Libby's tense thriller ends with...a deal

The Penwortham author has landed a two-book deal with one of the ‘big five’ English-language publishing giants, Avon/HarperCollins, with her debut psychological thriller 99 Red Balloons set to be released this week, Thursday August 24.

For Libby, who was educated at Saintt Bede’s High School and Cardinal Newman College, this has not been a quick journey, having written four manuscripts prior to her debut novel.

The 42-year-old said: “I just kept on plugging away. You have to keep going.”

And no matter where Libby’s life takes her - she spent four years of her childhood in West Germany as a result of her father being in the RAF - Libby is never too far from home thanks to keeping Preston alive and kicking in her novels and their characters.

The former UCLAN student said: “I love Preston. Everyone is really down to earth and there are such a variety of things to do.

“It’s a perfect location to base my characters in.”

Editor at Avon/HarperCollins, Phoebe Morgan, said: “The moment I started reading Elisabeth’s manuscript, I knew we had to buy it.

“99 Red Balloons is a tense, terrifyingly clever look into the depths of every mother’s worst fear, with a killer twist that honestly made my heart flip over!

“Elizabeth is a hugely talented author and we could not be prouder to be publishing her here at HarperCollins.”

Book one may be done and dusted but Libby is not slowing down, having already finished book number two ready to submit to her publishers at the end of the month.

The book is about a mother that goes missing, with characters living and working in the Preston and Lytham area.