo...