One thing which always impresses me is the ability of some authors to produce book after book at a formidable rate. How strongly must they believe in and desire to share their characters, to be able to return to them again and again, always with fresh ideas and heaps of enthusiasm? Covering an entire decade, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is often the go-to example – and at A&B we have our own Unstoppable Writing Machine Edward Marston, with whom we publish five series and over 30 books. He’s showing no signs of slowing down either – check out the latest instalment in his ‘Railway Detective’ series, A Ticket to Oblivion, which has just been released.

But what about the authors who go the other way? Harper Lee, Emily Brontë, Oscar Wilde and J. D. Salinger are all well-known writers whose first published novels were also their last – (for more big names and surprises have a look at this page.) What’s more, many of these writers devoted far more of their time and energy to other forms of writing. How ironic that it’s their novels for which they are usually remembered! I think the stand-alone factor of these novels is partly why they’re so well-loved; it makes them intense, unique and incomparable. They’re real ‘one-hit wonders’ . . .  in the most literal, complimentary sense!

Lianna Iwanikiw, currently on work experience at A&B