Our latest Hobeck Books release, Silenced by Jennie Ensor, is potentially one of our most controversial. How controversial depends on your position on the debate about who is entitled to write about characters from a range of backgrounds and cultures. The novel tackles the impact of gang culture in North London, the horror of knife crime and the way communities live in fear of helping the police. Jennie tells us how she spent months building links with the people and communities affected by these issues, and how that research allowed her to write the book with understanding and authenticity. 

Also this week, we hear how a fellow indie-publisher is using crowdfunding to keep their business going in difficult trading conditions, and Adrian and Rebecca discuss a busy week of releases for Hobeck, including the Christmas charity anthology, The Dark Side of Christmas.

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It's been a brutal 18 months for independent bookshops. Feeling the ever tightening squeeze of a certain large online retailer, the Covid pandemic forced many to shut their doors for months, if not for ever. But is the outlook for the UK's independent bookshops so bleak? Not according to our guests on the Hobcast Bookshow this week: Jules Button owns the Woodbridge Emporium in Suffolk, whilst Krissy Lloyd manages the Medina Bookshop in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. As they tell Rebecca and Adrian, they've used all their creativity, local knowledge, and reputation to adapt and thrive in recent months, driven by a love of books. 

Also this week, the team brave a blizzard to present the programme from the Derbyshire Dales, where they discuss efforts to ease the impact of Brexit by the UK's biggest book distributor, and Adrian does his best to explain the meaning of the Collins Dictionary word of the year...

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We all remember the jealousies and rivalries of our school years. The gossip swirls, rumours grow and take a life of their own - no one is immune. Add a musical genius from a sheltered background, suffocated by a protective mother's love, and you have the ingredients for Lin Le Versha's superb debut novel, Blood Notes, set in a fictional sixth form college in Suffolk. Lin tells Rebecca and Adrian how her experience of working in education helped her to create this world, into which comes Steph Grant, a former detective trying to rebuild her life following bereavement and a career-ending error of judgement. 

Also in this week's Hobcast Book Show, we reveal how the wider publishing world has reacted to the recent shake-up in the audiobook industry, and we explore how one indie bookshop in Wales has launched an appeal to keep its doors open.

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We all have things we'd rather forget from our childhoods, but what if a whole community chooses to bury a dark secret? That's the theme of Linda Huber's brilliant and dark psychological thriller for Hobeck Books. Pact of Silence is a departure from her first bestseller for us, Daria's Daughter, and as Linda reveals in this wide-ranging interview, the scenes and themes of her new novel have haunted her. 

Also this week Adrian and Rebecca mark the passing of the legendary Wilbur Smith, and ask if some big money takeovers mark a serious shake-up to the audiobook industry. 

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As we promise in the opening of every Hobcast Book Show - we speak to the people who make Hobeck Books possible, including editors. Helen Gray has worked with two of our authors, Malcolm Hollingdrake and Harry Fisher on their crime series, and in this interview, we learn how she uses her experience and judgement to build strong working relationships with the authors she works with. Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca discuss how audiobook technology is changing, and we discover who's in the running for the most bizarre book title of the year.

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5000 words, a competition, and a measure of luck launched Abir Mukherjee's glittering literary career five years ago. With The Shadows of Men, the fifth novel in his Wyndham and Bannerjee historical crime fiction series due out on November 12th, Abir has cemented himself as one of the genre's best authors. His books have sold over 250 thousand copies and been translated into 15 languages. As he tells Rebecca and Adrian in this week's Hobcast Book Show, he takes nothing for granted and always strives to improve as an author. Also this week, the team discuss further evidence that rising costs are impacting the independent publishing scene, and we reveal details of Hobeck Books upcoming charity anthology, The Dark Side of Christmas.

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Hallowe'en approaches. No better time then to release some spine-tingling spooky fiction as we did at Hobeck Books this week. Judi Daykin's Wayland Babes is a wonderful collection of five inter-related ghost tales based on the legend of the Babes in the Wood, set in Norfolk's Wayland Woods. Adrian and Rebecca joined Judi on location to discover more about the inspiration behind the book. Also this week, we discuss the remarkable story from Spain about how a 1 million euro literary prize was won by an author called Carmen Mola turned out to be three men working behind a female pseudonym, and how digital publishing became the leading source of revenue for the industry as a whole.

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Is there one thread that binds us all? A link through history that explains the human experience? These are some of the themes tackled by Hobeck author Olly Jarvis in his brilliant new thriller, The Genesis Inquiry. Described by Stephen Fry as a 'compulsively readable legal thriller', the novel introduces care-worn barrister Ella Blake, who's hired to investigate the disappearance of a brilliant Cambridge academic, and unearths a conspiracy to keep world-changing revelations a secret. Olly draws on his own background as a leading UK criminal barrister in his writing, and we discuss the challenges he faces day-to-day in a justice system creaking through over-work and under-funding. Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca debate if it's ever acceptable to ask Waterstones to display your book, and ask the biggest question of all - is Sir Michael Caine really retiring?

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The line between marketing and publicity is often a blurred one. Everyone in publishing, whether traditional or independent will have experience of marketing, but publicity is a different game altogether. Securing coverage in newspapers, interviews with broadcasters, and reviews from influencers is an art in itself, and one that our guest Angela McMahon excels in. Angela runs Flow Communications, using her vast experience working with leading publishers to become an independent consultant - securing invaluable media coverage for her clients. What are the secrets of a successful campaign? Angela has been working with us at Hobeck books on our latest release, The Genesis Inquiry by Olly Jarvis, who joins us to introduce his brilliant novel, described by Stephen Fry as 'a real winner.' Also this week, Rebecca's voice is struggling, but we discuss big changes at Amazon, and Adrian pays tribute to an old friend, the late UK government minister, James Brokenshire.

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Every so often we receive a submission at Hobeck Books that blow our minds. Harry Fisher's Be Sure Your Sins was one of those. Set in Leith, home of Ian Rankin's Rebus novels, Harry introduces us to no-nonsense copper, DS Mel Cooper in the first of a new series. Harry reveals how a close-knit team of family and friends has helped him shape his work and launch his writing career. Also this week, Rebecca and Adrian reveal how illness has struck Hobeck Towers this week, and as you'll hear, it's something of a miracle that this week's show went ahead at all.

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