Emma Bamford – författare

As a journalist for the Independent, Emma Bamford is swept along with the London rat race, lost amongst the egos of Fleet Street. Surrounded by budget cuts and bullies, the thrill of a breaking news story is no longer enough. And at 31, still struggling to get to a fourth date and surrounded by friends settling down to married life and babies, Emma decides to grasp her life by the roots and reclaim her freedom...by running away to sea and joining a complete stranger (and his cat) on a yacht in Borneo.Reflective yet humorous and self-deprecating, we share Emma’s excitement and fear at leaving a good job for an unknown adventure, and join her as she travels to some of the most exotic places in the world and starts to realise what really matters in life. She discovers the supreme awkwardness of sharing a tiny space with total strangers, the unimaginable beauty of paradise islands and secret jungle rivers, glimpses lost tribes, works all hours for demanding superyacht owners, and has a terrifyingly near miss with pirates. Fending off romantic propositions from a Moldovan pig farmer and a Sri Lanken village chief amongst others, Emma finds adventure and happiness in the most unlikely places.From planning each day meticulously to learning to let go and leave things to chance, Emma’s story shows that it is possible to break free and find happiness – and love – on your own terms.

Former stressed-out city girl and journalist Emma is living the dream. She’s in Malaysia, living on a yacht with handsome traveller Guy, and together they have plans to explore the world’s most remote and exotic places. Alright, so she has to ignore the niggling doubt that things didn’t quite work out the last time she went to stay with a stranger on his boat in Asia, but she’s quietly confident that this time things will be different.She and Guy are literally sailing into the sunset together. Adventures in Asia, America and the Caribbean beckon. Life, free from the rat race and nine-to-five grind, couldn’t be more perfect. Or could it?Eventually forced to return to London, to her old, crippling, fast-paced world, Emma finds herself struggling with anxiety and panic attacks and losing the battle between head and heart. Running, or sailing, away is just not an option any more. Untie the Lines, the sequel to Casting Off, is a beautifully written, often funny, story for those who dream of escape, adventure and an unshackled life. But it is also a deeply moving tale about recognising the need to be true to yourself, and to live a balanced life – for without balance, we fall.

'Powered by a subtle, ominous tension. I loved this book’ LEE CHILD‘Paradise never felt so sinister’ RUTH WARELies can be buried... Secrets always come to the surfaceAmarante is paradise... An uninhabited, unspoilt island somewhere in the Indian Ocean.Only those who know it exists can find it.  But paradise comes with a price... Virginie and Jake sail to Amarante for their honeymoon, but they are not alone.They have to adjust to life on the island with five strangers.  And not everyone will live to tell the tale… Dark secrets surface and their dream abruptly turns into a nightmare.Removed from society, they find out what they’re truly capable of.‘An incredible debut’ B A PARIS‘Suspenseful, evocative and beautifully written, I devoured it’ L V MATTHEWS‘That most exciting psychological thriller in which the darkest dangers lurk in a suspicious mind and a guilty heart’ A J FINN‘Gripping and pacy... A perfect summer read’ IMRAN MAHMOOD‘A debut thriller that unfolds with the inexorable force of a nightmare, and an object lesson in why some paradises should stay lost’ JOHN CONNOLLY'Deep Water had me gripped. I loved the subtle, sinister sense of tension that built through the book, and the fascinating cast of characters Emma Bamford brought together on idyllic Amarante. Such an accomplished debut' BETH O'LEARY'It had me completely hooked! I could literally feel the sand between my toes and taste the salt in the air. An amazing and evocative atmosphere of paradise that quickly turns sinister! A must summer read for all crime fans' VICKI BRADLEY

'Eerie, atmospheric' Louise Jensen'A haunting tale of intrigue' Emily Freud'Ruth Ware fans will eat this up' Publishers Weekly'Suspenseful, dark and wonderfully atmospheric' The Sun'Intricate and impressive' Daily MailIf beauty is in the eye of the beholder, how much can you trust what you see?  When Maddy Wight is hired to ghostwrite the memoir of world-renowned cosmetic surgeon Angela Reynolds, she jumps at the chance to get her career back on track. But the deeper she digs, the more elusive the doctor becomes.Confined to Angela’s glass-walled house in the Scottish Highlands, Maddy can’t shake the unsettling feeling of being watched. As a result, she is drawn ever closer to Angela’s enigmatic business partner Scott, whose mercurial moods change as quickly as the darkening moors outside.Returning to London once the book is finished, Maddy is excited for their future together. But news of Scott’s death shatters the celebrations at the book’s launch party. Which is why, months later and still grieving, she is blindsided to see Scott entering a tube station just in front of her. And before she knows it, she is following him.  In this reimagining of Hitchcock’s Vertigo, jeopardy can be lurking where you least expect it…Praise for Emma Bamford'Powered by a subtle, ominous tension. I loved this book’ LEE CHILD‘Paradise never felt so sinister’ RUTH WARE‘An incredible debut’ B A PARIS‘Suspenseful, evocative and beautifully written, I devoured it’ L V MATTHEWS‘That most exciting psychological thriller in which the darkest dangers lurk in a suspicious mind and a guilty heart’ A J FINN‘Gripping and pacy... A perfect summer read’ IMRAN MAHMOOD‘A debut thriller that unfolds with the inexorable force of a nightmare’ JOHN CONNOLLY'Had me gripped. I loved the subtle, sinister sense of tension that built through the book' BETH O'LEARY'An amazing and evocative atmosphere of paradise that quickly turns sinister! A must summer read for all crime fans' VICKI BRADLEY

'Eerie, atmospheric' Louise Jensen'A haunting tale of intrigue' Emily Freud'Ruth Ware fans will eat this up' Publishers Weekly'Suspenseful, dark and wonderfully atmospheric' The Sun'Intricate and impressive' Daily MailIf beauty is in the eye of the beholder, how much can you trust what you see?  When Maddy Wight is hired to ghostwrite the memoir of world-renowned cosmetic surgeon Angela Reynolds, she jumps at the chance to get her career back on track. But the deeper she digs, the more elusive the doctor becomes.Confined to Angela’s glass-walled house in the Scottish Highlands, Maddy can’t shake the unsettling feeling of being watched. As a result, she is drawn ever closer to Angela’s enigmatic business partner Scott, whose mercurial moods change as quickly as the darkening moors outside.Returning to London once the book is finished, Maddy is excited for their future together. But news of Scott’s death shatters the celebrations at the book’s launch party. Which is why, months later and still grieving, she is blindsided to see Scott entering a tube station just in front of her. And before she knows it, she is following him.  In this reimagining of Hitchcock’s Vertigo, jeopardy can be lurking where you least expect it…Praise for Emma Bamford'Powered by a subtle, ominous tension. I loved this book’ LEE CHILD‘Paradise never felt so sinister’ RUTH WARE‘An incredible debut’ B A PARIS‘Suspenseful, evocative and beautifully written, I devoured it’ L V MATTHEWS‘That most exciting psychological thriller in which the darkest dangers lurk in a suspicious mind and a guilty heart’ A J FINN‘Gripping and pacy... A perfect summer read’ IMRAN MAHMOOD‘A debut thriller that unfolds with the inexorable force of a nightmare’ JOHN CONNOLLY'Had me gripped. I loved the subtle, sinister sense of tension that built through the book' BETH O'LEARY'An amazing and evocative atmosphere of paradise that quickly turns sinister! A must summer read for all crime fans' VICKI BRADLEY