Hookline is working

I am editing Seven Days to Tell You by Ruby Soames and preparing for the arrival of The Partridge and The Pheasant (formerly The Baby in The Phone Box) by Rachel Crowther.

As I work on these novels, I am so proud of what Hookline has produced. There have been many times when I have wondered if I was deluded in thinking that we could approach fiction in a different way - giving power to readers is not a welcome concept in editing circles. But I love what Hookline Books has produced.

The competition has thrown up such a broad range of novels - not all to everyone's taste. But that is the nature of fiction - what one person likes, another will hate! But who decides what gets published? After being sure that the plot is sound, the prose meaningful and the characters worth the work, then isn't it all down to taste?

As we move into our fourth year of the competition, I realise that Hookline is working - we have six varied but very good novels.

May the 2011 competition bring many more.