Category: Blog

Karen Sullivan, Publisher of Orenda Books

For anyone with optimum ability – physical, mental and otherwise – it’s difficult to imagine what it might be like when things we’ve always taken for granted are no longer there, to countenance a life without ease. 

That was certainly the case for me. I  – and then my children – rarely experienced anything other than mild illness, but then two things changed that. 

When he was approaching two years old, my middle son experienced a serious brain infection as a rare side effect of the MMR vaccine. He was left profoundly deaf in his left ear, and that put us both on a steep learning curve. I was a young mother, completely out of my depth, and pretty much unable to grasp the implications let alone the mitigations that needed to be put in place – sitting at the front of the class with his ‘hearing ear’ facing the teacher; a red-flag alert when he swam competitively, because he couldn’t hear the whistle; a grudging acceptance that he wasn’t ignoring me when I spoke to him. He genuinely couldn’t hear me. Even still, there was so much we didn’t consider. When he was preparing for his first year at the University of Edinburgh, he had to ‘tick the disabled box’, something he was reluctant to do, something he had literally never done, and the services and products on offer filled me with guilt. They could, for example, provide a vibrating pillow that worked as an alarm. It honestly never once occurred to me that he wouldn’t be able to hear an alarm. Rightly or wrongly, we operated as usual and most of his friends – even close ones – were unaware that he was deaf. 

But it got me thinking, which got us talking. Where’s the shame in admitting that you’re different? That your needs are different? As someone who has always encouraged my sons to be themselves, to be unafraid of being different, I was surprised and a little saddened that this particular difference was somehow embarrassing for him to admit. When he was applying for his first jobs as a trainee lawyer, he outright refused to ‘tick the disabled box’, and I didn’t really know what to think about that. He got a job; I doubt they know that one ear doesn’t work. 

That’s an invisible disability, I guess. Like chronic illness or pain or emotional illnesses or anything else that makes us less or un able. And that’s where the second thing comes in. It’s no secret that I became seriously ill when I caught Covid in March of 2020, and it changed my life completely. I suffered not just from Long Covid, with overwhelming, crippling fatigue, brain fog and memory loss (to the extent that I had to surround myself with notebooks and write down everything, when previous to this, my entire business and home life was held there), arthritis in my fingers, and staggering digestive pain and headaches that would appear for no reason. I also cried a lot. And slept. My abilities were disabled, so that, in itself, becomes disability, right? With every subsequent case of Covid (and I’ve had alarmingly many) and even vaccine, I was flattened completely. Disabled. Unable.

In publishing, we talk about diversity all the time, and getting recognition for groups of people who are not represented the way they should be, but that focus has been far too heavily weighted in favour of class and ethnicity. True diversity means representation in books, in marketing, in everything, for all groups of people, including those who are disabled – visibly or invisibly, obviously or hidden – and we, as an industry, definitely fall short on that front. 

A number of our Orenda team have disabilities, including chronic illness, and we are, as a result, collectively compassionate, and eager to ensure that our events, for example, are accessible, that our working practices are fair and inclusive, that our books are representative. But it wasn’t until Covid stopped me in my tracks that I realised the immense importance of including characters and situations that might fall outside the ‘able norm’ in our books. 

When people see themselves represented in books, they feel seen and reading becomes more relevant and immersive. When we read about people whose lives are different from ours, who face challenges that we cannot even begin to imagine, we learn. We understand more deeply; we can take a literary walk in another person’s shoes. And only then can there be the change we need to see in our society. It took a personal experience of being unable for me to understand the importance of this; the importance of awareness, of compassion, of inclusion, of representation … of the need to include accurate portrayals of disability and the disabled in our books, and to keep this in mind in everything we do. I would, personally, devour a book that encompassed my experience; my son and I would both be riveted to a book about ‘invisible deafness’, and we would urge others to read it too.

We’re actively seeking change, within the parameters of our determination to publish bold, original, thought-provoking fiction, and we urge other publishers to do the same. Indies are well placed to forge a path, and that is exactly what we’ll do here at Orenda Books … an accessible path, of course.

