Hera signs 'sexy, dark' Bollywood thriller for inaugural title

Hera Books has acquired a three-book series of “sexy, dark” thrillers set in the world of Bollywood by crime writer Alex Khan, the first author to sign with the new female-fronted digital publisher.

The first title, Bollywood Wives, will be published in February 2019, and will be the inaugural title for the digital publisher founded in 2018 by Lindsey Mooney and Keshini Naidoo. World English rights were agreed with Alison Bonomi at LBA Books, with the audio rights acquired by Audible. Khan previously published Khan’s Zain Harris and Kate Riley series under the name ‘Alex Caan’ with Bonnier.

Hera Books’ publishing director, Keshini Naidoo, said of the deal: "Bollywood Wives is the book I have always wanted to publish. Completely engrossing and incredibly written, with a cast of differing, three-dimensional characters, this is a return to the kind of escapist, glamorous fiction with a dark edge that you just want to devour in one gulp. I’ve always been passionate about wanting to publish commercial fiction featuring BAME characters with huge crossover appeal, so when LBA came to me with this book, I knew it had to be Hera’s inaugural title. I can’t wait to launch this book to the world and have readers fall in love with Zara Das and the Bollywood Wives."

Khan commented: "I have wanted to write this novel since I was a teenager, and Keshini finally gave me the confidence to put it to paper. I’ve followed her career for years and I’m so excited to be working with her at last. Hera is such an exciting venture and I think Keshini and Lindsey can publish this novel and the series in a way that nobody else could. It’s my dream novel with the perfect editing/publishing team for it, so I am absolutely thrilled things have worked out so well."