Headline scoops novel on the wellness industry from screenwriter Karla Marie Sweet

Mountain Leopard Press, an imprint of Headline, has scooped False Idols, a "suspenseful" novel about the wellness industry from actor and screenwriter Karla Marie Sweet.

Jennifer Doyle, fiction publishing director, bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Ben Dunn at DunnFogg for publication in August 2025.

The novel follows Sadie who becomes a member of Deep Flow, an exclusive wellness class, after a chance encounter with its "magnetic" leader, Lilith. As she becomes more embroiled in the world of Deep Flow, Sadie finds herself having to defend the community and insists it is not a cult. However, when the group comes under threat, she learns the cost of being part of Lilith’s inner circle.

Sweet has previously penned Another Life, an Audible Original originally published in September 2024. False Idols is her print debut.

The author commented: "The wellness industry has undoubtedly offered me so many valuable tools over the years but it’s also fraught with capitalism, cultural appropriation and false idols. There’s a lot to satirise and I hope readers see something massively recognisable as they delve deeper into the world that exists within this novel."

Doyle added: "The enigmatic Lilith leapt off the page and the world of Deep Flow was mesmerising. Karla does an exceptional job of exploring how something that has the potential to do us good can do harm when in the wrong hands."