I’ve taken some big risks with my novels, not only in that I write in almost a different genre every time, but because of the topics I’ve chosen to explore. I don’t like to make things easy for myself when I create fiction – I enjoy being challenged, pushed, and learning something new. This is why I’ve often written outside my own limited experience. Yes, most of my novels have a little of me in them, I admit, a little of the emotional aspects of my life, but who doesn’t feature in their own work? It’s impossible to hide fully in our prose.

Writing outside of what I know – so to speak, if we throw the ‘write what you know’ advice on its head – has meant exploring a variety of disabilities in some way. I didn’t randomly choose these conditions; they were often visited upon me. When I created Sebastian, a readers’ favourite from This Is How We Are Human, and perhaps my proudest character – I based him on a dear friend of mine. Sean is a real-life young man who is autistic, and he’s very vocal about this, very proud, and very annoyed when people get him wrong. Who wouldn’t be? So when I put him on the page, albeit as a fictional creature, I knew I had to get it JUST right. Sean made sure I did. He acted out certain scenes with me before I wrote them, which I then recorded and listened back to, to make sure the way he spoke was accurate. He also read the finished thing and gave further advice. 

I worried that taking on the whole spectrum of autism, especially when I haven’t lived it, might be met with criticism. And I would have understood that. We need to hear the ‘own voices’ of those living different lives to ours, those in the minority, those on the fringes of society, those often misunderstood, those without a voice. That’s the priority. But Sean assured me that he was being heard via my pen, so to speak; he didn’t know how to write but I knew what he wanted to be said, and I can.

One condition that I’ve explored twice now is Type 1 Diabetes, which my daughter was diagnosed with aged just seven, after almost going into a coma. It felt absolutely natural to explore this complex illness that involves numerous daily blood test and injections, and that can render the sufferer unconscious during the dreaded hypo. In How to be Brave nine-year-old Rose is based on my daughter and what she went through after diagnosis, and in The Lion Tamer Who Lost Andrew, one half of my tragic gay relationship, has been diabetic since he was a child. Was it easier to write what I knew? Of course it was. There wasn’t any research, and I wasn’t afraid of judgement, having experienced this. But it almost felt lazy, which is ridiculous because it was very emotional to look back on a painful time in my life and paint a person going through the same. 

In my current novel, Nothing Else, a main character realises that she is beginning to lose her hearing. This is doubly difficult for her, because she loves music, and is a beautiful pianist. Some of my research involved chatting to my sister who can communicate via BSL (British Sign Language) and she explained to me how that works and who uses it. I also have a friend who uses a hearing aid and she described exactly what everyday world sounds are like for her. But really, the main requirement for writing the unknown, aside from research, is having an open mind and some empathy. We’ve probably all lost something we loved or been forced to give up something we didn’t want to, and these experiences can shade our story with the necessary layers.

Watch out for a future character who is a wheelchair user and is on the receiving end of pity he neither wants nor deserves. My own mother has used a wheelchair for the last three years and it’s really opened by eyes to how unseen these people are, not only physically, because we have to look down to speak with them and because we can miss them in a crowd, but due to a lack of access, a lack of consideration, and through pure ignorance, often speaking to a carer rather than the person sitting before us. I realised how many simple things I’m able to do – get on a train without assistance, go into a shop that has a step leading to it, go into a bar that’s underground, fit through every door. This gave me a great deal of compassion for my character.

Are there any topics or people I wouldn’t write about? I’d like to think not. But I’d only do it if I felt I could do it sensitively, with respect, with a great deal of research, and with my heart in the right place.

An interview with J.D. Kirk

In September, I had the pleasure of chairing an event at Bloody Scotland, with our own wonderful Antti Tuomainen and Doug Johnstone, and a new author to me, J.D. Kirk … a pseudonym for well-known Scottish children’s writer Barry Hutchison. I was intrigued by Barry’s story, and his route to extremely successful self-publishing, writing no fewer than thirteen adult thrillers inside two years, and topping the digital charts with his popular DS Logan series. He’s just launched a spin-off series, featuring irascible ex-police officer Robert Hoon, and we’ve caught up with him to hear all about it … not to mention how on earth he writes so quickly!

1. What encouraged you to try your hand at adult crime fiction, after a successful career writing children’s books? Do you still write them?

