Michael Sims – författare

An anthology devoted strictly to the pioneer female characters in crime fiction, the direct ancestors of everyone from Miss. Marple to V I Warshawski, as well as the great female criminal masterminds. It includes adventurous tales of women who refused to sit politely in the parlor and chat about fashion.

A scintillating and unusual anthology of lost treasures from the timeless murder mystery genreFor The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries, writer and anthologist Michael Sims did not summon the usual suspects. He sought the unfamiliar, the unjustly forgotten, and little-known gems by writers from outside the genre. This historical tour of one of our most popular literary categories includes stories never-before reprinted, features rebellious early "lady detectives", and spotlights former stars of the crime field. For twenty-first century connoisseurs of crime, The Penguin Books of Murder Mysteries celebrates how the nineteenth century added a fierce modern twist to the ancient theme of bloody murder.

The client/agency relationship is an area fraught with potential problems. Competition in the field has now augmented the necessity to understand the working relationship far more thoroughly to help the client to get better value from the agency. The demand has moved from the need for client satisfaction to the need for excellence when it comes to agency performance. Only by having a good relationship can a client get the best advertising (and the same applies to both sides of the equation). A good relationship rests on a raft of elements, all of which are covered in this book.

Agency Account Handling strives to distinguish between good account handling and great account handling.This book will help you understand the wider picture of client servicing, give you satisfied customers and allow you to go home at night with a smile on your face. In reality it may not avoid all the 'blood, sweat and tears' but it will certainly reduce them to a manageable level.Good account handlers know instinctively most of the principles associated with effective client servicing. What results in great account handling is the difference an individual makes, all those little agency touches that add up to a competitive advantage and, essentially, the decision by an individual to concentrate on the right mix of priorities which will produce the most effective results.It should inspire people to strive for satisfied clients, fulfilled professional lives and strong client service departments."This book is a beacon for account handlers, giving insight, confidence and experience, whether you read it cover to cover or dip into relevant sections.It shines a light on the path to success for burgeoning careers and wily old dogs alike."--Steve Aldridge, Creative Partner, Partners Andrews Aldridge"Indispensable! A soup-to-nuts analysis of all aspects of account management. A must for any ambitious account handler, from any discipline, who wants to further their career."--Suki Thompson, Managing Director, The Haystack Group"There is much to recommend Mike's book. First, it fills a gap in the market. I haven't come across anything on great account handling practice, previously. Second, it has terrific depth and breadth. But what makes Mike's book really special is that it is a book to learn from. Having worked with Mike a lot over the last five years I know that he knows his stuff. What I hadn't realised is that he has a rare gift for imparting his stuff in the infectious way that is a pleasure to learn from."--Malcolm White, Executive Planning Director, Euro RSCG London

Even in the twenty-first century, the undead walk among us...Before Twilight and True Blood, vampires haunted the nineteenth century, when brilliant writers indulged their bloodthirsty imaginations, culminating in Bram Stoker's legendary 1897 novel, Dracula.Acclaimed author and anthologist Michael Sims brings together the finest vampire stories of the Victorian era in a unique collection that highlights their cultural variety. Beginning with the supposedly true accounts that captivated Byron and Shelley, the stories range from Aleksei Tolstoy's tale of a vampire family to Fitz James O'Brien's invisible monster to Mary Elizabeth Braddon's rich and sinister widow, Good Lady Ducayne. Sims also includes a nineteenth-century travel tour of Transylvanian superstitions, and finishes the collection with Stoker's own Dracula's Guest - a chapter omitted from his landmark novel.Vampires captivated Victorian society, and these wonderful stories demonstrate how Romantic and Victorian writers refined the raw ore of peasant superstition into a whole vampire mythology of aristocratic decadence and innocence betrayed.

Ghost stories date back centuries, but those written in the Victorian era have a unique atmosphere and dark beauty. Michael Sims, whose previous Victorian collections have been widely praised, has gathered twelve of the best stories about humanity’s oldest obsession.The Phantom Coach includes tales by a surprising, often legendary cast, from Charles Dickens and Margaret Oliphant to Henry James, Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as lost gems by forgotten masters such as Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and W. F. Harvey. Amelia Edwards’s chilling story gives the collection its title, while Ambrose Bierce, Elizabeth Gaskell and W. W. Jacobs will turn you white as a sheet. With a skilful introduction to the genre and notes on each story, The Phantom Coach is a spectacular collection of ghostly Victorian thrills.