According to a recent American study, quite a lot in terms of influencing book purchasers' decisions. Readers were asked what prompted them to buy a book and told they could choose more than one answer. 45% chose familiarity with the author and clearly authors as brands are a major feature of the bestseller lists. Read more
'I'm very reassuringly honest'
‘My settings of Europe and English visitors weren't really doing it for them, so we decided Scotland would be good. I thought an island would be great, because it's a small community, and it's an opportunity for my main character to get away from it all. The team at HarperCollins have been so supportive and enthusiastic... Read more