I actually never really set out to be a children’s author. I had an idea for a horror story that just happened to feature a twelve-year-old as the main character, and when HarperCollins picked up the series I just sort of fell into writing for children for the next ten years or so! I had loads of ideas for ‘grown up books’ but was so busy with children’s fiction that I didn’t get a chance to write one until 2016. That was the first in my Space Team comedy sci-fi series, and I haven’t written anything for children since, although I’d quite like to someday.

My first crime fiction book was actually inspired (albeit loosely) by a real life event, when I thought my daughter had gone missing. It turned out she was just hiding behind a bush to wind me up, but it got me thinking about what I would’ve done if she really had disappeared, and the story just grew from there.

2. You’ve published eleven books in your DS Logan series in just under two years. How do you do it?

I’ve actually published twelve now, plus the first Robert Hoon spin-off which is out this month. I’ve written the next Logan book, too, and am working on the second Hoon.

I have a ‘condition’ called aphantasia which means my brain works a bit differently to most people in that I have no visual imagination. I don’t ‘see’ pictures in my head, but instead think exclusively in words. I reckon this gives me an advantage when it comes to writing.

Also, I’m dead fast at typing, which also helps.

3. Tell us about DCI Logan … and what you think makes this series so appealing to readers.

DCI Logan is a pretty traditional crime-fiction police detective in that he is a troubled character who doesn’t necessarily do things by the book all the time. What seems to attract readers, though, is the humour throughout the stories, and the relationships between the characters.

I think a lot of crime fiction can be a bit morbid and depressing. Understandably, I suppose, given the subject matter. The Logan books do tackle dark and gritty subject matters, but there’s a vein of humour running through every story which helps them avoid becoming too bleak.

4. Do you think there is a place for more humour in crime fiction, particularly in the current circumstances/climate? How do you use it as a device?

I think there’s a place for more humour in pretty much every situation, and firmly believe the world would be a much better place if we didn’t take ourselves so seriously.

That said, I didn’t intend the Logan books to be funny. I had plotted out a dark, gripping crime thriller, and then I sat down and wrote the very first line – ‘The total collapse of Duncan Reid’s life began with a gate in the arse end of nowhere’ – and I realised that I probably wasn’t going to be able to play it completely straight, like I had originally intended. And I’m very glad that I didn’t.

Most of the humour, though, comes from the characters and their relationships with each other. They all know each other so well at this point that they bounce off each other nicely.

Although, in the thirteenth book, one of the detectives gets stuck inside a giant road safety mascot costume, so there’s the odd moment of slapstick type stuff, too!

5. Why did choose self-publishing over traditional agreements? You’ve been successful in multiple different forums and through different methods. Which do you prefer and why?

I hadn’t really given any thought to self-publishing until a high school asked me to go in and teach pupils how they could self-publish their own work. I had absolutely no idea how to do such a thing, but they were offering to pay me for the workshops, so I was damn well sure I was going to learn!

I wrote the first Space Team book in two or three weeks, and published it on Kindle. I had no money to spend on it, so self-edited, designed my own covers, etc., thinking that nobody was ever going to really see it, anyway.

Then, within a few weeks, it was massively outselling all my children’s books combined.

So, like with writing for kids, I just sort of fell into it by accident, really.

Since then, I’ve formed my own publishing company with foreign rights agents, a sales team, editors, cover designers, audio narrators, etc., all working to get my books out into the world. It all started just by uploading a Word doc to Kindle, though.

6. You have a new spin-off series being published this month, featuring the shamed copper, Robert Hoon, who is appeared in your previous series. What prompted this new direction, and will we see the return of Logan?

With the Hoon series, I wanted to set myself a challenge. He’s a bloody horrible character when we first meet him in the second book of the Logan series, and he doesn’t change much along the way. And yet, about half of the Logan readers absolutely adore him. The other half very much do not.

So, I wanted to see if I could take what was a fairly two-dimensional ‘angry boss’ character and give him enough depth and substance to have even the naysayers rooting for him. I have no idea yet if it has worked, but I’m looking forward to finding out!

But it definitely isn’t the end for Logan! I have no plans to kill him off or anything.

At least, not yet…

7. Tell us about the first book in the Hoon series, Northwind, and what you have planned.

It’s more of a Jack Reacher style thriller than a police procedural, and sees Hoon head to London to help look for the missing teenage daughter of a former army colleague.

