Dogs like avocados...

Did you know that dogs like avocados? I didn't, at least, not until we signed our latest member of the Hobeck 'family', Hilly Barmby. It feel as if with every author we sign, I learn something new. This little ditty I learnt during a very serious zoom chat we had this week about publishing Hilly's forthcoming book, Best Served Cold (not referring to how humans should eat avocados).

It's not intentional, but the Hobeck 'family' is turning into a bit of an international one. We now have authors in Switzerland, Malta, New Zealand and now Spain. This is in addition to the little cluster in Bedfordshire (a writing hotspot, it seems) and the Scottish contingent (from Aberdeen to Glasgow, and Edinburgh and back again - for risk of sounding like a Proclaimers' song). Here's another 'did you know'. Most of our authors, also, live near the sea, or large bodies of water. Again, not at all intentional. We live about as far away from the sea as it is possible to live in the UK.

Adrian and I are very excited about our latest signing with Hilly, who came to us through our recent call out for psychological fiction. Best Served Cold isn't Hilly's first book. She's a bit of a pro at this writing lark, and it shows. I read Hilly's submission at record speed. It turned the bath water cold, a benchmark set by our second signing, Lewis Hastings, who famously turned my bath water cold during the first Covid lockdown.

Hilly lives in a small town (one with enough southern Mediterranean shenanigans to keep George Zammit happy) with her partner, dogs and avocado trees (are you seeing the connection now?). Dogs like avocados. In fact, they will gallop at the sound of an avocado falling to the ground. Adrian would do the same, if we had an avocado tree. Best Served Cold isn't set in sunny climes though, it takes the reader to a pre-Christmas season Brighton. There's snow. There is friendship. There's love, jealously, art and books. What's not to like? I don't want to give away any more than that, but I think you (the Hobeck readers) will love it! Warning: if you don't like sitting in tepid bathwater, read it while fully clothed.

Welcome, Hilly, to the family!