It is up on NetGalley for those who’d like to request an early copy to review and will soon be up on retail platforms.

Meanwhile, here is the blurb to whet your appetite until it is published by Canelo on 23rd July! The story is set in Manchester.

Forgiveness can be hard to come by… An unputdownable new novel from bestseller Samantha Tonge

 How far would you go to make amends?

When Emma fled her home at Foxglove Farm, she’d let down and hurt those who cared for her most. But now, two years later, she’s ready to face up to her past; she’s ready to go back.

But Emma’s unannounced return causes more problems than she could have foreseen. The people she knew and loved aren’t ready to forget, let alone forgive. And the one person she wants to reconnect with the most, her mother, can’t remember who she is.

Just as Emma starts to rebuild trust, an uncovered family secret and a shocking past crime threaten her newly forged future…

Sometimes simply saying sorry isn’t enough.

Perfect for readers of Ruth Hogan or Amanda Prowse, this is an extraordinary and unforgettable novel about running away from yourself – and finding a way back.

My debut contemporary women’s fiction novel – Forgive Me Not – will be published 23rd July.

When Emma flees her home, Foxglove Farm, she has already let down everyone closest to her. Two years later, having lived on the streets and gone through rehab, she is back; back looking for forgiveness. But family secrets threaten everything. The truth has long been buried. And the only thing harder than saying sorry, is finding the willingness to forgive…

A second novel will follow February 2019.

I am so excited to share these stories, both of which are very close to my heart.

Michael Bhaskar, Publishing Director at Canelo said ‘Samantha’s books have long been on our radar at Canelo. She is quite simply a superb writer and in this novel, an extraordinary departure, she takes her writing to a new level. Impactful, unforgettable and deeply moving, Forgive Me Not will blow readers away. We can’t wait to work with her on this’.

Read the full press release here!

After writing four YA novels I’m taking my first steps with adult thrillers. I’m very excited! Here are five things I’ve learned so far about writing for this massively popular and competitive market.

Know your genre. Read everything you can.

Writing for what you think the market wants might be tempting, but this cynical approach rarely pays off, in my experience. Not least because the market’s a strange and unpredictable beast.

Luckily, I’ve loved thrillers for ever, and for me there’s nothing better than that feverish feeling of wanting to turn the pages faster and faster.  But more than anything, you need to read, read, read to know what’s out there. When aspiring writers say they don’t have time to read books, it makes me want to cry! More than anything else, writers need to be readers. And the best thing is, you can sit there devouring good books and tell everyone you’re hard at work on research. Result!

Don’t give your readers whiplash.

You know what it’s like; you’re reading a thriller and then there is a twist so preposterous you spend a few moments going, ‘What? Where? How?’ Now sometimes that can be a delicious thing and when the shock twist works properly it’s a sign of immense story telling skill. But when it seems to come from nowhere, or have no roots in the rest of the story, then your reader just feels annoyed and a bit let down. I hope I’ve managed to do this with The WOMAN NEXT DOOR but readers will have to judge for themselves!

Make your characters flawed and complex.

We don’t have to like characters……but we DO have to care about them. As Gone Girl and Girl on a Train proved, we can become heavily invested in characters who aren’t especially likeable, as long as we’re fascinated by what they’re going to do next and what happens to them. I personally wouldn’t want to live next door to either Hester or Melissa, my characters in THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR! But oh, I do love them both…

Give ‘em what they need, not what they want.

I have to confess to pinching this one from the brilliant book Into the Woods: A Five Act Journey into Story by story guru John Yorke. So we all know that most stories involve a character trying to reach a goal, right? But when you have the character ending up with the thing they actually needed, and didn’t know it, rather than what they thought they wanted, it can make for very satisfying ending.

…and speaking of endings

It’s disappointing when you’ve avidly devoured a book and then there is a weak denouement. Now, you don’t have to tie together every single loose thread at the end but you definitely should make sure that the finale is as complete and well thought through as the important first few pages. I’m surprised by how often I’ll feel an ending is the weakest part of a novel I’ve just read.

So make sure you save a little story magic for the end.

Some insightful tips there, thank you Caroline! The Woman Next Door sounds like a great read and a real bargain at just 99p!

Cass Green is the adult pen name of Caroline Green, an award -winning author of fiction for young people. Her first novel, DARK RIDE won the RONA Young Adult Book of the Year and the Waverton Good Read Award. CRACKS and HOLD YOUR BREATH garnered rave reviews and were shortlisted for eleven awards between them, including: The Amazing Book Award; The Catalyst Book Award The Leeds Book Award; The Hampshire Book Award; Sefton Super Reads, the Oldham Book Award and The Stockport Book Award. She is the Writer in Residence at East Barnet School and teaches Writing for Children at City University. Caroline has been a journalist for over twenty years and has written for many broadsheet newspapers and glossy magazines.

THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR

A dark and twisty psychological thriller, perfect for fans of HER by Harriet Lane and IN A DARK DARK WOOD by Ruth Ware.

Two suburban women. Two dark secrets. The almost perfect murder.

Everybody needs good neighbours…

Melissa and Hester have lived next door to each other for years. When Melissa’s daughter was younger, Hester was almost like a grandmother to her. But recently they haven’t been so close.

Hester has plans to change all that. It’s obvious to her that despite Melissa’s outwardly glamorous and successful life, she needs Hester’s help.

But taking help from Hester might not be such a good idea for a woman with as many secrets as Melissa…