While searching, he stumbles onto something much bigger, and the next two books in the trilogy will show how that plays out.

It’s more action-packed than the Logan books, and Hoon gets to channel his rage into something more productive than randomly swearing at his subordinates.

8. What would you say is the secret to your near-meteoric success? What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Thank you, though I’m not sure I’d describe it as anything like that. I think persistence is the key. I’ve been a full-time author since 2009, and have written pretty much every day during that time.

Prior to that, I wrote pretty much every day since I was in school, when I first decided that ‘author’ was the job I wanted to do.

Turning up is half the battle. You can’t be a writer if you don’t consistently get words on paper. Even if they’re not brilliant words, that’s infinitely better than no words at all.

9. What book do you wish you’d written?

Harry Potter for the money and the theme park rides, Good Omens because it turned me from a casual reader to a dedicated one, and I’d love to do that for someone else.

10. What do you do in your spare time?

I have two children, a cat, a dog, and elderly parents and in-laws. I have no spare time. If I did, I’d finally learn to play my guitar properly.

11. Funny fact about you?

I’m explosively allergic to red peppers. I discovered this halfway to the United States on a flight when I was eleven years old. It did not make for a pleasant trip.

12. Murder weapon of choice?

Powdered glass. If poured in drinks and consumed, it’s apparently untraceable. I only know that because an old man who used to frequent a bar I worked in repeatedly told me. Usually while eyeing up the drinks of the other patrons.

13. What are you reading now?

The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s very good.

14. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Somewhere warmer. Not too bothered where, just as long as it doesn’t rain as much.

I’d also like to be publishing other authors through my company. I’ve always loved sharing books I’ve enjoyed with people, so I suppose it would be a bit like that, but on the ultimate scale!

Blurb for North Wind

Kjell Ola Dahl’s summer reading picks

I read Norwegian fiction mostly so I have to search a bit to find what is translated into English. Among those I found I recommend The Therapist by Helene Flood, a tremendous psychological thriller, and The Seven Doors by Agnes Ravatn, a nice mix of whodunnit and psychological thriller. Or you could pick up something by Gunnar Staalesen, e.g. Wolves in the Dark or Fallen Angels. Get these and you’ll be fully entertained this summer.

Simone Buchholz’ summer reading pick

Department of Mind-Blowing Theories – Tom Gauld

If you need one thing to mentally survive the last complicated part of this f***ing pandemic, then it’s the hilarious smartness of Tom Gauld’s brain and pen, and all his crazy assistants (only God knows who they might be).

David F. Ross’ Sumer reading picks

My summer reads are perhaps a bit narrow in terms of subject matter; all include music as a route to the good life before the inevitable come-down; ambition and loss; young idealism and obsession, etc. Perhaps they’re a bit stereotypically male. Perhaps not.

Kitchenly 434 – Alan Warner

What the butler saw. The undisciplined life of globe-spanning seventies rock god Marko, as viewed from the perspective of Crofton, the ever-faithful ‘help’, who tends to Kitchenly Mill Race, Marko’s rambling Tudorbethan pile.

Who They Was – Gabriel Krauze

This is a blisteringly authentic debut that has drawn favourable comparisons with A Clockwork Orange for its depiction of young men growing up and blowing up in the pressurised urban war zones of a big city. Longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize.

Utopia Avenue – David Mitchell

The first David Mitchell book I’ve read (although not sure why I’ve avoided the others for so long). A story founded on the intoxicating notion that the future will be shaped by young people and the power of music. Hope I die before I get old? Yep, fucking right on!

Lilja Sigurdardóttir’s summer reading picks

I have to recommend that people postpone reading until they have finished watching Katla on Netflix. (Blowing my own trumpet here!) But after that I think people should go for some of the amazing Orenda books on offer; next on my reading list is Simone Buchholz’s Hotel Cartagena. I love the Chastity Riley series. She is one of my fave characters, and there is something Chandleresque about Simone’s writing that is so cool.

My current read is The End of Her by Shari Lapena. She is the queen of domestic noir and I really enjoy her books.

Louise Beech’s Summer Reading picks

The Last Thing To Burn – Will Dean

I found this a devastatingly beautiful and powerful novel. It’s so much more than a thriller, though yes, it is one – the kind that has you glued to the page, having to read just one more. (For the record, I read it in two sittings.) As with Dean’s previous books the language is what sets it apart. He has a gift for keeping it simple, and yet it is deviously layered too. The setting is claustrophobic, the characters pulse off the page, and it’s dark, dark, dark, the way I like even my summer reads. But it’s hopeful too. It is excellent, and I strongly recommend it.

The River between Us – Liz Fenwick

In complete contrast to the darkness of Dean’s book is Fenwick’s captivating and beautiful tale. Once again, she has proved she is the mistress of pure escapism. Spanning generations, with an achingly intense love story and unearthed secrets about ancestry at its core, this novel is just what the world needs right now. The immersive dual timeline whisks you away, and the country setting is perfect for this time of year. It’s a glorious summer read and is definitely one to look out for in 2021.

Rod Reynold’s Summer Reading Picks

Vanda Symon’s Winter Reading picks

As I’m based in New Zealand, here’s my winter reading…

Nothing combats bone-chilling cold like talk about bones! I’m enjoying anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black’s Written in Bone. The case studies and very human stories she weaves around them are fascinating.

I adore words and their origins and playing with them, so I got immense pleasure from The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams. In this novel we have two viewpoints – nineteenth-century Peter Winceworth inserting fictitious words into a new encyclopaedic dictionary, and the present day Mallory, tasked with finding these Mountweazels. But of course it’s not that straightforward.

Michael J. Malone’s Summer Reading picks

A Rattle of Bones – Douglas Skelton

This has the Highlands of Scotland, a plot that zips along, fascinating characters – and did I mention the Highlands of Scotland? Dare I say it … a rattling good read (out 5 August).

The Blood Divide – A A Dhand

If I read a better thriller this year I’ll be surprised – and delighted. From the first page you know you’re in the hands of a master of their craft. Loved it!

Orenda Books, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of WorldEnglish Language rights ex USA/Can for Finnish Antti Tuomainen’s The Rabbit Factor, in a three-book deal negotiated with Federico Ambrosini of the Salomonsson Agency.

Karen says, ‘Antti is a longstanding, immensely talented member of the team, and it has been an utter joy to publish his darkly funny, poignant, original thrillers, all of which have received widespread critical acclaim. I did not hesitate in buying The Rabbit Factor, the first in Antti’s first-ever series, and both of its follow-ups. Warmly funny, and rich with quirky characters and absurd situations, The Rabbit Factor is triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in the beauty and random nature of life…

‘The story features Henri, an insurance actuary, who controls his life meticulously, calculating everything down to the last decimal. And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters … and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back.

‘But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri’s relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets…

‘We have been absolutely dying to share the news that this madcap book has been optioned by Amazon Studios, but the news is now out and Henri will be played by Steve Carell. Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman are producing, and Alex Young will executive produce for Mandeville Films. Antti and his agent Federico will also act as executive producers on the project. The Rabbit Factor has now been sold in fifteen countries, and is tipped to become a global bestseller. I honestly can’t wait!

Antti says: ‘I couldn’t be happier. The Rabbit Factor and the whole insurance mathematician Henri Koskinentrilogy have found the perfect home with Karen Sullivan and Orenda Books. I’m looking forward to unleashing this quiet, rational and deeply introverted Finnish mathematician to the unsuspecting UK public. Knowing Karen and her formidable publishing powers, I know we will have lots of fun along the way.’ 

Federico says, ‘I am thrilled to have OrendaBooks publish Antti Tuomainen’s new novel The Rabbit Factor. Book by book, Karen Sullivan and her team have managed to raise Tuomainen’s popularity in English, where he has been hailed as “the funniest writer in Europe” by The Times. In the hands of such a professional and energetic team, I am convinced The Rabbit Factor and the rest of the trilogy will be yet another success.

The Rabbit Factor will be translated by David Hackston, and published in hardback in October 2021 and paperback in spring 2022 by OrendaBooks, with a second book, The Moose Paradox in Autumn 2022. For more information, please contact Karen@orendabooks.co.uk.